Additional lighting

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baz

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Has anyone fitted additional lighting to their commando
IE a pair of led spotlights?
And if so what ones do you recommend?
I need a bit more light on dip and main beam than the headlight puts out, I already have an led headlight bulb that is pretty good/better than the halogen, but I can't remember what lumens it is
I'd like the option of additional lighting that I can switch independently for daytime riding or night
What are people using that works well?
Cheers
 
Baz, Paul Goffs latest LED headlamp bulbs are 5000 lumiwotsits...
I'm really looking for something additional to just the single headlamp
As I said I have an led bulb in there already and it's better than the halogen it replaced unlike other LEDs that I have had that put out loads of white light but not where you need it!
I was caught out in a deluge of rain the other night and frankly it was dangerous trying to see the road
So my thinking is extra light at night if needed, and extra daytime lights as I spend some of my time on a big car park called the M25
Cheers
 
And, macular degeneration, in the rain, at night....
Well...
I was bitchin to my eye Dr. in my late 30’s...
 
A buddy of mine had a pair of halogens like those on his Goldwing and OMG he lit up the road. I always followed behind him at night.
That's the thing when you think about it our bikes only have one headlight generally (except the JPS ) and most cars appear to have two headlights these days
And a lot of sports bikes etc have two headlights
Maybe their eyesight isn't as good as ours???
Cheers
 
Has anyone fitted additional lighting to their commando
IE a pair of led spotlights?
And if so what ones do you recommend?
I need a bit more light on dip and main beam than the headlight puts out, I already have an led headlight bulb that is pretty good/better than the halogen, but I can't remember what lumens it is
I'd like the option of additional lighting that I can switch independently for daytime riding or night
What are people using that works well?
Cheers
I used a pair of moto-lights that I mounted on the front fender stays with a couple of home made stainless stand off brackets. They worked very well. I bought them from my favorite BMW bike dealer.
 
I'm really looking for something additional to just the single headlamp
As I said I have an led bulb in there already and it's better than the halogen it replaced unlike other LEDs that I have had that put out loads of white light but not where you need it!
I was caught out in a deluge of rain the other night and frankly it was dangerous trying to see the road
So my thinking is extra light at night if needed, and extra daytime lights as I spend some of my time on a big car park called the M25
Cheers
The problem is that in heavy rain, fog or (god forbid on a bike) snow brighter lights seems to make the problem worse, as much of that light is simply reflected back at you making it more difficult to discern anything. You can purchase halogen bulbs which have a slightly different colour tone to improve things. Two years ago I started wearing contact lenses and simply could not safely see anything at night and that was in a car!! I bought some glasses fitted with Zeiss Drive Safe lenses which have an anti-glare coating and I can highly recommend them, but the older I get, the less I like driving at night in the rain. That is definitely an age related thing.

Cheers,

cliffa.
 
The problem is that in heavy rain, fog or (god forbid on a bike) snow brighter lights seems to make the problem worse, as much of that light is simply reflected back at you making it more difficult to discern anything. You can purchase halogen bulbs which have a slightly different colour tone to improve things. Two years ago I started wearing contact lenses and simply could not safely see anything at night and that was in a car!! I bought some glasses fitted with Zeiss Drive Safe lenses which have an anti-glare coating and I can highly recommend them, but the older I get, the less I like driving at night in the rain. That is definitely an age related thing.

Cheers,

cliffa.
Yes I know what you mean about the light reflecting back
But I have no trouble driving a car at night in the dark and rain
I just need a bit more light on the bike especially when a car is coming the other way with very bright headlights on an unlit road and all I can do is aim for the black hole that's beside it!!!
And worse than that is the amount of car drivers who do not dip for other road users
Cheers
 
And worse than that is the amount of car drivers who do not dip for other road users.

The other big difference is the amount of stray light from modern car headlamps and their aero covers, going on many directions....
 
Baz,
Do you know anyone who has a LED headlight that is specifically designed for a motorcycle that you can ride. Just dropping a LED bulb into a H-4 housing probably won’t give you the correct light pattern. I run that on my bikes and for daytime driving they are easy to see, which is what I wanted. I don’t drive much at night, but when I do the pattern is really not what I would want. I have a set of driving lights on my Wing and they do the same thing. A lot of light, but not exactly where you need or want it. The MC bulbs are pretty expensive but by the time you buy a set of driving lights and install them it just might be easier to buy a 7” LED MC bulb and drop it in. Just something to consider.
Pete
 
Baz,
Do you know anyone who has a LED headlight that is specifically designed for a motorcycle that you can ride. Just dropping a LED bulb into a H-4 housing probably won’t give you the correct light pattern. I run that on my bikes and for daytime driving they are easy to see, which is what I wanted. I don’t drive much at night, but when I do the pattern is really not what I would want. I have a set of driving lights on my Wing and they do the same thing. A lot of light, but not exactly where you need or want it. The MC bulbs are pretty expensive but by the time you buy a set of driving lights and install them it just might be easier to buy a 7” LED MC bulb and drop it in. Just something to consider.
Pete
That's a very good suggestion I'll take a look at those
Cheers
 
Baz,
Do you know anyone who has a LED headlight that is specifically designed for a motorcycle that you can ride. Just dropping a LED bulb into a H-4 housing probably won’t give you the correct light pattern. I run that on my bikes and for daytime driving they are easy to see, which is what I wanted. I don’t drive much at night, but when I do the pattern is really not what I would want. I have a set of driving lights on my Wing and they do the same thing. A lot of light, but not exactly where you need or want it. The MC bulbs are pretty expensive but by the time you buy a set of driving lights and install them it just might be easier to buy a 7” LED MC bulb and drop it in. Just something to consider.
Pete

Let me share my story...

First, I've run 80/100 watt H4's since the early 80's (they were EXPENSIVE then!) I like to see at night.

On recommendation from another forum, I paid all the money for a properly certified, quality made, motorcycle specific LED headlight unit. This company makes the much ballyhooed H-D "Daymaker"

https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/led-headlights-model-8700-evo-2-db/

It was a GIANT STEP BACKWARD on my Rocket III cruiser, (from a H4 Halogen lamp) that gets a lot of night time use.

Wow. I had skipped the $40 Chinese ebay crap, went for the good stuff and: GAME SHOW BUZZER.

I ordered the Paul Goff H4 4000 lumen lamp, it's in my Rocket now.... LIGHT YEARS BETTER!!!!! (no pun intended)

I since ordered two H4 5000 lumen lamps from Paul Goff, one is in my Cdo, the other in my RZ350.

Damned well amazing.

So, while the early/cheap ass "drop in H4 LED" lamps were dog bawls, these we have access to now are WELL DESIGNED and work perfectly with a standard Lucas (or Bosch, or Stanley, or Koito) reflector.
 
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That’s good to read Concours. I have a Goff 4K in one bike currently but have just ordered two of his new 5k jobs for two other bikes, along with tail light bulbs and pilot lights.

I don’t ride much at night these days (past my bed time), but that means I’m not used to it, so when I do, I want a BRIGHT road ahead!

The new gen LEDs are far better for day time use too as they are SO bright to other road users whilst drawing much less current.

Also, LEDs seem pretty much vibration proof unlike many halogens (useful info for fellow Triumph riders out there).

As you can see, I’m a convert !
 
Also, LEDs seem pretty much vibration proof unlike many halogens (useful info for fellow Triumph riders out there).

Unfortunately, that's not true. Anything with solder joints is subject to vibration failure. I'm in the process of returning a tail lamp to superbrightleds because it flickers when my engine is running. It's fine with no vibration.
 
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