EuroKClub

Things Bikers Love (or Hate) => Euro K Club Bling => Topic started by: Phmode on November 29, 2020, 08:31:49 pm

Title: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these headings?)...
Post by: Phmode on November 29, 2020, 08:31:49 pm
...but I am in the process of adding a RIGID lightbar to the Mighty Honda and thought a heads up here might be of use to someone.

As most of you are aware I loathe excessive daytime riding lights and when it is my turn to be dictator they will be banned and transgressors have all their accoutrements stuffed firmly up their backsides, complete with wiring and relays. And then turned on! As it were.

However, for seeing where you are going (as opposed to stopping others seeing where they are going), I am a huge fan of the mod scooter approach. One can never have too much light preceeding one down the dark road ahead.

In my rallying days the de rigeur set up was two Cibie Super Oscar (10") Drive lights up top with two Oscar (merely 8") fogs or spots down below...

https://woodham-mortimer.com/Cars/Sold/1973-Ford-Escort-Mk1-RS1600-Roger-Clark-Works-Team-Car/e3c7b49f-bb2a-48e7-f55a-08d526a380ce

...as per above. Complete with, of course 160/90w bulbs, handmade and rolled on the thigh of a virgin and you know how rare they were back in the day...

Any road up, I've never been really impressed by the lights on any bike I've ever owned, even with additional spots. Even my HID set up on the K's, whilst stunning to ride behind, as others will attest, has never caused me to go 'WoFw!'. Don't get me wrong here, one can ride as fast if not faster than during daylight hours but when it comes to lights I am tough to please. Even the set up on the Audi which is as good as they get for its age, is not stunningly great.

So, good as the stock LED lights are on the Honda, I feel the need, the need for speed. But that will never happen with 24bhp. And then I came across a lighting upgrade for the bike from an outfit in the US which was plug and play and way beyond my means, financially.

However, I found a similar 6 LED Spot lighbar at the RIGID importers...

https://www.srcmoto.com/collections/electrical-accessories-crf-250l-rally/products/led-driving-light-upgrade-for-2017-2019-honda-crf-250l-rally#

...on clearance (because no one in a Buggy or a Range Rover wants spot beams) and so it came to pass. I have had it for a week and am still working on the accoutrements, switches, relays, mounting bits and bobs and so have never actually turned it on.

Tonight I strapped it across the battery on the car and pointed it out into the now naked orchards opposite the house, and 'WoFw!'

I am still awaiting the arrival of the local fire and rescue service to put out the forest fire now raging in the orchard. OK, a few startled Fieldfares and a frazzled fox. But blimey, how technology has moved on.

I might have had to change the rear and front suspension because even I was outriding them and the brakes scare me witless but I will never claim to be able to outride this light set up.

It might look odd on a S, but would be amazing on an R. And the importers have one left on offer ... or had!
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: Matt on November 29, 2020, 10:01:02 pm
Ah you must do some before and afters against walls or orchards!

I have been quite impressed with the GS setup, however got caught out riding home one night when I set off, set suspension to max (probably mental but it feels comfier when bimbling), but that raised the rear a fair bit. Cue the throw being brought closer by a load and country lanes becoming hella slow/scary. Took me a few minutes to twig and then I pulled over and rectified the situation!

I can see how the next GS will be more complex and more expensive as people feed back to BMW "make the headlight auto adjust pls" :/.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: Phmode on November 30, 2020, 12:07:55 am
Comparison photos will be taken. But seeing as I stopped posting piccies in here when BotoPhucket stole all of mine, you'll have to pop over to advrider.com to see them...

What I am replicating for about £150 costs about £600 from your local BMW or KTM Adventure Sport dealer.

Oh, and I'm switching it so I can have it always off, on with main or, for those moments when that approaching eejit has more daytime running lights than aforementioned scooter, on with dip. Which is the DRL on the Honda.

You have been warned.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: Matt on November 30, 2020, 08:55:25 am
As an aside, if I (you) can work out a non-horrible way to monetise mass image storage then I'll make a replacement for the rubbish ones. Doesn't seem possible though, they all getting worse :(.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: black-k1 on November 30, 2020, 09:11:31 am
Brian: Are you able to post up the physical dimensions of the unit? I'd love some extra light on the H2 SX but. like the K1300S, finding some where to mount extra lights is a challenge.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: Phmode on November 30, 2020, 11:08:49 am
Hi David. Of course...

Width between mounting points = 195mm
Height of unit = 42mm
Depth of unit = 75mm

The SRC website (linked above) shows the general shape and form but doesn't really show the side elevation which is of a bullet shape. In plan, the unit is rectangular. The aluminium housing is a 'box' for the LED's and electronics and is generally rectangular for 35mm of its depth front to back. The ridged part of the top and bottom of this box then become the cooling fins which taper away to nothing at the rear edge. So, of the 75mm depth, 35 is solid and the remaining 40 are merely fins.

The 6" unit (6" because that is the width of the reflector and they make them up to 42") weighs in at 725 grams (1lb 10ozs).

Normally, as you have noticed, getting anything to fit on an earo-shaped bike is a challenge but one of these would fit nicely beneath the peak of the combing on the K S (which has no fork dive) but who knows what it would do to the airflow to the oil cooler. On the Honda, the thing that looks like an oil cooler is in fact merely a lookalike cover for the headlight and indicator connectors. Your bike would be a nightmare...

The beauty of the 'spot' configuration is that as the bike leans, it rotates about the axis of the light beam whereas Drive or Flood patterns tilt like the headlights. Of course, anything past about 15° and the beam of light is lagging your aiming point on the road but this you already know. Cars are much easier to up-light than bikes.

One other thing, being a spot pattern, it makes no difference whether the unit is mounted horizontally, or vertically. Other patterns are orientation sensitive.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: Phmode on November 30, 2020, 11:10:11 am
As an aside, if I (you) can work out a non-horrible way to monetise mass image storage then I'll make a replacement for the rubbish ones. Doesn't seem possible though, they all getting worse :(.

Simples! You tell folks it is free and then when it is getting full you charge the silly buggers to keep using it...Oh! Hang on, that's what they do now.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these headings?)...
Post by: Phmode on November 30, 2020, 11:27:28 am
One other thing...

These lightbars are hideously expensive. And weighty. At least the market leading ones like RIGID are.

Cheap Chines copies are available of course and may work well for some time. RIGID give a limited lifetime warranty on all their lightbars...which speaks volumes.

It might be worthwhile speaking with the UK importer David. Tel. 01992 479090

The US brochure actually shows an F850 GS with 'normal' additional lights either side of the forks. Indeed, the RIGID 'Ignite' series of lights have GoPro mountings so anywhere you can stick a GoPro you can mount these lights. The importer may have a better solution than a lightbar.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these ead headings?)...
Post by: richtea on November 30, 2020, 01:43:30 pm
As an aside, if I (you) can work out a non-horrible way to monetise mass image storage then I'll make a replacement for the rubbish ones. Doesn't seem possible though, they all getting worse :(.

Simples! You tell folks it is free and then when it is getting full you charge the silly buggers to keep using it...Oh! Hang on, that's what they do now.

Nothing stopping you posting in advrider and adding the cross-link here, Brian.
Example:
(https://advrider.com/f/attachments/upload_2020-5-9_21-35-16-jpeg.2298438/)
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these headings?)...
Post by: Phmode on November 30, 2020, 03:47:54 pm
Owdjerdodat?

Ah! Gottit. That's sneaky...

https://advrider.com/f/attachments/1a58dead-4726-4166-a1f9-1a729e6930c7-jpeg.1509171/

Nothing to do with lights but...
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these headings?)...
Post by: richtea on November 30, 2020, 04:34:28 pm
Owdjerdodat?

Ah! Gottit. That's sneaky...

https://advrider.com/f/attachments/1a58dead-4726-4166-a1f9-1a729e6930c7-jpeg.1509171/

Nothing to do with lights but...

Wrap the URL in img tags, and you get this:

(https://advrider.com/f/attachments/1a58dead-4726-4166-a1f9-1a729e6930c7-jpeg.1509171/)
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these headings?)...
Post by: black-k1 on November 30, 2020, 04:48:41 pm
Thanks Brain.

Like for the K1300S, no one seems to make auxiliary lighting for the H2 SX so any addition will need to be a "DIY add on" and would need to be fitted in a way that works without requirement to hack holes in the bodywork.

I can at least play with a cardboard mock up to see if there are any options. If I can get it to work then I'm happy to pay the cost of a "good" set that will actually deliver.
Title: Re: I don't know if it is bling or not (who created these headings?)...
Post by: black-k1 on November 30, 2020, 04:49:55 pm
Owdjerdodat?

Ah! Gottit. That's sneaky...

https://advrider.com/f/attachments/1a58dead-4726-4166-a1f9-1a729e6930c7-jpeg.1509171/

Nothing to do with lights but...

Wrap the URL in img tags, and you get this:
...

That's what I do for images housed on the Old Gits site. :D