Running lights on an 1150 rt

[PatrickDonovan]

I like the idea of "lots of lights help you be seen", so I was thinking of putting on a set of piaa running lights. Is this the main reason for running lights or are there extra benefits such as greatly increased night vision. My stock lights seem ok, but I would love to light up the night also, if possible without blinding oncoming traffic. Also, brands and installation methods on an 1150 RT would be of great help as well. Thanks.

[grossjohann]

Welcome, Patrick.

There are several threads here which cover running lights. PIAA are very common...

PIAA lights will work wel on your RT. Because they are so bright, you will need a drivig light controller unlss you want to use them only with your high beam.

I opted for the PIAA 1100’s on my RS, but they are too bright for general conspicuity unless they are dimmed. I use a driving light controller from Kriss (http://www.kriss.com/drivinglight.php). It dims the driving lights when my low beam is on, and switchs them to 100% brightness when my high beam is on.

Essentially the driving light controller makes them legal…

Enjoy,
Alex

[PGlaves]

I have a set of PIAA 510s on my K75RTP and also have a set of Motolights on the same bike. I use them both, thus:

During the daytime I ride with the Motolights on full time, irrespective of whether the headlight is on high or low beam. In this mode the relay coil is powered with key switched power through a dash switch.

At night I run the PIAA lights as high beam driving lights and the Motolights as low beam aux lights. In this mode power to the respective relay coils comes from the high beam and low beam headlight circuits, through dash switches.

In night mode the only action that needs to be taken to kill the PIAA lights (too bright and too high for oncoming or leading traffic) is to use the OEM switch to drop to low beam. The switch is instantaneous, and the Motolights add illumination so the world doesn't seem to have gone dark when I switch from high to low beam.

I had the same setup with Bosch rectangular driving lights and Motolights on my original K75, Old Smokey, and have the same setup now with Pilot driving lights and Motolights on my R1150R.

I simply haven't been able to find a way to mount and aim good long range driving lights that I don't have to turn off when meeting cars - especially on twisty two lane roads. This was the solution that I came up with and it works very well.

[PatrickDonovan]

Thanks for the info. I also found the thread in the GEAR forum which is very useful. I'll continue to look there as well. I do have a great fear of electronics:bolt ........but I was at least able to hook up my gps last year. Due to my general lack of hands on mechanical experience, I truly believe in KISS. So I think that just one set of good but less expensive lights on all the time would be the ticket for me. But then again, I've also been known to go overboard at the last moment and challenge myself. I'll send future inquiries to the GEAR board after I've looked at some lights.

thanks

[kitze2]

Howdy Patrick.
I recently mounted a set of the Wunderlich Micro Flooters on my RT. They aren't the greatest for improving your riding illumination. They do however greatly increase your conspicuousness (conspicuousness? Oh well you know what I mean) to oncoming traffic. Because they aren't bright enough to set road side weeds on fire they don't completely blind everybody. And they're cheap. Well relatively cheap at about $225. And the mounting brackets/hardware actually fit without modification!

[bmwcliff]

I went with the PIAA 1100X's on my Rockster, very conspicuous, my local dealer installed the "turn signal cancell" switch, and I use them all the time to see at night and to be seen. I didnt want them tied to the head lights at all, so probably in some sense they may be illegal, but they are brighter than the Motolights, which is what I wanted. Plus I decide when they are "ON".:dance

[PGlaves]

I went with the PIAA 1100X's on my Rockster, very conspicuous, my local dealer installed the "turn signal cancell" switch, and I use them all the time to see at night and to be seen. I didnt want them tied to the head lights at all, so probably in some sense they may be illegal, but they are brighter than the Motolights, which is what I wanted. Plus I decide when they are "ON".:dance

I decide when mine are on too. They are switched. But, my driving lights are too bright and aimed too high to use except when high beam is appropriate. I like that because they are useful that way - to be able to see! So I tied them to the high beam switch so dimming the headlight automatically cuts the driving lights - and turns on the Motolights. This allows the brighter, higher aimed, way down the road driving lights that I couldn't use otherwise unless I wanted to hit two switches at the same time to dim the headlight and kill the driving lights.

I didn't invent the notion. My '86 K75T with factory driving lights came that way: one Bosch long range driving light on the left and one fan beam driving light on the right, switched by the dim switch. I just double it up with two driving lights and two Motolights that operate the same way.

A more detailed explanation of what I did on my R1150R can be found at: http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves/relaybox.htm

[PatrickDonovan]

Are the PIAA's really that bright that you can't use them unless dimmed with oncoming traffic? What are the legalaties(sp) of lights and motorcycles?

[sgtboring]

Mine are great. Hard a nails, gets me noticed by cages and looks pretty sweet on my rt.

[kitze2]

Are the PIAA's really that bright that you can't use them unless dimmed with oncoming traffic? What are the legalaties(sp) of lights and motorcycles?


The PIAA lights are hella (great pun there) bright. They are great lights. I live and ride mostly in an urban area so I'm more concerned with cagers seeing me. Which is way I didn't put the PIAAs on. Legality of various running lights varies by state. I got hassled several times here in Northern California when I had extra lights on my Jeep. Admittedly they were retina destroying bright.

[PatrickDonovan]

I think I need to see some pics of RT's with lights (specifically of the lighting details). I've seen some with lights close to the front tire and others with the lights inside the grill area. The only brackets I've seen are on cyclegagdets.com and I'm not crazy about any of them.

[bikerfish1100]

Howdy Patrick.
I recently mounted a set of the Wunderlich Micro Flooters on my RT. They aren't the greatest for improving your riding illumination. They do however greatly increase your conspicuousness (conspicuousness? Oh well you know what I mean) to oncoming traffic. Because they aren't bright enough to set road side weeds on fire they don't completely blind everybody. And they're cheap. Well relatively cheap at about $225. And the mounting brackets/hardware actually fit without modification!

at $225, givig the illumination that you describe, i wouldn't bother with the Wunderlicks. PIAA 1100Xs are better than Motolights (i've used both, and my experience parallels Paul's), and either of those are about $325 from www.cyclegadgets.com

Not sure if you're doing so already, but a suggestion for when you go looking in other sections would be to use the "search" function- it saves lots of time.

[PatrickDonovan]

at $225, givig the illumination that you describe, i wouldn't bother with the Wunderlicks. PIAA 1100Xs are better than Motolights (i've used both, and my experience parallels Paul's), and either of those are about $325 from www.cyclegadgets.com

Not sure if you're doing so already, but a suggestion for when you go looking in other sections would be to use the "search" function- it saves lots of time.

Thanks bikerfish. I did try using the search feature, but since I'm new at posting here I think I probably wasn't loading the proper parameters.

I like the PIAA lights but not the location or the brackets shown on cycle gagdets. I guess I should get the lights first and keep looking at mounting options. But I'm still curious about the legalities of the lights if they're on all the time at night...are they too bright? I think I would like them on all the time and linked with my headlight...dim with dim and bright with bright if that's possible.

[bikerfish1100]

easiest wiring is to set them up to either work with your his or your lows. as Paul said, it is also possible to set them up to operate entirely independently. PIAA does provide their own on/off switch, but it's not real convenient for use as a primary switch.
i have mine set up to only work when my hi beam is on, but i can run the hi with or without the PIAAs. I'm running HIDs (hi & low) on my bike, and if you really want to see at night, and be seen at anytime of day, well, there is absolutely nothing else that compares. The PIAAs pre-HID were "whoa, those are awesome hi beams!" now they are ""well, they kinda fill things in a bit, but really don't do all that much".
i'm using the Martins Fabrication brackets for mine, gives a good triangulation of light, and are very sturdy and well made.

[bikerfish1100]

...dim with dim and bright with bright if that's possible.

not totally sure what you mean by that, but i'm assuming that you would want the auxilliary lights to act like a regular headlight with 2 filaments, hi & lo. yes? not gonna happen (at least not without extensive modification/fabrication) as driving or fog lights are single filament units. i have my PIAAs wired so that if they are switched on, they go on & off when i go from hi to lo. if they are switched off, then they go from off to off when i go from hi to lo.

[OfficerImpersonator]

Here are the running lights on my '02 RT-P.

http://dvandkq.net/images/20070929-014.jpg

I have PIAA 1100x's on the crash bars and PIAA 910's where the police strobes are supposed to go.

The poster who said 1100x's are too bright is incorrect. My next-door-neighbor is the seargant in charge of the local sheriff's motorcycle detachment, and he's inspected/observed my bike countless times. He doesn't like the blue reflective sticker on the back of my bike (too "cop-ish for his tastes) but he's fine with all my lights. I run my 1100's ALL THE TIME so I don't get smushed by some moron texting on their cell phone while driving.

The 910's will melt the paint off of the bumper of the car in front of me, so I only use them on dark and deserted roads. My lights are connected with a relay, so that when the 1100's are on, the 910's don't work and vice-versa. My bike's electrician (yes - an RT-P is complicated enough that she needs her own mechanic AND her own electrician) Even though my RT-P has the beefier alternator, running all that candlepower + heated grips + other accessories at once would discharge my battery while riding.

If conspicuity is your primary goal, I also highly recommend a headlight modulator.

I constantly have people pull over for me, thinking I'm a cop. If they think I'm a cop, they ain't gonna be doing moronic things around me (other than pulling over for me).

I can't recall who it was, but there was a thread perhaps a year ago re: headlight modulators. The original poster relayed a story where a cager turned around and followed the rider to a gas station to berate the rider for having a flashing headlight. The rider's response was "Well, did you see me?" The driver responded "yes", to which the rider responded "Good - then it's working".

Headlight modulators (and driving lights, for that matter) are perfectly legal and only serve to prolong our life expectancies while riding. As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to do everything legal and practical to improve my visibility to other motorists - and to improve my view of the road and assorted road hazards (pot holes, debris, tar strips, pavement seams, etc.).

[deilenberger]

I can't recall who it was, but there was a thread perhaps a year ago re: headlight modulators. The original poster relayed a story where a cager turned around and followed the rider to a gas station to berate the rider for having a flashing headlight. The rider's response was "Well, did you see me?" The driver responded "yes", to which the rider responded "Good - then it's working".
That may have been me... and it was a cop who followed me out of his town and into the next and pulled me over.

He was quite the officious LEO until I produced the federal law that made it legal.. then he asked "Why are you using that?" - and I said "You saw me right?".. and a small light went on over his head.. He left with a "Ride safe.."

[BuddingGeezer]

It's not hard to wire your driving lights where they are controlled by the high beam switch and/or off when you don't want them

Wire the wire that energizes the relay from the high beam wire to an off/on switch then to the relay. When switch is on, lights work on high beam, switch off lights off regardless if high beam or not.

Yesterday I rewired my headlight straight to the battery (fused relays) with heavier 14 gauge wire. I couldn't believe the difference in increased light. I can see at night even on low beam.

Down here in Arkansas you don't see too many headlight modulators. Since I ride I am very conscious of motorcycle headlights. I seem to notice the continuous light farther that the modulator. Also, down here, flashing headlights to a motorist during the day means either a cop is down the road, or go ahead and pull over/out in front of me. A misinterpreted modulator on the latter could mess up your day.

Ralph Sims

[bikerfish1100]

i would suspect (hope?) that the continuous nature and rapid flash rate of a modulator would not be misinterpreted as an intentional "okay to pull out" communication.

it is kinda funny when cars pull over to let me by on my headlight modulated KLR. i'm usually thankful, for without that assistance, that little KLR motor is not letting me do a lot of passing.

[OfficerImpersonator]

I've never heard of flashing your headlights as a signal that it's okay to pull out in front of you.

The most common "communication" signaled with flashing headlights is to pull over to the right to let faster traffic pass in the left lane - but that's a manual headlight flash and not the four flashes per second mandated for modulators. If you can operate your high beam switch four times a second, you have a mighty itchy trigger finger!

Perhaps it's my all-white RT-P, but I get people pulling off the road - to both sides of the road - when I come up behind them. I'm somewhat concerned that a panicked driver, attempting to get out of my way, will cause an accident doing something stupid, but I'm obeying the law with my modulator, so I'm inclined to keep doing what I'm doing.

After all, it's not my fault that the stupid driver doesn't know that the only flashing lights you must pull over for are blue and/or red. While many emergency vehicles have flashing headlights to improve their visibility to other motorists, they must also have blue and/or red lights in order to legally move traffic aside.

[bikerfish1100]

in europe, flashing a headlight at an oncoming vehicle used to mean "i've now got the right of way, so back off- I'm going over this one lane bridge before you"- or something similar. from behind, it means "move your lard a$$ over, i'm coming thru". apparently in america, flashing lights may mean a variety of things- "i know you", "i've got this one lane bridge and you don't", "go ahead, pull out in front of me", "you'd better not pull out in front of me", and from behind it can either mean "pullover lard a$$, i'm faster than you" or "hey, i saw you flash your lights at that guy, now i'm gonna write you a ticket for exhibiting road rage". all depends, i guess.

[PGlaves]

Are the PIAA's really that bright that you can't use them unless dimmed with oncoming traffic? What are the legalaties(sp) of lights and motorcycles?

Yes - they are bright - but lumens is not the real issue. Aiming is. I could aim them so that the top of the driving light beam is no higher than the headlight on low beam and run them full time. But that puts the beam aimed down low which is not where I want it. I want it aimed up as high as the high beam so the light extends out further like the high beam.

A standard H4 bulb is 55w low beam and 60w high beam - but seems much brighter on high beam. Much of that apparent brightness comes from where the bulb is aimed, not just from the extra 5 watts. Some applications use a 45w-45w bulb and the high beam seems lots brighter just because of where it is aimed. Lots of light about 20 feet in front of the bike helps you miss 2x4s in the road, but doesn't do much for deer or pedestrians.

[OfficerImpersonator]

Yes - they are bright - but lumens is not the real issue. Aiming is. I could aim them so that the top of the driving light beam is no higher than the headlight on low beam and run them full time. But that puts the beam aimed down low which is not where I want it. I want it aimed up as high as the high beam so the light extends out further like the high beam.

A standard H4 bulb is 55w low beam and 60w high beam - but seems much brighter on high beam. Much of that apparent brightness comes from where the bulb is aimed, not just from the extra 5 watts. Some applications use a 45w-45w bulb and the high beam seems lots brighter just because of where it is aimed. Lots of light about 20 feet in front of the bike helps you miss 2x4s in the road, but doesn't do much for deer or pedestrians.

This is why you need a combination of lights, aimed in different places to accomplish different goals.

I've been completely baffled by the discussions above about slaving driving lights to the high beam switch. I would think you'd want as much individual control as possible to provide as many options as possible for the many possible situations a rider is apt to encounter.

You may want "short range" driving lights to pick up potholes, pavement seams, 2x4s, other debris, etc. and high beams to pick out obstacles farther down the road. You may want to have those same driving lights picking up obstacles in traffic, so you'd want them on with your low beams.

You can do what I did and have a second pair of auxiliary lights to augment your high beam. You'd destroy the eyesight of oncoming drivers, but on a deserted dark road, you'd see hazards you wouldn't ordinarily see with just the high beam.

[rkasal]

... you'd see hazards you wouldn't ordinarily see with just the high beam.

Like the big four-legged eating machines that are everywhere. This posting made up my mind on getting driving lights. I agree on individueal control. That's handy if one or more lights burn out. Redundancy enough for safety to get off the road at the next exit.

[PGlaves]

This is why you need a combination of lights, aimed in different places to accomplish different goals.

I've been completely baffled by the discussions above about slaving driving lights to the high beam switch. I would think you'd want as much individual control as possible to provide as many options as possible for the many possible situations a rider is apt to encounter.

You may want "short range" driving lights to pick up potholes, pavement seams, 2x4s, other debris, etc. and high beams to pick out obstacles farther down the road. You may want to have those same driving lights picking up obstacles in traffic, so you'd want them on with your low beams.

You can do what I did and have a second pair of auxiliary lights to augment your high beam. You'd destroy the eyesight of oncoming drivers, but on a deserted dark road, you'd see hazards you wouldn't ordinarily see with just the high beam.

Go back to my original post in this thread (#3) and you will find that we agree. I use the PIAAS with high beam and the Motolights with low beam. I have had this same or equivilent setup on three bikes over a period of 19 years and it works very well.

[awagnon]

Patrick. I installed PIAA 1100's on my '02 1150RT with the "under the grill" kit. It was easy. They are wired to be on when the bright light is on. However, they come with a switch so you can turn them off at any time. I ride with them on during the day, along with my bright light. I got hit head on once ( a different bike ). The driver said he didn't see me. I'm not going to let that happen again.

Concerning mounts. A friend with an 1150RT ordered the 1150RTP or police bike light brackets. They mount under the upper fairing of the dash to the bike frame. If you remove the black dash, you will see marks where to cut for the mounts. They are extremely rigid. He mounted humongous lights for night riding, but you could mount something smaller.

One bad thing about the PIAA 1100's. They use a proprietary bulb that costs about $35 or more. Some people have written up how to use a generic bulb, but it involves taking the lens apart. Because of the the cost of the bulb, and difficulty finding a replacement on the road, you might look for a small light that uses regular car halogen bulbs.

[bikerfish1100]

here's the replacement bulbs that i sourced out:
http://www.bulbs.com/Category-/results.aspx?Ntk=all&Ntt=W-18004+&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&OrderID=310567

my experience, from 2 sets of 1100s on 2 different bikes is that you should get about 4 years of life from the bulbs. we had all 4 bulbs go out within 1 year (both light sets installed at same time), but never had more than one bulb dead at the same time. the "taking the lens apart" is exactly what you'd have to do to do the swap out for any dead bulb, PIAA or Motolight or any other- no big deal.
i don't worry so much about on-road replacement, as these are secondary lights, not primaries. the only other thing you'd need to get the above bulbs to work is an o-ring of correct size (2" dia.) bought a pack of 25 from MSC Direct http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMAKA=02047421.

[sgtboring]

I put a head light modulator on my RT Sunday Morning and went for a ride and I was amazed at the differnce. Cars waited until I passed to pull out and turn left. No body pulled over which is fine with me. My set only operates in the day light and on high beam. Its nice I can turn it on or off.

I now have motto lights on the forks, a headlight modulator and a and a brake light modulator. I also have reflective stickers on the back and sides of my cases, and a extra reflector on the mud flap. My helmet is has a reflective sticker on the back and most of my ridding gear has a 3m reflective pipping or patches. One of my jackets is made entirely of reflective material (that one freaks people out!:ha I had I guy ask me if I came in peace????) Finally I use a crossing guard reflective strap or vest when I have military duty or if there is fog and rain.

If anybody ever hits me and claims I could not be seen they should be slapped!!!!! :doh

[OfficerImpersonator]

I put a head light modulator on my RT Sunday Morning and went for a ride and I was amazed at the differnce. Cars waited until I passed to pull out and turn left. No body pulled over which is fine with me. My set only operates in the day light and on high beam. Its nice I can turn it on or off.

I now have motto lights on the forks, a headlight modulator and a and a brake light modulator. I also have reflective stickers on the back and sides of my cases, and a extra reflector on the mud flap. My helmet is has a reflective sticker on the back and most of my ridding gear has a 3m reflective pipping or patches. One of my jackets is made entirely of reflective material (that one freaks people out!:ha I had I guy ask me if I came in peace????) Finally I use a crossing guard reflective strap or vest when I have military duty or if there is fog and rain.

If anybody ever hits me and claims I could not be seen they should be slapped!!!!! :doh

welcome to the dark side :evil

[awagnon]

I had a headlight modulator on a bike about three years ago. I got hit head-on by a young man in an SUV. "He didn't see me." Apparently he was distracted by a couple of young lovelies walking down the sidewalk. Totaled the bike and broke my arm. So, don't assume a modulator will protect you from the idiots. You still have to assume you're invisible.

[bikerfish1100]

eyeing a couple of young cuties vs paying attention to the road while driving? and you're surprised by the inevitable outcome? puh-leeze.

[awagnon]

eyeing a couple of young cuties vs paying attention to the road while driving? and you're surprised by the inevitable outcome? puh-leeze.

The point is, the headlight modulator wasn't enough to overcome his hormones and he still hit me. I didn't have time to swerve or anything. I don't bother with a modulator any more.

[bikerfish1100]

i use a modulator on my KLR. i just don't trust that it will make a life-saving difference. but neither do i think it is worthless.
on my 11S, i run HIDs. those my friend, do indeed get their attention, no question about it.

[deilenberger]

I had a headlight modulator on a bike about three years ago. I got hit head-on by a young man in an SUV. "He didn't see me." Apparently he was distracted by a couple of young lovelies walking down the sidewalk. Totaled the bike and broke my arm. So, don't assume a modulator will protect you from the idiots. You still have to assume you're invisible.Even though I've been running a modulator for over 10 years - I never assume invisibility. I assume they DO see me and are out to KILL ME - and think of what my options are. Always plan your out..

[PatrickDonovan]

I know this subject comes up every 6 months or so, but I think it' s great for newer riders or the new to the MOA group like myself. It seems there are at least nine options:brow . I'm much more educated on lights now more than ever. I think I'm going with the PIAA's on all the time with a switch to kill them when neccesary. Good thread, thanks.

Pat