Auxiliary Lights

[Beemerman59]

I have an '08 GSA so it already has the OEM fog lights which I have on all the time - and I think they are very effective. However, I need more light at night. Having already fitted 50 watt HID's to dip and main beam I have no room for improvement there. So I'm looking at adding some Hella FF50's.

The problem I have is deciding on the right combination of lights and mounting them. Also, which ones to have has HID's. The Migsel light bar will take 2 sets of lights but the OEM lights have a difficult to fit bracket. Migsel recommend fitting Hella Micro D's as replacement for the OEM's and then Hella FF50's for spots. This sounds like a good combination but I need to buy a plug & play set as I'm no wireman and they don't do one.

The other issue is over the HID's. I don't like the warm up time of the main beam HID, so I could take that back to OEM Halogen and HID up the Hella FF50's a la HID 50. But I would then need a bracket to fit the FF50's without them getting in the way of the OEM fogs.

I'm confusing myself just writing this. Who has a GSA with some extra FF50's fitted and are they good as standard Halogen or do they really need the HID option to make them turn night into day? I do a lot of night riding in a rural area i.e loads of deer about, and I need something better than standard.


Looking for someone who has done this and can advise from practical experience.

Thanks.

 

[Mikey]

You can HID the OEM spots.

 

[D6]

PIAA do zenon filled bulbs for spotlights, they really are the next thing from HID, expensive but recommended, dont confuse em wi the cheaper blue uns, from other manufacturers,
50w HID on dip an beam an it aint enough, ???where are you riding?
i use this setup with PIAA,s in the spots connected to hi beam,to counteract the slow high beam warm up,, 100 plus mph on unlit rumanian motorways was fine on this set up ,
the dutch put 35w burners together with 50w ballasts, bulbs last half as long, iv not tried it, but iv seen it, feckin lasers

 

[Beemerman59]

PIAA do zenon filled bulbs for spotlights, they really are the next thing from HID, expensive but recommended, dont confuse em wi the cheaper blue uns, from other manufacturers,
50w HID on dip an beam an it aint enough, ???where are you riding?
i use this setup with PIAA,s in the spots connected to hi beam,to counteract the slow high beam warm up,, 100 plus mph on unlit rumanian motorways was fine on this set up ,
the dutch put 35w burners together with 50w ballasts, bulbs last half as long, iv not tried it, but iv seen it, feckin lasers

The 50 watt HID dipped beam is fantastic and the 50 watt HID main beam is OK but not fantastic plus there's that time delay which I find disconcerting. Its more a limitation of the headlamp/reflector itself rather than the HID. So I want some proper spots to light the way - the 50 HID watt main beam on the GSA is not as good as the 80 watt H4 I have on my 15 year old K1100RS.

 

[Andy B]

I've HiD'd the OEM aux lights. They're okayish but don't come close to a proper spot light. It's not what they were designed for.

 

[Myke Rocks]

Additional lights?

First of all. The original auxiliary lights fitted are foglights.
What their function actually is, other than for show, is a mystery.
They do not help you see where you go, since their beam is very wide & short.
They are very good, however, at blinding oncoming drivers, both day and night.

If your pocket can stand it, you can replace with "Hella DE HID Driving lights."
Similar to size to original lights
Not generally available in UK. Search German Ebay for them. Do not confuse with Hella DE foglights, which are useless & not HID. (German for fog is Nebel.)
If looking at pictures, HID driving lights have clear lenses, FOG have patterned lenses.
Expect to pay circa 400 euro for them new.
I watched Ebay (UK) for around 6 months, & got 2 sets at around £200 per set.
Myke

 

[Andy B]

Why hasn't someone come up with a replacement lense for the OE lights to give a bit more range and better focus?

Can't somebody here whip something up?

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Why hasn't someone come up with a replacement lense for the OE lights to give a bit more range and better focus?

Can't somebody here whip something up?

I'd expect that as well as changing the lens, the shape of the relector would have to be changed too. For all that effort, you might just as well swap the lamps for proper driving lamps.

See my posts (post numbers 3 & 15 for some legal info) on this thread:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198777

 

[Beemerman59]

I'd expect that as well as changing the lens, the shape of the relector would have to be changed too. For all that effort, you might just as well swap the lamps for proper driving lamps.

See my posts (post numbers 3 & 15 for some legal info) on this thread:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198777

Hi Yeoman,

Just read your other thread and noticed you are running the Hella FF50's I'm thinking of. Are yours the standard bulb fitment or are they upgraded with HID? I really am trying to work out which to go for and then work out how to fit them to the GSA and still retain the standard OEM fogs.

 

[EggChaser]

Hi Yeoman,

Just read your other thread and noticed you are running the Hella FF50's I'm thinking of. Are yours the standard bulb fitment or are they upgraded with HID? I really am trying to work out which to go for and then work out how to fit them to the GSA and still retain the standard OEM fogs.

Not sure what Surrey Yeoman is running in his on that thread, but on my bike (in the same thread), the FF50 are running with standard bulbs because I have HIDS in main and dipped beams and wanted to keep a colour contrast between the lights.

 

[Beemerman59]

Not sure what Surrey Yeoman is running in his on that thread, but on my bike (in the same thread), the FF50 are running with standard bulbs because I have HIDS in main and dipped beams and wanted to keep a colour contrast between the lights.

So would you say the standard bulbed FF50's are good, bad, great? I know it's difficult to quantify but at night on main beam with the Hella's on, are the lights good enough for your "normal" road speed or do you have to ride slower because you can't see far enough? As you have the main beam as HID already (as I have) do you notice a significant increase in vision with the FF50's as opposed to without?

 

[EggChaser]

So would you say the standard bulbed FF50's are good, bad, great? I know it's difficult to quantify but at night on main beam with the Hella's on, are the lights good enough for your "normal" road speed or do you have to ride slower because you can't see far enough? As you have the main beam as HID already (as I have) do you notice a significant increase in vision with the FF50's as opposed to without?

I rode down some twisties in the dark without any other traffic near me (with the Hellas adjusted at more or less the correct height for driving lights) and found that, with main and dip HIDs on, there was still a very noticable difference when I switched on the Hellas with the std bulbs.

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Hi Yeoman,

Just read your other thread and noticed you are running the Hella FF50's I'm thinking of. Are yours the standard bulb fitment or are they upgraded with HID? I really am trying to work out which to go for and then work out how to fit them to the GSA and still retain the standard OEM fogs.

Hello Beemerman59,

My Hella's are as standard, out of the box, and the improvement on the bike's standard main beam was tremendous! I spent a bit of time on a quiet, dark, straight road, setting the position of the lamps up for optimum forward vision but it was well worth the effort.

As well as the spanners, I took a couple of old bar towels with me which I used to cover over the headlamp and one of the driving Hella's at a time, so that I could see exactly where each beam was falling when I was setting them up. There's probably an easier and more high-tech way of doing it, but that method worked for me, being as I'm a bit of a duffer!

Hope that helps?

 

[Beemerman59]

Hello Beemerman59,

My Hella's are as standard, out of the box, and the improvement on the bike's standard main beam was tremendous! I spent a bit of time on a quiet, dark, straight road, setting the position of the lamps up for optimum forward vision but it was well worth the effort.

As well as the spanners, I took a couple of old bar towels with me which I used to cover over the headlamp and one of the driving Hella's at a time, so that I could see exactly where each beam was falling when I was setting them up. There's probably an easier and more high-tech way of doing it, but that method worked for me, being as I'm a bit of a duffer!

Hope that helps?

Yes, that helps Yeoman. Thanks.

The only decision I really need to make now is how to mount them in combination with the OEM fogs.

 

[Beemerman59]

I rode down some twisties in the dark without any other traffic near me (with the Hellas adjusted at more or less the correct height for driving lights) and found that, with main and dip HIDs on, there was still a very noticable difference when I switched on the Hellas with the std bulbs.

Thanks for this Eggchaser.