Post by oldchopperguy on Sept 21, 2018 23:19:56 GMT -5
Now that days are shorter, and we may be on the road after dark more often, some extra light is a welcome safety feature... And easy to do.
I posted a "how to" on these lights a few years back, but thought it would be good to refresh, since I've been riding with these lights now for several years, with no problems whatsoever. Most of us are slightly "less than thrilled" with our factory headlights. The Chinese scoots are often truly dismal, and my Kymco 250 is only slightly better. Too many unmarked curbs and debris hiding in the dark!
The difference with these lights is dramatic! These are 30w single "projector" LED lights with a "pencil" or spot beam. (They draw 8 w of juice each). Many, MANY styles are available on eBay in single or multi-LED styles, and spot and flood light pattern. I used a single flood 9-LED light on my Chinese 150. On my Kymco, I chose a pair of spot-beams to reach out to 400 yards.
After several years of use they are still fine, and I've had no problems.
There are numerous ways to mount and connect the lights. I found the easiest way to connect, was to run a heavy fused wire directly from the battery post hidden behind the plastics all the way up front. My scoot uses DC current for all lights, but many brands use AC for SOME lights. LED's do not like AC!
On my Chinese 150, I went to the trouble of using a bridge-rectifier to convert the AC headlight lead to DC for the LED, but... It's just SO simple to run the LED's off the battery.
I bought a wiring kit off eBay for off-road vehicle lights. It uses a solenoid to trip the lights. Maybe not absolutely necessary, but durable and sure. I simply wired THAT into the factory low-beam wire.
I found the wiring kit was great since it included EVERYTHING needed except the long 8-gauge hot lead from the battery... All professional ends, connections, switch, etc.
I chose to arm the solenoid off the factory low beam so the aux. lights couldn't inadvertently be turned on (or left on) by mistake. No headlight, no aux. lights.
My old Grandvista has no manual headlight switch. The lights come on with the ignition, but any bike with separate light switch can be set up similarly. Just wire the actual LED lights to the BATTERY and the on/off solenoid switch to the factory headlight or running light wire. Of course, be SURE to wire a GOOD ground and bring the wire into the nose to use for grounding all connections.
That's it for the wiring. Pretty straight-forward, especially if you use a ready-made kit. They save a LOT of work, and some money.
As for MOUNTING the lights... Most of us have learned that the plastics are NOT solid or durable... So careful mounting is important. I mounted mine on a bar (aluminum tent-pole harvested from a dumpster... spun against a "green-pad" for a brushed, factory look... LOL!). Mounting it to the nose was done using U-bolts and rubber biscuits made from automotive radiator-hose.
You could mount the lights individually to the plastics using LARGE fender washers on BOTH sides of the plastic, with rubber biscuits on BOTH sides... That spreads the load and dampens vibration. You don't want to crack the plastic...
Once the lights and wiring are all complete, I found that tying the nose with twine held it in a workable position to complete assembly.
This lighting upgrade is a major safety improvement. I kept the lights low, and even reaching out beyond a football field, I've never had an oncoming vehicle flash brights at me. NOT blinding oncoming drivers is ESSENTIAL. These LED's are BRIGHT!
Using rubber biscuits with plenty of metal on each side of the plastic has worked well. I've ridden several years with no cracking of the plastic, and no problems with electrics.
Since these lights do draw around 8w each, you might want to stick with just one on smaller systems. My old Kymco handles these lights on whenever I ride at night, and the battery never gets weak.
These lights are available in MANY sizes and styles, both flood and spot, so you can easily get the right setup for your night-riding needs. Just be sure to wire them well, and mount them carefully to the plastics. If you have one of the rare scoots with motorcycle handlebars, you can easily mount them to the bars. On a custom ride, they can also double as main-headlights.
Hope this may help some of my friends avoid nasty things in their evening rides!
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
I posted a "how to" on these lights a few years back, but thought it would be good to refresh, since I've been riding with these lights now for several years, with no problems whatsoever. Most of us are slightly "less than thrilled" with our factory headlights. The Chinese scoots are often truly dismal, and my Kymco 250 is only slightly better. Too many unmarked curbs and debris hiding in the dark!
The difference with these lights is dramatic! These are 30w single "projector" LED lights with a "pencil" or spot beam. (They draw 8 w of juice each). Many, MANY styles are available on eBay in single or multi-LED styles, and spot and flood light pattern. I used a single flood 9-LED light on my Chinese 150. On my Kymco, I chose a pair of spot-beams to reach out to 400 yards.
After several years of use they are still fine, and I've had no problems.
There are numerous ways to mount and connect the lights. I found the easiest way to connect, was to run a heavy fused wire directly from the battery post hidden behind the plastics all the way up front. My scoot uses DC current for all lights, but many brands use AC for SOME lights. LED's do not like AC!
On my Chinese 150, I went to the trouble of using a bridge-rectifier to convert the AC headlight lead to DC for the LED, but... It's just SO simple to run the LED's off the battery.
I bought a wiring kit off eBay for off-road vehicle lights. It uses a solenoid to trip the lights. Maybe not absolutely necessary, but durable and sure. I simply wired THAT into the factory low-beam wire.
I found the wiring kit was great since it included EVERYTHING needed except the long 8-gauge hot lead from the battery... All professional ends, connections, switch, etc.
I chose to arm the solenoid off the factory low beam so the aux. lights couldn't inadvertently be turned on (or left on) by mistake. No headlight, no aux. lights.
My old Grandvista has no manual headlight switch. The lights come on with the ignition, but any bike with separate light switch can be set up similarly. Just wire the actual LED lights to the BATTERY and the on/off solenoid switch to the factory headlight or running light wire. Of course, be SURE to wire a GOOD ground and bring the wire into the nose to use for grounding all connections.
That's it for the wiring. Pretty straight-forward, especially if you use a ready-made kit. They save a LOT of work, and some money.
As for MOUNTING the lights... Most of us have learned that the plastics are NOT solid or durable... So careful mounting is important. I mounted mine on a bar (aluminum tent-pole harvested from a dumpster... spun against a "green-pad" for a brushed, factory look... LOL!). Mounting it to the nose was done using U-bolts and rubber biscuits made from automotive radiator-hose.
You could mount the lights individually to the plastics using LARGE fender washers on BOTH sides of the plastic, with rubber biscuits on BOTH sides... That spreads the load and dampens vibration. You don't want to crack the plastic...
Once the lights and wiring are all complete, I found that tying the nose with twine held it in a workable position to complete assembly.
This lighting upgrade is a major safety improvement. I kept the lights low, and even reaching out beyond a football field, I've never had an oncoming vehicle flash brights at me. NOT blinding oncoming drivers is ESSENTIAL. These LED's are BRIGHT!
Using rubber biscuits with plenty of metal on each side of the plastic has worked well. I've ridden several years with no cracking of the plastic, and no problems with electrics.
Since these lights do draw around 8w each, you might want to stick with just one on smaller systems. My old Kymco handles these lights on whenever I ride at night, and the battery never gets weak.
These lights are available in MANY sizes and styles, both flood and spot, so you can easily get the right setup for your night-riding needs. Just be sure to wire them well, and mount them carefully to the plastics. If you have one of the rare scoots with motorcycle handlebars, you can easily mount them to the bars. On a custom ride, they can also double as main-headlights.
Hope this may help some of my friends avoid nasty things in their evening rides!
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
