[Shewie]

Check the Oz BB site. There are a few outback riders there that can probably help you.

 

[DietDrThunder]

is that for putting your lipstick on just kidding lol

Finally someone understands!

Ya the newest generation of LED lights are pretty impressive. The problem is that they're quite pricey. Very low draw, and very bright though. Here is one example...

Quad CREE XML T6 3000Lm 12V 30Watt LED Auxiliary Light, 24x7 DIY

 

[GeoffXX]

ah right technology is advancing, tbh if I was going to mount aux lights on my bike I'd want them almost hidden - not possible I know but perhaps on the underside of the nose cone just below the standard headlights, there is an area there that is a possible mounting point either side of the access cover for the side light and it's pretty sturdy there too.....just a thought

 

[cplus]

Long-distance FJR1300 riders often mount LED or HIDs from brackets like you're describing. I'd start by looking at kits for the FJR to see if they could be adapted. Since the mirrors mount to the subframe the XX shouldn't need additional supports like the FJR

You might also look into a slim LED light bar mounted below the headlight on the fairing cowl. This might fit - about 11" long but less than 1.5" high and 3500 lumens. http://www.bajadesigns.com/ProductDetail/620270_Stealth-Xpg-10-Led-Bar

 

[DietDrThunder]

Thanks for that!

Funny thing...I was just on the Baja Designs site literally 2 minutes ago, for the first time in probably 10 years. I was surfing for lighting upgrades, but for a DR650 I'm looking at

 

[DietDrThunder]

Aahhh...success! the awesome guy who made my CBR-F brackets has agreed to make some for this bike too! I haven't asked him yet, but once we get them sorted and I get my set mounted up and such, maybe we can convince him to make a few more pairs...you know you're going to want them! I'm not going to reveal his identity at this point in case he's not interested in fielding requests, but he is on this board

 

[deadman]

Aahhh...success! the awesome guy who made my CBR-F brackets has agreed to make some for this bike too! I haven't asked him yet, but once we get them sorted and I get my set mounted up and such, maybe we can convince him to make a few more pairs...you know you're going to want them! I'm not going to reveal his identity at this point in case he's not interested in fielding requests, but he is on this board

I know what your talking about, when you go round tite corners the light follows where ever the fairing is pointed,, which is straight ahead of the bike,
Not going round the corner as with the lights attached to the front end,

Leaning over aggressively, puts you riding into the dark as the lights do not not follow the road, The lights have a cut off slice, any thing above it is in darkness, and thats where your riding, above the light,

Tell us, especially me, if you cure the problem with your extra lights and what angle do you have them set on to see round corners,

As they would be pointing up in the air on the straights,

Cheers,
Brian,

 

[CanadianBird]

Info.com - lights for motorcycles

 

[OX34]

I'm probably one of the OZ BB outback riders Shewie was talking about...........

I took happy snaps of my stock low beam light vs all of my 8 driving lights. I like a lot of light.......

As for "where do you need so much light?" I recently rode a here in a bit under 8 days:

Thats a lot of night riding in the outback.

 

[OX34]

Quote Deadman: "I know what your talking about, when you go round tite corners the light follows where ever the fairing is pointed,, which is straight ahead of the bike,
Not going round the corner as with the lights attached to the front end,

Leaning over aggressively, puts you riding into the dark as the lights do not not follow the road, The lights have a cut off slice, any thing above it is in darkness, and thats where your riding, above the light,

Tell us, especially me, if you cure the problem with your extra lights and what angle do you have them set on to see round corners,

As they would be pointing up in the air on the straights,

Cheers,
Brian,"


Brian, I use aux lights with a round pattern so, yes, on straights a lot of light points upward.

Though, when going round corners the light now points on the road, not across the apex toward the trees.

 

[deadman]

Check the Oz BB site. There are a few outback riders there that can probably help you.

Shewie, Out back roads in OZ are virtually all dead straight roads. The Birds lights are great for them.

The East coast of OZ is mostly mountainous with very twisty roads, The Birds lights are useless at night on these roads.

All my roads are very twisty, Right from my gate, I also live on the side of a mountain,

Cheers,
Brian,

 

[TheDuck]

Thats a lot of night riding in the outback.

that's a lot of riding, story ends!
How much current draw do you have with all 8 driving lights running?

 

[DietDrThunder]

Vey nice! Yes, that is the kind of daylight I'm talkin' 'bout! Now, with the HID lights in the stock shell I'm a little ahead of the game, but when I post up my before and after pics folks will know why extra light is good. the location I'm using is actually very spacious...I may spring for a pair of the 7" HID lights, just because

 

[elvetost]

Well how about this for an idea then:

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Yes, you'd have to open up the headlight to fit them, but its an easy job and can be done at home, n.p.
The projector will offer a sharp cutoff and the hid will disperse mucho better, giving a better result than any old hid kit.
Plus they look very trick and you also make both beams do high/low (as in H4) which improves things a lot.
Oh and the fact that the beam changes electromagneticaly, ensures you get INSTANT action on changin beams.

Hope this helps you quest bud.

 

[DietDrThunder]

I've actually already investigated a retrofit of projectors (I think there is another thread here somewhere) and have done it in my car. You are 100% on the ball with it, as they work great. I would stay away from the eBa chapies though...I did that last year in a car and they sucked. Swapped them for a proper kit and they became the best headlights I've ever had. I'm currently working on makign my budget econobox a little more entertaining for me, and another projector retrofit is on the list.

For the bike, there isn't room in the shell for two of them without _major_ surgery...of course that isn't the same thing as "there isn't room for them." That said, I'm happy ehough with the current HID bulbs-in-stock-shell to leave it. I have some lower color temp bulbs on the way, as the 5000K jobbers in there are a little too blue for me. I prefer 4300K.

 

[OX34]

that's a lot of riding, story ends!
How much current draw do you have with all 8 driving lights running?

2 x 35Watt HIDs
2 x 25Watt HIDs
4 x 10Watt LEDs

 

[elvetost]

Hey DrThunder and chaps,
See what you are saying man and I have to agree with you with the quality on ebay.
Most of them are duff, however the ones I linked have been fitted to a few mates bikes with very good results.
I have found that there are units around with anything from a 8cm to 15 cm mounting depth. The later will not fit but the sub 10cm ones should be ok if my measurements are correct.
I actually have a bird headlight in 2 pieces, opened up as I had a good front and a good back from 2 units (to make a good un) and I have been meaning to have the front polished for over a year now...
I'll take some new measurements and post them up here then.

They look pretty sweet dont they!

 

[TheDuck]

2 x 35Watt HIDs
2 x 25Watt HIDs
4 x 10Watt LEDs

Cheers, little draw and impressive lighting for it :thumb:

 

[Shewie]

Shewie, Out back roads in OZ are virtually all dead straight roads. The Birds lights are great for them.

The East coast of OZ is mostly mountainous with very twisty roads, The Birds lights are useless at night on these roads.

All my roads are very twisty, Right from my gate, I also live on the side of a mountain,

Cheers,
Brian,

Heisti and I have discussed this problem at length via Skype and were contemplating a mechanism to deal with it. The thing there is that, as discussed here, the lights that would illuminate the corner would be firing up and away (and possibly into other drivers' eyes) when the bike is upright. It is possible to overcome but there would be a fair bit of electronic wizardry involved (BMW has taken steps toward it with a rather complicated system typical to something displaying the propeller emblem) that's a touch above my rather limited abilities to create.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Ok, so the dude who was gonna make the brackets for me hasn't gotten back to me, so I just came up from the garage, where I made cardboard mockups of the brackets. I'll be venturing into town on Monday to find someone to fab them up for me. I will ask about making multiplle sets, just in case anyone is interested. So...if you might be interested, post up so I have an idea how many to ask about.