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LED Driving Light Install

48K views 66 replies 36 participants last post by  silviefox 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
note April 2019 , this guy still makes these at reasonable cost; http://stores.advmonster.com/


I've posted quite a few times on here about my issues with having the driving lights I have. I finally picked up a set on the driving lights available from a guy from advrider.com here. They were $182.00 shipped for the 1500 lumen 24w flood with 3 setting dimmer. I just posted on the ADVrider forum my install but I thought I'd share it with you guys.

Summary: These things rock!!! Here's my full post:

I've got the same bike as JakeKV above, but set up for commuting rather than adventure riding. Thought I'd give you guys a run down of my install of these lights and my thoughts so far.

I'd been watching this thread for over a month after deciding to pick up a set of the lights. I had to wait a couple weeks till the stock came back in, but finally ordered my 24w 3 level dimming floods last Saturday. Received them via USPS on Wednesday in California. Came with no instructions and in a small well packed box. No worries on the instructions since I have some level of experience with this stuff. The only thing was, I decided to ditch the amp connectors. They look great, but I'm not great at soldering and didn't feel like learning.

I had been using a cheap ($20) set of driving lights from Wally World but after several months of using them sparingly, I knew I needed something that wouldn't kill my charging system as those lights pulled 110w (as opposed to the LED's 48w). These lights fit the bill perfectly and were SO much cheaper than any other options I saw out there. The build quality is great, nice and solid.

I had already wired in my previous lights to either side of my front fender. I decided to keep them in that location and keep the same wiring and switch and not mess working something else up. The lights are wired through a relay that is triggered when my low-beam comes on. Then on my dash, I had already installed a simple toggle on/off switch from Kragen which I'm still using. I am using these on my Kawi Versys strictly as driving lights/running lights so the mount height shouldn't be an issue.





I decided to flip the mount that comes pre-installed so that the lights are "over" the mount not ahead of it. For my install this looked the cleanest I think. I also swapped out the dual nuts on the inside of the bracket for an aluminum spacer. This just seemed like an easier way to mount them to me. I think it will be easier to make adjustments on the bike this way. I ran the wires up my brake line hoses just as my previous lights and tied them into the previous harness behind the rightside fairing.

I mounted them to the fender using a 10mm (30mm long) bolt. I also used blue loctite on everything to keep them in place.





The hardest part about mounting these were getting the aim right. On my previous lights, I only had the up/down adjustment to worry about. Adding in the side/side made it a little tricky, but I think I've got it.





Another note: I have the dimming model. As previously mentioned, it's a good idea to check the "sync" of the two lights before you button everything up. I did and I'm glad I did, cause the lights were out of sync the first time I fired up the bike. No biggie though, I just unplugged one and cycled the other to match the one that was plugged in. The only problem with this was on my test ride when I accidentally killed the bike by putting the kickstand down. Somehow, by doing this and starting it back up right away, one of the lights got out of sync again, which required me to unbutton everything and reset them. Again, no biggie, but another 15 minutes I didn't want to spend on it.

Now for the fun stuff...THESE THINGS ARE BRIGHT!!! Holy crap they're bright. I live on a dead end street. The end of the street is about 75 yards away so I had my wife stand in the street as I rode to the end and turned around. With the lights on the brightest setting, I drove towards here. As I reached about 40 yards away, I could see here like daylight and she covered her face until I got up to her. She looked at me and said "Holy crap!" The lights were aimed just slightly lower than level so I cycled them down to medium and did it again. She said they were perfect.

This pic doesn't show it justice, but just to give you an idea of where they're aimed. The wood on the right has a dark spot which is why the light on the right looks different.


Again, doesn't do it justice, but they're on high here.


Just for fun, I decided to adjust the aim way down so that they acted more like fog lights. The beam on the LED's reached just a tad farther than my stock headlight, but filled in everything. With the lights on high, she said they were again perfect. She wasn't blinded, but couldn't miss me! I then took the bike for a test ride in traffic. I didn't get flashed at all and also noticed that i could see a TON more detail in the road at night than I did before.

All in all, as long as these things last, I will remain 110% satisfied. Only time will tell if these will indeed last but right now I have no reason to believe they won't. Props to John for getting this product at this price!
 
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#6 ·
I mounted them here because U already had everything set up for the old lights. This location provides a pretty distinguishing triangle from front too. I wasn't so concerned with the cheap Wally world lights but now that these are on there, I would like to figure out a more protected location.

I've seen the fork clamps and actually really like that idea but the cheapest I've seen them is about $65 for a pair. Those will have to wait.

I also thought about mounting them using a spacer in the lowest forward most fairing bolt as others have done on here. However, I do not want to hassle with unmounting and re-aiming them anytime I remove a fairing. Besides, I almost think they'd be worse off up there in a tipover anyway.
 
#5 ·
I was waiting to buy those, they sold out in hours....and had been waiting for week as well...hopefully I will be able to order those on the next go around.

Nice right up been trying to decide where to mount them.
 
#8 · (Edited)
You can also get them from this Online Shop - http://www.ioffer.com/selling/roltaonline



Lots of lights at various outputs :thumb:

I think they also have an Ebay shop - 24x7 DIY - http://stores.ebay.com/24x7-DIY

----------------------------------------

Only found the above after I had got these from Bikevis - http://www.bikevis.com/motorcycle-cree-led-running-lights.html







They are going to be mounted on these that came last week.

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11781



---------------------------------------

Also got some of their BikeVis Bullet Kits in Blue :thumb: - http://www.bikevis.com/motorcycle-led-running-lights.html



Richard
 
#11 ·
So what is he adding to make some of his light ( the guy on ADV) to make them dimmable. I assume he is adding an extra circuit board. Is that available from on of the sites listed?
 
#16 ·
Well, I'm already in it $180 so I'm going to see what they can do. FWIW, the forum on ADVrider.com where John has been selling these has only 2 other people on it (out of MANY) that have had issues. In both those issues, John has been quick to offer a fix or replacement. I still think they are quality lights and I love having them on my bike (to the point where I don't feel too safe now only having one!).

I'm still happy I picked them up, but I'll be happier once I get the light back fixed and ready to go.
 
#17 ·
Bumpin the thread

Quick update guys on my lights that came in from Jon at ADV Monster. He has recently upgraded his lights to a 4 LED 2000 Lumen setup which I missed out on, but I do have his 24 watt 3 bulb system. Let me tell you... night driving is a different ballgame. I installed with a set of Pingel Clamps. I have been looking for a good place to secure these as I was not too keen on mounting them on the upper fairing or the lower front fender (in case of drops) So, I have ended up with them here.

Yikes! kinda dirty. Probably add plastic thread caps to the top soon.

Hope this inspires.:thumb:
 

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#22 ·
Quick update guys on my lights that came in from Jon at ADV Monster. He has recently upgraded his lights to a 4 LED 2000 Lumen setup which I missed out on, but I do have his 24 watt 3 bulb system. Let me tell you... night driving is a different ballgame. I installed with a set of Pingel Clamps. I have been looking for a good place to secure these as I was not too keen on mounting them on the upper fairing or the lower front fender (in case of drops) So, I have ended up with them here.

Yikes! kinda dirty. Probably add plastic thread caps to the top soon.

Hope this inspires.:thumb:
Where did you get the fork clamps?? :huh:
 
#19 ·
the new 4 LED lights are 44W. I got a set I am trying to put on to my Ford Fiesta. I also got the remote dimmer for them so I can set the brightness....
 
#24 ·
I finally got around to installing these. They were great for a night, then the next I turned them on, then off, and now they won't come back on. Checked the fuse and it is good, so now I need to start tracing things back. I'm leaning toward the switch. I got the one they sell on the ADV Monster site, and it doesn't seem to click like it did before.
 
#26 ·
Reviving an old thread.

How so? I do intend to use this in addition to a hid setup.
 
#29 ·
I am thinking of adding separate on/off switch for both the LED and HID.

Both OFF when starting the bike. As and when the bike idles fine and ready to go, HID headlamp is flipped ON (the law in my place here requires the headlamp to be constantly on). As and when the situation requires (night riding), then flick the LED ON, while at the same time i have the option to either keep the HID ON or OFF.

Just trying to minimise the load on the power coils. There has been a few cases of versys coils burnt in my country. They're 2011 bikes.
 
#28 ·
I've got the 30 watt variety. VERY bright, wow! Mine are mounted much the same as the OP's and I did a fairly quick swap out of the Walmart lights I'd had on (and replaced under warranty several times...they are junk, unfortunately).

One issue I had is I needed to replace the supplied small pan machine screws that hold the bracket in place and allow side to side light aiming. The supplied screw heads looked Phillips but did not cleanly engage with any of about two dozen Phillips screw drivers I have, nor did they work with JIS screwdrivers (I have 4 of those). Just couldn't get enough torque on the screw without the screwdriver slipping out. I though I had tightened them enough to hold the lights tightly in place but when I came home from a ride on Monday the right light was pointing way off to the right. The left one was still pointing straight but I was able to move it by hand easily. A trip to Lowe's and $4 solved the problem with 6-32 x 1 1/4 stainless machine screws that work with screwdrivers and nylon insert nuts to keep things from loosening up. Nice and snug now.
 
#30 ·
I've got the 30 watt variety. VERY bright, wow! Mine are mounted much the same as the OP's and I did a fairly quick swap out of the Walmart lights I'd had on (and replaced under warranty several times...they are junk, unfortunately).
i'd prefer to mount them on the radiator shrouds, so that it wont be a costly affair should my bike decides to have a rest on its sides.:p
Thanks for the tip on the phillip head screw though.
 
#33 ·
Yeap, those 1500/1600 lumens led lights came before the 3000 led lights. Those 3000s were recently introduced this year.

While the 1500/1600 lumens are good enough for roadside illumination but after seeing the side by side comparison of both lights, i was like, oh what the hell i'll just blast them till kingdom come. :)
 
#35 ·
Just filled out an order for the ADVmonster lights.....they are priced at $45 a piece....shipping came out to $39.....that doesn't seem right. Is there a coupon code for the site?

Choppastyle
The shipping will change later in the process. I just received my second set the other day. They will be going on the TU250.


I have the dimmer on the V.


 
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