Proper motorcycle lights are important, we had to improve the DR’s lights as they are more in the class of candlelight than modern daylights. Buying lights for motorcycles can be a good confusing nightmare. Ask on social media which lights or advice is like sinking in a sea of a quagmire as most would know.
Light brands throw acronyms and words around which adds to the confusion. And then there’s the price. It is either cheap and nasty or insanely expensive units.
Spending upwards of 1000$ like some BMW boys do to look like a Christmas tree waffling down the road is not the idea. Being visible is essential, but there’s a line where even that amount of light won’t save your skin.
Depending on your needs, it is important to make sure where to stop just by adding lights. Our idea is to have better visibility at night or in foggy conditions. And of course to make sure other road users can see us. As a general rule, we do not ride at night. Does not matter what country. Nevertheless, when shit happens and bad conditions will happen, riding at night is inevitable.
For off-road use, the positioning of lights is incredibly important. Crashes, spills and drops will break those mega-priced Dollar lights eventually. I remember when BMW launched the 1200GSA in 2007 with those two lights bolted to the crash bars on the sides of the bike, it will end in disaster for riders. Many of my friends and people we knew had exactly that happening to them.
● Fitting lights on the crash bars on the side of a motorcycle eventually will break off in a fall. They are just not made to take impact and the reason why we fitted the LED bar below the headlight.
● Fitting lights just below or close to the indicators is a no-no, oncoming motorists can’t see the indicator blinking above the intense light of a spotlight.
The first limitation for aftermarket lights is the motorcycle electrical system is often the deciding factor on how many megawatts of football stadium lights you want to fit. For a simple upgrade that shouldn’t cause issues, you can start by improving your built-in headlight output.
Replacement halogen or LED headlight bulb, install and you’re done. If you want more light the next option is to add a set of auxiliary driving lights. The more lights you add the more you draw amperage so using LEDs is a great idea because they draw less than halogens.
For a start, I tried to stay clear of external lights, except if they can be fitted out of harm’s way. For most dualsport motorcycles a light bar can be fitted above the front mudguard.
