Driving Lights on an F650GS, Page 1 |
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Okay, I'm finally getting around to creating the actual project log for this thing.
First up, we'll talk about fabricating the light bar, then we'll discuss the electrical installation.
I picked up these Hella Optilux 1402 lights from Susquehanna Motorsports in July of 2007. For 20 bucks, I figured I couldn't go wrong. The lights arrived in just a few days, and while they are made in China, which I really do not prefer, they are heavy and seem solid and well-made.
So I decided I'd better figure out how to mount them, or what's the point? I looked into light mounting solutions, and they all had one major drawback: I had to pay for them. We can't have that, can we? Not when I've got tools and raw materials, right?
I thought long and hard about the process, materials, and design. Eventually I decided that what I wanted to do was hang my light bar under the upper fender 'beak' of my bike. This turns out to be a natural spot, because the beak itself attaches directly to the (steel) lower triple-clamp bracket with four bolts. That is plenty strong mounting for two or three pounds of bracket and lights.
So I set out to invent a solution. Since I have it in the house, I thought I could fab something nice and light out of aluminum. But when I got further into my design, I realized I'd be welding on it, and I haven't got the bit of kit I'd need to do that with my little MIG welder. One day I'll drop the cash on the aluminum adapter, but not for this.
So now I knew I'd be using steel, but how to actually design the thing? Well, I'm a simple sort, and when I hear something is called a light bar, I figure a bar is just what I want. Fortunately, I've got a box of various-diameter tool steel rods in my basement. Just what I want!
So the basic concept is really just to hang a bar under the beak, making sure to have clearance at all steering angles and over full suspension travel. Basically, I want to do something a lot like this:
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