Author Topic: Driving light upgrade.  (Read 8736 times)

Offline Outback_Jon

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Driving light upgrade.
« on: November 06, 2012, 04:11:03 PM »
Well, those of you who have ridden with me on the NorthEast rides have seen the lights that I run on my C10.  Two 55W off-road driving lights from Harbor Freight.  Well, I decided to upgrade to a set of LED driving lights.  $80 each on Ebay.

These are the lights.  I forgot to take pics of them on the bike, but I'll do that tomorrow.


Here are a couple of comparison photos.  The light on the left (right side of the bike) is the 55W halogen from Harbor Freight.  The light on the right (left side of bike) is the 27W LED light from Ebay.


And here is the bike with both LED lights mounted.  And the high-beam OEM headlight running.  The next upgrade, probably tomorrow, is an H4 HID kit.

I'll take more pictures of that installation.  (I didn't do pics of the driving light installation since it was just plug-and-play to the existing installation. 


So, my lighting went from 170W for the headlight and driving lights down to 114W.  The H4 HID kit will knock another 20W off of that number. 
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157

Offline twowheeladdict

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2012, 06:29:30 PM »
Wow!  I didn't know the C10 was also an off road adventure bike.  Bet those will really light up the trail.  If you use them on the road they will definitely blind oncoming cars.
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Offline Outback_Jon

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2012, 06:38:19 PM »
Wow!  I didn't know the C10 was also an off road adventure bike.  Bet those will really light up the trail.  If you use them on the road they will definitely blind oncoming cars.
I played with the adjustment a little after the pics.  It was still kind of light out, but I think I got them aimed to fill in where the low beam would be, which is how I had the old driving lights.  The beam is a bit wider, so I might have to play with masking off some of the lens to get it where I want it.

The cellphone pics also add a lot of lens flare, making them look more scattered than they really are.
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157

Offline CMH GUY

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2012, 09:26:07 PM »
how did you mount them?  pics ..   :)  How about a link to the ebay person that sells them..?  ;)
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Offline Outback_Jon

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2012, 06:34:49 AM »
how did you mount them?  pics ..   :)  How about a link to the ebay person that sells them..?  ;)
They're mounted with clamps that I bought from JC Whitney.  They clamp to Murph's Tip-Over bars.

Ebay item link.
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157

Offline Outback_Jon

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2012, 03:58:26 PM »
Well, got the HID headlight kit installed today.  Took it out for a short spin when it got dark and I'm VERY happy with the results of both upgrades.

Here's she is with all the lights going.


And for the folks who wanted pictures of the mounting.
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157

Offline Freightshakertech

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2012, 08:56:41 PM »
Hi Jon. David from Calif.  I have the light mount from Buck Sport touring and am using Hella lights on it.  I have a 2000.  I like the way it has filled in the dark spot where the low beams project.  However, I know that LEDs are way better.  I'm not sure how good the technology is with driving lights. How good do they project without scatter?  I'm very interested in purchasing a set as well. The price is very reasonable and they do look like they are well made.  I'd definately appreciate any and all information you are willing to share on just how well they work for you, and the difference if you can describe it between the halogens and the LEDs.  Also one last thing. You said you got your clamps from JC Whitney to mount them to the tip over bars.  Can you help me out with a link for them as well?  I have tip over bars in the front only and need to mount an accessory.  Thanks in advance for your help.  I will wait patiently to hear from you. Ride safe, David :)

Offline Outback_Jon

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2012, 12:33:29 PM »
Hi Jon. David from Calif.  I have the light mount from Buck Sport touring and am using Hella lights on it.  I have a 2000.  I like the way it has filled in the dark spot where the low beams project.  However, I know that LEDs are way better.  I'm not sure how good the technology is with driving lights. How good do they project without scatter?  I'm very interested in purchasing a set as well. The price is very reasonable and they do look like they are well made.  I'd definately appreciate any and all information you are willing to share on just how well they work for you, and the difference if you can describe it between the halogens and the LEDs.  Also one last thing. You said you got your clamps from JC Whitney to mount them to the tip over bars.  Can you help me out with a link for them as well?  I have tip over bars in the front only and need to mount an accessory.  Thanks in advance for your help.  I will wait patiently to hear from you. Ride safe, David :)
Everybody wants links.  What is this, the internet?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/emgo-universal-chrome-plated-heavy-duty-3-piece-clamp/p2006236.jcwx?filterid=u0j3
I forget which size you need, so measure first.  And if you can find them, replace the little screws with stainless.  The plating on them flakes off in no time and they rust.

At the moment, I have the LED lights pointed around the same as my low beam.  They fill in everything from the front of the bike, to where the low beam hits.  The high beam goes just above them.

I thought they had quite a bit of glare when I mounted them, but I rode to work last night and no one flashed their lights at me.

If you'll forgive a bad pun, the difference between LEDs and halogens is night and day.   :o  I didn't realize quite how "yellow" the halogens were, but the whiter LEDs certainly illuminate the road better.  And I had been VERY happy with the halogens.  A group I ride with had nicknamed my bike the "Imperial Battle Cruiser" because of the lighting.  I can't wait to ride with them this spring.   8)

I might play with the lights a bit, like masking the top edge off and aiming them higher, hopefully putting the "hot spot" a bit farther down the road without blinding oncoming traffic.  Right now, the center of the "hot spot" seems closer to the bike than I'd like, but it is so wide that it really isn't an issue.  And the "hot spot" is pretty uniform across its entire width.  The halogens were far more focused, but even their brightest spot wasn't as bright as the LEDs are.
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157

Offline Outback_Jon

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2012, 06:42:15 PM »
Well, I rode to work last night, and DAMN are these lights great.  Incredibly superior to the 55W halogens I had on before.  I've got to work a bit on aiming them, and maybe mask them a bit to cut down the glare, as I had a few people flash their brights at me.  (But at least I know they saw me!)  They worked well to spot an incredibly stupid deer that was walking towards the road.

I suspect that the glare is caused by the lens.  There are focusing lenses right in front of each LED, but the area between the LEDs seems to scatter the light.  It probably helps fill in, but I think it creates more glare than it helps with the light pattern.  I think I'll start by masking off the area between the LEDs and see how that works.
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157

Offline bbroj

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2012, 07:14:47 PM »
Looking good Jon! The difference in the pics between the LED's and the halogen is impressive. I still have no aux lighting, but am considering my next upgrade/farkle, lighting is definately on the list. By the way, nice little trailer in the background ;D
'12 C-14, Vance and Hines CS One muffler, lowered pegs, tank bra, bar risers, Phil's Farkles rack with Givi V46 top box, fender extender, Bucks tail brights, Canyon Cages and much more to come!
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Offline Freightshakertech

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2012, 09:43:45 PM »
Thanks Jon for the "link" lol.  I have been looking for some decent clamps to mount a speaker to my tip over bars.  I'm gonna get me a set. Also I think I'll be putting my Hella's on my Jeep and upgrading my halogens to LED like you. I have a Streamlight flashlight I use for work and replaced the Xenon bulb with an LED so I know the difference and look forward to some bright white light. I did try an HID conversion for my headlight and initially was impressed with it. However just over a month into the install the light burned out. Of course I didn't know this until riding home one night and it got dark. I toyed with the idea of getting towed home but was fairly close so I fudged and used the lights of cars going my way to make the final 30 miles or so. I was so pissed with the HID that I went back to the halogen. I had been using a headlight modulator and with the HID I was not able to use it. When I went back to halogen I bought a pricey PIAA bulb which is touted as super bright and if has lived up to it's boast and then some. I can only imagine pairing it up with the LEDs. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I love this forum.  David :)

Offline Freightshakertech

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #11 on: September 15, 2013, 10:22:55 PM »
Finally bought a set of 24 watt "pencil" beam leds for replacement of my halogens. You were right on. Absolutely 100% better. Nice white light and I know I've cut way down on the electrical load. Found a set of (2) for $68.50. Mounted them to my Buck sport touring light bar and man it really fills in that dark spot on low beam. I've never had one car flash me yet even though there is some spread to them. They totally concentrate the beam just where I wanted it. Truly the difference between night and day.   :D

Offline Outback_Jon

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Re: Driving light upgrade.
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2013, 11:57:41 AM »
Finally bought a set of 24 watt "pencil" beam leds for replacement of my halogens. You were right on. Absolutely 100% better. Nice white light and I know I've cut way down on the electrical load. Found a set of (2) for $68.50.
I know it's been almost a year since this thread happened, but I seem to recall someone (Freightshakertech) requesting a link to a desired product.  Would be nice if that same someone (Freightshakertech) returned the favor.   :rotflmao:
"Outback Jon" Gould *** South Cairo, NY *** COG #9506 *** 2006 C10 "Blueline" *** CDA #0157