Inexpensive Light Kit

[yankee in texas]

This summer a friend of mine spent $400 on a light kit for his hog. After a few adult beverages I mentioned I could probably install one for much less.
After some trail and error I found these at Auto Zone for $22. They include two 12" strips that can be cut so don't waste your money on the 8". I used six kits and a luminated dash switch. Altogether $160 - minus the beer!

 

[RaWarrior]

I like it. Red and chrome has always been one of my favorite combinations.

I was going to put red LEDs on my bike, but was kind of leery about the legality of it. Research put it in kind of a "gray zone", and I know someone with a Goldwing that lights up like a Christmas tree got a ticket for "illegal equipment" or something. Essentially, your bike already has all the lights it's legally allowed to have. A couple local cops are really "picky", and the last thing I need is some BS ticket for accent lights. Then again Texas has sane laws about things, rather than the uber paranoid legal gangbang that passes for NY legislation.

 

[Hatter]

Essentially, your bike already has all the lights it's legally allowed to have.

Actually, your bike comes with the MININUM lights it is REQUIRED to have, be 50-state legal.

 

[Diablotin]

I like the overall idea but I guess I will have done it a bit different, maybe with the strips hidden and less led in order just to have a glow effect without it to be too bright.
It's just a bit much for my taste, although I like the red and I'm sure you really become visible even from the side

 

[vmax2extreme]

$400 is a waste, even at $150 is far too expensive to justify. I know I can do it for less than $80 easily! I plan to do mine eventually. I have an 05 and I want to do red. I will use micro LEDs that are hidden and also have some in my scoops. I too like the glow effect without seeing the LEDs.

To each their own.....

 

[SpecOps13]

I don't care what anyone else says, I Love your bike...:biglaugh:

 

[rusty]

I like it. Red and chrome has always been one of my favorite combinations.

I was going to put red LEDs on my bike, but was kind of leery about the legality of it. Research put it in kind of a "gray zone", and I know someone with a Goldwing that lights up like a Christmas tree got a ticket for "illegal equipment" or something. Essentially, your bike already has all the lights it's legally allowed to have. A couple local cops are really "picky", and the last thing I need is some BS ticket for accent lights. Then again Texas has sane laws about things, rather than the uber paranoid legal gangbang that passes for NY legislation.

We have a parade of lights during the holiday's in my town.Everybody decorates there bikes & there clothing with LED's.We ride in groups around town at night,It's a real specktical to see.Some people in the group are cop's.So,the police leave us alone.:worthy:

 

[RaWarrior]

It's kind of funny with laws. Yes, it's the minimum requirement most of the time, but at the same time it's also the max.

You can supplement the existing lights, like additional brake lights, or driving lights, whatever. However you can't do much else. Technically your bike must display a red light to the rear, but visible ONLY from the rear. You need a white headlight, but visible ONLY from the front. The only lights you're allowed to have on the side of your car/bike are amber markers/blinkers. There's all sorts of stuff about lighting for official vehicles, only police are allowed to display red and/or blue in an "omnidirectional" manner.

Yes, it's splitting hairs over a totally trivial law, but it's one of those things that I figured just wasn't worth it. All it takes is one asshole cop to write my ass up because I thought some red LEDs would look cool. Probably 99% of cops wouldn't care less, but at bike checkpoints or such they will nail you for absolutely anything they can pick out.

 

[F100Panel]

I've followed the post/LOVE the lights but I too don't want to deal with the hassle. It all depends on the Cop and or how the Juristiction is run or how bad they need money.. Yah never know what to expect as you drive through different towns. I trailer heavy earthmoving equipment as part of my retirement hobby. Basically I buy & repair/play with it then look for another to bring back to life. A smart truck cop could write a fistfull of tickets on a new rig..If he's either driven to or in the mood.. A few years back I was coming back from the local quarry so overloaded ( Gulity as far as DOT Law goes but municipal trucks are overbuilt to specs & always underated on the weight tags, if the truck wasn't a State Truck built to spec it probably would have had a 5 ton higher GVW when you park it alongside a comperable model & look at/compare the springs & such... ) I was driving out of class on my drivers licsence much less the truck.. The truck was a State Surplus the State didn't paint the State Seal over on before auctioning off. The cop who stopped me was so intense on writing me a $50 ticket for the State Seal he missed thou$sand$ in overload. I'm sure if he was bright at all he would have written for overload as he was incensed I dare drive the truck with a State Seal like the car HE was driving had.. I'm told overload these days can cost a buck for every pound your over. It's gotten to the point I hire people to do a lot of the trailering & more times than not if my trailer is going out the driveway, somebody is borrowing it... The group I have come to hang with going to auctions & such was even lamenting one Town automatically stops you if you have a 1 Ton Dually truck towing a tandem axel trailer with dual wheels on the trailer axels. They are technically correct the dually trailer GVW is rated more than the rated towing GVW on the truck & by DOT law they legally write the ticket even with the trailer empty. One guy tried expaining to the judge that he KNEW the trailer rating limit on the truck, registers the trailer under the trucks limit, has NEVER had an actual overload ticket but wants the trailer overbuilt for his purposes for safety. He LIKES the 20K pounds worth of trailer brakes while pulling 10K loads. Didn't matter, if they see you in that juristiction with that set up, you get a ticket...:bang head: It all seems either what mood the cop is in or what the Town/Juristiction wants. They know a lot of the DOT Laws are pickyune BS but if they are in the mood...TICKET... or not..Ya never know... Most like the Helmet Law are Federally driven, either the State adopts it or they lose Federal Highway aid funds. When the bikers use to decend on the NYS Capitol every year to protest the helmet law, they never stood a chance due to the state losing the federal Highway Aid... I thought for sure I'd see guys in suits & ties in their cars joining the bikers when the Seat Belt law came in...:clapping: Me personally I wear a helmet & a seatbelt voluntarily but I don't think in this "Land of the Free" I should HAVE TOunk: Sorry, I'll get offa my stump now....

 

[dtoebaert-5311]

I like the overall idea but I guess I will have done it a bit different, maybe with the strips hidden and less led in order just to have a glow effect without it to be too bright.
It's just a bit much for my taste, although I like the red and I'm sure you really become visible even from the side

If you don't like the discrete 'dot like' LED, search for 'electroluminiscent wire' - I'm sure Farnell has it, or any model building shop. It does require a trafo of course (runs on 120V but very low current, no problem to make it from the 12V available from your battery), but they're really lines of light, come in any colour including a very nice 'ocean blue' - looks great at night

 

[yankee in texas]

Probably have too much time on my hands. If anyone thought about intalling them in the fax intakes I can pass on some tips. I mounted a second switch for round two but I'll wait till then to change the angle on some of the strips. I don't cruise around much with them on not that the law would say anything down here. They're just happy if you have a license and a fake insurance card...