Author Topic: Fog Lights (Read 6496 times)

gearset01 · « **on:** August 08, 2005, 06:18:06 PM »

I have an 2005 1200s, and would like to mount fog lights.
Does anyone have them mounted i would like to mount them down on the front forks. Any one make a set that has brackets that will mount to the forks or has anyone come up with a solution.
Pin

PitterB4 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 08, 2005, 10:53:17 PM »

Hopefully, theroamr or wndrr will post up for you. They both have some of those small, bluish walmart/pepboys foglights mounted below their front fairing somehow. I'm not sure how it's mounted or wired but it looks good.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #2 on:** August 08, 2005, 10:54:51 PM »

You can see theroamr's in this pic - his bike is closest:

Red01 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 09, 2005, 12:55:37 AM »

Some have mounted them to the fork legs via the caliper mount bolts or some such.

neoseity · « **Reply #4 on:** August 30, 2005, 02:00:11 AM »

I was able to mount mine right under my blinkers...

I don't have a picture at the moment though

wndrr · « **Reply #5 on:** August 30, 2005, 06:05:07 PM »

The one's I Used were made by pilot and I think they were about $20.00 or so did not need any mounting brackets on my 97 b1200 just used the ones that cam with the lights. mounted the brackets to the bottom of the faring using the same bolts that held the faring on my I have some picks some place ill post them Wednesday for you

wndrr · « **Reply #6 on:** September 03, 2005, 05:23:13 PM »

this is a link to a pick of the fog lights i have
on my bike hope it helps you

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/techgod@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=54d0&.dnm=a42e.jpg&.src=ph

req · « **Reply #7 on:** September 05, 2005, 09:45:44 PM »

Does anyone have a wiring how-to for this sort of work? I just picked up a pair of cheapie foglights from Pep Boys, but before I tear everything open I'd love to have some hints on the electrical side...

~R

neoseity · « **Reply #8 on:** September 05, 2005, 10:42:58 PM »

You'll want to use a relay. A 12V automotive relay will do fine. I keyed mine on the brights. Basically the brights circut charges the electromagnet in the relay which activates the switch in the relay for the aux lights circut. So positive from brights, ground, aux lights positive in, and aux lights positive out hook up to the relay. I ran new 12 gauge wire back to the battery. 14 guage would have probably been ok, but I don't think I'd go below 14 gauge wire. The relay should also have a schematic with it.

This is how it hooked up:
Neative cable:
Negative cable from battery terminal to Y connection.
One negative to relay.
One negative to aux lights wiring.

Positive cable:
Positive cable from battery terminal to relay aux lights positive in.
Positive cable from aux lights positive out to switch mounted on fairing.
Positive cable from switch to lights.

Splice:
Splice off positive from brights (some inches from where is connects to the actual light) to the relay.

So with this set up, once the brights are on I can have the aux lights on or off with the switch mounted on the fairing, but once the brights swich is off the aux lights are also off regardless of the fairing switch position.

Soooo much better at night with two additional 55w bulbs lighting up the canyon!

Also, here's a link I found helpful:
http://www.typarker.com/banlights/

You could also google relays if you need a better understaning of them.

Good luck!

req · « **Reply #9 on:** September 06, 2005, 01:54:09 AM »

Thanks, that's plenty of goodness. I've done a lot of electrical work before (mostly inside computer cases) but wanted to have a second opinion before cuttin' up my pretty bike.

Initial plan is to mount them on the front forks (where the reflectors are sitting right now) but I'll have to see how that works. If not, I guess the engine guards will work...

~R

neoseity · « **Reply #10 on:** September 06, 2005, 04:28:02 AM »

Guess I could post some pics...

Red01 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 06, 2005, 04:33:01 PM »

Only problem mounting them to the reflector mounts is they're awfully small. A better bet is the caliper mount lug.

Some other ideas:
Mount them where the turn signals are and install flush mount signals somewhere else.
Make a mounting tab that fits between the mirrors and fairing.
(Seen this done on a few FJR's and it looks pretty good.)

neoseity · « **Reply #12 on:** September 07, 2005, 07:33:31 PM »

My first thought was to mount them on the front forks, but I couldn't come up with a good way to mount them. I then also thought about mounting under the front fairing but read stories of people smashing their front fender into them when their front shocks maxed out. I also measured the wheel travel and just didn't like it with the lights I bought. The engine guard mounting didn't work for me either as I don't have engine guards (yet). I also thought of mounting them where the blinkers are but then using mirrors with blinkers on them like the new GSXR has.

Then I came up with just mounting them under the blinkers. The lights are made light enough to be mounted with sticky pads, so they're light enough not to stress the plastic blinker housing. I actually just screwed them in though. It was a little tricky, or time consuming, to get the wire run up through there but I think it turned out pretty well. I just cut a hole in the crack where the two pieces of the blinker connect and sealed it up with some Yamabond.
They've worked out really well for me. They're more extra brights than fog lights though, which is what I wanted.

The lights I got were the Blazer Lighting XT853 Driving Lights: Xtreme; Mini 2-3/4" Round Halogen Driving Light Kit for $39.99 at Checkers.

It was a fun project and my first time messing with a relay (if you hadn't guessed).

I think they turned out lookin' pretty cool too...

req · « **Reply #13 on:** September 11, 2005, 02:16:40 PM »

Thanks for the help, everyone. Here's today's blog post:

No riding yesterday; Saturday was project day at Req's house. I've been thinking of installing a set of foglights on Zoë for a bit of increased night vision; I've no idea how much difference it will make, but it looked to be an easy project, a chance to get under the fairing and explore, etc. I didn't want to pay the $400 or so that most commercial cycle fog light kits are charging, so I went with the time-tested "buy cheap stuff and spend six hours soldering" strategy.

I got a pair of Navigator "Crystal-Rod" fog lights from Pep Boys for $25 or so. They were a lot smaller than the others, and had a nice solid black aluminum housing with a pretty small forward lens. They fit standard 55W halogen lamps. Mounting brackets were 3" corner braces from Home Depot, drilled out to fit on the upper engine guard mounting bolts - I still ought to pull these off and lacquer them black to fit with the guard and lights. Got a 12V relay to switch the fog lights, as I wanted them to trigger off the high beam circuit but not draw current from it.

As I wanted to keep all the assorted wiring under the seat, I tapped a short length of 14ga wire into the input end of the high-beam fuse and from there to the relay. Power to the relay straight from the battery, and from there power out to the lights. Ground for the relay and the lights came seperately back to the battery.

As the system's currently set up, the fog lights trigger only off the highbeams; if the brights are on, so're the fog lights, and only then. If I can find a good waterproof handlebar switch, I'd like to tap the low-beam fuse as well, and switch the relay trigger so it either triggers off the brights or the normal beams. As normal is always on, that'll basically let me switch the fogs independantly. Ought to be more useful. For right now, though, this works well.

While I was at it, I figured it was time to clean and lube the chain. I sprayed it down really well with Honda Contact/Brake Cleaner, and I guess I used a bit too much as almost all the can is gone this morning. Gave the stuff awhile to dry, 15 minutes or so, and then finished up with Honda Performance Chain Lube (the stuff in the red can). So that's another 600 miles before I have to worry about it.

jwalters · « **Reply #14 on:** September 11, 2005, 05:44:58 PM »

Here is a thread where I posted my caliper mounted lights from JCWhitney. ~$60. I have over 6K miles on the bike since I installed them, without any problems.

http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=150