Here's a mini review of some Aux Light Brackets that Darren (Gas_Up_Lets_Go) asked me to take a look at.

The brackets are a strong and simple design, I'll take a simple design any day over a complex creation. They fix to the lower mounting point for the headlight assembly and extend forward following the line of the headlight assembly. Then out to each side to provide a horizontal mounting point to suspend your lights from at a point of your choice. You just need to drill a hole in each side at the point you want to fix your lights.

The brackets are very secure and fit easily and neatly, there's no wiring to move etc, just remove the lower fixing bolt, offer up the brackets and fit the longer bolt thats supplied with the brackets.

I fitted a set of PIAA 60mm lights (Thanks, Jenny!) to the brackets, these fit nealty into the recess between the headlight assembly and the indicator cowels.

In summary, the brackets are very solid and hold the lights so that they don't vibrate (any more that the rest of the bike that is!!). They position the lights in just the right place and provide a level platform to work from.

Here's a few photo's:











There's a post from Darren about the brackets here:

http://www.xt660.com/showpost.php?p=100133&postcount=20


Nick.

Yes I can recommend these brackets also. I have fitted a pair and they fit PERFECTLY with the lights I have fitted to them just in the right place.

They are also very well made and sent out very well packed.

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:tenere:

Mods, Oxford heated grips, Givi Rack and top box, Stage 2 DNA filter and top, 02 sensor eliminator, Metal Mule taller screen, Seat hump trimmed off, .KEVS FUEL MOD (THE 1ST ONE FOR THE TENERE) , Extra fuse box, 12volt plug in socket, Zumo550 sat nav, , Barkbusters


What Bill Clinton REALLY said to Monica Lewinsky was: "Sack my cook"

Sadly Bike now sold 11/6/11

Another happy customer here. Recommended

I'm going to be adding a weather resistant switch and mounting bracket to the line-up. same as the one in this picture:



It clamps to the headlight frame, so no drilling or 'adjusting' required to the bike. You don't even notice it's there when you look at the bike. There is no price available just now, but if you are intersted then drop me a line.

Soft Luggage Exhaust Protectors are also in development, will be tested and ready for the springtime.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Anyone know who stocks these PIAA lights as I elt the last set go on my GS...madness. They cost me �50 (from USA)all in inc loom relay etc but I cant find a dealer as PIAA dont make them anymore.

Hi guys,
what bulbs are in the PIAA lamps, and how long have you been running them? As i have flattened the battery after two days of running the Micro De fogs!!!!!
Mark

Hmmmm

the MicroDE have a 55w bulb (from memory) so thats 110w load on the bike. I recall from another post that the power budget is close to that, so you need to be running your bike a while without them on (after all, legally, you should only use them in adverse weather, but it would be a brave plod who decided to do yuo for 'being seen' on a bike).

It takes around 20 minutes of riding (not ticking over) to replace the drain on the battery from starting the bike.....

Alternativly, fit an optimate/batterymiser/trickly charger thing - if I've been on a short run <20 mins the lights on the optimate are usually two bars down.... only takes an hour before the battery is tickety boo.

Perhaps some more investigations into a Stator upgrade, I mentioned it in the Ask Kev section a week or so back.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

I've often heard this but I'm not sure quite how that works out.

Some typical figures seem to be around a 100-150A current draw for a CAR starter motor.
Drawing 12V and assuming you run the starter for 5 seconds (I probably run it for 2 max) you have 12*150 = 1800W and 9000J of energy used over the 5 seconds

Assuming you have an excess capacity of 50W from the charging system (must do as I'm running a 100W bulb and heated grips which draw up to 70+W over stock with no problems) that would take 9000J / 50W = 180 seconds to replace the lost charge. Even with only 25W spare you'd replace the charge in 6 minutes.

From what I've seen in Guernsey where most journeys are 5 miles or less you'd expect EVERYONE to be hooking their bike up to an optimate if 20 mins was the requirement (especialy since top speed is 35mph so the bikes won't be reving that hard) but that's certainly not the case from what I ever noticed.

I guess a loose rule of thumb would be you need to ride the bike for as many minutes as you had the starter motor running in seconds (which assumes 30W spare electrical capacity). eg Really bad start in the morning running the starter for 20 seconds requires 20 minutes of riding.

I'm not going to argue with the physics of it, but try it, you'll see what I mean.

of course a cold battery looses 'ummpf' faster than a warm one, and you have other issues around the condition of the terminal connection.

Car starters will have a much more powerfull battery and constant compression (being an inline 4) per turn, whereas the singles need to turn the engine through a high compression and low compression cycle. I don;t know the reason, I'm just throwing in some suggestions

Also, on a bike that isn't run everyday, the battery will loos charge as it stand anyway, and the less it is used the more it seams to loose charge.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

I'd certainly agree that a cold battery gives less output, and leaving a battery unusued reduces it's effeciency until it has been charged to restore some of it.

I've just looked up the figures in the service manual, the starter motor is rated at 0.8kW, which if drawing 12v is about 67A (assuming 100% effeciency. Conveniently this works out at 1Hp !
The Starter itself however is rated at 180A

The Ten battery is 12v 8Ah which in THEORY gives enough power in ideal conditions and fully charged to run the starter for 2 minutes 15 seconds until completely flat (assuming a constant 180A current draw at 14v). As you say I would not expect this is practice, I'd probaly be happy with half that