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WR auxiliary lighting

By oldbones,
in WR400F/426F/450F

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ddialogue

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I was curious about the same thing...mainly for riding the dunes in the dark. I haven't done anything yet, but the Lead Dog helmet light looked promising. 35 watt spot light with a tail/brakelight built into it (for sledding, mainly) but is very affordable.

Check them out: lead dog light

I figure, 120watts at 5k rpm....55/60 watts bulb in the WR PLUS 35 watts...you'd still have enough to spare for charging the battery, etc.

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  • 4 months later...
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ddialogue

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Ok, I'm reviving this thread. ? I'm still looking at the Lead Dog helmet light as a form of auxiliary lighting for night rides and such. I am just curious to know if anyone has used this on their WR's (400's, 426's or 450's??) I know the DR guys have used it but their bikes pump out 200w from the stator. Anyone??

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oldbones

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Wow, I was surprised to see this thread again!

Anyway, a bunch of us ran a 24 hour race last November, plenty of riding in the DARK! I was actually very impressed with the stock WR headlight, it puts out some great light. I did make one or two 12 mile laps with just the stock light, and did fine.

To supplement it though, we built some home-made helmet lights cause were cheap. We used some driving lights (35W) bought from Wal-mart, built little mounts, attatched to helmet with Duo-Lock (like heavy duty velcro), and wired them up with a plug at the handlebars and a little on/off switch inline. They really did work great, having that extra light right were you wanted to look was invaluable. Our only real complaint (some of us) was that the light was kinda yellowish, but you can solve that by buying bright white driving lights, not fog type.

In retrospect, if you are going to ride much at night, you WANT a helmet light. I saw guys there using the lead dog, it looked really nice. I wouldn't hesitate to buy that light. There were a lot more guys using Trail Tech HID systems, and some Baja Design stuff there as well. You could definitely tell the difference with the HID systems, man, that's some light! If'n you got money to burn, that's the way to go.

Any rugged light mounted on your helmet will be a welcome addition at night, and the stock WR electrical system can handle it. If you will be using it in tight woods, you might end up bumping your idle up a bit, the lights tend to dim at idle, it just gets a little worse when you add more lights.

If you wanna see some pictures from our race, CLICK HERE! In the picture titled "Midnight", that's me with the yellowish helmet light, and ShotgunScott with the two bright white ones (trailtech HID). Our lights weren't on, that's just reflection from the camera flash, but that is what the difference in light output was like when they were on. I was jealous of those lights, but they get a little spendy.

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ddialogue

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Thanks OldBones! I figured the WR electrical system could handle it but I worry a bit with the system needing to charge the battery on the 450's. I guess max load would only be 95watts anyway so you think it would be OK. I would love to get some HID lighting, but that's beyond my budget. Something less than $100 that I can quickly add for night riding (the Lead dog) would be ideal. ?

So, where does one wire in the connections for the extra light?

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ddialogue

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I just checked out the trail tech HID helmet lights and WOW! I had no idea they made such a thing. I think they're a little spendy at $230, but they provide twice as much light as the lead dog and consume a third less power. I like the fact that they've been tested on the WR450's and can be easily installed. ?:D

For anyone wanting to see these lights, here's the link:

Trail Tech Helmet Mounted HID Light Kits

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Experienced

ETP

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I recently saw an XR that had an MR16 wide angle lamp on the number plate above the stock light. It was mounted on a removeable bracket. I was thinking about trying one and make it switchable between my UFO headlight if the load was too high.

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oldbones

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Guys, I am by no means the end all expert on this subject, but having completed five laps at race pace on a 12 mile course with everything from tight woods to flat in fifth dusty straights, I have formed some opinions.

1. The stock headlight on the WR rocks. It is very bright, brilliant white light, and I saw no other bike with stock lighting that could compare.

2. The biggest gain in "usable" light is to be had with a helmet light. Straight up, light where you are looking (usually also where you are going) is often more important than light where your handlebars are pointed (sometimes NOT where you are going). This was especially evident in the tight turny sections, in the whoops, and over all the jumps. I made laps with and without the helmet light, and with the right helmet light, it is WAY better.

3. It is a good thing to be able to turn off your helmet light without shutting down the bike or the main headlight. We wired a rotary on/off switch inline with our helmet light, and it came in handy. If it gets real dusty, you may find you want to turn the helmet light off, it can cause vertigo (like driving in a snowstorm with your brights on, only worse).

4. The HID systems are damn sweet, and if you are going to do a lot of riding or any real serious racing at night, they should be considered mandatory equipment. But, if you are just going to race for fun (like us) and ride recreationally occasionally at night, then a regular halogen type light (like the lead dog) will be fine.

Sorry so long, but hope I have helped.

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Rising Star

5spoke

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What's an MR16? ? Got any links?

**EDIT**

Ok, so I googled on MR16. Interesting bulb setup...I could only find a 20watt version. Did it significantly increase the lighting effect of the XR?

You can buy Mr16 light bulbs at home depot or any hardware or house lighting store. As stated you can get up to a 75W MR16 with different angles from narrow spot to flood. Look in the land scape lighting area of hardware stores and you can find a small fixture that could be adapted to your handle bars.

The thing I don't like about MR16 bulbs is their socket. They have 2 small pins that push into a flimsy female socket. It's not ment for a lot of vibration and can easily pop out. They are really designed for household accent lighting. I don't think their filaments will hold up well with the vibration either. BTW you can try MR11 which are a smaller version than the mr16, but again they are designed for accent lighting.

I'm not trying to diss this idea, I just thought I'll tell you my opinoin before you go out and spend lots of $'s on a setup. :D

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Experienced

ETP

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Thanks for the tip on a helmet light. I just read the rest of the thread.

I'm running a 35watt UFO headlight on my DS kit right now. Its not enough for me with my vision at night in the woods.

Wondering if a helmet light attached to a battery in my fanny pack, and a suicide cord connected to the WR charging system would work. The bike light could still run and maybe one amp to charge the helmet light battery. ? 35watts (helmet) + 35watts (UFO) = 70 watts. Maybe the WR electrical system could handle it without the battery.

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montanaWR250F

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$99 and they are from Washington.

I took 35w track lighting bulb and siliconed it into a PVC pipe to make a flashligh type and used the "dual lock" that old-bones turned me onto at the 24 hours. For the amount of night riding that a normal person does the home-made method is good. The cyclops is indestructable and well worth the low amount of coin versus other types. Stock headlights on todays offroad bikes rock! Nothing like what the 1980's era Honda XR's had to get you home and that was about all they were good for.

http://www.socalmotox.com/cyclops/cyclops.html

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jetdave

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You can go to your local auto parts store and get a super bright 9003 bulb that is the same watts but burns brighter.

I mountain bike at night during the winter and use a Light and Motion HID helment light, that is equivalent to about 45 watts and last for 3 hours. The beam was designed for trailridng with a center hot spot and a wide overal pattern.

The small battery goes in my cambleback, and I can get off the bike and help people or clear trail with out being attached to the bike. ?

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