Best Aux./Driving/Conspicuity Lights & LED Headlight Bulbs as of 09/2019???

timebak

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 15, 2019
Messages
169
Location
Rogersville, Alabama, USA
I'm so confused... I know that I need to change out my headlight bulbs to much brighter LED type, and I BADLY need aux/driving/conspicuity lighting. Around here, there are at least 17 deer per square inch, and we aren't even counting the raccoons, coyotes, possums, and armadillos. And the counties used to sell driver's licenses at K-mart on blue-light special for 99 cents, but K-mart's been gone for 15 years, so now they come with a large order of fries at Micky D's. And on the twisties that we like to ride, the danger to bikers from farmers and farm equipment is worse than from other vehicles. Just this afternoon, I was almost hit by a teenage girl texting and driving.

Lighting technology is changing and improving continuously now. What was good, leading-edge equipment, right on the foreskin of technology 2 or 3 years ago is now very often out of date and passe', and has been replaced or outclassed by something new and truly better.

So, as of right now, who has the best LED headlight bulbs for an S10 ES? From what I've read, it looks like Cyclops is a solid choice. 4800 Lumens, Cree emitters, improved focus, all metal bases, cooling fan, replaceable drivers, etc., etc. They are on their 10th generation of that and other bulb styles. Their reviews are great. Right now, who is their legitimate competition?

Also, as of right now, who has the best aux./driving/conspicuity lights, as far as putting usable light on the road, down the road, and onto the shoulders and ditches? Both Cyclops and Clearwater have models that have been upgraded within the past year or so and are awesome performers, and are definitely on the foreskin of technology. Both have easily installed/removed amber lenses/filters available to convert their driving, fog, and spot lights to conspicuity lights. But all that advanced technology and high quality comes at a steep price, but I'm willing to pay it if that's what it takes to get that level of performance. There are other brands out there like Rigid, Denali, and others, but from what I've seen, they aren't as well focused, nor have they kept pace with advances in technology like Cyclops and Clearwater. Who is their legitimate competition at this level of technology and quality?
 

EricV

Riding, farkling, riding...
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
8,227
Location
Tupelo, MS
The Chinese ebay kits from Nighteyes are outlasting the Cyclops kits for a fraction of the cost. I have about 20k on my Nighteyes kit with the @deftoner rear covers sold on this forum. The Cyclops kits typically burn out one side in a year or less for those riding a fair amount. Sometimes both go in quick succession. I haven't read anything about that improving lately, but do your research. Reviews from people that just put them on are fairly useless. Find the discussions from people that have had them for a year or more. Lots of threads on failures.

It's your money. Both are premium products. I would suggest that Clearwater lives up to that better than Cyclops. Many people find that a 6-8" LED light bar combined with smaller spots does a good job of meeting the needs you describe. I do have Cyclops long range Optima 10º spots that have held up very well and put light farther out. Check out www.ledrider.com as well.

On the topic of conspicuity: What makes you think they won't try to kill you if they see you? Think about that hard. They won't see a fire truck. And even if they do see you, you can't count on them not doing something really dumb that could kill you. It's up to you to see them and be prepared.
 
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
Hi there, quite a few threads on “what’s the best “. I can tell you my experience with LED lighting. Baja Designs has treated me right for over 20 years. I have a 2012 single Squadron on my Beta still going strong. It is so bright that I easily completed an Iron Butt safely with just the one light. My Super Tenere has the latest generation Squadrons. Something very important to remember is eye fatigue. This is where BD lighting is best. All their lights are tested by racers at long races that last through the night. And with the amber caps mine are a really conspicuous light that most of the motoring public notice right away.
 

Edbo1960

Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
98
Location
Connecticut
+1 on Clearwater - pricey but worth it and adjustable brightness for day and night riding, i had the yellow lenses for visibility. Had on my FJR and loved them, my ST came with Rigid which don't have the adjustability and I miss it....
 
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
+1 on Clearwater - pricey but worth it and adjustable brightness for day and night riding, i had the yellow lenses for visibility. Had on my FJR and loved them, my ST came with Rigid which don't have the adjustability and I miss it....
You can't go wrong on the Clearwater lights!! I almost got them because of the strobe feature (Baja Designs does not offer a plug and play strobe). I had to be honest with myself. For half the price BD does not give up much to the Clearwater. Both brands are fantastic lights!!
 

nimac

New Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
11
Location
Perth, Western Australia
I have changed my gen 1 halogen lights out for proper 55w 4300k HID lights (not LED!) and are very happy with them. They are simply awesome! Real HID is the way to go I reckon, and the projector light bodies that Yamaha used are actually made for HID globes. Consider this, 6000k light is great when the environment your lights are bouncing off is NOT wet, different story when the reflective surfaces are wet and the 6000k frequency gets absorbed more, hence you don't see as much on wet surfaces. 4300k is the closest to sunlight, and that is what our eyes have evolved to see. I have experienced this with LED lights when I got caught in a rain storm at night and had real difficulty seeing the road when wet, scared the shit outta me I have to say! I think LED lights are good as aux lights, but not main lights, at least not on Low beam.
 

deftoner

On a bad day just remember: 1st Down,all rest Up.
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
344
Location
USA
The Chinese ebay kits from Nighteyes are outlasting the Cyclops kits for a fraction of the cost. I have about 20k on my Nighteyes kit with the @deftoner rear covers sold on this forum. The Cyclops kits typically burn out one side in a year or less for those riding a fair amount. Sometimes both go in quick succession. I haven't read anything about that improving lately, but do your research. Reviews from people that just put them on are fairly useless. Find the discussions from people that have had them for a year or more. Lots of threads on failures.

It's your money. Both are premium products. I would suggest that Clearwater lives up to that better than Cyclops. Many people find that a 6-8" LED light bar combined with smaller spots does a good job of meeting the needs you describe. I do have Cyclops long range Optima 10º spots that have held up very well and put light farther out. Check out www.ledrider.com as well.

On the topic of conspicuity: What makes you think they won't try to kill you if they see you? Think about that hard. They won't see a fire truck. And even if they do see you, you can't count on them not doing something really dumb that could kill you. It's up to you to see them and be prepared.
exactly as you said. I had the cyclops that was super expensive by the moment I bought them, the leed looked like great quality but after a year on a florida weather one of the led chip on one light came out because of the heat. They claim that the tested the lights without the fan and worked but no. they will die after a couple of months when the fan stop working. I mean, at some point all led will die. But I'm running the cheap chinese now with my caps and they have the same power and still working for more than a year and they were 29 U$ and had no fan that can die.. :D
 

deftoner

On a bad day just remember: 1st Down,all rest Up.
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
344
Location
USA
Regardless which aux light you run, I recommend 2 layers of Lamin-X yellow tinting film on top. Costs $6 and the color is so obnoxious that you won't be missed. I noticed a big difference to just running my white Aux lights
I learned that on the road in brazil, led an xenon looks gret and vision its great in good weather, but when its raining or there is fog, you NEED yellow lights.
 

EricV

Riding, farkling, riding...
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
8,227
Location
Tupelo, MS
I have changed my gen 1 halogen lights out for proper 55w 4300k HID lights (not LED!) and are very happy with them. They are simply awesome! Real HID is the way to go I reckon, and the projector light bodies that Yamaha used are actually made for HID globes. Consider this, 6000k light is great when the environment your lights are bouncing off is NOT wet, different story when the reflective surfaces are wet and the 6000k frequency gets absorbed more, hence you don't see as much on wet surfaces. 4300k is the closest to sunlight, and that is what our eyes have evolved to see. I have experienced this with LED lights when I got caught in a rain storm at night and had real difficulty seeing the road when wet, scared the shit outta me I have to say! I think LED lights are good as aux lights, but not main lights, at least not on Low beam.
You are certainly correct about the light temperature and visibility. I have run 4300k HID kits in the past on other bikes.

The great appeal for the Super Ten with LED conversions like Nighteye and Novsight is the lack of ballasts and fans. With our rear dust cap design, being able to easily tuck everything inside and install an extended dust cover to seal it again is very appealing.

HID ballasts are getting smaller and HID Aux lights now often come with internal ballasts, but for headlight conversions that ballast usually ends up outside the headlight assembly and diminishes the water/dust seal at the rear of the headlight.

There are some 4300k light temp LEDs being offered to the US market. I have no experience with any of these brands though. I see 3000k color temp kits for yellow light, but not sunlight color kits. I found a few 5000k & 5500k color temp kits also, but again, unknown quality.
 

WJBertrand

Ventura Highway
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
4,516
Location
Ventura, CA
For those with HIDs, where do you mount the ballasts and how do you get the wiring inside the rear headlight cover without ruining the seal?
 

nimac

New Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
11
Location
Perth, Western Australia
This is how I mounted the HID gear. The H7 lights come with a grommet attached for the input/output wires, you just need to drill the right size hole in the dust access cover, really easy to do, the rest is plug and play!
 

Attachments

WJBertrand

Ventura Highway
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
4,516
Location
Ventura, CA
This is how I mounted the HID gear. The H7 lights come with a grommet attached for the input/output wires, you just need to drill the right size hole in the dust access cover, really easy to do, the rest is plug and play!
What kit is that?
 

bnschroder

2014 Super Tenere ES
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Messages
559
Location
Atlanta
That’s a lot of stuff you need to tuck away for those HIDs. The LED setup definitely is a lot cleaner once you have the large caps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

dannyv

Active Member
Joined
May 4, 2018
Messages
294
Location
Indianapolis, IN
My $.02- seems like, for conspicuity you are better off to mount aux. lights a bit lower, and outside, on your crash bars. And as mentioned, yellow or tinted is more likely to make you stand out. Also as mentioned- they will not see you anyway, be ready for evasive action!

BTW- "foreskin of technology"- does that get snipped? :)
 

Madscrapper85

Active Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2019
Messages
112
Location
Delaware
About to order a set of these auxbeams I had on my Strom (the pic) love these lights for $36 on Amazon they are pretty sweet. Had them mounted on my forks before not sure where they're going on the S10 yet20190901_204126.jpg
 
Joined
Jan 2, 2015
Messages
58
Location
Eden Prairie, MN
I have an HID kit and was able to mount all the ballasts and boxes for it tucked up inside the front. It's all underneath the plastic bill thing underneath the windscreen. Part of it fits on either side of the gauge cluster in the space between it and the screen mount (picture). The flat ballasts, which are relatively small fit underneath that plastic thing under the windscreen (the one with the 3 plastic pin clips deals).


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

timebak

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 15, 2019
Messages
169
Location
Rogersville, Alabama, USA
I ended up buying the Baja Designs Squadron Pros with the Skene light controller and amber filter for both lights. Got the 1"/25mm mounts to fit my T-Rex crash bars. Haven't mounted them yet, but will post some pics when I do. Decided to get an Eastern Beaver fuse box since I'm adding some other electrical items. Will post later about those when I'm finished. Made me a dashboard infill plate that I'll use unless the one I ordered from Ramseybella comes in first.
 
Top