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Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:55 pm
by dwerbil
...for auxiliary lights, for my /7 or RS. Looks like a great price for two...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-18W-4INCH-CR ... 1219660688

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:29 pm
by Sibbo
Randy, I'm running those or something very similar . They're great and have allowed me to actually feel confident riding at night .... cos I can see the wildlife about to commit suicide under my wheels .
Thread 1.. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6914

Update....viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7771

I found that sometimes a few hours of use will deplete my battery but maybe my battery isn't very good .

BTW I think these are the ones I bought. http://www.ebay.com/itm/5INCH-20W-CREE- ... 1c&vxp=mtr

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:12 pm
by dwerbil
Hey Sibbo, thanks for the post. I recall those threads. Lots of great info there. I'll be looking it all over.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:18 pm
by Rob
Hey Sibbo, how about a 2nd battery wired in parallel?
When I used to ride my sidecar rig in the winter, I had a car battery in the sidecar. Worked a treat.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:19 am
by Sibbo
That would be good but where to put it ? A new battery will be the first step .... I have a few repair and maintenance tasks lined up.

At the moment i just put the battery charger on after a night ride .... unless I do a day ride straight after. The LEDs + hi beam seems to take just a bit more than is supplied by the alternator.

Maybe a smaller headlight bulb ?

Either way it's worth while, the LED light is VERY good.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 3:47 am
by Rob
Sibbo wrote:That would be good but where to put it ? A new battery will be the first step .... I have a few repair and maintenance tasks lined up.

At the moment i just put the battery charger on after a night ride .... unless I do a day ride straight after. The LEDs + hi beam seems to take just a bit more than is supplied by the alternator.

Maybe a smaller headlight bulb ?

Either way it's worth while, the LED light is VERY good.
I would say ride it like you have been (but maybe with a new battery), as long as no one here sees a problem with running the alternator at full-tilt all the time the lights are on.

But a 2nd motorcycle-sized battery would fit in a saddlebag no problem.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:11 pm
by enigmaT120
I bought the same lights as Sibbo, one flood and one pencil beam, but I haven't installed them yet. They're only 40 watts if they're both on, so that shouldn't run down a battery unless you're putting around town, and why would you need them there?

I had a friendly machinist at work make a pair of mounts for mine, which will clamp on the front frame members and poke out through the loops of my Windjammer mounts. I still haven't decided how to wire them, and if I should link their use to my high beam only, or have purely independent controls. I'm strongly tempted to at least leave the flood one on, pointed to the right side of the road and low, so that I can hopefully still see if I'm on the road when the oncoming cars blind me, as they all do. I really need to just quit riding or driving at night, but I can't retire for 5 more years, and our days are short from Nov. - Feb.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:50 pm
by Rob
I am blinded more and more frequently by oncoming traffic and traffic in my mirrors. It must have something to do with age. Definitely crumongeability.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:54 pm
by dwerbil
I had a cheapo pair of 50w halogen on the /7 for a while, wired through a small two-way center-off toggle mounted on the handlebars. Ran with one on during night riding; both if trouble ahead. Got rid of them when I quit riding so much
at night.

Re: Wonder about these LEDs....

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 6:41 pm
by Sibbo
enigmaT120 wrote:I bought the same lights as Sibbo, one flood and one pencil beam, but I haven't installed them yet. They're only 40 watts if they're both on, so that shouldn't run down a battery unless you're putting around town, and why would you need them there?

I had a friendly machinist at work make a pair of mounts for mine, which will clamp on the front frame members and poke out through the loops of my Windjammer mounts. I still haven't decided how to wire them, and if I should link their use to my high beam only, or have purely independent controls. I'm strongly tempted to at least leave the flood one on, pointed to the right side of the road and low, so that I can hopefully still see if I'm on the road when the oncoming cars blind me, as they all do. I really need to just quit riding or driving at night, but I can't retire for 5 more years, and our days are short from Nov. - Feb.
I ended up with 2 floods instead of the requested 1x spot and 1x pencil beam. The Ebay seller stuffed up and kept stuffing around so I kept the 2 work lights (floods). They have been good but the pencil beam / flood may better .... I don't know. I dont have a switch on one of the LEDs ( which would be sensible) and run both every time I go out at night.