Supplemental Lights on 12RT

[RoadJunkie]

It's time to talk to Santa and need feedback on which supplemental lights best complement the stock lighting on the 12RT.

 

The light lobe of interest (to me) would be mostly forward as opposed to wide angle without much distance. Any recommendations? What are you using and why do you like/dislike the setup?

[Don_Eilenberger]

Not using them on an RT - on an R.. but I've had Hella FF50 lights on several of my bikes - and I've really liked them. You have a choice of driving or fog patterns - the driving is focused ahead, the fog wide. I have the driving on my R1200R - and they work very nicely.

 

Eyeballing them on a distant wall against some HID lights a fellow club member has on his bike - they are at least equal brightness - perhaps even a tad brighter. They draw 55W each (H1 bulbs - other wattages are available..) and can be found for $70-100/pair easily on Ebay brand new.

 

Hella has been making lights about as long as BMW has been making motorcycles - and they are a quality product (and are made in Germany..)

[kenzst]

Motolights. Caliper Mount with upgraded 50W bulbs. Do a great job. Look Great.

[GoGo Gadget]

Motolights. Caliper Mount with upgraded 50W bulbs. Do a great job. Look Great.

 

+1

[Fleeter]

+1 again on the Motolights.

I have them on my R12RT and Vstar1100.

[blkbird]

NO WAY!!! I've have them on my R12RT since West Bend and they are TOTALLY WORTHLESS at night. Won't cover the side blind spot. Ive tried the 50 watts bulb (supplied by Moto Lights) and I've tried other bulbs (with a wider degree spread from the hardware stores) with NO improvement, driving down a dark road flicking them on and off I can see little to no differance in the amount of illumination. I will say Moto Lights was great when I called and told them of my concerns, they even said they would refund my money (I called within 2 weeks of West Bend. They did ask me to try the 50 watt bulbs first though) . My fault for waiting so long to act after installing the differant bulbs. I will take them off next service and they will be for sale right after that. I will be looking at PIAA's like I had on my R11RT. THEY LIGHT UP THE NIGHT. I'm not sure the PIAA's will get the side dark spots though, mounted under they oil cooler like my R11RT had them. Now having said all this I will say they Moto Lights MAKE you VERY visable in the dark I've had MANY people FLASH HI beams at me and thats with the lights properly aimed.

[Formerly_Capecodbeemer]

My weekend project is to find a way to mount my piaas 1100s on to my touratech engine bars.

I loved the oil cooler mount on my R11RT but want a little more seperation, that triangle thing.

[GoGo Gadget]

My weekend project is to find a way to mount my piaas 1100s on to my touratech engine bars.

I loved the oil cooler mount on my R11RT but want a little more seperation, that triangle thing.

 

You need a 25mm clamp to mount something to the TT bars. I plan to get 2 of these, http://www.kartoramainc.com/1949195.html and mount amber Whelen TIR 3 LED's for better visibility. I am happy with the light put out by MotoLight, but want to be more visible to others. Sometimes I forget to turn on the MotoLights, so I want the LEDs to come on automatically.

[paulcbrowne]

Obviously from this thread it's evident that there's a defineite personal preference for PIAA 1100's vs Motolights with 50 w bulbs. I've had both and find them about equal. The Motolights are a bit more convenient to mount. The RT has a really good low beam headlight. The Motolights fill in the pattern nicely, but they don't cast light any farther down the road.

 

To solve that I intend to mount Hella FF50s on the under-mirror RTP brackets. I've had the FF50s on my GS and they are about as good as you can get without going to the much more expensive larger-diameter lights or an HID projector light.

 

YMMV!

[Mike05]

MotoLights (caliper mounted) with the AMBER bulbs for daytime visibility. Does a great job!!

 

PIAA 1100's (mounted below the oil cooler) for riding after dark. Also works well.

 

If I had to pick one over the other I'd go for the MotoLights w/amber bulbs. Since I do most of my riding during daylight hours I really like the increased visibility.

[Blast54]

 

Eyeballing them on a distant wall against some HID lights a fellow club member has on his bike - they are at least equal brightness - perhaps even a tad brighter.

 

I've always respected your opinion Don, but I really can't see how this could be possible. I mounted up a set of Hella HID's ( Micro DE's ?) on my RT and they light up the dark like it is daylight for a good long distance.

 

Maybe something wrong with your friend's lights. Even going by the numbers, how could a H1 bulb put out what the HID's put out? I know how the light is focused is as important as the light output and I trust Hella is capable in both the DE's and FF's in that regard.

 

I also assume your buddie's lights are HID? ( Hella makes driving lights and fog lights using the same housing )

 

I also have Motolights because I was afraid to mount the PIAA 1100's under the cooler for lack of travel. I agree, they do not help the low beam much on the RT but are great for daytime conspicuosy (sp?).

[RoadJunkie]

Good posts! I'm leaning towards the Hella FF50s mounted under the mirrors on the 12RT. Anybody make a bracket for such an application?

 

I have been in front of--and also behind--someone with the Moto setup and, from behind, I can't say I was impressed with the improvement in light coverage. However when I was in front I had to let them pass because the light was too bright as reflected in my mirrors... Anyway, considering cost, I'm thinking Hella.

[rideaway]

I don't know much about the lights that are available today, but I know that back in the good old days when most headlights were 7" round, it made a huge difference in the amount of light and the light scattered by which brand you used. I always used a french brand ( not Cibie, can't remember the name) and they had a cut crystal lens. The edges of the light beam where very sharp and crisp and I could use 100 watt bulbs without ever having to worry about blinding people, (as long as they were set up properly)there was just no light scattered past the edges of the beam.

[RedMac]

I have a set of PIAA 1100s that I took off my K1200RS before I sold it. I've been planning on mounting them on my RT, but the stock lights are so good (compared to the K1200) that I haven't felt the urgency to get it done. However, I'm planning on rewiring the RT with a new fuse block my friend is developing and will mount them then.

 

I had the Ezy-Mount brackets on the K1200 and I liked the alot. However, the ones for the R1200RT look like they use the side panel mounting screws to hold them in place, which means everytime you remove the side panels you will have to reset the lights. Kinda looks like a bit of a hassle. Does anyone have any better ideas for mounting the PIAA 1100s on an RT? I don't have the toura-tech bars.

 

Thanks!

[Limecreek]

The only under mirror brackets available for the 12RT are from BMW and they are expensive.

 

Part numbers:

 

Lft. 46637692869

Rt. 46637692870

 

$$$

[Blast54]

The only under mirror brackets available for the 12RT are from BMW and they are expensive.

 

 

Agreed.

Next time I have the fairing off, I will take some pictures of the brackets I welded up that mount using the same bolt holes as the factory mounts.