Current top of the line Auxiliary light set up?

[TriggerT]

I need to replace the PHIDs that were destroyed in my recent crash, so once I get a new bike to hang them on, I was wondering what the current "Best" set up for auxiliary lighting is. Is it still the Soltek? I know Warchild wrote about some other lights in the first issue of the IBA magazine that might be a possibility. I'm looking for whatever puts out the most light, since I ride in the dark most every day going to work.

 

[JamesK]

TriggerT, sorry to hear about your crash, but glad you're OK. From the glass is half full perspective that's certainly one way of upgrading to a new FJR

I don't know about others, but I'm still totally satisfied with my Soltek Fuego HIDs in terms of performance, and quality. However, given the major advances in the LED lighting if I had to replace my Soltek HIDs I might consider the Soltek LED lights to reduce power consumption and get the "instant on" availability. I recently installed some inexpensive LED aux lights, replacing the POS PIAA 55W that are mounted on the forks and the difference in lighting and much lower power consumption is like night and day, these are 24W each but provide so much more light than the combined 110W PIAAs did. They "never" burn out, are "instant on" and put out real white light.

 

[bramfrank]

Some LEDs are very bright, but they tend not to throw the light they produce very far down the road because there is no coherent reflector, so lots of light is wasted..

Warchild, Bungie, I and a bunch of others use and swear by Hella Micro DE Xenon HID driving lights. However one of their more desireable attributes is that they are very compact which, while they are still very powerful, does put a small damper on their output, as sexy as they may be. Don't get me wrong. They are VERY bright, but you can do better if you are willing to grow the fixtures.

If you want the ultimate in brightness, you want the largest reflector the bike can support - lights such as the Hella Predator or FF1000 Xenons will fry any oncoming bugs long before they get even close to your windshield .

 

[Patriot]

google "clearwater site:fjrforum.com"

and check out www.clearwaterlights.com

https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4597002457_6f952f87c3_z.jpg

 

[Peter Murray]

If your last PHID's were G3 the G4 are a big improvement if you can find them. They were available from Bruno at Futurevision. Word has it he plans to produce a knockoff of the 4G , we will see.

 

[TriggerT]

Patriot, I will check them out. I forgot about that company.

Also, I was wondering if you could hang any more crap on your bike? Seriously, I don't think I have ever seen redundant sliders before.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Also, I was wondering if you could hang any more crap on your bike?

DON'T tempt the man. Gawd only knows what he'll come up with next...

Seriously, I don't think I have ever seen redundant sliders before.

They're not redundant sliders. One set are sliders, the other set is acutally an air horn mounting system. Really. I'm not kidding.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Seconding Patriot, I'd urge you to look into the Clearwater LEDs too. Lots of threads about them. This one has a YouTube vid I shot that shows how they look both coming and going away. I have both of their light products mounted--I got the smaller "Glenda" model fork-mounted lights first (for conspicuity), then later added the big "Kristas." There are other write ups and comments in this thread and here, too.

I really like mine for several reasons, but the "big two" are the TINY power draw and the fact that you can ride with them on ALL THE TIME, even in city traffic, because they're DIMMABLE. Turned down to minimum brightness, they still make YOU show up to other drivers WAY better than headlights alone or any other "marker" lights I've seen, and when you flick them on full bright (they come on with your high beams, or can be adjusted independently), they light up the road downrange amazingly well. They also project a wide swath of light that illuminates the roadside bushes and well into corners and curves as you approach.

At WFO in Eureka, we lined up four bikes, mine with these LEDs and three other super bright HIDs from Hella, Soltek, and um, somebody else. An honest comparison as to projection, at least as eyeballed from behind the bikes by the participants and onlookers, would have to give the nod to some of the HIDs, but I'm pretty sure those owners would agree the difference was marginal, not dramatic. And all of those were either "off" or "on," making them very hard to get any benefit from when there's any other traffic at all.

So I'm sold on these, myself. Not cheap, but they're damn sturdy and well made--they'll last a long time. You'll transfer them to your next bike, for sure. (And when you do, they'll STILL have the original bulbs in them.)

 

[Ignacio]

I was wondering what the current "Best" set up for auxiliary lighting is.

As usual...there isn't one "best". It's always about choices, compromises, and customization. If there was a best...it would probably be called a "Gold Wing" after watching a shootout with a haf-dozen bikes and configurations.

At WFO in Eureka, we lined up four bikes, mine with these LEDs and three other super bright HIDs from Hella, Soltek, and um, somebody else. An honest comparison as to projection, at least as eyeballed from behind the bikes by the participants and onlookers, would have to give the nod to some of the HIDs, but I'm pretty sure those owners would agree the difference was marginal, not dramatic.

I was one of those with Hella FF200. And I think there was a set of Hella Micros too. I would say the difference was more than marginal, agree it wasn't dramatic, but still very significant. LEDs still aren't YET up to HID standards IMO.

Tough thing about the FF200 and Hella Micros is the ballast/igniter is very difficult to find space for in the Gen 2 nose. In fact, I don't know of anybody that has installed on a Gen 2.

 

[Ignacio]

I was wondering what the current "Best" set up for auxiliary lighting is.

As usual...there isn't one "best". It's always about choices, compromises, and customization. If there was a best...it would probably be called a "Gold Wing".

 

[Crash Cash]

Is this a rare double-post by an ADMIN??!! (pokes and runs away quickly)

 

[bramfrank]

I was one of those with Hella FF200. And I think there was a set of Hella Micros too. I would say the difference was more than marginal, agree it wasn't dramatic, but still very significant. LEDs still aren't YET up to HID standards IMO.
Tough thing about the FF200 and Hella Micros is the ballast/igniter is very difficult to find space for in the Gen 2 nose. In fact, I don't know of anybody that has installed on a Gen 2.

If Bungie was there then you had a set of the Micro DEs - and as you said, the difference is more than marginal - LOTS more than marginal - read my previous comment above.

And you certainly do know of a Gen-II (and there are a couple of others who have done it besides me). Ballast placement is actually very simple.. And I've got the full size German ballasts, not those wimpy Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean pieces of junk.

 

[Ignacio]

And you certainly do know of a Gen-II (and there are a couple of others who have done it besides me). Ballast placement is actually very simple.. And I've got the full size German ballasts, not those wimpy Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean pieces of junk.

You have either a set of Hella FF200 or Micro DE's installed on your Gen 2? I missed that. You fit the stock ballast/igniters in the nose? You have a link to where you detailed it or took pictures?

...edit...I see you may have some pictures in your post, but they're blocked where I'm at...will have to check at home.

 

[TriggerT]

I realize "Best" is a very, extremely subjective term, which is why I put it in quotes. I just wanted to hear what people though was the best.

I actually had the ballasts for my PHIDs under the seat of my Gen 2, since the ballasts for the headlight HID's were in the nose along wit ha bunch of other crap.

I just want something that will give me the absolute maximum light down range. I leave for work at 4 am every morning, and ride through deer infested areas for 80 miles. That is a lot of time every single morning worrying about forest rats.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

 

[Patriot]

I realize "Best" is a very, extremely subjective term, which is why I put it in quotes. I just wanted to hear what people though was the best.

I actually had the ballasts for my PHIDs under the seat of my Gen 2, since the ballasts for the headlight HID's were in the nose along wit ha bunch of other crap.

I just want something that will give me the absolute maximum light down range. I leave for work at 4 am every morning, and ride through deer infested areas for 80 miles. That is a lot of time every single morning worrying about forest rats.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

down the road pencil beams might help you with something in the middle of the road, but the wide flood of light, still down the road, but including the fence or ditch along the road is what I like with the Kristas

and making a leaned over turn will make the pencil beams useless until the bike straightens out

just my 1.5 cents

 

[Meltdown]

I'll toss in my two cents...

I did a HID upgrade and then added a set of the Glenda lights from Clearwater on the forks. Good conspicuity lights. I also wanted a set of flamethrowers so I ordered up a set of Trailtech SCMR16's and put them on brackets from Garauld.

Here's how they looked:

The Glenda lights

and then the TrailTech's

I rode with this setup for about 3 months. What I found was that I was almost never using the TrailTech's because while they do throw an astonishing amount of light down the road, they are also unusable in traffic. Plus, being HID's they can't be switched on and off rapidly since they do take a few seconds to come up to full brightness.

So, I called Clearwater back and had them send a set of their Krista lights. Once they arrived I removed the Trailtech's and sold them and installed the Krista's on the existing brackets.

A few pictures:

Having ridden behind both sets of lights, I'd be VERY hard pressed to see anyone complain about the output of either. As far as a comparison from one to another just concerning light output, I'd say that about 20 seconds after they were turned on, the TrailTech's had a marginal advantage at best. In real world terms, the light output difference doesn't matter.

The Krista's throw about 95% of the light that the HID's did, come to full power instantly, use less watts, are dimmable, will outlast the bike, and are usable 100% of the time just by turning a dial. And the last reason means that this is an overall better choice unless you're riding somewhere like across highway 50 in Nevada at 3am where you'll never see another car.

Are there disadvantages? Sure. They're expensive. The Trailtech's with a custom wiring harness from Eastern Beaver and a waterproof on/off switch was about $370.00. The Krista's were $650. And in my opinion, they were worth every cent of that.

 

[TriggerT]

OK, showing my ignorance question. Do LED lights from Clearwater have a ballast like the HID's do?

 

[bramfrank]

I rode with this setup for about 3 months. What I found was that I was almost never using the TrailTech's because while they do throw an astonishing amount of light down the road, they are also unusable in traffic. Plus, being HID's they can't be switched on and off rapidly since they do take a few seconds to come up to full brightness.

So, I called Clearwater back and had them send a set of their Krista lights. Once they arrived I removed the Trailtech's and sold them and installed the Krista's on the existing brackets.

Having ridden behind both sets of lights, I'd be VERY hard pressed to see anyone complain about the output of either. As far as a comparison from one to another just concerning light output, I'd say that about 20 seconds after they were turned on, the TrailTech's had a marginal advantage at best. In real world terms, the light output difference doesn't matter.

The Krista's throw about 95% of the light that the HID's did, come to full power instantly, use less watts, are dimmable, will outlast the bike, and are usable 100% of the time just by turning a dial. And the last reason means that this is an overall better choice unless you're riding somewhere like across highway 50 in Nevada at 3am where you'll never see another car.

Are there disadvantages? Sure. They're expensive. The Trailtech's with a custom wiring harness from Eastern Beaver and a waterproof on/off switch was about $370.00. The Krista's were $650. And in my opinion, they were worth every cent of that.

The reason your Trailtechs were unuseable as that they are flood lights intended solely for offroad use - they just spray light everywhere.

The reason that the Kristas (rated at 2100 lumens) are 95% of the Trailtechs is that;

- you are comparing to a half-power (16 watt) HID throwing a rated 1850 lumens of light

- the Kristas SHOULD be brighter than the Trailtechs if we're comparing lumens, but suffer to some degree from the lack of a proper reflector

- the ones we've discussed before are all true HIDs rated at 35 watts each - each generating 3200 lumens, more than twice as much light as the Halogen bulbs they are supplementing (1100 lumens in low beam, 1500 in high). That's 50% more lumens than the Kristas for less money.

2nd gen bikes have more than enough power to run any of the lights discussed in this thread. 1st Gen owners could have issues if you run heated gear and other high wattage hardware.

They're all good, mind you - just mentioning this to put it all into perspective.

OK, showing my ignorance question. Do LED lights from Clearwater have a ballast like the HID's do?

No, they don't.

 

[lnewlf]

Another vote for Clearwater..even the smaller Glendas put out an amazing amount of white lite. I would definitly go for low draw LEDs after having problems on several bikes-especially since it seems that the heated gear is usually on when the lights are. If you do go with Clearwater be sure to inquire about a forum discount.