Aux Lights

[exharley]

Should I invest in aux lights? The reason I ask is that my daily commute is through heavy deer crossing territory. In fact, about a year ago I hit a deer whilst on my commute home in my car. (Yeah, I used the word "whilst". Look it up; it is grammatically correct...) And since I go to work very early in the am (2-3 am) I am terrified of hitting a buck on my bike. Would aux lights actually increase my peripheral vision or are they just pretty look-at-me lights?

And as a related topic, I notice Honda is now offering only a light bar as an accessory. I could have sworn that they also offered as well actual Honda aux lights as accessories only a few months ago when I first started taking interest in the bike. Am I confused, insane, a drunkard, having acid flashbacks, or all of the above...

 

[radiotinnitus]

I'm pretty sure that Honda offers different assesories in Europe that they do in the US. I think the Honda driving lights are available in Europe, but not in the States for some odd reason.

I don't know how effective they are against deer, but I would like to set up my tree stand in some corn field near your commuting route. I promise to point away from the road!

Whatever else you do, be careful.

 

[Naked_Duc]

How about putting a couple of deer whistles on the front fender

Amazon.com: DEER ALERTS AUTO WISTLE BLACK OR CHROME: Toys & Games

 

[bamamate]

Deer whistles are a joke. Never been any proof that they do anything. Look at beemerphile’s threads on farkling for some driving lights. He changed out the headlight and added lights just for the purpose of seeing critters. Seems like someone else has added lights but I don’t remember who. Good driving lights can help by adding additional illumination though I’m sure there are some that are good and some that are just for show.

 

[BttrThnWrk]

How about putting a couple of deer whistles on the front fender...

I never tried them, but I always figured that in reality, they mostly worked like duck calls, only for deer.

 

[Daboo]

As someone who commutes in the dark and rain most months of the year, I understand your desire for more lighting. Mine is to see the road better. Yours for the wildlife that tends to come out on that road at the most inopportune times.

I finally found some LED lights that light up the night. The nice part about them, is they only use 10W each, but put out the lumens of a standard headlight.

If you use the code "INMATE" at checkout, you'll get 10% off. (It might help to be a member of Advriders.com too, which is where I heard of them.) Cost is now $60 when I checked the website. Model 30 LED off road Spot light I've been using them for about 18 months, and found them to hold up well.

I bought the Model 30, which is a tight spot light or driving light. While the main light is pretty focused, there is a "halo" effect that also lights up the side of the road some...but not enough to blind other drivers if you aimed them well.

Here are some pictures from their website that will give you an idea of the light output and beam pattern.

Chris

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

Is that one light for $60.00?

 

[Dave D]

Is that one light for $60.00?

The link lists Model 30 LED off road Spot light (which is singular) and in the description it states Sold individually.

So that does appear to be $60 for one light

 

[FlaNC700X]

Honey, go hold that 12v light by the pool, " don't touch the light to the pool or fall in" that's it ...a little farther!

 

[exharley]

My route is US 30 between Mansfield and Bucyrus, Ohio. Nothing but corn fields along the way. When I hit the deer the State Trooper told me they average five deer hits a week along that stretch of road. Big ones too. Although with last summer's drought the corn was only one-third its normal growth so I am sure the deer are suffering from it too.

 

[exharley]

As my name suggests, I am new to the import bike scene, so what does farkling mean?

 

[Daboo]

They sell other lights that are more of a flood beam pattern. They'd be difficult to use in traffic without blinding anyone, but would be perfect for lonely deer populated roads.

Chris

 

[bamamate]

As my name suggests, I am new to the import bike scene, so what does farkling mean?

farkling is basically to modify/customize the bike. Some place in the forum is an explanation of of the origins of the term.

 

[Dave D]

so what does farkling mean?

I believe that it means adding 'Functional Sparkles' to a bike.

 

[Beemerphile]

As someone who commutes in the dark and rain most months of the year, I understand your desire for more lighting. Mine is to see the road better. Yours for the wildlife that tends to come out on that road at the most inopportune times.

I finally found some LED lights that light up the night. The nice part about them, is they only use 10W each, but put out the lumens of a standard headlight.

Seeing the road is a different challenge than spotting Bambi with enough time to react. A motorcycle traveling 60 mph will cross the distance shown in the beam shot in about half a second. I do not think that any 10 watt LED will have sufficient illumination to spot Bambi emerging from a corn row. There is not much color contrast and it takes a lot of brightness to make the threat identification. I have a high quality set of Rigid Duallys that draw 15 watts each and I don't think they are up to the task either. The 36 watt Clearwater Krista might have a chance, if you can afford to buy them and can find a place to mount such a large set of lights.

 

[dduelin]

I have a friend that has hit a bear and two deer in the dark. Two strikes took him down but he got up again and got another motorcycle. The third one killed the deer and busted up alot of plastic. He still rides fast at night saying it makes no difference if you can see them or not because you can't rely in jinking the right way. Many people that have hit deer never saw it coming or saw it too late to take action. They jump this way and that seemingly without regard for the laws of physics. He does have extra lighting but that is so he doesn't overdrive (override?) the area illuminated by OEM headlights alone.

I am in the camp of my friend. There is nothing you can really do to avoid hitting one if your paths intersect. In a way I don't like seeing them at all because there are a lot of deer out there to see - I think I saw 15 or 20 last night covering 300 miles of interstate in the dark. They are just grazing on the shoulder of I-10. There were more but they were just out of sight or I just had the low beam on and did not illuminate them.

 

[Beemerphile]

Your friend may be a good one to show how not to do it. Once I spot one, I drive like it is going to try to jump me. I will slow down, move over, cover the brake, whatever. I don't just go flying by and say "well jeez, you never know which way they are going to run." I also expect when I see one that there are others and they will all want to be on the same side of the street.

Better lighting is about improving the odds, not about preventing a strike. Moose and elk can be as daffy as deer. As far as hitting a bear in the dark, that seems like just flying blind. I've come on bears standing in the road. I have have come on them grazing on the sides of the road. I have come on several crossing the road. But I have never seen one do crazy maneuvers. Lights and horn blips, lower the speed, and pass with as much room as possible. If he is crossing the road, I give him the right of way.

 

[dduelin]

Your friend may be a good one to show how not to do it. Once I spot one, I drive like it is going to try to jump me. I will slow down, move over, cover the brake, whatever. I don't just go flying by and say "well jeez, you never know which way they are going to run." I also expect when I see one that there are others and they will all want to be on the same side of the street.

Better lighting is about improving the odds, not about preventing a strike. Moose and elk can be as daffy as deer. As far as hitting a bear in the dark, that seems like just flying blind. I've come on bears standing in the road. I have have come on them grazing on the sides of the road. I have come on several crossing the road. But I have never seen one do crazy maneuvers. Lights and horn blips, lower the speed, and pass with as much room as possible. If he is crossing the road, I give him the right of way.

The deer you hit will just like one of the two he has. You won't see it in time or maybe even at all despite being the smartest person in the room. Several years ago a bunch of us were up in Cruso at that campground on 276. 10 of us were riding back from the diner in the dark but only 9 of us rode together back into the camp. While we were counting heads and figuring out who was missing #10 slowly rode into camp showing just a single turn signal light for forward illumination. He was last in the line of bikes and all he saw was a brown something that flew or jumped into his path and shattered most of the front and left side of the bike. He did not go down luckily and was able to ride away after gathering his wits. From the short brown hairs jammed in cracks of the shattered fairing it appeared Bambi did not give him time to "slow down, more over, cover the brake or whatever". We should all be so lucky.

 

[Beemerphile]

Dave,

I don't claim to be the smartest person in the room and I am sure there are wiser and more experienced riders, however, you seem to suggest that since there is no way to assure that you won't take a hit, that there is no value in trying to take precautions. You should just bust a high speed hole in the dark preferring not to see them because if you are going to hit one there is nothing you can do. I said before, it was not about preventing a strike but about improving the odds. I may still get hit by one I do not see or do not see in time.

That is all I have to offer on the subject.

 

[dduelin]

Dave,

I don't claim to be the smartest person in the room and I am sure there are wiser and more experienced riders, however, you seem to suggest that since there is no way to assure that you won't take a hit, that there is no value in trying to take precautions. You should just bust a high speed hole in the dark preferring not to see them because if you are going to hit one there is nothing you can do. I said before, it was not about preventing a strike but about improving the odds. I may still get hit by one I do not see or do not see in time.

That is all I have to offer on the subject.

I meant to say that my friend has that fatalistic view of avoiding wildlife - and he does have a lot of light added. He rides those LD rallies by choice and he makes the choice to ride long miles at night covering distance often crossing rural or forested areas. My own tactic is not to ride at night in rural areas if I can help it and when I have to my own tactic is to ride under 55 mph in hopes a strike is survivable at that speed. The other night I violated this tenet by my choice but it is something I rarely do. For those that have to ride in rural areas after dark I have little advice other than to ride slow enough to survive a hit. I believe, rightly or wrongly, that I would have to ride 45 or less to see and avoid. Even then, you might not ever see it. I profess no expert knowledge of deer behavior.