Sub $40 Fork Mounted LED Driving/Fog Lights (PICS)

NOTE: The vinyl tubing I used to cover the light wires, was purchased from Lowes (near the plumbing dept. for $0.25/foot). I have used this tubing for several projects now.


Mentioned several times before in my other electrical based posts, here is my WIP progress of the install with thumbnail pictures.

Parts:
* Driving/Fog Light from Walmart - Under $20
* H3 LED White Bulbs from eBay - Under $5 shipped from Asia
* 1/8" x 1" x 36" Aluminum Stock Bar - Under $5 but used left over length from another project
* Vinyl Tubing $0.25/foot - About 2 feet
* Heat shrink
* Black ground wire and wire connectors
* Dielectric grease for all connections
* Zip ties and/or velcro ties

Excluding the first set of H3 bulbs I bought (more LEDs and longer - to long), the total would be between $30 and $40. The cheapest I've found online for motorcycle specific front end/fork/caliper mounted LED lights was around $80.

Day 1: Fabrication and test fitting
* Aluminum bar wrapped in painter's masking tape. Mounting holes measured, drilled and deburred.
* The mounting brackets where then mounted to test the fit & clearance and to mark the mounting holes for the lights.
*Light disassembled and bulbs replaced with LED versions (3 screw dis-assembly)
* Wires extended via wire connectors and heat shrink (for future repair/replacement\
* Wires pulled thru lengths of vinyl tubing. Tubing end heat shrank on the light end
* One light mounted snugly but not final tight.
* Tubing ran up forks following brake line. Velcro wrapped for now to hold in place and finalize layout.
* Light tested again with my 12V test battery
* Tools cleaned up because of darkness and dinner

Day 2 Preview:
* 2nd light will be installed and wiring laid out
* Lights will be wired into the Maxim's Aux Headlight's connectors to use the original switch on the grip controls.
* Lights will be aimed and hopefully my H4 7" Headlight upgrade arrive soon as well for alignment.

Notes:
* Both original headlights have been removed and a Windjammer IV fairing has been installed with a single round 7" headlight. Being frame mounted, the headlight always points straight and does not turn with the handle bars. The aux lights will turn with the wheel and will help light up the road & reflectors when turning.
* The main goals for these lights were to replace the function of the original aux light, reduce the amps of that light, improve road illumination and visability to oncoming traffic (day or night).

 

Re: Sub $40 Fork Mounted LED Driving/Fog Lights (PICS) - WIP

Day 2: Final install and wiring

After yet another trip to the store to pick up Stainless Steel fasteners today's final assembly went smoothly. The lights should be tight enough that they won't bounce around but are easy enough to adjust.

Then both lights were wired into a ground in the headlight area and the AUX light switch for power. They light up fine and as expected. Being that "white" LEDs are really a little blue, maybe I should have gotten my H4 upgrade bulb with a "slight" blue color temp. Oh well.

I won't know until I get a chance to ride at night, if these LED bulbs are bright enough (and bouncing off the reflector enough) to have made this project worth the effort. Worse case, I now have the brackets fabricated and wires ran in case I buy "pre-made" lights later.

NOTE: I don't know why my camera phone took such fuzzy photos, but I've reset all the defaults.

 

Night 1: Initial Test Ride

The light work as designed. The light housings are "fog" lights and the LED lights are probably not a bright as the 55W H3 bulbs. So you definitely do not get a spot/headlight effect.

I didn't test the lights on the highway so I'm not sure how well they might light up the lines and road reflectors on curves.

I'm not sure how much I like/dislike them yet and some additional aiming may change my mind. Regardless, oncoming drivers should be able to see me a little bit better and the road should be slightly illuminated while taking slower curves (fairing light does not turn).

 

Love it, was looking at similar one and ya, wattage too high.
Not so much for extra light but for visibility....
I figure a strange light pattern always gets peoples attention

 

There are other options on eBay but not always cheap or the ideal mounting bracket.

Yeah a wide odd pattern should make you more visible/attention grabbing



A partial night ride home today. They don't light up the highway much, but the do help around the corners at stops.

If anyone is wondering why I got the black housings, I was originally going to mount them to the calipers. That didn't work out (never tried actually). Regardless they look good mounted on the front end

 

For my bike, I got very similar housings (courtesy of WalMart) with 30 watt bulbs in them - still high, but not killers, and I only use them for highway use anyway. Thinking about changing to LED's as well... I mounted mine on my engine guards, so they don't turn with me.

I figured the light output is more for the oncoming drivers to see me better, not to help me see anything; and that's a good thing because even the 30w bulbs don't do much other than light up my front wheel

 

Metal, where did you source the vinyl tubing from? I've been looking for something like that for years...

 

Lowes near the plumbing department. They only had that size in black, but plenty in clear (if you want to wrap it in electrical tape or kyrlon paint it).

Never seen similar in Menards. Might have luck with Home Depot and other stores.

EDIT: That is the same tubing I used to make my "wiring harness" for my new horns and relay - See my electrical DIY post in my signature.

You can pull about 4x 16 Gage wires thru that tubing w/o slicing it. It is much more professional and clearer looking that spiral wrap, and much cheaper that other options out there.

 

I was worried about overloading my charging system. Also it was recommended that I NOT put the halogen bulbs onto my AUX light switch (OEM switch for my Maxim).

Good to know the stock halogen bulbs don't do much either for lighting up the road. SHRUG. But like you, I wanted them mostly for oncoming traffic. Any road illumination was a bonus.

IF you buy some LED bulbs, just get them dirt cheap from some Asian eBayer. It will be WAY cheaper, but you will have a wait a few weeks to receive it. (If real lucky the bulbs shipped will be cheaper than domestic USPS shipping - Crazy I know!)