Need more LIGHT ; any tips

[grumpyone]

On our 86 R 80 we want to install somekind of aftermarket lights for extra light. We live in a canon that is 26 miles of critters and WE WANT LIGHT.
We saw tho we didnt get a chance to pic their brains the piaa guys at Gillette but figured we would go here first any way and ask opinions.
We have a PIAA replacement H 4 in the bucket so that is about all we can do there. Are there aftermarkets that light up the road better than others and are they something the R 80 sy stem can handle without redoing electric things???
Thanks for the help
Jim and Esther

Plays with guns for a livin
:nra

[SIBUD]

Hella's. Good, cheap to buy, bulbs cheap also.

[beemerguru]

Depends on how extreme you want to carry this?

If you were at the Airhead tent at Gillette, you may have seen the white R80G/S with the PD tank....and 500+ watts of lights on the front.

2 150 watt aircraft landing lights on the crashbars, 2 Motolights upgraded to 50 watts each, and a 125 watt PIAA headlight.

The lights and the heated grips, Gerbing jacket and GPS are all powered by an 800 watt Bosche alternator kit I bring in from Australia. Belt drive off the crank, no diode board, stator, rotor, or VR. All gone.

I did have my first electrical problem on my way to the National. About halfway between Winnemucca and Boise, the voltage meter suddenly read 9.7 instead of 13.9. Pulled over and checked for wires or something obvious..nada. Got back on the bike and click, click, click. Turned everything off but the engine power, kicked it over once and it started right up for the last 100 miles into town. Overnighted in Boise and headed for the local starter/alternator shop the next morning. Had the unit out in 1/2 hour, the tech had it fixed in another hour (broke a brush), and I had everything back in and buttoned up in another hour. So this unit has cost me $22 in the last 150K miles..oh and about $10 for V belts you replace every 40-50K miles...take 10 minutes.

This is the extreme kit for those airhead who want all the electrical power and no maintanance..Rick's Omega and the Endurolast are good enough for 98% of this market.

[sumran]

Could you post some pictures?:lurk

Depends on how extreme you want to carry this?

If you were at the Airhead tent at Gillette, you may have seen the white R80G/S with the PD tank....and 500+ watts of lights on the front.

2 150 watt aircraft landing lights on the crashbars, 2 Motolights upgraded to 50 watts each, and a 125 watt PIAA headlight.

The lights and the heated grips, Gerbing jacket and GPS are all powered by an 800 watt Bosche alternator kit I bring in from Australia. Belt drive off the crank, no diode board, stator, rotor, or VR. All gone.

I did have my first electrical problem on my way to the National. About halfway between Winnemucca and Boise, the voltage meter suddenly read 9.7 instead of 13.9. Pulled over and checked for wires or something obvious..nada. Got back on the bike and click, click, click. Turned everything off but the engine power, kicked it over once and it started right up for the last 100 miles into town. Overnighted in Boise and headed for the local starter/alternator shop the next morning. Had the unit out in 1/2 hour, the tech had it fixed in another hour (broke a brush), and I had everything back in and buttoned up in another hour. So this unit has cost me $22 in the last 150K miles..oh and about $10 for V belts you replace every 40-50K miles...take 10 minutes.

This is the extreme kit for those airhead who want all the electrical power and no maintanance..Rick's Omega and the Endurolast are good enough for 98% of this market.

[widebmw]

Are there aftermarkets that light up the road better than others and are they something the R 80 sy stem can handle without redoing electric things???
Thanks for the help
Jim and Esther

Plays with guns for a livin
:nra

The key words are, "without redoing electric things"

The picture is of the driving light set for the R80.
It is a plug in. It has two lights, one low beam on the right that you turn on with a dash switch. The left light is a high beam. When you hit your high beam switch your regular high beam comes on and the additional high beam comes on and the additional low beam goes out.
That way it just adds 50 watts for each light. they are not on at the same time.
They also made a set that worked the same for the K75.

[97077]

I have a HID light in my R80 and it is a day and night difference. No pun intended.
With the HID light even my amp gauge show less power to run the light. You will be impressed with this set up. If you need more info I will give details. Good luck. Kevin

[widebmw]

A picture of my old R80 with the lights on it from about 1991, I think.

[kourt999]

I have the same bike (85 R80) and am interested in learning more about the HID setup... thanks in advance.

kourt
Austin, TX

[The_Veg]

Could you post some pictures?:lurk

Here is Greg's bike:

http://vegomatic.smugmug.com/photos/337420382_hwnxu-M.jpg

More detail, taken last year at West Bend:

http://vegomatic.smugmug.com/photos/175520078_ZPvdn-M.jpg

http://vegomatic.smugmug.com/photos/175520311_QUxXr-M-1.jpg

http://vegomatic.smugmug.com/photos/175520184_NnT5H-M-1.jpg

[97077]

The HID unit I am using is from xenonrider.com In my 86 R80 I'm using the H-4 Bi-Xenon setup. A stock H-4 uses about 55 to 65 watts and this HID unit uses about 35 watts with ten times the light. You will definitely notice a big improvement. A great set up. I was very fortunate to be given this as a present so I'm not sure the cost. Sorry. You will need some room to mount a small box on the bike. I had plenty of room due to the extra space inside my Hannigan Fairing. Good luck. Kevin

[archander]

I picked up my rat bike 78 R100S (naked) two years ago. I was between going back to stock with a S fairing or retro looking. I picked up the lights off of Ebay and paid probably too much for them. When the switch is turned on they work seprately depending on the main headlight low/high. The left side is a low/fog and the right is a high/driving. Both are Bosh Halogen and the light were a factory option for 74 or 76. The lights are attached via the S fairing clamps and are very strong and don't vibrate.

[AnnapolisAirhead]

A picture of my old R80 with the lights on it from about 1991, I think.

Old post, I know....just wondering what kind of fairing that is on your bike?

[widebmw]

Old post, I know....just wondering what kind of fairing that is on your bike?

Its a Rifle Fairing.
I googled them and I don't think they are around anymore.

[72598]

On my 91 R100 I put a set of cheap driving lights from Harbour Freight. Helped a bit (about 25% better, but will run down battery if also using heated grips) but the stock lightining on the 91 really sucks. (Even with a 100W illegal bulb and the driving lights this still does not hardley light the road, My HD and my /2 are both stock 6V sys and give better lighting than the 6X9 on the 91, as does my /6) I have also noticed that the Bosch reflectors are a lot better than the Hellas

[PGlaves]

How to get light depends on the charging system. There are lots of options for lights but few for getting electrons to run them.

Stock OEM charging is 280 watts (180 /5 and early /6). There isn't a lot of capacity there for lights. Figure maybe 100 watts. Heated jacket will take maybe 90 of that 100. So dark and warm or bright and cold, probably.

Motolights have 35 watt bulbs - so a set used judiciously works. Most H3 bulb equipped lights have 55w bulbs. We have used these carefully (on the road) and they work - but will discharge the battery in town.

HID is pricey but a set only pulls maye 30 watts max so HID and a heated jacket liner work pretty well except in very slow stop and go, and then you should kill the HID lights.

It is all about watts and dollars.

Calculate carefully.

And as an aside - if I were trying to run an Airhead with add-ons I would certainly go to the extra trouble to install an honest amp meter. (not voltmeter)

[tghsmith]

enduralast charging system works great, that being said my wife runs a set of 55wt hellas mounted on cyl protection bars(parking lot fallover bars)stock charging (but I'm around for a push start) an old tour tip is the lights are positioned so the beams criss-cross in front of the bike, as you lean through a corner the inside light will light the dark on the outside of the corner the outside light will be shining to where you are going around the corner,, critters are most often encountered and are harder to handle in corners!!! sight distant and all that.. sounds strange but it works....

[robsryder]

There is a thread on ADV about the VisionX Solstice LED lamps. The cost isn't too bad (about $120 per lamp) and the LEDs provide nice illumination with a reduced current draw (an important consideration for airheads with stock charging systems).

More information is found here -
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=481009
http://www.visionxstore.com/product_info.php?products_id=403

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[DERost]

THANKS robsmoto, that's an awesome resource! :thumb

I already have piaa driving lights and hella fog lights... now I need to rethink EVERYTHING! Great, another winter project... STOP spending my money! LOL :brad

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee252/BeemerFROG/DSCF0349.jpg