Auxilary Lights for R 1150 R

[Hugh]

Looking for suggestions on extra lights for the 1150R. I have seen PIAA and they seem like good lights but they are pricey. I would like to go with the small lights and I think I would like to have the mount by the turn signals. I have two concerns with putting the lights on the forks: 1. On a rough road at night the beam will be all over the place. 2. The continued up and down of the telelever suspension will eventually cause a wiring problem. Does anyone know how hard it is to connect the lights? Any suggestions and comments would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[RTRandy]

Can't help you on the low cost thing, but I will say motolights (http://www.motolight.com/bmw.asp) are awesome and worth the price.

The newest ones mount off the brake calipers and can be switched on and off.
There are several advantages to this and the most important is being seen. Motolight presented a study showing the difference between a single bright light coming at you such as a train approaching down the track and having the two additional lights mounted away from the single beam. It turns out people can better gauge the rate of enclosing speed with the spread lights rather than a single bright beam. Same problem is true when lights are mounted close to the main headlights. The idea is to avoid cars turning in front of you because they couldn't tell how fast you were approaching.

As for shake, I've never experienced any problem and they light up the road well at night and they won't hit oncoming drivers in the eyes. For me the main reason I have them is for daytime running to avoid left turning vehicles.

They are extremely well made so they are not cheap, but the safty factor goes a long way.

[lorazepam]

Hi Hugh, If you check on the upper right you see a search function. If you type in driving lights, you will see this : http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/search.php?searchid=1324

Just put in a key word or two, and you can access all the posts that have happened in the past. I doubt there are many new questions on the board anymore.

[BouncinBob]

Go to e-bay, search for Hella FF50. I got 2 sets arounf $37 each brand new, some guy has been selling them there for a while. They put out awesome light. I have a set on the K12RS and they outshine the PIAAs I have on it. I also put a set on my ladie's R1150R. Drilled right up into the oil cooler cover. So I added lights to her bike for next to nothing compared to most options. They come with all the relay's and a switch. I always put a set of lights below the headlight with no switch for always on. On the K12, the Hellas are above the headlight and on a switch.

[RT_guy]

I agree with BouncinBob's suggestion for the Hella FF50 lights. And if you're not comfortable with Ebay purchases, you can get the lights at Cabela's (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0027887521564a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=hasJS=true&_D%3AhasJS=+&QueryText=hella&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jhtml.22&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=hella&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jhtml) for $39.99.

[LeRoux Strydom]

Another vote here for Motolights.
I just installed the caliper-mount version, and they look good and light up the road well. A lot of the auxillary lighting kits for RT's seem of rather crude design. The Motolights look OEM.

[LeRoux Strydom]

Another view:

[Grey Matter]

Can't help you on the low cost thing, but I will say motolights (http://www.motolight.com/bmw.asp) are awesome and worth the price.

Another thumbs up for Motolights. I have putt mine through some serious abuse & they are still work great. The light is closer to the road & less offensive to drivers. I have the black powder-coated ones on my GS Adventure. A friend of mine recently installed a set of brushed stainless Motolights on his red R1150R & they look great. As if they were installed at the factory.

[bikerfish1100]

had motolights on my K11RS, and really liked them. put PIAA 1100Xs on my R11S and LOVE them. in nearly every way (except for being somewhat more expensive) they are far superior to the motolights, especially as regards build quality & light output. then i went for a HID conversion from xenonfactory :thumb , and that is just flat out ridiculous night vision!! makes everything else look plain silly.

[GSTom]

Can the Hella FF50 be mounted in an inverted position (bracket on top) or is the reflector designed only for upright (bracket on bottom) mounting?

[BouncinBob]

Can the Hella FF50 be mounted in an inverted position (bracket on top) or is the reflector designed only for upright (bracket on bottom) mounting?


I flipped the lights over in the bracket. The reflectors may be ok either way, not sure, but the drain hole is now down.

[knary]

Go to e-bay, search for Hella FF50. I got 2 sets arounf $37 each brand new, some guy has been selling them there for a while. They put out awesome light. I have a set on the K12RS and they outshine the PIAAs I have on it. I also put a set on my ladie's R1150R. Drilled right up into the oil cooler cover. So I added lights to her bike for next to nothing compared to most options. They come with all the relay's and a switch. I always put a set of lights below the headlight with no switch for always on. On the K12, the Hellas are above the headlight and on a switch.

I'll second that. The FF50's are GREAT lights, especially for the price - and I paid nearly twice what BB did. There's a post, with pics, about them here (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1100).

[Pete43011]

Looking for suggestions on extra lights for the 1150R. I have seen PIAA and they seem like good lights but they are pricey. I would like to go with the small lights and I think I would like to have the mount by the turn signals. I have two concerns with putting the lights on the forks: 1. On a rough road at night the beam will be all over the place. 2. The continued up and down of the telelever suspension will eventually cause a wiring problem. Does anyone know how hard it is to connect the lights? Any suggestions and comments would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Hugh-
Interesting feedback here on the Hella product. I'm a little concerned about the prices for some of the others.
I too am considering driving/auxiliary lights fot my new(ish) R1150R. At present I'm leaning toward mounting them on a crash bar system though. Can't decide between Wunderlich and H-B product. Both have advantages

[bikerfish1100]

don't know anything about the light bars you mentioned, but i do know that if Wonderlick sells it, it is almost a guarantee that someone else makes it. and that you can buy it direct from that manufacturer for less than Santa Cruz will charge you. jmho.

[Pete43011]

BF1100-
"Crash bars" would be the bunch of plumbing that surrounds the engine and somewhat protects same when bike tips over- not really a light bar. Some have mount for lights, others use U-bolt and strap for same purpose. Good insight on Wunderlich but how in the world would you track down the manufacturer?

[bikerfish1100]

pete- i'll search on other boards (Pelican, adv-riders, sport-touring.net, etc), search on the web for the item, etc. For example, Santa Cruz sells a one piece Wunderlick CF front fender that fits my 11S. They want around $330 for it. i'll save at least $100 buying it from Pack-parts in Germany, even after paying overseas shipping. and wonderlick doesn't even make the fender, ilmberger does.

[knary]

don't know anything about the light bars you mentioned, but i do know that if Wonderlick sells it, it is almost a guarantee that someone else makes it. and that you can buy it direct from that manufacturer for less than Santa Cruz will charge you. jmho.

The Hella FF200s(?) that are sold as a perfect mounting fit to the Wunderlich crash bars are NOT as durable as the less expensive FF50s.

[MechanicSavant]

I made a few sets of mounts from 2in. aluminum angle stock its abouy1/8th in. thick ..I sliced a peice 7/8 in. long,& drilled 2 holes, one at each end 8mm ...I secured it at the headlight pivot by replacing the stock cap screw w/ one 8mm longer.the bracket comes down & out ...you have to notch the plastic trim peice that covers the headlight bracketry,,I used a dremel tool but a jewelers saw or hot knife would work fine too...I'm using 55w pep boys cheapie driving lights w/80watt bulbs..the lights have glass lenses & work fine Also after my spensive!! piaa headlight bulb died after a very short life I replaced it w/a jc whitney 55/100 watt bulb ...I now have mega-light as good as the guys i ride with ..total cost under $100 by at least a case-o-molson...

[knary]

I made a few sets of mounts from 2in. aluminum angle stock its abouy1/8th in. thick ..I sliced a peice 7/8 in. long,& drilled 2 holes, one at each end 8mm ...I secured it at the headlight pivot by replacing the stock cap screw w/ one 8mm longer.the bracket comes down & out ...you have to notch the plastic trim peice that covers the headlight bracketry,,I used a dremel tool but a jewelers saw or hot knife would work fine too...I'm using 55w pep boys cheapie driving lights w/80watt bulbs..the lights have glass lenses & work fine Also after my spensive!! piaa headlight bulb died after a very short life I replaced it w/a jc whitney 55/100 watt bulb ...I now have mega-light as good as the guys i ride with ..total cost under $100 by at least a case-o-molson...

:thumb

[ScottM]

Installed a set of fork mounted motolights on my 02 1150R at Spokane. They put the clamps just under the beak and the install looks like a factory install. As for bouncing--Don't see any to speak of. But man the light output is great. Only have 50 watt bulbs and I still get flashed. (to myself--good they see me!!) Good luck in your search.