Been fiddling with the bike

In the last week I have fitted HID lights to replace the originals, LED projector lights to replace the marker lights, LED driving lights (they really work!) and a pair of GIVI pannier racks have finally arrived too. All in time to do an interstate ride next weekend to see my kids. Ready to roll.

sounds good.... how about a bit more info on the lights, esp the LED driving lights?

In the limited night back country riding I've done on the bandit I've noticed I NEED better lights. MUCH better.

The LED's are similar to the ones in this post https://nswbandits.forumotion.net/t763-led-driving-lights?highlight=driving+lights But they are 3000 Lumen per light and 22 degree beam. Re-wired the headlight, low and high beam with relays straight from the battery tripped by the original wires and another relay and switch for the LED's also, linked in to the high beam switch. Due to the HID conversion added another switch to turn off the low beam until the bike is started. I do have a timer that I made years ago that I may hook up instead of the switch but don't have time at the moment to get it fitted.

Switch here http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261232113137?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

LED's here http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111074037080?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Marker lights here http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251186890171?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Will be sure to take some photos of what the lights pick up at night and post them here. The one thing that not many people show in photos is what the lights show up on the road (the important bit!) Lots of pics of the lights themselves or what they pick up across the street or in the back yard (no offense to those who have done this) but that doesn't help us much.

I ride to work 5 days a week in the dark through the Adelaide Hills, I needed better lights too.

Enjoy your trip mate   ..................Oh & don't get caught  " fiddlin " with your bike LOL

I've been investigating adding additional lights, so would be keen to see how & where you've mounted the LED's

I have the same LED driving lights. They are excellent

holdenman wrote:I have the same LED driving lights. They are excellent

do you happen to have any pics of where & how you've mounted them?

Some quick pics of how I mounted mine

thanks for the pics.  i'd been thinking about a bar running between the mirror mounts across the front of the screen.  as i have the mirroe extension blocks it would be a case of thinning those out slightly in order to fit the bracket.

the biggest issue though is that my ideas far surpass my fabricating ability!

boomer wrote:thanks for the pics.  i'd been thinking about a bar running between the mirror mounts across the front of the screen.  as i have the mirroe extension blocks it would be a case of thinning those out slightly in order to fit the bracket.

the biggest issue though is that my ideas far surpass my fabricating ability!

boomer if you need a hand then by all means pop round one weekend and we can work on it together. I pretty much have all the tools not to do most things if not all. I believe there is an angle grinder in the workshop but I also have a dremel for finer detail work. Just need to mark out the amount of material needed to be removed and then go for it. Just for reference I did two years and a precision toolmake apprentice with Royal Aerospace in the UK.

Mpottsy wrote:

boomer wrote:thanks for the pics.  i'd been thinking about a bar running between the mirror mounts across the front of the screen.  as i have the mirroe extension blocks it would be a case of thinning those out slightly in order to fit the bracket.

the biggest issue though is that my ideas far surpass my fabricating ability!

boomer if you need a hand then by all means pop round one weekend and we can work on it together. I pretty much have all the tools not to do most things if not all. I believe there is an angle grinder in the workshop but I also have a dremel for finer detail work. Just need to mark out the amount of material needed to be removed and then go for it. Just for reference I did two years and a precision toolmake apprentice with Royal Aerospace in the UK.

many thanks for the offer!  I'm still in the investigative stage, & I have one very clever friend who normally helps me out - will certainly keep your offer in mind though!

Mounted mine on the radiator. ill take a picture in the morning

I wanted mine as high as I could get them, closer to line of sight and reducing the amount of shadow formed on the road in the dips. Not sure how much of a difference this would make, my theory only. I would be worried about the damage the lights would cause to the radiator if the bike fell over also.
The brackets I made up are just a temp fix as I am heading interstate Thursday night after work. Will look at a better way to mount them in the future.

The higher up your lights are off the road, the more effective they will be. The metal in the mounts that come with them is crap and while the stamped flutes give a bit more strength, they can still fail. So keep a roll of tape with you on a long ride. Just in case.

A bit more info in another thread.....


bright lights

Rolls - I read that post and once I am done on the weekend I will be getting a workmate to spin up a couple of brackets that will go around the housing of the lights then have a thread to bolt the clamp to the mounting brackets (that I will also make up)