Dual Sport Moto Lighting-DIY Ideas?

[entoptics]

Spent a couple hours reading and searching, but now only know just enough to ask for direction. The reason I'm asking here instead of automotive lighting, is because my idea was to use flashlight parts hard wired to the bikes electrical system, and mounted in simple mounts. I figured you flashlight legoers would know what parts to suggest.

My front fender on my Suzuki DR350SE shadows the OEM headlight badly leaving a close in blind spot, so my goal is to provide a 10 meter semi-circle of light on the ground from the handle bars forward for both street and offroad, and perhaps something that could be used offroad to light further ahead, but turned off for public roads to avoid dazzling other drivers.

For instance a couple of cheap DX "clone heads" that could be sealed with a cheap tailcap and/or body (drilled for a grommetted hole for wiring). Then attach the heads with some sort of bicycle mount or similar.

General Requirements
1) "Cheap" (~$50 or less total) and "Easy". I'm handy enough, enjoy tinkering, and have access to good tools, but would have to pay for machining or welding.

2) Durable and easily fixable (rain/splash proof, and vibration/shock resistant). By no means SureFire tough, but it has to be able to stand bumps and splatters (MiniMag tough?).

3) Frame/Bar/Fork mounted will depend on the setup, but regardless, mounts must be moderately adjustable without much trouble. For example a 90° tilt/swivel cone with no more hassle than wing nuts would be fine.

4) Tint, CRI, etc aren't that important. As long as it won't distract other drivers or turn the rocky path purple, I'm OK. Neutral or Cool White is peachy.

Specific Requirments

1) Wired into 12 volt DC, no more than 10 watts and a few amps. (DR350 has a wimpy electrical system without much left over for "accessories" so efficiency is important too). I can sort out the wiring myself once I have appropriate parts in hand. I could probably manage a way around heads that couldn't handle 12 volts but I'd prefer not to test my electrical engineering skills.

2) ~200 very floody lumens x 2-3 mounts for ~400-600 total lumens. I wouldn't complain if I could go brighter or had a way to use multimodes. Dim for street, bright for offroad?

Any suggestions, or am I hoping for something that doesn't exist? I saw these "drop ins" in another old bike light post, and wondered if there's whole heads for sale that are as good or better for a reasonable price. A bare reflector ain't gonna cut it...

 

[SmurfTacular]

Have you considered using an HID kit? DDM makes great motorcycle HID ballasts and bulbs. They can be found here. You get a tun of lumens and for only $25.

Also, you should consider buying this if you want a detachable LED handlebar light.

 

[DM51]

... for both street and offroad ...

DIY lighting on any vehicle for street use is prohibited in most countries, as are "HID kits".

Members who post in this thread advocating the use of such items are reminded of the terms of Rule 11:

You agree, through your use of this BB, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly illegal or promotes illegal activity.

The thread belongs in the Automotive section, so I'm moving it there.

 

[-Virgil-]

Have you considered using an HID kit?

"HID kits" in halogen-bulb headlamps (any kit, any headlamp, any vehicle) do not work safely or effectively, which is why they are illegal. See here.

 

[entoptics]

The thread belongs in the Automotive section, so I'm moving it there.

Thanks for moving the post despite my clear statement of the fact that I'm looking for flashlight parts and not automotive specific lighting. It was silly of me to think Flashlight Modifications would be the best place to ask about cheap lego parts.

DIY lighting on any vehicle for street use is prohibited in most countries, as are "HID kits".

Members who post in this thread advocating the use of such items are reminded of the terms of Rule 11:

This does not appear to be the case in my state (see links below), but again, thanks for quickly and efficiently protecting me from myself (and the information I'm hunting).

Motorcycles and motor-driven cycles — Head lamps.
Additional lighting equipment.
Special restrictions on lamps.

As for HID kits, I need something "detachable" because the OEM light position produces a bad shadow in front of the bike, so I need something aimed at the ground close in (see Special restrictions on lamps for legal reasons also) and not just a brighter bulb. Also, HID is likely not efficient enough for my wimpy electrical system. The kit above is 35W, which is 3 times my available power.

The LED bike lamp linked above looks nice, but it's not floody enough, and the price includes an unnecessary battery pack. If they sold just the head with a OP reflector for half that price, it would be pretty close to ideal.

 

[-Virgil-]

This does not appear to be the case in my state

Yeah it is, you're not looking in the right sections of RCW.

Start at 46.37.310 and don't stop reading til you've gotten through 46.37.330. In a nutshell, incorporating all referenced sections and documents, it says all lamps and reflective devices on roadgoing vehicles must comply with applicable US, Canadian, and/or European requirements. None of those requirements allow "HID kits", and homemade by-guess-and-by-gosh devices of whatever light source (filament, LED, HID, whatever) don't meet the requirements, either.

 

[entoptics]

Yeah it is, you're not looking in the right sections of RCW.

Start at 46.37.310 and don't stop reading til you've gotten through 46.37.330. In a nutshell, incorporating all referenced sections and documents, it says all lamps and reflective devices on roadgoing vehicles must comply with applicable US, Canadian, and/or European requirements. None of those requirements allow "HID kits", and homemade by-guess-and-by-gosh devices of whatever light source (filament, LED, HID, whatever) don't meet the requirements, either.

I carefully read through, and I believe those restrictions apply to sellers. Food for thought though. I will investigate further. From what's contained in 46.37.310 - 330, it appears all I have to do is follow the State Police guidelines for vehicle lights.

Thanks again for all the information regarding flashlight parts everyone...

 

[-Virgil-]

I carefully read through, and I believe those restrictions apply to sellers.

That's the nice thing about beliefs: you can believe whatever your imagination dreams up, without regard to pesky things like facts and roadway safety. There are often gaps between what is safe and legal vs. what you are likely to get ticketed for; fact is, you are dealing not with flashlights or toys, but with devices that affect your safety and that of everyone in your proximity on the roads.

 

[DM51]

entoptics... when you've finished carefully reading through everything Scheinwerfermann has recommended for you, and you are confident you have a better understanding of the Law, you could do worse than take a few minutes to peruse Rule 8 of this board, which may help you to understand that adopting a sarcastic and/or smart-*** tone with a moderator is really quite likely to earn you a lengthy suspension from here.

 

[entoptics]

That's the nice thing about beliefs: you can believe whatever your imagination dreams up, without regard to pesky things like facts...

At first, my "belief" was that your above reply was very ironic, but of course, you must be a Washington State policeman, traffic lawyer, or judge, right?

entoptics... when you've finished carefully reading through everything Scheinwerfermann has recommended for you, and you are confident you have a better understanding of the Law...

Thought I did that before I posted my last post...

...you could do worse than take a few minutes to peruse Rule 8 of this board, which may help you to understand that adopting a sarcastic and/or smart-*** tone with a moderator is really quite likely to earn you a lengthy suspension from here.

I read the rules when I joined, but thanks for the reminder, as there's clearly too much there to remember it all. I found the following especially helpful from Rule 8.

• "And that is why we have rules. So that your experiences on CPF are pleasant and informative and fun."
• "It is very disruptive to the board when gripes take over a thread."

Anyway, I'll contact my DMV and state police office, and I'll search out the parts for my mod on my own. Thanks for all the help...

 

[SmurfTacular]

DIY lighting on any vehicle for street use is prohibited in most countries, as are "HID kits".

I know HID kits are illegal, but are you sure that it is completely illegal to do any DIY work on your headlights??? Because I own 5 dirt bikes, all street legal. I bought them when they where just intented to dirt riding use, but I converted them all legally to a dual sport (street and dirt use). Three of them did not have a headlight, by law it has to have a functioning high and low beam. Nothings states that it can't be DIY. I bought several DIY kits and installed them onto the bikes myself. Afterwards, got them licensed and registered after being inspected my a police officer.

The HID drop in in my avatar is on my 625cc KTM dual sport. Don't worry, I just use it for riding on the dirt, and occasionally the street in the day time.

Maybe its just California. But I know for a fact that I legally installed DIY headlights on three of my bikes.

 

[tay]

I know HID kits are illegal, but are you sure that it is completely illegal to do any DIY work on your headlights??? Because I own 5 dirt bikes, all street legal. I bought them when they where just intented to dirt riding use, but I converted them all legally to a dual sport (street and dirt use). Three of them did not have a headlight, by law it has to have a functioning high and low beam. Nothings states that it can't be DIY. I bought several DIY kits and installed them onto the bikes myself. Afterwards, got them licensed and registered after being inspected my a police officer.

The HID drop in in my avatar is on my 625cc KTM dual sport. Don't worry, I just use it for riding on the dirt, and occasionally the street in the day time.

Maybe its just California. But I know for a fact that I legally installed DIY headlights on three of my bikes.

How DIY? Was it a DOT-compliant headlamp not originally intended for use on that bike? Or did you actually build the whole thing?

 

[SmurfTacular]

It was a DIY kit I bought at a 4x4 store. It's intended for (I assume) all dirtbikes. I bought two of them; one for a 100cc Yami TTR, and the other for a 230cc Yami TTR. Both of them fit perfectly. I don't recall if they say DOT on or around it, I'll have to go to my dads house and see. The third install we bought at a kawasaki dealship, so that has to be legal.

 

[entoptics]

I know HID kits are illegal, but are you sure that it is completely illegal to do any DIY work on your headlights???

I'm pretty sure I can answer that for DM51 (at least for the two states I have lived in).

It is most assuredly NOT illegal to do DIY modifications. One must simply conform to vehicle inspection standards in the jurisdiction that said vehicle will be used. If you do not, then yes, it is illegal.

Purchasing lighting kits (or any other mod) is addressed in the sections that were so helpfully provided by Schein (for WA at least). It is unlawful to sell any kit that does not conform to State and US laws.

It appears some of the posters in this completely hijacked (see Rule 8) thread have not read through the items they insisted I read. It also appears that, despite their confident assertions, they may not have contacted experts/authorities to clarify confusion about complicated legal matters. Thankfully, Rule 11 holds posters (and not CPF), responsible for misinformation.

 

[-Virgil-]

One must simply conform to vehicle inspection standards in the jurisdiction that said vehicle will be used.

Not quite. Vehicle safety/equipment inspections, in states where they exist, are set up to catch the grossest of blatantly unsafe vehicles. With regard to lighting, the inspections tend to be quick and cursory. Passing such an inspection does not mean the vehicle is safe, nor does it even necessarily mean that it complies with all Federal or even all State codes (which are often codified separately from inspection requirements), it merely means the vehicle passed the inspection. It's enough to make your head spin if you're not accustomed to this kind of regulatory maze, but think about it: those few states that still check headlamp aim generally specify a very old SAE aim inspection protocol that says if the low beam hot spot or cutoff is anywhere from 4" below horizontal to 4" above horizontal, that's a "pass". That's so lax as to make the inspection pointless; a headlamp 4" down won't let the driver see very far beyond his front bumper, while one 4" up is producing high-beam levels of glare to oncoming traffic. A vehicle meeting this lax tolerance range will pass inspection and get its sticker, but still be in violation of the provision contained in many state codes that lamps shall be operated in such a manner as not to cause glare to other drivers (or words to that effect).

By analogy: you can pass many state emission inspections with a vehicle the emission control systems of which have been substantially altered from their type-approved configuration, but while that'll get you an inspection sticker, it won't change the fact that you have violated laws against those modifications; the vehicle has passed inspection, which only means that it has passed inspection, not that it is as clean as it is legally required to be.

As for the issue of DIY headlamps: they're illegal under one provision or another of most US state codes. California, for example, stipulates that:

It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, lease, install, or replace, either for himself or as the agent or employee of another, or through such agent or employee, any (…) lighting equipment (…) for use, or with knowledge that any such equipment is intended for eventual use, in any vehicle, that is not in conformity with this code or regulations made thereunder.

You have to do some wide and deep drilling through the California vehicle code and subreferenced regulations to catch all the regulatory language that fills in the pieces of the pie to mean that homemade headlamps aren't road-legal.