Driving Lights

by Jeff Dean

The photo above shows Motolights mounted on a 2002 R1150RT. The two photos below show the mounting of PIAA driving lights on a BMW R1150RT (left) and R1100RT (right) motorcycle using EMP Designs brackets. These brackets, unavailable for several years, are now back in production . They may be ordered either from Pat Patterson or Fernando Belair. I have used PIAA 1200 lights, simply because my dealer sold them; but they are no longer in production. Recently, I have used PIAA 510 15° spot lights and PIAA 1100X lights, which are in some ways superior.
Click here to see PIAA 1100X lights installed on a 2005 BMW R1200GS.

In August of 2002, Dr. Steven Most, of Vanderbilt University, gave a presentation at the national motorcycle safety conference, sponsored by the National Association of State Motorcycle Safety Administrators (SMSA), in Boise, Idaho. At that presentation, Dr. Most related his research findings on inattentional blindness to motorcycles and motorcyclists. In one of his more interesting statements, he suggested that motorcyclists attempt to make their motorcycles resemble automobiles as much as possible. This is because car drivers look for other cars in traffic, and not for motorcycles, which they tend not to see at all. This made me even more of a believer in the use of driving lights mounted high and relatively far apart on EMP Designs brackets. Riding home from Boise, a motorcyclist I overtook and passed later told me, at a gas station stop, that he had thought I was a car coming up behind him.

Twelve-volt halogen bulbs (photo, left) for Motolights and some PIAA lights are readily available at places like Home Depot and Lowes, and are very inexpensive. They are made for track and recessed lighting. I recommend getting the spot style, which has a 15° spread, at about 50-55 watts.
The photo, right, shows a bulb with a new repair socket before being screwed back into a Motolight. The original wires had broken off the socket, necessitating a repair.

I have mounted my PIAA lights such that the electrical current to them flows through a dashboard-mounted SPDT, center-off, switch. This way I can choose to have the PIAAs turned off completely (center position) or turned on only with the high beam (switch is up) or all the time (switch is down). I use the latter position during daylight riding. I also mounted a blue indicator light near the SPDT switch so I can tell easily if the PIAAs are on or not. All the parts for this are available readily from Radio Shack.

The two photos below show the mounting of PIAA 1200 driving lights on a 2000 BMW R1150GS motorcycle. No brackets are needed for this installation.

The photograph below left the installation of a PIAA 1200 driving light on an R1100RT-P police motorcycle, using its standard light holders. Below, right, are PIAA 510 15° spot lights mounted on an R1150RT-P. The 510s look great and bolt right into the motorcycle's light brackets without any modification.
PIAA 510 spot lights also mount nicely on a civilian RT using EMP Designs brackets.