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Fog Light Option on '14 RTW?


OzarkR1200RT

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OzarkR1200RT

Anyone found fog lights for the new RTW?

 

Came from GTL and liked the OEM lights - fit and finish. To place these on the RT it will cost you $650+ Seems a little steep even for BMW - ha!

 

Searching for an aftermarket option!

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OzarkR1200RT

Called Clearwater and moto.......no mounting options for '14 RT........

 

Will have to wait and see......

 

 

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Motolights would be great, they also can mount from your brake calipers. And since this is about fog you can also have Amber. I had Motolights on my 02R1150RT, very happy. They have been around a long time and are good folks to work with. When you call you talk with the owner. I'm not sure if they still offer this but I got free replacement blubs for life so I have spoken with them in the last couple of years.

 

I think Irish Mike moved his Amber lights from him previous RT to the Wethead. He did have to change the mount to work with the new radial brake calipers.

 

Jay

 

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Jay,

That is why I responded wrt strap mounts.

From previous post I thought he said he talked to Motolights and no mounting option for new RT.

I was speculating the old strap mounts (what I have) could work.

Still listed on product page, so?

 

The amber color is exceptional for conspicuity.

Best wishes.

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Jay,

That is why I responded wrt strap mounts.

From previous post I thought he said he talked to Motolights and no mounting option for new RT.

I was speculating the old strap mounts (what I have) could work.

Still listed on product page, so?

 

The amber color is exceptional for conspicuity.

Best wishes.

 

Tim, Mike aka Iris Mike will have to confirm but I believe he told me he got the radial mount parts to convert his older caliper mount. See the site http://www.motolight.com/product/Radial%20Mount%20Light%20Set .

 

Jay

 

 

 

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The amber color is exceptional for conspicuity.

Best wishes.

Tim, Mike aka Iris Mike will have to confirm but I believe he told me he got the radial mount parts to convert his older caliper mount. See the site http://www.motolight.com/product/Radial%20Mount%20Light%20Set .

 

Jay

 

 

Hi Tim/Jay, :wave:

 

You're both correct! I've used amber-colored lens' MotoLights (daytime visibility) for years; very conspicuous. And Audrey (owner & great to deal with) @ MotoLights provided radial mounts for pairing with the '14 RT.

 

 

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Like Ozark, I came from a K1600 and the lower fog lights were great with regard to conspicuousness (loved the adaptive HID headlight at night, but it was hardly visible to oncoming traffic during the day, and the angel eyes are only mildly effective) Less concerned with riding in fog, more about being seen daily driving.

 

Been trying to find a place to mount either Skene Photon Blasters or the new Hyper lights as the the modulating/flickering are great for garnering attention, but I also don't want to mess up the visual style of the front of the bike by hanging some lights on with hose claps or such.

 

The Motolights which mount to the calipers look like a nice option, so thanks for suggesting. While they don't have the "flicker" and they will draw more than the Skene or Hyperlights, they will be better than nothing. It wasn't clear to me on their site if the Radial Mount will work with the '14?

 

Thx,

Scott

 

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You're both correct! I've used amber-colored lens' MotoLights (daytime visibility) for years; very conspicuous. And Audrey (owner & great to deal with) @ MotoLights provided radial mounts for pairing with the '14 RT.

 

 

Can you post any close-ups of your '14 RT motolight install? Thx.

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I don't think you mean you want true fog lights but rather lights with a wide beam pattern.

 

True fog lights have a flat top beam cutoff, not the conical beam of all aftermarket items mentioned in this thread. If you ride in real fog, its very easy to see why the flat top cutoff is needed. However, true fog lights are an endangered species and do not exist in LED AFAIK.

 

For added conspicuity at a sane cost I use VisionX SP-120s. They are the maker for Twisted Throttle and same as Denali (made in S. Korea) but with better electrical connectors (deutsch type).

 

For real fog, yellow also helps a lot. Less bounceback glare.

 

Personally, I'd rather not be on a bike in a traveled area in heavy fog. Way too much danger from the other nuts on the road..

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OzarkR1200RT

Still looking for a mount to provide conspicuity. Todays thought...... order OEM mounting arms and then add some twisted throttle lights......will look much like a GTL execution. Any one tried this?

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You're both correct! I've used amber-colored lens' MotoLights (daytime visibility) for years; very conspicuous. And Audrey (owner & great to deal with) @ MotoLights provided radial mounts for pairing with the '14 RT.

 

 

Can you post any close-ups of your '14 RT motolight install? Thx.

 

 

tkrandall,

Fyi...

 

Mike

 

photo2-S.jpg

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One correction; the owner of MotoLights is "TINA", not Audrey. :dopeslap:

 

My bad. She & MotoLights are truly great to deal with! Their caliber mounting system went on w/o any issues.

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  • 3 weeks later...
bubbamoore

Just moved my motolights from a 06RT to the 14RT , original wiring harness works however a new bracket ( $ 75 including brackets and 4 bolts ) was required due to a difference in the caliper mounts. A phone call to motolights and I had them in hand 3 days later ! Install looks nice!

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swmckinley

I just ordered the fork clamps from Clearwater lights. I have moved a set of their Glenda's from bike to bike. When I ordered the Glenda's in 2010 I ordered them in a Amber LED. Its a great set of lights that has survived a few mishaps. The fork clamps from Clearwater are going for $75.00.

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Just talked with one of the guys at Clearwater and he mentioned that for the Darla lights the volume controller (light dimmer) would not be needed as the new CAN-Opener will allow you to dim the lights from the wonder wheel. There were other things he mentioned but that is the one that stuck with me. So I think I will go with the Darla lights when the kit comes out.

 

Alan

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Just talked with one of the guys at Clearwater and he mentioned that for the Darla lights the volume controller (light dimmer) would not be needed as the new CAN-Opener will allow you to dim the lights from the wonder wheel. There were other things he mentioned but that is the one that stuck with me. So I think I will go with the Darla lights when the kit comes out.

 

Alan

 

That sounds great - I like the integration, rather than DIY switches.

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Jay,

The Darlas are 2000 lumens each. Dimming then allows them to be used as running type lights, but when you hit the high beams they go on full.

 

Alan

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...for the Darla lights the volume controller (light dimmer) would not be needed as the new CAN-Opener will allow you to dim the lights from the wonder wheel...

 

OK, I have never installed these type of lights before, on any bike. In addition, this bike is my very first BMW, so exactly how do I power them, turn them off/on, and get the wheel to know that it is a dimmer? Are all these things spelled out in a manual that comes with the lights, or is this where the combined knowledge of this fine community kicks in?

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I have not used them either and this is also my first BMW. The guy at Clearwater said there would be a manual to describe all the functionality and how to configure and set it up. I believe there is a relay that connects directly to the battery with the coil connected to the CAN-Opener which is the communications device that talks to the CAN bus on the bike to determine the actions to take. It looks like each light has three conductors so I am guessing one for 12Vdc, return, and a control cable that handles the dimming. The CAN-Opener version is new and that is what Clearwater is busy testing right now before they release a kit.

 

Alan

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Jay,

The Darlas are 2000 lumens each. Dimming then allows them to be used as running type lights, but when you hit the high beams they go on full.

 

Alan

 

That’s bright!!! I get it now.

 

I installed the OEM driving lights they needed to be activated by the dealer’s computer. I’m sure the Clearwater’s are running off a different circuit. I wonder how Clearwater is able to tap into the Cam Bus and allow use of the bikes controls. This is very cool.

 

Jay

 

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There are answers to all these questions, and installation manuals available for download on Clearwater's Web site. http://www.clearwaterlights.com . Check out the FAQs.

 

Clearwater systems connect directly to the battery and have no impact on the CanBus.

 

I see they get their power direct from the battery, I would of assume that, like all other added accessory’s this is a good reason for a fuse block. But they are still taping into the Can Bus, the high/low beam and I don’t see how it’s able to use the thumb wheel to control the dimmer. The on/off is most likely a add on switch (it’s a add on even with BMW LED driving lights).

 

I’ve only heard good thing about Clearwater lights and if they are going to offer the same mounting brackets (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?72937-Under-mirror-aux-light-mounts-for-the-RTW scroll down to nelliott post) as BMW OEM lights I think it hits it out of the park.

 

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There are answers to all these questions, and installation manuals available for download on Clearwater's Web site. http://www.clearwaterlights.com . Check out the FAQs.

 

Clearwater systems connect directly to the battery and have no impact on the CanBus.

 

I see they get their power direct from the battery, I would of assume that, like all other added accessory’s this is a good reason for a fuse block. But they are still taping into the Can Bus, the high/low beam and I don’t see how it’s able to use the thumb wheel to control the dimmer. The on/off is most likely a add on switch (it’s a add on even with BMW LED driving lights).

 

I’ve only heard good thing about Clearwater lights and if they are going to offer the same mounting brackets (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?72937-Under-mirror-aux-light-mounts-for-the-RTW scroll down to nelliott post) as BMW OEM lights I think it hits it out of the park.

 

Jay

 

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swmckinley

I am going to mount them on the fork mounts which will arrive shortly. I then will power them from the Fuze Block I have mounted under the seat. I will plug them in to the switched power side of the Fuze Block. The bottom line is that any time the bike is running my amber Glenda's will be on. The dimmer allows me to run them at full bright during the day and turn them down to 10% for night riding. I will not have them wired to my high beams or horn. This will keep the installation very simple and allow me to circumvent the CanBus system. There is already too much stuff (menus) going on with the wonder wheel and I don't want to have to remember to turn the Glenda's on and off, so there will be no switch.

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