03 RT -gonna light it up! need advice

[hal26]

Stock bike except for BRAKE plug n play flashing brake light and Techlusion. Going to add driving lights as well as one,or possibly two pair of small daytime conspicuity lights. I would prefer that these lights be on at all times regardless of whether the headlight is on high or low beam. I am also going to add some more lights in the rear-brake/turn/stop/run. Have some ideas for up front but have not thought THAT much about the rear lighting. I have decent mechanical skills but I ain't real smart when it comes to wiring! I am considering purchasing ALL the lights so I have to take it apart only once. Please excuse my ignorance....but here goes...I am hoping that there is some product that can be wired directly to the battery and all the lights can,in turn,be wired directly to this box,sort of a "hub" for a clean mystery-free hook up. When I turn on the ignition everything up front comes on. This idea scares me to death as I am afraid I will create a nightmare.

[elkroeger]

try this: Centech

 

That sounds like a lot of lights. Too much, perhaps. You really ought to sit down and add up how many Watts you're planning to add, and compare that to your alternator's output. Here's a hint - don't use up every last available Watt. You need a buffer so your battery will charge up - even after lots of short mid winter commute trips. If it were me, I'd select a pair of driving lights, and consider them the "conspicuity" lights.

 

If I read your post correctly, you're talking about putting in a relay and no manual switch. Don't do that. You need to be able to turn them off. Judicious use of your electrons is always necessary as you're liable to wind up with a dead battery one day. And frankly, there is quite a lot of time where you just don't need to have them on. Of course there's the Autoswitch, which is really nice.

 

Also, take a look at the Trail Tech HID lights. With the 13W units, you get about the same light as a 55W halogen. Much more light than these things put out, and you'd have to shut 'em off in traffic.

 

Another option is the turn signals. Kisan makes a nice variety of lighting widgets. I believe the signalminder allows you to convert your turn signals to running lights.

 

Whatever you do, take your time, think it through, and see if you can get some help from a friend who's good at this stuff. There's nothing worse than taking an expensive bike and doing a novice job with the accessories. If you're really all thumbs, take it to a shop. Any good mechanic would do a nice job, and probably love the change of pace.

 

Oh, and I'd probably abandon the "take it apart just once" program. Unless you're really good at this stuff, but if that's the case, you don't need my advice anyway...

[hal26]

Thanks for your time and effort to advise me. Your advice is greatly appreciated! Here are 2 types that draw very little power. http://www.bikevis.com/--- and these--www.skenedesign.com/ Used in conjunction with driving lights should increase daytime safety a great deal.

[ratfink]

Light that thing up like a christams tree. RT's have a BA alternator. look at all the stuff police put on them; radio, strobes, radar, etc.. You probably have at least 700 watts of generating capacity. I have two Hella driving lights (110 watts), two Hella fog lights (110 watts), lots of LEDS and an 80 watt headlight (wired through heavier wire and a relay). Even with using a Heated vest and grips, no problems.

[Allen Rowand]

Yeah, but the RT-Ps have an even bigger alternator to handle all that gack; 840 watts, I believe.

 

I'm glad I have mine

[ratfink]

Depends on the year, some later model RT's have bigger alts than earlier RT-P's. At any rate all RT's have big automotive style alts; prolly bigger than that old VW bug my old college roomate used to drive.

[ratfink]

BTW this might be OT but I really like that name "Oreo" I call mine the Skunk. My daughter suggested Pepe LePew.

[UberXY]

Wiring your bike for lights is easy. If you run them off your battery you can use a $10 Bosch headlight relay that BMW used on old E30 cars, among many others, which can be had at any NAPA store or on ebay. But as elk says, you really must have a way to switch it off, especially if you end up with a marginally low battery and need to start the bike.

 

I would suggest that as far as current draw goes, you get HID lighting in the front and LED lighting in the back, as they draw less current than incandescents. Also you might consider getting a SignalMinder, which not only cancels your turn signals in 30 seconds, it also converts your front and rear turn signal lights into full time running lights. The only drawback is that your green turn signal indicator lights on the dash stay dimly illuminated all the time. I have a VDO voltmeter on my dash to let me know if my lighting/heating load is starting to affect my charging - so far, no problems at all with the non-P RT alternator.

 

As for "take it apart once", I tried that strategy about ten times now on my RT I also recommend that you get a 12v source for your work bench, and bench test your set up before installing it on the bike. Fuses are your friends.

 

BTW I recently replaced the front headlight bulb on my airhead with a $75 HID setup and the difference is amazing.

[moshe_levy]

Not to Hijack, but Steve, can you please elaborate on this $75 Airhead setup? I have a 1973 R75/5 Cafe I'm building, and the kit from BMW to convert the front headlight to H4 is over $450! I'd sure like an alternative to that!

 

-MKL

[moshe_levy]

PS - See my December 2006 vid of my rear lighting here http://www.mklsportster.com/r1150rtarticles.htm All I've done since is replace the blue lenses on the police running lights with red from the auto parts store - they're $3 each. Everything works fine.

 

-MKL

[UberXY]

Not to Hijack, but Steve, can you please elaborate on this $75 Airhead setup? I have a 1973 R75/5 Cafe I'm building, and the kit from BMW to convert the front headlight to H4 is over $450! I'd sure like an alternative to that!

 

-MKL

 

Moshe: here is a thread on it over on the MOA airhead board.

 

Airhead HID conversion

 

[moshe_levy]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

-MKL

[BeemerLover]

I think it would be cool to decorate my bike with Christmas lights. String some from one side of the fairing around to the other, put a string or two on the back and even wrap a couple of strings around me. I could use the 12 volt strings and plug them into the powerlet on the left side of the fairing. Hmmmm......

 

 

[ratfink]

"I think it would be cool to decorate my bike with Christmas lights. String some from one side of the fairing around to the other, put a string or two on the back and even wrap a couple of strings around me. I could use the 12 volt strings and plug them into the powerlet on the left side of the fairing. Hmmmm...... "

 

I've seen guys do this; but only on Electra Glides and Lead Wings

[BeemerLover]

If I get bored over the holidays, maybe do that and go to my BMWMOA meeting.....

 

 

[R1150RT_MLC_Response]

There is a good set of instructions for installing the Centech AP-2 at this link http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=15597&p=138244&hilit=centech#p138244

 

Good luck.

 

Ian

[Allen Rowand]

conspicuous

adjective

a tropical vine with conspicuous blossoms: easily seen, clear, visible, noticeable, discernible, perceptible, detectable; obvious, manifest, evident, apparent, marked, pronounced, prominent, patent, crystal clear; striking, eye-catching, impactful, overt, blatant; distinct, recognizable, unmistakable, inescapable; informal as plain as the nose on one's face, standing/sticking out like a sore thumb.

 

[jskene]

Now those are conspicuity lights!

 

Too bad blue is illegal, except for police. I'd hate to be the cop that pulled him over, though. Hard to explain to your kid what you did that day.

[ratfink]

In yo' face no doubt about it. wiil he suffer the Moth effect?

 

http://www.visualexpert.com/Resources/motheffect.html

[beemerFROG]

The standard light from my 2000 RT is worse than parking lights so I added Hella fog lights (left on all the time) and PIAA driving lights. They are both switched through a custom switch box on my tank bag, along with heated vest and gloves. Everything is run through a Centech under the seat. The light is fantastic! But now I find out about these LED fog/ driving lights that have next to no draw but light up like airplane lights! Check them out, they are very cool. But if you already have lights to work with...