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Clearwater Erica mounting for R1200RT


swilson

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I know Clearwater Erica's are nothing new here, but I wanted to post some photos of how I ended up mounting mine. I think the optional brackets they sell to mount these on a R1200RT are nothing short of hideous... and are a complete waste of money at an extra $120.

 

Buy the Universal kit instead. It will come packaged with the universal wiring instructions, but the R1200RT specific instructions are available for free on their website. They're useful for finding the wires to tap into for low-beam and high-beam.

 

The plastic faring is sufficiently thick to support these lights beneath the mirrors. Remove the mirrors and locate the flat area of the faring not obstructed by the steel support tube behind the faring. Drill your hole in this area. I put the nylock nut in place first and used a really tiny bit to drill a pilot hole first. Once I verified my pilot hole was in the center of where the nut was sitting I could confidently drill the larger hole for the mounting bolt.

 

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For the dimmer, I mounted the dial in the left faring side panel, since that already houses so much wiring. I didn't see the point in adding the provided switch... Unnecessary faring clutter. I just wanted my Clearwaters on when the headlights are on. To eliminate the switch, just tie the red and yellow wires together that were labeled to go to the switch.

 

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Clearwater asks that you don't route your wiring straight up out of the back of the light to assist in keeping them waterproof. The wiring tucks between the faring panels with no drama, no holes needed.

 

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These lights are ridiculous... 12,000+ lumens is a whole lot of light. Here they are turned all the way down.

 

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This mounting position left the lights a bit more outboard that I would have preferred, but the big advantage of having them in this position is you'll be able to remove the faring side panel without bothering your lights. The mirrors still stick out about 1/4" farther than the lights.

 

 

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I applaud your ingenuity (and envy your lights), but I'm a little skeptical. There's no situation in which I can think of BMW or any other manufacturer using a plastic body component as a load-bearing support. I'd keep an eye on it; my concern would be that, with the vibration and flexing of riding over an extended time frame, the plastic may be susceptible to cracking.

 

I hope I'm wrong, but I'd check it periodically.

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Studying this, I think might use a rubber wellnut in the plastic. I like the concept better than the brackets I have on my 2013.

 

I like that idea, something that might dampen the vibrations and protect the plastic.

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I think adding rubber around the single mounting bolt would only increase movement in the lights. No one wants their light beams bouncing as they hit bumps on the road. I'm satisfied using a washer to spread the load (however slightly) over the surface and tightening firmly, but not over tighten. I would have used a larger washer inside the faring if possible, but being near to the edge of the flat area, I was limited to a relatively small washer.

 

I think if these Ericas cause any trouble I'll just create a couple of plates that would sandwich the entire flat area under the mirror, spreading the load over a larger area.

 

I'll report back if I run into issues down the road, but I'm expecting the faring to hold up just fine. My PIAAs on my 2005 RT, while admittedly smaller than these Ericas, were mounted beneath the mirrors also through the plastic faring. 84k miles, no cracking.

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  • 1 year later...

I sold this bike 2 months ago. Put a few thousand miles on it with the lights mounted this way. No cracks when it was sold.

 

On the new bike I have the same lights mounted lower, off the engine. I definitely preferred having them under the mirrors. I lane split regularly commuting home and traffic noticed me better when the lights were below the mirrors.

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