Best fog lights for ST1300 - advice needed

wujekartur

Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
2
Location
Burlington, Ct
Hello. I have a nice ST1300 from 2005. I try to ride year-around and pretty soon, I will start thinking again about adding the fog lights. Returning from work after 6pm during fall/winter season is a bit challenging on the back roads in my area. I wish I had an additional pair of lights installed on the forks to guide me through the corners. Last year, I tried a cheap pair of lights that lasted only 20 miles before they fell off. What I'm looking for is an energy efficient, bright and nice looking lights.

Do you have any experience with fog lights? Any advice as far as what is good on the market and where to get it. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Nothing wrong with cheap lights. Look for lights that have glass lenses and steel bodies. Plastic lenses pit quickly and plastic bodies / mounts break. Cheap steel and glass lights are out there. Look at Walmart, Autozone etc etc.

Mounting lights on your forks won't throw much light down the road. Fork lights are more for "compiscuity", as they call it. Generally the higher up lights are mounted the further the light will get thrown down the road.

So what I've done is mount lights on the forks that are wired constant. I.E. they are on all the time if the bike is on, ... switched by the ignition. These lights create an interesting light pattern both day and night. I'm convinced they help other drivers see me. I have another set of lights mounted on the mirrors. They are seperately switched on the dash (some people connect these to the high beam switch).

My 2 sets of lights have different light beams. The fork lights have a wider beam but only light up the area in front of the bike and close ditch. They are aimed down somewhat so I'm not irritating oncoming drivers. The mirrors lights are brighter and have a more narrow focused beam. The right one is slightly aimed toward the right ditch to pick up suicidal critters.

All of my lights are now LEDs. Some people mix and match. (LEDS as the fork lights where the constant switching doesn't cause an available power problem) LEDs have gotten much better and cheaper in the last few years. They draw very little power which is nice.

PIAA has a some LEDS now. So does Twisted Thottle (Deanli). Hella. Others ... ? -- Sorry I'll think of them - or others will, I trust.

Oh yah ... If you haven't already think about replacing your headlight with a 55/60. I think stock was 45/55. Others have put in HID kits - I can't comment much on that.

Hope this is a start ...
 
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I have the Rigid Industries SR 6" Spector Bar on the Yamaha and it's very nice.

I currently have the Kragen HID Aux lights I got from MCL and they are stupid-bright. 3,600 lumens each I believe.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably get these for the ST, better light temp and instant on/off whereas the HIDs do take a couple seconds to warm up initially.

http://www.rigidindustries.com/D2-p/d2.htm ... 2,600 Lumens each so not as bright as the HIDs but not bad at all.

D2-2T.jpg
 
Mellow said:
I have the Rigid Industries SR 6" Spector Bar on the Yamaha and it's very nice.

I currently have the Kragen HID Aux lights I got from MCL and they are stupid-bright. 3,600 lumens each I believe.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably get these for the ST, better light temp and instant on/off whereas the HIDs do take a couple seconds to warm up initially.

http://www.rigidindustries.com/D2-p/d2.htm ... 2,600 Lumens each so not as bright as the HIDs but not bad at all.

D2-2T.jpg
Click to expand...

$200 each, or for the pair?
 
Stupid bright I like that LOL.
Do either the HID or the LED have a cutoff in the beam pattern or you just have to shut them off with on coming traffic.
 
st1300r said:
Stupid bright I like that LOL.
Do either the HID or the LED have a cutoff in the beam pattern or you just have to shut them off with on coming traffic.
Click to expand...

I have the dimmer on mine. Where you set the dimmer will be how bright they are on low beam. They automatically go full power on high beam.
 
Throttlejockey said:
I have the dimmer on mine. Where you set the dimmer will be how bright they are on low beam. They automatically go full power on high beam.
Click to expand...

Someone had either yours or the clearwater ones at NatSTOC this year w/dimmer and that's pretty impressive.
 
I've been looking at all the great photos on this site and have been paying attention to where aux lights are mounted. I have a few questions.
1) I was wondering how the airflow around the mirrors is affected by the under mirror lights. Anyone care to comment on this?
2) Does anyone have issues with the fork mounted lights affecting the stability of the bike as they ride in strong winds or pass large trucks? I find the ST to be a nervous bike already, I worry about hanging stuff on those forks.
3) I've seen a few lights mounted under the headlight in the air flow into the radiator. In this position it may affect the airflow into the air filter housing. Although the air box on the ST is so big I doubt you could cause any issues short of sucking up a seagull. What to attach the light to in this position?

Thanks for all your wisdom:)
 
I bolted mine in the middle of the bottom of the mirrors. The lights I used are Hella FF-50's with H-7 bulbs at 55 watts each. The ones I got are Driving lights and not Fog lights. No detectable difference in bike handling or mpg. Mine are hooked to the highbeams and give about 1/3 to 1/2 mile visible lit area ahead at night. Amazon has the kits with everything for under $100. Once you use them you will be amazed.

Hope this helps.
 

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Nothing wrong with cheap lights.
Click to expand...

Well, as long as they don't fall off in 20 miles.


Best fog lights for ST1300

Avoid LED lights. So far, I haven't seen a pair that aren't spot or flood. And often cheap fog lights are faux fog lights. Even with glass lenses, they have no real cutoff that that separates fog lights from aux lights from driving lights from off road lights. It allows a lot of light where you need it.

Avoid mounting them high. Fog lights, true fog lights, are mounted low to keep under the fog layer if and when possible, and to reduce the amount of light reflected directly back into your eyes. The cutoff also reduces reflection.

If what you're after aren't really fog lights, then there are a lot of lights to choose from. Mounting lights on the lower fork legs puts a lot of stress on them as they become unsprung weight. Not all cheap lights will live long. But then you already know that.
 
Be careful when buying cheap lights. I got lucky when i bought Walmart lights for my KLR back in 2006, and got a decent metal housing/glass lense light. I upgraded with 100w bulbs and they put out a lot of light and lasted great in all kinds of abusive conditions. In comparison, I bought a pair of walmart lights (different lights...couldn't find the same as i had on the KLR) and the first pair had a dead one right out of the box. I exchanged them and tried another pair, and while mounting them carefully, one of the spotwelds holding the housing to the bracket broke. Absolute junk.

I just scored a pair of Hella FF50s and will see how they work. They have a pretty good reputation for being decent lights, with only a couple negative reports I've found, so they are worth trying if you can find a good deal on them. Mine are the driving lights, and I think I want a pair of fog lights for the nasty conditions. Eventually i want a pair of pencil beams for highway use, but they aren't high on my priority list right now.
 
I realize that the thread is old but LEDs have come of age. I have led headlights in my ST1100, truck, Ford Focus SVT and Lincoln Navigator and love them. I also have led fog lights and driving list on my truck and soon on my bike :)
 
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