MCGMB said:
Very nice thread and photos!
I'm debating whether to go your route, or the PIAA LP530 kit 77302.
Question. Has your opinion changed after having used these for months? If you could go back in time, would you have bought them again?
I am quite pleased with them and would definitely do it all over again. I've since changed the wiring so that the halos turn off when the main beams come on. The kit comes with a couple of changeover relays so the normally closed leg powers the halos and the normally open leg powers the main beams. The relay sockets in the kit weren't wired to the normally closed leg so I had to add a connector and an extra wire there. This set-up lets me pull all the power from the same point for both beams, simplifying the wiring. Since I'm using a Neutrino Black Box (NBB) power distribution module I can see the current the main beam lamps are drawing in real time on my iPhone - only about 1.6A for a blazing amount of light!
I really like the unique appearance the halo running lights provide too and I think it helps a little with daytime visibility. Using the PIAA brackets they are just at 7.5" from the top of the fender so as long as that really is the maximum suspension travel, and there's no additional compliance in the system, clearance should be ok. I pulled a couple of minor wheelies to test clearance and so far no contact, but I haven't experienced a front suspension bottoming event yet, even off-road, but I'm pretty conservative in the dirt with this big girl.
In the 4+ months since getting them installed and wired there has not been any reliability problems and I've ridden in rain, heavy fog (I live on the coast) and mildly warm weather (80+F). I ride the bike to work 3-4 days a week on my 92 mile round trip commute so they are getting some real use. One fun bit is that the NBB allows programming a delayed off function. I have the halos set to stay on for about 30 seconds after shutting down which is just enough time to dig out my keys and find the lock hole on my back door before they shut off.