headlights

[SirJakesus]

The major problem I have with the halogen foglamp sla setup is weight and short run time. I've moved to instead using a couple high powered 4 watt LED flashlights (cree/luxeonK2) with spot beams mounted to the handlebars with 2 interlaced pipe clamps each. The weight is greatly reduced and the spot lets you see much further down the road than most foglamp type fixtures with ample flood. Right now I'm running the flashlights with high capacity nimh rechargeables but I plan on wiring them up to the rest of the bikes power system eventually. As an added benefit the LED's should never need replacement and they're advertised to run about 20 hours with a set of batteries. With that kind of current draw I can afford to run them while I ride during the day for extra safety. I bought a set of 2 lights for $28 at sams club with a set of disposable batteries included.

 

[kerf]

I've not tried LED's, if they cast a proper beam they would be the ticket. My setup, while heavy, was easily obtainable, doesn't mean I'll stick with it forever.

 

[sjackson]

I'm using a Seoul Semi-Conductors P7 12w 900 lumen LED. It's amazingly bright. It uses a special lithium battery called an 18650. The same website sells the batteries and chargers. I get about two hours run time on medium, and about an hour on high. The great thing about it is the batteries hold their charge for a long time. So if I charge it on a Friday, it'll still be charged on Monday and good to go.

I was thinking about getting a couple of the cheaper flashlights (no strobe or blinking modes) that use this same LED and hacking them up into a headlight housing so that it fits the style of the bike a bit better. As it is now I just have the one light mounted to my bars. It's plenty strong on it's own, but two would be better.

 

[scrollerguy]

BeachCruiserD Put that idea out of your head, that light is not worth it at any cost.
I purchased one awhile back and it was simply awful! It wouldn't stay on, the light jiggled and vibrated, the light would go out while you was riding. I threw it in the trash.

There are a lot of other alternatives that has already been posted.

Scrollerguy

 

[wheelbender6]

My setup is similar to Mountain80. I found one of those 12 volt driving lights while cleaning out the garage.
I replaced the bulb with a 6 volt bulb from the auto parts store so I can power it by the white wire from the engine. The light easily bolted up to the uneeded cable hanger on my fork.
The beam is not super bright, but it is very wide to help me see the edge of the pavement. I supplement it with a battery powered LED light in very dark areas.
LOL

 

[MotorMac]

lights

Putting on a 55 watt driving light and hooking it up to a small 12 v SLA battery is the same as putting a car headlight on your bike, you guys know how bright that is, you can see for 100 feet in front of you and 20 feet out the sides theres nothing better or brighter than this setup for these winter nights.

 

[kerf]

55w is a lot of load for a SLA, that's the reason I went with a 20w MR16 spot.The illumination is not as wide close up but it does reach out enough to operate at 30-35 mph.

 

[MotorMac]

batteries

I get about 1hour and 15 minutes out of a 12v 4.5A/H battery and carry 2 if I expect to be out longer than 1h 15 minutes, charge them up overnight and its great to go the next evening. The batteries were cheap ($8 )enough than if they get damaged from any over or under charging I can get another one

 

[mountain80]

As a side note the place I bought my mr16 bulb had an single 3w led replacement and i have looked at the 5-15 watt replacement leds but they are about 70 bucks as they are new. I am going to wait till they come down in price, the 10 w supposedly replaces a 50w halogen, if so it would definitely increase battery run time.

 

[ZnsaneRyder]

I get about 1hour and 15 minutes out of a 12v 4.5A/H battery and carry 2 if I expect to be out longer than 1h 15 minutes, charge them up overnight and its great to go the next evening. The batteries were cheap ($8 )enough than if they get damaged from any over or under charging I can get another one

Where do you get an $8 SLA battery?