This Little Light of Mine...

[Joab]

So, since I have gotten the bike (kinda) running again, I have rediscovered an issue I had last year. My headlight is really not adequate for backwoods Alabama. I am running a Pacifica fairing, and have a Silverlight or such headlight in there, but even on high, it just doesnt do the job in the darkened county roads leading home through deer infested woods.

So, my question is, where do you guys think the best mounting points for driving lights might be with this fairing set up, and does anyone have any experience or suggestions for a good brand or model of driving light to use? Thanks in advance for the comments, complaints, advice, and age addled musings!

[natemoen]

You need to watch power use closely on these bikes cause there isn't much room for add-ons. Best bet would be LED driving lights, low draw/high power. Look around, do some research.

Right on the fairing bottom or lower down on the bike frame are decent sport for the lights.

Side note, it is pacificO not pacificA.

[crazy steve]

What kind of shape is your headlight in? Is it adjusted right? Is the silvering still very good? How good are the electrical connections to the headlight? These are all things that will affect light output.

If the headlight's silvering is bad (dull and/or flaking/bubbling), a new light will be needed. These square OEM units can be a bit hard to find, here's an alternative.... http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...175#post332175

[fredintoon]

So, since I have gotten the bike (kinda) running again, I have rediscovered an issue I had last year. My headlight is really not adequate for backwoods Alabama. - - -

Hi Joab,
perhaps it's you? As a person gets older their night vision gets worse. I've given up riding at night unless I absolutely have to. The last time was from a bike rally to the hotel. It's amazing how long a 12KM midnight ride takes at 30KPH.
Or perhaps it's your headlight? Had a Bosch headlight one time that all the silver had fallen off the reflector, the light fell out in a little yellow puddle just ahead of the front wheel. That got me pulled over for doing 45KPH in a 90KPH zone. (I was younger then) Had to blow green in their breathalyser before they'd let me go.
So install a nice new reflector for starters. See how powerful a bulb you can run and have the alternator keep up to.
You are limited by the bike's available wattage rather than what extra lamps you can fit.

[wa407mpp]

Check out PIAA lights, they have some blubs that put out high intensity light, but draw low amps and heat. Their just the thing for these older bike electrical systems.

[Joab]

Fred- It is a good bet I could be part of the problem. Sadly, I work third shift, and for the sake of not spending half my paycheck in fuel driving my truck to work everyday, I would like to make the bike as safe as possible for night riding.

Nate- Nope, I scratched off the A and put an O. Just so I wouldn't be wrong I think you are right, Mounting to the engine guard seems my best bet. I just hope the heat radiating off this beast on 90 degree days wont be too much for it...

Steve- I replaced the original headlight with a new one, It seems to give as much light as I would expect from a single headlight. I can see the road decent enough. It is the shoulders, ditches and brush that the doom deer hide in that I need to shine a bit of light on!

Wa- Yeah, I think the PIAA 1100LED might be the ticket. Haven't priced them yet, but I think these will be the best choice, unless I find something comparable cheaper.

[natemoen]

You can also mix and match lights. Do a flood light on the right for lighting up the shoulder and a spot light on the left for distance lighting. Could even have them.switched separately for different driving situations.

[fredintoon]

Fred- It is a good bet I could be part of the problem. Sadly, I work third shift, and for the sake of not spending half my paycheck in fuel driving my truck to work everyday, I would like to make the bike as safe as possible for night riding. - - - I can see the road decent enough. It is the shoulders, ditches and brush that the doom deer hide in that I need to shine a bit of light on! - - -

Hi Joab,
no point in telling a guy from Ozark to just ride slower at night, eh?
What's needed is more Watts but that's gonna suck the battery flat.
How about a lawn tractor or similar battery in a side bag or wherever wired direct to those new auxiliary lights? A completely separate system; charge the extra battery up when you get home.

[wa407mpp]

For what you are getting PIAA's prices are not bad,but you can get a better price on PIAA's by shopping around the intermet a bit.

[Joab]

Hi Joab,
no point in telling a guy from Ozark to just ride slower at night, eh?
What's needed is more Watts but that's gonna suck the battery flat.
How about a lawn tractor or similar battery in a side bag or wherever wired direct to those new auxiliary lights? A completely separate system; charge the extra battery up when you get home.

What? I do drive slow! I never ride faster then 60 over the speed limit! Lol, well, not quite that bad, although I did discover for some reason this bike just really wants to go fast...but that is a completely unrelated topic.

Do you think if maybe I go ahead and convert all my marker and turn signals to LED, and throw on the PIAA LEDs, I should be able to produce enough juice to run the driving lights without forcing the battery to end its life prematurely? At this point, I have no saddlebags or anything, so mounting a second battery could be problematic for now.

[fredintoon]

- - - Do you think if maybe I go ahead and convert all my marker and turn signals to LED, and throw on the PIAA LEDs, I should be able to produce enough juice to run the driving lights without forcing the battery to end its life prematurely? At this point, I have no saddlebags or anything, so mounting a second battery could be problematic for now.

Hi Joab,
most likely, it'll certainly help. How far is the after dark commute BTW?
I wouldn't sweat a 5-mile commute with more juice leaving the battery than coming into it but 20+ miles like that would be a concern.
No sidebags? HTF can you carry beer home with no sidebags?
Swich your drinking habits and substitute a plastic 'shine bottle in each jacket pocket, you say?
OK then.
However LED bulbs ain't cheap plus you'll need a different flasher unit.
That money would help pay for a magnet-attach tank bag to carry a lawn tractor battery in.

[Joab]

Hi Joab,
most likely, it'll certainly help. How far is the after dark commute BTW?
I wouldn't sweat a 5-mile commute with more juice leaving the battery than coming into it but 20+ miles like that would be a concern.
No sidebags? HTF can you carry beer home with no sidebags?
Swich your drinking habits and substitute a plastic 'shine bottle in each jacket pocket, you say?
OK then.
However LED bulbs ain't cheap plus you'll need a different flasher unit.
That money would help pay for a magnet-attach tank bag to carry a lawn tractor battery in.

'Shine bottles eh? Hmm...

Lets see, I would say I have about 8 miles I need the driving lights for, the rest I can get by with just the high beam.

I am looking into hardbags in the future, thinking of the MM08 sold here