JimGullen Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Greetings! I'm looking to add some additional light to my R1150RT. I'm primarily interested in additional "down the road" illumination as opposed to a wider beam. I'm thinking that the Denali DX LEDs will really fit the bill... Denali DX Lights ..but I'm not sure where to mount them. I'm thinking higher is better than lower given that I want the light thrown down the road. I see that there used to be a few plate options that could be mounted such that the lights would be under the oil cooler...but I can't find those as available anymore. Has anyone just drilled into the horizontal plastic in the nose that is in front/below of the oil cooler? It appears to be sturdy and I'm thinking I could drill into that and use some washers to reinforce the mount. Any other suggestions are appreciated. Many thanks and best regards! Jim Link to comment
RonB001 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Just drilling into the plastic can lead to a broken fairing. I had some lights mounted to a fairing seam (bolted through) on an old Concours, and although they didn't break anything they were pretty floppy. I like just underneath the mirrors. There is a mounting bracket there for the mirrors, which would give something solid to hold the lights. I did just that with an ST1300 I used to have, and it worked brilliantly. A notch could possibly be cut in the bottom of the mirrors to allow for the bracket, which would have to completely avoid the actual mirror mount. I haven't looked in detail at this bike yet; still catching up on deferred maintenance. Link to comment
szurszewski Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I agree that you're likely to get a lot of bounce by just mounting to the plastic - if not a broken fairing section. If you post a WTB ad here or check beemerboneyard I bet you can find some mounts that will either attach at the mirror mounting point or near the cooler like you said you saw but were unavailable. Mounting near the mirrors will make you look bigger to oncoming traffic, which is a pretty nice benefit all on its own. Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Just drilling into the plastic can lead to a broken fairing. Gee, I really hope not. I've had my aux lights mounted to the R1150RT fairing for 130 K miles so far. No signs of any cracking or other failure. Lights are PIAA 1200's and they are mounted where the BMW Rondels used to be. I used tiny hardware (#4) so that it would break or pull out in the event of an accident (so far untested). The advantage of using this spot is that the Rondels can be replaced and would hide the holes in the fairing. Stan Link to comment
Andre1150 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Idea: You might want to pick up an RTP front mount which bolts in front of the alternator cover. It's a pain to put on, but what it does is put two 13mm bolt holes just behind the cover about 9inches below the Roundel. On RTP models this where the lights and sirens go, but it works well for fabricating an attachment point for all kinds of lighting and on my 1150RT, I took off the authority bars and use that as a lighting attachment point. Link to comment
dan cata Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Since the lights you are using are LED's and vibration is not a problem, like in a incandescent bulb setup, I would use longer M8 bolts for the front wheel spindle and machine some mounts on the bolts, secure the mounts with nylon nuts and washers and see how that goes. Dan. Link to comment
Bob_1978 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 I mounted them low on the front fork...creates a very distinctive "triangle of light" for max conspicuity. Needed a Granger adapter but pretty easy install. Running Lights for 04RT Link to comment
Twinsig Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 A notch could possibly be cut in the bottom of the mirrors to allow for the bracket, which would have to completely avoid the actual mirror mount. I made some brackets for this method (did not modify the mirror housing) and used spacer/washers on the upper mirror attachment. The additional gap between mirrors and faring was not noticeable. 12ga sheet metal (scrap commercial steel door) & sheet metal brake required for the 90 deg bend, then some tedious measuring & cutting. It was a real PAIN, but it fit my budget. Oh , and one of the mirror attachments was through-bolted, just remove and place a factory clip-on type nut where you can remove it easily. Good Luck bro!! Link to comment
PAS Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 No problems with the fairing mount. Old picture, light was out of adjustment then. Link to comment
Bob Boro Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 PAS: The plastic fairing in that location below the oil cooler is thick. But did you add washers or some kind of metal backing plate to better support the mounting location on your RT? That's where I'm thinking of adding a set of lights. Link to comment
PAS Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 PAS: The plastic fairing in that location below the oil cooler is thick. But did you add washers or some kind of metal backing plate to better support the mounting location on your RT? That's where I'm thinking of adding a set of lights. Bob, the lights were installed by the previous owner. I cant get to the top of the mount to see if it is reinforced. The oil cooler is in the way. They made it so the lights come on and off using the turn signal cancel button, plus a small LED indicator light is in the dash board to show when they are on. Link to comment
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