Additional lights for R1150GS?

[jenunn01]

I would like to add a second set of driving lights on my 02' GS. I do not have cylinder head guards on my bike so these would need to be mounted on a separate brace or on brake calipers. I would appreciate some suggestions from other riders who have done this....hopefully this will help me avoid an expensive mistake. Most of my driving is highway driving.


Thanks,

Jim N.

 

[podsobinski]

Motolights

I would recommend Motolights. Easy to install and very visible. The price comes with mounting to the brake calipers. They donate to a lot of rally's also.
Check out their website.
www.motolight.com


gpodzo

 

[MCOLLECT]

+1 for motolights. Great folks and they are real helpful regarding questions and parts!

 

[SNOONE]

I have Motolites on my 02 and keep them on 100% of the time. Motolites have an 8 or 10 degree beam and light up the sides of the road and make you very visible to others. I also have PIAA 1100's.. They are the smaller lights that they make and are mounted on a light bar. I use them the scare the living daylights out of unsuspecting motorists. They are very bright and are used to light the road ahead.. They are used pretty rarely on very dark unlit roads.

I ride a lot in the dark and especially at this time of the year you never can have enough lighting.

 

[jenunn01]

I have Motolites on my 02 and keep them on 100% of the time. Motolites have an 8 or 10 degree beam and light up the sides of the road and make you very visible to others. I also have PIAA 1100's.. They are the smaller lights that they make and are mounted on a light bar. I use them the scare the living daylights out of unsuspecting motorists. They are very bright and are used to light the road ahead.. They are used pretty rarely on very dark unlit roads.

I ride a lot in the dark and especially at this time of the year you never can have enough lighting.

Would you say the Motolights are more practical than the PIAA's for regular night riding? Would you suggest both?

 

[grossjohann]

Would you say the Motolights are more practical than the PIAA's for regular night riding? Would you suggest both?

I opted for the PIAA 1100’s on my RS, but they are too bright for general conspicuity unless they are dimmed. I use a driving light controller from <a href="http://www.kriss.com/drivinglight.htm" target="_new">Kriss</a>. It dims the driving lights when my low beam is on, and switchs them to 100% brightness when my high beam is on.

Essentially the driving light controller makes them legal…

 

[bikerfish1100]

If you want conspicuity, the Motolights are dandy. If you want conspicuity AND a real jump-up in vision, the PIAA 1100X's are the way to go. But if you REALLY want night vsion, do an HID conversion. I'm not sure if you're GS is set up for that- if it runs H4s, don't bother, if it runs a H1/H7 combo like my R11S, then spring for the big bucks setup. You will be rewarded with virtual daylight, anytime of night!
I like light- so I have the HID low & hi beams from xenonfactory http://www.xenonfactory.com/products/hid/polarion.htm (4100 bulbs), and the PIAA 1100X setup from Cyclegadgets http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/LightKits/?bike=R1150GS

fwiw- I ran Motolights on my K11RS for 3+ years, and have had the PIAA & HID kits on my R11S for over 6 years, so I do have some experience with these systems. The PIAAs ARE better- but you'll likely get more personalized service from the Motolights folks. However- once purchased, no service was ever really required from either (other than replacing a bulb)

 

[bikerfish1100]

I opted for the PIAA 1100’s on my RS, but they are too bright for general conspicuity unless they are dimmed. QUOTE]

what does "too...conspicu(ous)" mean?
I always figured there was "conspicuous" and "But Officer, I never even saw the motorcycle!"

 

[grossjohann]

[Hijack]

I’ve been looking at Xenon HID conversion kit for my RS. You mention that one shouldn’t bother if running the H4 bulb. The XenonFactory website says their kit is for “low beam only”. Is there a high beam after the conversion?

[/Hijack]

 

[grossjohann]

What does "too...conspicu(ous)" mean?
I always figured there was "conspicuous" and "But Officer, I never even saw the motorcycle!"

I suppose... I do run with them on at night as well. They would simply be too bright without the controller.

I have, however, converted my turn signals to amber day time running lights.

I'm from the "make your bike look more carlike, and give them something for depth perception" camp.

 

[bikerfish1100]

(continuing minor thread hijack)

My R11S runs a seperate hi & low bulb; one is an H1, the other is an H7. If you have a seperate hi/lo bulb system (i have no clue what's in a RS or GS), call them direct and order a car kit, but specify one H1 unit and one H7. If you're running H4- don't bother. The H4 HID conversion bulbs have a poor track record for both performance and for longevity. Not worth the $, imo.

Ulp- no HID soup for you! You gotz H4.
However, you could install a single low beam HID in place of your stock dual filament H4, and run your PIAAs as your high beams. But no recommendation from me, yea or nay, on that option.

 

[grossjohann]

(thread hijack continued)

The RS has a single Hi/Low H4 Ill take your advice. Thanks.

 

[SNOONE]

Would you say the Motolights are more practical than the PIAA's for regular night riding? Would you suggest both?

I had the motolights first and when I got them I thought they were great. They added a tremendous amount of light to the sides of the roads and I always noticed that drivers ahead of me were bothered by their brightness in their rear view mirrors, so I know they made me more visible.. Then I got the 1100's and when I turned them on it was like the difference between night and day. The throw down the road is excellent and they are very bright.

My advice is to start out with the motolights and see if they serve your purpose, then if you find you are riding in the dark often and want more light then go for some more.

 

[jenunn01]

Thanks for the advice!!

Thanks for the advice to all...I stand well informed.