Replacement Aux Lights for the NTX

[mrcanns]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

looks like I will be going for either the ridged industries daully or the slightly bigger d2 units from bikevis.com here in the uk

They look very bright but no mention of 'E' approval; will they be road legal ?

I have heard back from the guy at bikevis and he confirms that along with most other high output led lamps sold in the uk they are not E marked and that under the construction and use regulations in the EU it is an offence to use them on the road. my commute cross country takes me on roads so full of pot holes and covered in s--t that its almost off road so I need something to boost the headlight and wake up the drivers who look out of the letterbox sized hole they could be bothered to clear before setting off while chatting to their mate on the phone, two wrongs don't make a right but perhaps more light might stop me from being forced onto the grass again, after all I've never pick myself up off the road to the sound of some guy saying sorry mate I saw you coming from miles away!

 

[Bisonheed]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

I've finally put the chocolates down long enough to get into the garage and fit my new LED spotlights/DRL's. Firstly the quality of the brackets provided is woeful, however the rest of the kit is OK. Easy to fit and VERY bright - a lot more visible than the standard Hella's. The light is intense white with a hint of blue (6000k) and I'm very pleased with the results & it's less load on the stock wiring at only 8 watts. Probably no good for lighting up the highway but great for improved visibility to others which was the point of the excercise. Back to the chocolates...

 

[uzidzit]

They aint cheap but...

I sprung for a set of Kristas' from clearwater for my vstrom, I will get another set for the stella. I farted around with led work lights, visionx (very good, just poor controlability it is to low to see with or blind everything as the only settings)

The Kristas are the bomb, they have a pot dimmer on the bars30-95% brightness, bump to high with the high beams , and go to xray when the horn button gets pushed, they also check the temp of the driver and light pod and turn the leds down so as not to fry them.

The strom has some of the best headlights ever put on a bike, and with the clearwaters on full the 130watts of stock headlights just disappear, if you are riding and turn the leds on high you might as well turn off the headlights, (I have actually wired in that feature headlights off, 1 on or 2 on). The kristas draw76watts for the pair on full and less dimmed. so at night in the winter I can run the rosta cruise control, gps, heated gloves, grips, jacket.pants and the bike still charges with power to spare! The lighting draw is 76watts vs 130watts + driving lights.

The quality of the harness kit is just insane, all silicon sleeved wires with double heat shrink strain reliefs, and silicon oring gasketed locking connecters, if the electrical system on the bike was built this way you would never have any fault, Till the bike turned to dust. I guess it is because they also make emergency operating room lighting.

Take a peek worth every dime,
clearwaterlights.com/products2_pp.html

 

[Bisonheed]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Not cheap but they look a cracking bit of kit.

 

[mohawkeye]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

uzidzit, which mounting kit will you use for your Stelvio?

 

[uzidzit]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Actually I think the Vstrom kit. with no other parts needed. The kit came with the yoke Mounts that are a drop on replacement on the '12 ntx. And the loom that came with the parts should fit nicely. it may be a little tight to the right side light but it should work just fine. I will try to get a pic of the install on the strom up today. I just rolled up the extra wire when I put the lights on the strom so I could transfer later if desired.

ps they also label every wire in the harness (to horn, to switched power, to high beam etc.), not just colored code on the diagram, and if the connectors do not mate they do not go together. The hard part is finding the wires to tap on the bike, ps they include posi connectors where required not cheap cut your wire taps.

Their kits are kind of universal in that mostely the mounts change, not the electrical parts

 

[sanddweller]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

... along with most other high output led lamps sold in the uk they are not E marked and that under the construction and use regulations in the EU it is an offence to use them on the road.....

Does that include for use as high-beam only?
Like Australia, there are regs about when you must dip your lights, and power/color ratings etc for dipped lights. But I believe that in Australia there is no limit to the power rating of lights used for high beam. You can pretty much put anything you want - by definition you are only using driving lights when no other vehicle is affected. On cars/trucks they must be installed in pairs (although I understand that this is being changed to allow LED light bars, centered). Although I guess, I should not be surprised; the EU seems to have regs for everything.

 

[Bisonheed]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Sadly yes, in the EU all lighting has to be 'E' marked unless it has a seperate switch so it's for 'off road use only'.

 

[mrcanns]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Sadly yes, in the EU all lighting has to be 'E' marked unless it has a seperate switch so it's for 'off road use only'.

also in addition to the lamp being 'E' marked all bulbs used in the said lamps must be marked as well other wise it renders them non compliant, it is my understanding that the lamp be mark on the lens and that the 'E' mark be visible when fitted, the lamp also has to be fitted in the correct position laid down in the construction and use regs for the type of application of the lamp. bless the EU they can suck the fun out of everything, interesting that the headlamp in my bike dipped the wrong way for the uk, it was adjusted by the dealer to light up peoples feet at 20 feet, they were aware of this feature, to quote them "we had hoped that they would have sorted this out on the 2012 bikes" I rotated the bulbs in the reflectors on the beam setter at work to give a more acceptable pattern until MG produced a fix for this in the shape of a shield that fits under the bulb, so they were aware of the issue, a real cheap and rubbish fix and i am running with the rotated bulbs at the moment.
Anyway all this talk of 'E' marks has just made me inspect my headlamps not an 'E' mark to be seen!
for a few years now all new cars have had to be supplied with a "certificate of conformity " same for bikes?

 

[uzidzit]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Sadly yes, in the EU all lighting has to be 'E' marked unless it has a seperate switch so it's for 'off road use only'.

Go to a jeweler ya know well, or awards shop and have an E engraved on the lights, take them art work so they know about placement, and how it is supposed to look. If asked as lenny bruce said" deny deny deny deny, every denial plants the seed of doubt"

It will never be possible for you to be compliant with all the "rules" thats why they are written. so you may be screwed over by vapid civil servants, and their owners....at whim.

 

[WayneOrwig]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Like Australia, there are regs about when you must dip your lights, and power/color ratings etc for dipped lights. But I believe that in Australia there is no limit to the power rating of lights used for high beam.

The way it is in the US. At least cars come this way from the factory and it is my understanding that it is something legal...
Driving and fog lights are wired to the high beam switch. As in, when you are on high beam, the extra lighting must be OFF. So, what you get, are morons driving their cars and trucks with extra lighting turned on at night, while on low beam. This law appears to be in place to limit the maximum amount of light in ALL situations.
The result of this stupid setup is that people drive around full time on low beam PLUS with their extra lighting turned on, blinding everybody on city streets and in the country side. People seldom turn on their high beams even in the open country because it will turn off some of their extra lights.

I believe that laws in the US are odd like this because they know that a majority of drivers don't think while they drive.

The Stelvio lets you turn on the extra lights with the high beam also on. I've never seen a car in the US that allows that, and I've heard that the Stelvio probably isn't legal.

 

[mrcanns]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

Just ordered a pair of ridged industries daully's from bikevis
hopefully be on the bike at the weekend

 

[pyoungbl]

Many of the NTX owners have had problems with the Hella fog lamps that came with the bike. Even though Hella is a premium brand this particular application suffers from the wiring rubbing inside the metal housing and shorting out.

One fix is to bunch any extra wire in the rubber cap at the rear of the assembly but vibration still seems to plague the Hellas on the NTX.

In order to avoid this problem I decided to install LED fog lights to replace the Hellas. I'm using lights from Mondo Moto mondomotos.com/. They have two styles, a single LED lamp and a multi LED lamp (the multi LED lamp is currently out of stock). Although the LED housing is made of billet aluminum it is still only 6.7 oz each vs 12.5 oz each for the Hellas.

The Mondo Moto lights come with a complete wiring harness that includes a relay and switch. We don't need all that wiring so if I were to do this again I'd get just the lights and the longest leads possible. The wiring is color coded and of high quality.

I also installed a fuze in each light circuit so if there is ever a short it won't take out the 30A fuze that also provides current to excite the alternator. In the garage these new lights seem to be as bright as the Hellas they replace. I'll know better once I get the bike out on a country road. Mondo Moto claims 800 lumens and a 10 degree pattern. The multi LED lamps have 1000 lumens and a 30 degree pattern.

I believe these new lamps will suffer less from vibration due to their lighter weight and smaller size.

Peter Y.

 

[Eugenehoward]

Many of the NTX owners have had problems with the Hella fog lamps that came with the bike. Even though Hella is a premium brand this particular application suffers from the wiring rubbing inside the metal housing and shorting out.

One fix is to bunch any extra wire in the rubber cap at the rear of the assembly but vibration still seems to plague the Hellas on the NTX.

In order to avoid this problem I decided to install LED fog lights to replace the Hellas. I'm using lights from Mondo Moto http://www.mondomotos.com/. They have two styles, a single LED lamp and a multi led bulb lamp (the multi LED lamp is currently out of stock). Although the LED housing is made of billet aluminum it is still only 6.7 oz each vs 12.5 oz each for the Hellas.

The Mondo Moto lights come with a complete wiring harness that includes a relay and switch. We don't need all that wiring so if I were to do this again I'd get just the lights and the longest leads possible. The wiring is color coded and of high quality.

I also installed a fuze in each light circuit so if there is ever a short it won't take out the 30A fuze that also provides current to excite the alternator. In the garage these new lights seem to be as bright as the Hellas they replace. I'll know better once I get the bike out on a country road. Mondo Moto claims 800 lumens and a 10 degree pattern. The multi LED lamps have 1000 lumens and a 30 degree pattern.

I believe these new lamps will suffer less from vibration due to their lighter weight and smaller size.

Peter Y.

Hello Nice work done. If I want to purchase these lights from an online shop which will you prefer?

 

[steve lindsay]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

I prefer the $20 halogens from the auto parts stores. Most (not all) LED systems have too wide of a beam or just simply are too stupid expensive. I also have a dislike of them with their annoying point source light when coming at me. I want lights that I can use for visibility during the day, without everyone hating me.

Really good point !

 

[Motojames]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

I just mounted up a set of cyclops Optimus lights. Unreal output and the lights look like they should be mounted on the side of a submarine. The standard set comes with a nice waterproof plug and a pigtail. Super easy to splice back to the factory harness. Around $300 for a pair but couldn't be happier.

 

[af1-windy]

Re: replacement NTX aux lamps

motorworks.co.uk/

I fitted a pair of SW-Motech Hawk lamps, very pleased with the quality of the wiring, housing and the fittings, came with everything needed to either fit indipendent of the OE's or splice them in to the bikes system.. not too expensive either...

windy

 

[WayneOrwig]

I just added LEDs to replace the incandescent lights that I had been using.
I call them my 'religious lights'. When I turn them on, everyone around shouts, "HOLY %$#@".
They are BRIGHT. My headlight bulbs are very bright HIDs, and when these are on, you can hardly tell the headlights are on. I had to install a dimmer to allow me to run them during the day for visibility, and not be blinding.

9 3 watt LEDs per lamp, 27 watts total pert lamp. On Amazon for $29 each. 30 degree spread. Perfect for what I want.

I just added $22 15 watt LED lights to my EV. I'll need a few nighttime rides to test them out but they look like they will work well too. They are a very narrow spot though. Not sure how well that will work out.

 

[Toadride]

Took mine off and tried to fix them at the hotel here. Filed the paint and rust off the broken part of the brackets and bonded them back together with J Weld. Let em set overnight to a perfect hard bond. Looked into the wiring to find the one wire burnt off at the soldered bulb. It looked like I could get a new stripped wire in beside the original and, maybe do some sort quick solder job. Fine and dandy. That's when I dropped the J Welded bracket on the carpet in my room. it snapped like nothing. I checked out the other one and was able to snap it like it was never fixed too. That's when frustration had me chuck the whole lot in the trash. Never used J Weld before but the ads showed it to be some wonder glue. I did it all right. Right mix, cleaned off the offending parts, aligned and glued with a 32nd gap, perfect bubble bead on all sides, waited twenty four hours with the stuff set to a very hard surface. But it sure didn't work for me. Had the last service guy make a case for warranty on them but considering what junk they are in the first place, I think I am just biting the bullet. Again. :roll:

 

[WayneOrwig]

That's when I dropped the J Welded bracket on the carpet in my room. it snapped like nothing. I checked out the other one and was able to snap it like it was never fixed too. That's when frustration had me chuck the whole lot in the trash. Never used J Weld before but the ads showed it to be some wonder glue. I did it all right. Right mix, cleaned off the offending parts, aligned and glued with a 32nd gap, perfect bubble bead on all sides, waited twenty four hours with the stuff set to a very hard surface. But it sure didn't work for me. Had the last service guy make a case for warranty on them but considering what junk they are in the first place, I think I am just biting the bullet. Again. :roll:

No glue will EVER be as strong as the steel.
But a good glue like JB Weld would glue a reinforcing plate to the metal that may be stronger then the original. Heck, even gluing a piece of a metal coat hanger on the side of the bracket may be just the trick to 'getting you home'.