looking for light and battery advice

ok let me start by introducing myself... my name is Justin and I have lurked around on this forum many times in the past but now I'm in need of some advice and i know there a wealth of knowledge here that could help me. I have a dirt bike that i recently got street legal and I'm looking to outfit with lighting for riding at night. i tried posting on a dirt bike forum but i've come to the conclusion that its more of a lighting question than a dirt bike question. There no good stator option for my bike so i'm trying to go with just a battery powered system. what i'm truly looking for is advice on a sufficient battery for the job. i plan on running 2- 2" round 10w led cree lights for head lights and the brake/tail light blinkers will be the ones provided in the kit in this link

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p...cycle-Enduro-Lighting-Kit?term=tusk light kit

the brake/ tail light and blinkers are led so i'm sure they won't draw much especially because the tail light will be the only part of the kit that will be running constant along with the headlight at night. i'm looking for a battery that will net me a few hours of run time and won't break the bank. it needs to be rechargeable can't be any bigger than 6x5x4 roughly. is it unrealistic of me to want a few hours at about a 25-30 watt draw? also what do you guys think would be the optimal driving beam??? 30 degrees??? i know some of you guys get really into this LED lighting and know more about power supplies and batteries than i could ever dream of. any advice or info you guys could give me would so much appreciated.

sprunx said:

I have a dirt bike that i recently got street legal and I'm looking to outfit with lighting for riding at night.

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Don't undo the street-legality by putting on noncompliant tail lamps. Taillamps and rear turn signals are essentially for other drivers to see, therefore, they must conform to FMVSS 108/CMVSS 108. If you want to add front lamps for trail use, that's fine-- those can be switched off on roads.

i plan on running 2- 2" round 10w led cree lights for head lights and the brake/tail light blinkers will be the ones provided in the kit in this link

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Sounds like your headlamps won't be compliant, either. Didn't you say you recently "got street legal"?

Something like this for a headlamp would be compliant, and uses 2.5A @12V (30W). Still pretty demanding, but much better than these lights which might use Cree emitters but won't have anything near a compliant beam pattern.

Maybe with a make/model, someone could find a good stator option for you...

Alaric Darconville said:

Don't undo the street-legality by putting on noncompliant tail lamps. Taillamps and rear turn signals are essentially for other drivers to see, therefore, they must conform to FMVSS 108/CMVSS 108. If you want to add front lamps for trail use, that's fine-- those can be switched off on roads.


Sounds like your headlamps won't be compliant, either. Didn't you say you recently "got street legal"?

Something like this for a headlamp would be compliant, and uses 2.5A @12V (30W). Still pretty demanding, but much better than these lights which might use Cree emitters but won't have anything near a compliant beam pattern.

Maybe with a make/model, someone could find a good stator option for you...

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Yes i did say recently got street legal and by that i meant that i was able to get it registered in another state other than my own and they sent me a plate and registration. All perfectly legitimate but did not require an inspection so i was able to do it without spending on lights first. now i'm trying to add lights before i take it on the road. in my state turn signals aren't required and i don't really understand whats possibly wrong with the tail light? its no different than any other except that its not incandescent. it even has a clear lense on the bottom for license plate illumination. anyhow i'm not looking to get into a law debate here i'm just trying to get some good info on a battery that would suit my needs.

sprunx said:

i'm not looking to get into a law debate here

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Yes, you are. The lighting modifications/products you're asking about or recommending are illegal and/or unsafe. Rule 11 of this board prohibits advocating illegal or dangerous activity. Lights on a vehicle are life-safety equipment. They have to work properly (not just light up) even if you were able to sneak around and get the bike registered out of state.

Its really sad that i thought i could maybe get some good help from this forum. i guess i was completely wrong there. in the 10-15 forums i belong I've never had people jump down my throat in my first thread like [Rule 4 & 8 violation deleted]. this wasn't supposed to be a debate over which lights i was using it was intended to get advice on a battery that would supply 25-30 watts of power for my given period time. [Rule 4 violation deleted] i really could careless if you're a mod but idk who you think you are telling me what i am and what i'm not doing. [Rule 4, 8, 11 violation deleted] if i said that my lights were for off-road use only would that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? [Rule 4 & 8 violation deleted]

[Rule 4 & 8 violation deleted] to everybody else here and [Rule 8 violation deleted] most forums have a rule preventing [Rule 4 & 8 violations deleted] but apparently you're either [Rule 4 & 8 violations deleted] or this forum failed to put that in [Rule 8 violation deleted] [Rule 4 violation deleted]

Do you really feel that good about yourself [Rule 4 & 8 violation deleted] i bet you don't know about the mini maglite [Rule 4 violation deleted] a forum is supposed to be a friendly place where people can go for info [Rule 8 & 4 violations deleted] you should be [Rule 4 & 8 violations deleted] you can deactivate my account for all i care because its pretty clear i'm getting no where [Rule 4 violation deleted]

sprunx said:

i thought i could maybe get some good help from this forum. i guess i was completely wrong there.

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We tried to help you not get you injured or killed on the highway because your lighting was not done properly (that is, safely and legally). We tried to help the rest of the people that share the road with you not get killed or injured on the highway because your lighting is not done properly (that is, safely and legally).

all my lights will function perfectly fine the way they are supposed to

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Not if they don't conform to the applicable regulations.

if i said that my lights were for off-road use only would that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

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Perhaps if you demonstrated the vehicle was still equipped with appropriate on-road lighting, as is required for a motor vehicle registered with a State. But, you didn't. Instead, you used "road-legal" to merely mean "registered", not "equipped with that equipment required by law".

a forum is supposed to be a friendly place where people can go for info

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For life-critical equipment, I want to get answers from qualified people, not a bunch of nodding and agreement with my misapprehensions of what I think this equipment should do. You got information. Perhaps it's not the information you *wanted*, but it's the information you *got*, because it was based on facts and law, not on guesses, conjecture, assumptions, and made-up stuff.

sprunx said:

Its really sad that i thought i could maybe get some good help from this forum.

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You can. You did -- it's just that you got the answer you needed, not the answer you thought you wanted.

in the 10-15 forums i belong I've never had people jump down my throat

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This is not other forums. This is this forum. We have rules here. They are enforced. You agreed to follow them when you signed up to participate here. If you can't or won't follow them, you won't be participating here.

this wasn't supposed to be a debate over which lights i was using

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If you had a script all written up for how the thread would go, you didn't need to post here.

i really could careless if you're a mod but idk who you think you are telling me

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Well...I think I'm a moderator. Part of that job is cleaning up messes left by people who think they have a right to disregard the forum rules, violate them, fling poop all over the room, and then whine about being swatted for it.

Also, son, spend less time monkeying around with dirt bikes and more time doing your English homework. "i really could careless if you're a mod but idk who you think you are telling me what i am and what i'm not doing" is not a sentence.

if i said that my lights were for off-road use only would that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

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Nothing about your behavior makes me feel warm or fuzzy inside. You can say the lights are for "off-road use only", but you'd be lying. And we'd know. And the result in this thread would be the same.

Do you really feel that good about yourself

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I feel fine, thanks.

Closing this thread per CPF Rule 11, third paragraph. Sprunx, it would be good if you read the rest of the CPF Rules when, or if you click on my link. Rule 4 covers inappropriate actions, flaming, baiting, etc. Rule 8, in part, has to do with whining about the rules, and/or a moderators/administrator's actions. We will not and can not close your account, though we could ban you and give you some time to cool off. Please PM me if you want to continue to be a CPF member and follow the rules.

Bill