Spotlights?

[skatefreak]

Afternoon all.
The weather is turning and I'm thinking about the cooler, darker months ahead.
I have a few pairs of dirty Chinese grip heaters on their way and was thinking about putting some spot lights on the cbr6oo f3/NSR125 as I'll be commuting to new premises involving nastier junctions/town roads etc.

Thus, as the NSR has little spare power going I am hoping some LED spotlights wont take to much power but still help me stand out etc without resulting in a dead battery etc.

I am looking at these:
https://i.ebayimg.com/t/2-Pcs-1500lum-12V-3-LED-High-Power-Auxiliary-Spot-Light-for-Motor-Bike-ATV-Jeep-/00/s/NjAwWDYwMA==/$T2eC16h,!)kE9s4,Bum1BQl2u1VltQ~~60_12.JPG

It should be a fairly simply procedure to fit and wire them in however I was thinking it would be ideal to wire them into the headlight circuit however I would like them to be on with the main and high beam.
Would this be feasible with relatively simple wiring?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Best regards

-Jvr

[-Savage-]

I put some extra lamps on my CBR. I just wired them straight to the battery and had a switch on the dash so I could turn them on and off when required.
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My Bikes - - - Royal Enfield 500 with sidecar, VFR800, CBR600FX,
Peugeot Speedfight 100, Kymco Hipster 125, GSXR750K5, Jawa TS 350

[Nobby the Bastard]

Use a relay and pick up a line from the main beam wire to trigger it.

That way you're spots will come on whenever the main beam comes on.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[Marmalade]

You could use the power for side lights so that they come on when any light is switched on or personally I'd use power from brake light or indicator circuit do that when they go wrong and blow a fuse it will be your indicators or brake light that goes out not your headlight.
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Nobby the Bastard: How yo tell the difference between the actual japanese and her just screaming because she's had live fish stuck up her arse? [url=https://www.nicks-shop.co.uk/bcf-goodies-15-c.aspGet BCF stickers and things here[/url] Reflective helmet stickers - Legal requirement in france - Clicky

[Nobby the Bastard]

Or alternately, take the power directly from the battery via a relay triggerd from your main beam.

Then there's no danger of you blowing anything else....
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[skatefreak]

I like the sound of these relays.
Not had much experience with them, any clues at to what I should look for to chuck in there?
Am also thinking I would like to put the heated grips on there as well to save me draining the batt when I forget to turn them off getting to work....

Cheers

-Jvr

[wilz1234]

Why would you need a relay, the current drawn by these will be tiny in comparison to headlights which probably have a relay. Just wire them up with a switch


For example, the brake lights are switched on with either the rear brake switch, or front brake switch (and no relay) because the current drawn isn't enough to need one


Have a look at when a relay is needed, and when a switch will suffice
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RS50 - ZXR400 - ZXR 400 - ZX7R - Bandit 600 - NTV 650

[J.M.]

Those should draw roughly 0.75A. As a result I would be tempted to wire them in powered by a switched live from the lighting circuit with a switch to turn them on and off on the handlebars.

Check with a multimeter but I would suspect that the 12v for your headlight or sidelight has at least 1A spare.

I would wire the heated grips in using a relay, using the tail light as a switched live and taking the 12v directly from the battery. The draw from them will not be too much, but the relay ensures that they do not flatten the battery. Some grips have been known to discharge the battery even whilst they have been set to "off".
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[skatefreak]

Well the way I'm looking at this is to hard wire both the grips and lights directly from the battery to the components so they don't interfere with any other wiring on the bike and then just splicing a switch into the ignition/headlight/somewhere convenient so when ignition is on it will power the gubbins. I do have one knocking about but that's quiet a chunky 25'ish amp jobby for something completely different lol.

This approach is as much for preserving the wiring on the bikes as well as simplicity and because I can with absolute certainty say I will forget a switch on the handle bars

Am I thinking about a relay here?
Supply a small voltage one side and it connects a circuit on the other?

Best regards

-Jvr

[StormCrow]

Best thing is to wire a relay in - that way you don't need to remember to switch the whole lot off again when you stop.

A relay is basically that - think of it like a fat power cable with a switch on it - the small feed (from the switch) is just to energise the relay, that will then latch 'on' and switch on whatever you've got wired in to it.

If you want to minimise the effect on the bike's wiring, then run +12v from the battery to the relay, through the relay and then on to the extra components. Earth somewhere convenient (I'd earth straight to the frame somewhere) and run the switch in to the other side of the relay.

https://www.r1200gs.info/howto/images/Schematic4.gif

Personally I'd do what's been suggested above - run the relay into the brake light wiring using the wiring as the 'switch' - when the lights are on then the relay is energised and the grips will be on. Then run the extra lights off the lighting circuit on a switch. It'll all turn off when you switch the bike off, and the relay will physically break the connection to the grips to save any parasitic draw. That way, you'll only be disturbing two wires - the brake light +ve feed and the headlight/sidelight +ve feed. DO put fuses inline though - you don't want your cheap sidelights taking out the rest of your lights in the dark at the side of the road... (trust me, been there! )

[J.M.]

[Chalky.]

I can't stand people with spotlights on their bloody bikes, all they do is blind people.

[raesewell]

[raesewell]

[lihp]

If they can't see your headlight they're not going to see your spotlights either.
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covent.gardens: lihp is my most favourite member ever

[Christoffee]

In my car today was overtaken by a bike with spotlights. It looked like a UFO coming up behind me! It looked excellent!
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Bike: CBF125

[Chalky.]