Crazy idea - Second Headlight/Driving lights

alexk

alexk

Weekend Rider
Stick with me here a moment...

I really adore my headlight modulator - during the day it flashes the headlight, making me a LOT more visible to cagers. I consider this the most important headlight feature.

But, I do a lot of riding at night, so the Rabbitman's HID upgrade is mighty tempting. Alas, you try modulating the brights on an HID kit and you kill the solenoid on the shutter. Bad idea.

So, the idea came to me... if I can find an aftermarket headlight/driving light kit at a decent price and that looks right on our straight-from-the-death-star bikes, I could use those to up the brightness at night, or modulate those and go HID for the main light.

There isn't enough space to mount a slimline headlight under the stocker without interfering with suspension travel, so this thing is out...

That leaves driving lights mounted to the outside of the forks. Has anyone seen a good looking reasonably-priced kit?

So far, I've found a crapton of chrome and oversized lights. The nicest I've found is a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/BRKTS-Lighting-Sport-Touring-System/dp/B000J4493Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375383690&sr=8-1&keywords=piaa+005"]PIAA kit for $240[/ame], but it's still chromed out. =(
 
M

MikeC

Weekend Rider
alexk said:
Stick with me here a moment...

I really adore my headlight modulator - during the day it flashes the headlight, making me a LOT more visible to cagers. I consider this the most important headlight feature.

But, I do a lot of riding at night, so the Rabbitman's HID upgrade is mighty tempting. Alas, you try modulating the brights on an HID kit and you kill the solenoid on the shutter. Bad idea.

So, the idea came to me... if I can find an aftermarket headlight/driving light kit at a decent price and that looks right on our straight-from-the-death-star bikes, I could use those to up the brightness at night, or modulate those and go HID for the main light.

There isn't enough space to mount a slimline headlight under the stocker without interfering with suspension travel, so this thing is out...

That leaves driving lights mounted to the outside of the forks. Has anyone seen a good looking reasonably-priced kit?

So far, I've found a crapton of chrome and oversized lights. The nicest I've found is a PIAA kit for $240, but it's still chromed out. =(
Click to expand...

a few of the guys here have a fog mounted right under the headlight. entiennefz8 I believe has one.
 
Rabbitman109

Rabbitman109

Lumen Junkie
Rotaryknight

Rotaryknight

New member
DarkSideFromLime said:
On this subject...does anybody know any solutions to make you more visible from behind...beyond reflective tape.
Click to expand...

You can install LEDs on the rear swingarm going up the top of it on both side. If you still have the stock rear fender, you can also do LEDs on that below the plate. Wire it up to the Rear brake light and you will be visible.
 
alexk

alexk

Weekend Rider
For increasing visibility from the rear (especially at night) I did a few things other than retro-reflective tape/backpack:

Brake Light Modulator ($70) (review) (buy)
  • Blinks the brake light when I first apply the brakes - makes me MUCH more visible at night
  • Halogen (slightly brighter than stick at same wattage)

Retrofit front turn indicators into the rear (howto)
  • Puts a 10w always-on rear-facing amber on each side of the bike.
  • Makes overall brightness of the turn indicators a little higher

Painted the inside of the license plate light backing with high-temp white paint
  • Use a qtip, and do as much of the black plastic on the inside as you can.
  • Do NOT get any on the clear plastic
  • Significantly improved the visibility of the license plate at night
 
Vladiator

Vladiator

New member
Help with cleaning pipes and more...

I need some help as a new owner of an FZ8. I need advice from two things. First off, my pipes are turning gold and I was wondering if there was something I could get to get them back to looking chrome? Also, I use a bag on the back seat that I attach to it with bigness. These are scratching the body of the bike. Can anyone help with some advice on how to use them without scratching the bike?
 
alexk

alexk

Weekend Rider
WFDowns, the turn indicator retrofit replaces the sockets in the back blinkers with the sockets taken from someone's front. Looks absolutely identical to stock, except they function as running lights. =)

I'd have snagged pics by now, but we all know what the stock ass-end of this bike looks like. =p
 
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