Driving/fog Lights On A Vfr

[Smola67]

So I would love to add more lights to my bike. I have looked for many months at many options and the only thing that I think I could live with looks wise would be something like this.

DrivingLights.jpg

Just cant live with them on the forks and also cant live with the looks of having them mounted on or around the mirrors.

Just wanted to know if anyone has used this location on the VFR. The only thing I am afraid of is the clearance issue. How much room do I have to play with while the springs are fully compressed. The last thing I want to do is smash lights against my fender. :pissed:

[Guest vfrrider]

You know what would be very cool? Replace your mirrors with GSXR mirrors, especially gloss black as the bike.

Now remove turn lenses from old position, cut out center, paint rest gloss black, reinsert, relocate driving lights to turn signal location. Now that would be so classy.

Larry

VFRrider

[sparkydog21]

I too wanted to mount my driving lights there, but decided to fabricate a bracket, which mounts under my mirrors, only because when you brake hard, you probably won’t have enough clearance under the front cowl and something might break. Good Luck!

[BonusVFR]

Do we have the power to run all those extra lights?

[Smola67]

Do we have the power to run all those extra lights?

Well I switched my regular lights to HID's which are only 35W each as apposed to the 55W each of the original bulbs.

[BonusVFR]

Just ride behind this.........

[Rivcyko]

Each side of the front fender.

Gives full range of adjustment without, ride interference. (This is coming from a MI resident). Sudden bump,....Lights into the front fender, bottoming out the upper faring, losing control, into the curb, flipping the bike, thousands of $$ in repair, so I can see where I was crashing.

+ like old crusers, the light goes where you're pointing, before you get there. AND, you have a couple of mounting spots.

vfrrider,

The only problem with that, (and it is a good idea), is you add weight to the mirrors. 2 effects, the mirrors will wear out faster, (not hold position), and more weight will cause more vibration, causing a flicker effect.

[BonusVFR]

I would go with Fender mount but.........

The setup below would not work for me but I am sure the kit is good. Electrical Connection do lots of Wing do dads including lights a few posts above.

[Rivcyko]

I would go with Fender mount but.........

The setup below would not work for me but I am sure the kit is good. Electrical Connection do lots of Wing do dads including lights a few posts above.

Cool! :thumbsup:

[BonusVFR]

PIAA has a new universal kit that fits VFRs using the 1100s which are the smallest units. The 1100s are very popular with the Wing and ST1300 folks.

http://piaa.com/Powersports/piaa-powersports/whats_new.html

I think Cyclegadgets.com sells this kit too.

I am going with updated bulbs though..............more power Scotty!

[BonusVFR]

Shot of the 1100s

Edited to add:

1100s on a ST1300

The Wing may be the only bike with enough room to fit under the nose.

[Guest]

You want this.

[Baileyrock]

Shot of the 1100s

Edited to add:

1100s on a ST1300

The Wing may be the only bike with enough room to fit under the nose.

I like this type of set-up best for looks and Not to blind another cage or biker with the High mount set-ups! <_<

[Beck]

I think it's better to mount the lights on the bodywork. I always thought that mounting it on the fender or anywhere on the lower wheel/suspension assembly just exposes the lights to a lot of road shock and vibration that could kill your bulbs in short time and put a lot of stress on the wiring going to them. The beam of the lights would could also bounce around with every road imperfection you go over with your front tire.

I've been thinking of mounting small fog or driving lights where my 4th gen signals are on my fairing side panels and getting mirrors with turn signals. But the unusual shape of the OEM signal light bezels/lens make it hard to figure out how fog or driving light units would look OK in those side openings. It's too bad cause I think it is the best location for auxilliary lights for all VFRs with faring mounted front signals.

Beck

95 VFR

[JZH]

I've played around with auxilliary lighting for a while...

First of all, the Electrical Connection fog lights that mount off the mirrors are nothing better than "visibility" enhancers. As fog lights, they are a joke. They are a cheap copy of an old PIAA design. I originally bought them thinking I'd mirror-mount them, but was wholly unimpressed with the EC "brackets" and made my own using stainless bar. They went on tour with me one year and worked great--apart from being useless for providing any usable extra light.

P7260025x.jpg

P8300002x.jpg

Searching for more light, I went through a PIAA 910 phase, but found that those lights were just too heavy for mirror mounting and looked for another solution, which led me to buying a set of the "PHID" lights some of the LD riders were raving about a few years ago. Made some new brackets for those, and they worked extremely well when I took them on my next tour.

P9100010x.JPG

P9100007x.jpg

I was fiddling around with the EC lights and decided they would be good as visibility enhancers--they show yellow, too, which helps in that regard. The pot metal cases meant I could mount them off the top fairing bolts. A nice solution, but I took them off eventually.

P5070016x.jpg

P9100003x.jpg

P9100005x.JPG

The PHID's brackets (the black part, attached to the light--why didn't I just make my own?!?) are crap, and one snapped on my last tour. I'll probably re-mount them at some point, with new brackets, though I have also been considering converting some of my PIAAs to HID. But I've also got some plans for replacing the entire headlight unit on the bike with a complement of HID and conventional projector lamps (a la Yamaha R6), provided I can find a configuration that will fit...

Ciao,

[Dutchy]

P9100005x.JPG

Is the fog/smog in London really that bad? :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :P

[TimC]

:thumbsup: That's what I'd do. I've thought about this mod myself, and may attempt it next off-season.

I like the looks of this placement very much. It seems to me you'd get optimal illumination down low from placing the lights on the forks. But I also think it might be the best set-up for being seen by oncoming motorists b/c it spreads the lights out more from the bike's headlights.

[TX _VFR]

P9100007x.jpg

Wow....... so do you have a motorcycle license, or a pilots license ? :unsure:

[sportrider]

PIAA has a new universal kit that fits VFRs using the 1100s which are the smallest units. The 1100s are very popular with the Wing and ST1300 folks.

http://piaa.com/Powersports/piaa-powersports/whats_new.html

I think Cyclegadgets.com sells this kit too.

I am going with updated bulbs though..............more power Scotty!

Intersting mod. . .. Any idea what the draw is on the electrical system?

[Smola67]

I've played around with auxilliary lighting for a while...

First of all, the Electrical Connection fog lights that mount off the mirrors are nothing better than "visibility" enhancers. As fog lights, they are a joke. They are a cheap copy of an old PIAA design. I originally bought them thinking I'd mirror-mount them, but was wholly unimpressed with the EC "brackets" and made my own using stainless bar. They went on tour with me one year and worked great--apart from being useless for providing any usable extra light.

P7260025x.jpg

Great post. Thanks for the info.

Looks like I may be looking into mounting a set on the forks in place of the stock reflectors.

[JZH]

Wow....... so do you have a motorcycle license, or a pilots license ? :huh:

It's a Super Sport Pan European...:salesman:

I have to add that I'm not a huge fan of fork-mounting--at least not the way it is usually done, which is to hang the lights off the puny M6 fender bolts. Lights mounted on the forks are totally un-spring, which means they encounter every bump the wheel does, so if they weigh anything at all, they would have to be very solidly mounted indeed. Perhaps that is why fork lights are usually quite small and featherweight? Unfortunately, that means they also can't do much apart from enhance the visibility of the bike on the road (not even with PIAA 55W=10,000W Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious bulbs). If you want LIGHT, you need HID...

Ciao,

[Smola67]

Has anyone ever put a set of H4 bulbs in a set of driving lights? Seems that the h3 bulb is 55w but I am sure it doesnt put out as many lumen's as an H4. Any thoughts. If I can fit them is a small driving light will i get more light than an h3?

[JZH]

H4, H1, H3, H7, etc refers to the bulb configuration, and has little to do with the output of the bulb. You can get high-wattage versions of all of those designs, though the more common ones tend to have more options available. The H4 is a dual-filament bulb, whilst the H3, H1 and H7 are all single-filament bulbs. So, unless you needed a high and low beam in the same headlight unit, you would probably not want to use an H4.

I have some PIAA 910 driving lights with 85w H3s in them, and I believe you can get up to 100w H3s. The limiting factor will probably be the light's housing, as if it is made of plastic, the extra heat could melt it! Any wattage increases should also be matched by wiring upgrades, as the OEM wiring is not designed to draw 100w...

Ciao,

[Motor_Ref]

So I would love to add more lights to my bike. I have looked for many months at many options and the only thing that I think I could live with looks wise would be something like this.

Just cant live with them on the forks and also cant live with the looks of having them mounted on or around the mirrors.

Just wanted to know if anyone has used this location on the VFR. The only thing I am afraid of is the clearance issue. How much room do I have to play with while the springs are fully compressed. The last thing I want to do is smash lights against my fender. :fing02:

I saw some quite bright driving lights mounted on the bracket that the front brake calipers bolt to. These were on a ZZR-1200. Take a peek over on their list. You might find info.

[chonsey]

You want this.

I want them, where can I get those brackets? I have been looking for that set up for some time now :fing02:

[Joe Foe from Buffalo]

You want this.

I want them, where can I get those brackets? I have been looking for that set up for some time now :fing02:

I think they may be a version of Top Gun brackets. This is a little info on them.

http://www.fjrgoodies.com/topgun.cfm

I'll say it again the Piaa 910 (ION) lights (I think shown on that yellow VFR but are the clear 910's) will make enough light to make a blind man see. FYI "Ion" is a yellow light that gives better depth in poor conditions (rain,fog...) . If you only need light in good conditions the PHID's are better and use less power.

http://www.ironbutt.org/forum/forum_posts....;pN=1&TPN=3