OregonRider
Active member
I trial-mounted a light to the front fender in this position.
Will the distance between the light & fender be enough?
Driving light mounted low
- Thread starter OregonRider
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I trial-mounted a light to the front fender in this position.
Will the distance between the light & fender be enough?
bluesdog
Well-known member
I can't quite see where your fender is. They look a bit high to me
I mounted my auxiliaries thus:
I mounted my auxiliaries thus:
SacramentoMike
Not Safe For Work
Enough for what? To show up in traffic? To clear the fender when the forks compress? The pic Bluesdog posted is the standard position for the small Clearwater lights (Glendas--now also used for the new and brighter Darlas). Glenn designed the bracket for the FJR when the lights first came out using my bike as the model. It's a perfect position for both visibility and clearances. Not, in my opinion, ideal for projecting light down the road. I think you're better off with the under-the-mirror brackets for that.
OregonRider
Active member
Sorry, I should have clarified. I don't know how much travel there is on the front end and I'm hoping one of you do. Will the fender travel cause a collision with the lights?
Who is this Glenn you speak of? I've searched the site high & low & can't find any info on brackets like the ones on blues bike.
The popular mounting point seems to be under the mirrors. Even though I want the triangle effect that a low pair of lights provide I considered mounting them under the mirror because a ready made bracket existed. I contacted the guy who makes them & he said that they wouldn't work with the funky mirror extenders that came with my bike.
I hardly ever ride at night. I want these lights primarily for daytime conspicuity.
Trains use the "triangle" configuration for conspicuity. The following article is specifically about motorcycles and the triangle effect on perception of speed & distance of a motorcycle: https://www.motolight.com/page/481477660
If I did much riding at night I'd mount a set up high.
Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.
Who is this Glenn you speak of? I've searched the site high & low & can't find any info on brackets like the ones on blues bike.
The popular mounting point seems to be under the mirrors. Even though I want the triangle effect that a low pair of lights provide I considered mounting them under the mirror because a ready made bracket existed. I contacted the guy who makes them & he said that they wouldn't work with the funky mirror extenders that came with my bike.
I hardly ever ride at night. I want these lights primarily for daytime conspicuity.
Trains use the "triangle" configuration for conspicuity. The following article is specifically about motorcycles and the triangle effect on perception of speed & distance of a motorcycle: https://www.motolight.com/page/481477660
If I did much riding at night I'd mount a set up high.
Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.
BkerChuck
Second hand vegetarian
I mounted a pair of Denali lights to my front fender mounting bolts over 30k miles ago and even after some unplanned dirt road travels everything is still fine. Gives nice spread of light and less cars have pulled out in front of me.
motoxr124
Well-known member
Hey neighbor,
Glenn is the owner of Clearwater Lights. I too, like Bluesdog, have the Clearwater Darla lights in the same spot. For traffic purposes, my experience is that most opposing traffic waiting to turn left in front of me see me because I've had them wait at farther distances. Fork travel shouldn't be a problem. It's hasn't been for me since I brake pretty hard at times. But your lights seem mounted higher than mine. You may want to consider longer brackets to set the lights lower. Fork travel is about five inches. I'd have to look to see what you got. I'm in Junction so PM for a meet and I can look it over if you want. I got an 08 too.
Sam
Glenn is the owner of Clearwater Lights. I too, like Bluesdog, have the Clearwater Darla lights in the same spot. For traffic purposes, my experience is that most opposing traffic waiting to turn left in front of me see me because I've had them wait at farther distances. Fork travel shouldn't be a problem. It's hasn't been for me since I brake pretty hard at times. But your lights seem mounted higher than mine. You may want to consider longer brackets to set the lights lower. Fork travel is about five inches. I'd have to look to see what you got. I'm in Junction so PM for a meet and I can look it over if you want. I got an 08 too.
Sam
Wait, didn't the op say he mounted the lights TO the fender? If so, there would be no chance for the fender to hit the lights! If you use the fender bolts and do not raise the light above it more than a couple of inches, there should not be any clearance issues.
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Warpdrv
Well-known member
There are brackets made for high by the mirrors.... I don't know to say they are better high or low - but the more lighting the better...
Here is my setup on the GEN 3 LED Riders high and low....
I am continually impressed at how well I am seen with this config - plus the LR4's up high give me huge light for the road. 3500+ lumens each really lights up the dark areas, and will piss off people heavily if not put them in the ditch.... but only when they are on full blast.
Here is my setup on the GEN 3 LED Riders high and low....
I am continually impressed at how well I am seen with this config - plus the LR4's up high give me huge light for the road. 3500+ lumens each really lights up the dark areas, and will piss off people heavily if not put them in the ditch.... but only when they are on full blast.
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Low mounting causes the beam to get sucked up by the road sooner. High-and-wide is the mantra taught to me years ago by a wise Battle Lad. It helps give your vision the depth of field it needs to judge distance (wide) and it gets farther down the road to give you more time to react (high).
No matter how bright they are, lower fork mounting is for "marker" lighting OTHERS SEE YOU BETTER. High-and-wide does that too but is there to help YOU SEE EVERYTHING ELSE BETTER.
No matter how bright they are, lower fork mounting is for "marker" lighting OTHERS SEE YOU BETTER. High-and-wide does that too but is there to help YOU SEE EVERYTHING ELSE BETTER.
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bluesdog
Well-known member
The triangle arrangement seems to effectively enhance conspicuousness
I have the auxiliary driving lights mounted as high as legally permitted per BC regs:
While I don't do a lot of night riding anymore, the Ericas are a useful safety addition, and will light up these country roads quite well. Especially useful for early forest rat detection!
I have the auxiliary driving lights mounted as high as legally permitted per BC regs:
While I don't do a lot of night riding anymore, the Ericas are a useful safety addition, and will light up these country roads quite well. Especially useful for early forest rat detection!
OregonRider
Active member
Warpdrv
Well-known member
Totally agree - and it was pounded into my skull by Justin from LED Rider the same way.....
He suggested the Yellow / Amber low so as to not wash out the road......
When I'm looking for a screw dropped on the ground, a very effective technique is to hold a flashlight beam parallel to and along the ground, sweeping it left and right looking for the big shadow grazing angle light produces.
The problem I have with low mounted driving lights is that they do the same thing for road trash, sometimes making mountains out of mole hills.
The problem I have with low mounted driving lights is that they do the same thing for road trash, sometimes making mountains out of mole hills.
OregonRider
Active member
Well, I installed the lights as in my first post. The fairing bangs into them under hard braking. Guess I'll avoid hard braking.
Or, build a bracket that lowers the lights.
Or, build a bracket that lowers the lights.
I'm not a night rider and I mounted Denali DM LED's on the reflector brackets. I made an axillary support brace to make the setup more secure. Without the support brace the lights vibrated a lot. The lights are now vibration free and look great. No clearance issues. If anyone is interested in doing this send me a PM with your email address and I will send you a couple close up pics of the setup.
OregonRider
Active member
SacramentoMike
Not Safe For Work
That Motolight write-up about their "triangle of light" concept has been around quite a while, and it's supported by about 30 paragraphs of big words and lots of charts and graphs, so I suppose it's right. But you can say it with a simpler example. One of our forum guys was riding on a narrow road near here a few years back (night) and a pickup stopped briefly coming out of his driveway, then pulled right out in front of him. Head first through the windshield.
Luckily, it was Brodie, who can't be destroyed by truck or elk, so he came out pretty well. Better than his FJR, at least. But the first farkle on the replacement FJR was a full set of Clearwater lights high and low. The farmer told him "I saw you coming, but those two headlights so close together made me think it was a car that was a lot farther away." (Brodie, please forgive if I got some of the details wrong.) Brodie's front end looks like this now--same as mine.
Luckily, it was Brodie, who can't be destroyed by truck or elk, so he came out pretty well. Better than his FJR, at least. But the first farkle on the replacement FJR was a full set of Clearwater lights high and low. The farmer told him "I saw you coming, but those two headlights so close together made me think it was a car that was a lot farther away." (Brodie, please forgive if I got some of the details wrong.) Brodie's front end looks like this now--same as mine.
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