Vision-X LED Auxiliary Lights for the Tenere
 

Just finished installing a pair of Vision X LED spotlights. Pretty impressed with their performance, specially considering how small they are and how neat tidy they look. The neatness is due in no uncertain terms to GULGo�s brackets and special adapters, which are really solid and work a treat � thanks (arse licking over!)

Attached some photos of the install, which might be of help to others thinking of going down this route�

Very nice fit.

But how good are they as Lights. :031:


Which did you go for Spot or driving?:icon_salut:

I went for the 10 degree spots, although I did toy with getting the 15/45 elliptical ones. A bit concerned that the beam might be too narrow with the spots, but it's a really nice spread of light and nicely fills in the void left by the standard main beam and I'm glad I got the spots in the end. They are very bright and give a nice crisp white light, sharper than 55W halogens and the beam goes further than the bike's main. I'm hoping to take some pictures from the saddle for comparisson in the next couple of days...

I have used a mates set and yes they are very good ,had one wide attached to the bike and a spot on the hlemet ,for night time trail riding they were first class

As promised photos...
 

Here’s the view from the saddle…

They’re not the greatest quality photos as it was a bummer keeping the camera still with shutter speed of 1/2 at f2.8! However they give a good idea of the beam patterns, particularly clear is how useless main beam is on the Tenere.

A few things to bare in mind: (1) The LED spots are aimed downward slightly as I’ve set them up to fill the void left on main beam (illustrated quite well in the pictures), so they would go a lot further if set up dead ahead. (2) Both headlamps use Ring 55w +80% bulbs. (3) All six photos were taken with the same camera settings. (4) I live at the arse end of nowhere so it is proper dark with no light pollution. (5) Two fence posts are 18m and 30m away, and the fence panel at the end of the lane is 75m.

Dip only (just about scrapes 30m)...
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/2DipOnly.jpg

Main only (look at the 18m of dark in front of the bike)...
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a.../3MainOnly.jpg

Main and LED...
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/4MainLED.jpg

Dip and LED...
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...ke/5DipLED.jpg

LED only...
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/6LEDOnly.jpg

Hi, are these lights road legal?
70% of my riding is done in pretty much single track country lanes to and from villages and to be honest im not very impressed with the main beam on the bike. can you quickly switch the lights on and off like main beam??

kind regards,

Legal? Well, erm yes if use in conjunction with main beam at night and not when there is oncoming traffic, but no if you use them in the day or with dip at night. Generally it is not the lights that are legal/illegal, but more when/how they are used.

Switching: I have them wired into a separate switch on the left bar, so can be flicked on easily, but then they could just as easily be triggered from the main beam switch alone (see pic).

Like you, I drive on country lanes where there is little or no traffic so use main beam a lot, so additional low wattage lights are really very handy.

I did consider wiring the dip bulb to stay on with the main, but that's 110W/9A. Quite often I complete a whole journey just on main at night, with heated grips etc this would have been marginal on the alternator output. If I lived in town I would go for this option though and save the dosh spent on the spots, as you'd use main beam for much briefer periods.

ah brilliant cheers, i will probably do a simular thing in that case, next question is where did you get them from??
would be very usefull especiall because of the height of the bike just adjusting the light unit up doesnt make much of a difference but just blinds other drivers wich could end up dangerouse lol

You can get them in the UK from Adventure Spec...

http://www.adventure-spec.com/shop/v...ng/cat_79.html

I got mine a bit cheaper from the US, but they only work out cheaper if you've got a mate who goes there regularly and slips them in his luggage without paying import taxes!

Never mind two little ones - how about this as a lighting solution?

Just don't ride around Heathrow with it on full beam!

...and that set up is still 30W less power consumption than a pair of normal halogen spots! However, it would cost you a massive 720 quid!!

How did you wire the switch in with the lights?
I'm currently looking at the kit on adventure spec and I see they sell a wiring harness for �40 plus the switch isn't even waterproof. That's a lot of money just to use the lights directly from the battery with a switch, instead of wiring up to the high or low beam.
I'm looking to run mine off the battery with a switch like you but i was just wondering how you did it?
thanks

I have a similar set-up with the Vision X's.

But my wiring is via a relay and seperate switch so that :-

1 I can switch them off completely.
2 The dip and main bike lights switch the dip and main X's on.
3 When dip is on, the X is on dip also.
4 When main is on, both dip X and main X are on.
5 When the pass button is pressed the main X fires as well as the main.
6 I have put some diodes in the system to stop the dip and main X's switching each other on.
6 As Pete mentions, the main beam as Standard leaves a big dark hole in front of you which I now can have lit up by the dip X.
7 The main X supplements the poor standard main headlight.

As I have a complete headlight unit less front clear plastic, I,m gonna have a go at some Reflector headlights and try and shoehorn them into the standard body.

I might also have a go at some of these LED bulbs that have appeared on some sites as the Standard headlights are a joke. My little CB250RS Honda has a better headlight.
..............and just so you know I did try HID's, much brighter but they take time to heat up and going from dip to main leaves you in the dark for far too long.......................And they burn soooooo hot that they will take the reflective silvering off the headlight. I know I have that headlight unit to prove! (No I didn't pick up the pheasant that took the 'glass' off!)

Steve

First up, as you may have read, my Vision Xs are a matched pair of spots, not one of each kind of beam pattern (1x wide/1x spot) which makes wiring a little easier than Steve's setup as they are either both on or both off and don't need to be switched independently.

Whilst mine are wired directly to the battery, they are still triggered by a relay because I don't won't any pesky kids turning my spots on a running the battery down. The relay trigger comes off the sidelight circuit via a handlebar mounted switch. The main load supply comes straight off the battery, through the relay and to the lights. This means the lights can be switched on/off independently of headlight beam position and they can also be turned on with the key in the "P" position; this I find very handy for erecting a tent a night.

This is the kind of switch I use, although I got it for about a fiver off ebay:

http://www.zenoverland.com/user/prod...-SWT-001_1.jpg

This is the wiring diagram:

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/a...ingdiagram.jpg

The AS wiring kit is expensive for what you get: some wire, cables ties, a cheap switch, a few connectors and a relay, which on their own would easily cost less than a tenner. I'd suggest it is only worth buying if you don't have the skills to make the loom yourself.

TBH I use the spots less than I did these days as I've wired up the headlights so dip stays on when main is selected which means there is no longer that annoying dark hole on main beam anymore. It's a simple and free mod to do and well worth it.

Read this.

I have the vision x lights also , very impressed , build quality and light out put, would recommend to any one..

vision x lights
 

Hi the vision x lights are very expensive �95 each!! a cheaper and in my opinion just as effective option are the lights recommended in my post titled (spotlights led) in the forum section performance mods and enhancements/ electrics & lighting see the photos at the end of the post.

Indeed. We're lucky now; there is a huge array of very cheap LED auxiliary lighting options out there at the moment - spoilt for choice!

What you've got to remember is that over 5 years ago, when I started this thread, there wasn't any choice at all. LED tech was in its infancy, they were the new must have thing, and the only option out there was the Vision X and they were �80 a pop back then! (That's about �120 EACH in today's money allowing for inflation etc.) I was lucky as I got mine from the US for $120 (�80) for the pair if I remember right?

TBH, I really don't think I'd buy a set now at the price you have to pay knowing what I do and having a much bigger choice available, especially having done the "dual beam" headlamp mod. With that done I actually don't think additional lighting is really necessary any more.

What I will say in defence of the Vision X units is that, of all the LED spots I've seen/touched/used, they are of far superior build quality to any of the cheap ebay stuff. I've actually got a pair of �5 Vision X copies from ebay as work lights on the Land Rover and the difference between them and the genuine article is night and day! ;)

vision x lights
 

To be fair i was not expecting much from my ebay lights but when i unwrapped the box I was surprised to be looking at hefty alloy solidly made lights i was expecting cheap plastic tat for the price.

When I brought mine I thought they were expensive ( and nearly didn't buy them!) but when I opened the packaging and saw the build quality and lens quality I realised that's where the money goes.You could proberly have a brick fly up and hit them ******s and they would remain intact (I would think alignment might be an issue after though).Would I buy another? Hell yeah, but I think the wife would kill me after she notices it on the bank statement!..she too thinks they expensive!

Mount on the indicator bolts?
 

I've been looking to sort out my LED lights as I've not been happy with the other mounting solutions.
I am now riding some 130km's between Cape Town and Langebaan fairly frequently in the early / late hours so light is an issue, particularly with the road works and mist, visibility is a problem. I needed to make a massive difference to seeing and being seen.
Finally found something I am happy with, together with an Orange headlight cover, I've got these and couldn't be happier.

These LED Lights are very white, and sincerely dominate the main headlight, but as per the original poster, I have angled them to fill in the foreground and paint the background. I will take some photo's - but don't have anywhere to upload the photos to, to link.

I removed the tank "cheek" pads, and the indicator inside bolt, then reattached with the light bracket underneath this, so the lights are inside the cheek pads, shining out between the fork and the tank. This way nothing is proud of the bike, and easily removed, snag anything or get broken in a fall.
The allowable movement angles are minimal, and its a real awkward position to get the spanners in, but the effect is really tidy. My only gripe being where to put all the excess wiring - at this stage its just cable tied, but will probably cut the length to match the indicators.

I lack the technical expertise to wire in together with the main lights, and just need to make sure I switch off the handle bar switch. (already forgotten for two hours, didn't affect starting, so minimal battery drain too.) I am now looking for an illuminated light switch.

I'll recommend just adding a relay between batteri and switch and let the power with a running engine trigger the relay. You can use power from the small connecter behind the cover below the instruments to trigger the relay. This way you don't have to rember it and nobody else can accidentally turn on you light while parked...

I've done that and hidden a relay etc in the grey plastic between tank and front fairing. You can see the picture on http://www.tenere.dk/forumnew/forum_...ID=78610#78610 (the text is in danish)

The newest addition is a switch form zen overland that is easier to reach than the one in the fairing. When i just had small led as running light i could just keep them on, but the 2x 10W china LED's ive on now is to blinding for oncoming traffic at night. (The leds are no where near visionx quality but they price is also different - they were the most narrow cheap spots i could find) But ive decided against wiring it to the high beam since the are not road legal so prefer to be able to run low/high as normal and beeing able to argue that the are for offroad only ...


Pictures:

Low beam with: http://www.ebay.de/itm/2500-3200LM-H...var&hash=item0

Low beam + 2 x China spot: http://www.ebay.de/itm/10W-CREE-LED-...item2a44512500

Twin spots mounted as wide as possible is a massive safety feature for day or night riding too. Apart from being able to see better it makes a significant difference to how well you are "seen" by motorists. I recently read an article on this very topic and the mere fact that your lights give you more "presence" on the road will help you to be seen by others.

Also, as mentioned above my 10w LED spots are perfect for pitching tents without draining the battery. Bar mounted switch wired directly to the battery. Not concerned about kids tampering with switches as I hardly ever park the beast in public and leave it.
These products off the shelf are now very cheap. Mine cost ZAR995 which, when I last looked is about a two Pound fifty!(sic)
Do it..

It is true about more lights making you more visible. Also if the lights are unusual it attracts more attention. I'm fitting my Ten with LED strips in the front so it would stand out more. It might look a bit tacky but better than being run over by a day dreaming cager.

Some questions for those who've already installed aux lights:

1. Is there a min / max as far as Amps for the relay ?

2. Did you connect the grounding back to the battery or somewhere on the frame?

I wired my daytime lights into the the rear tail light , no worries about over draining power,and they turn off when bikes off. My vision x lights are wired into my full beam,they use hardly any power and you don't have to worry about relays..

These are the spots I bought:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-...239844823.html

According to one review, they run "12 V / 0.67 A = approx. 8 W"

So... no need for relay, u say?


PS: Easy recovery, mate!

Most commonly available four pin relays you buy will switch up to 40A which is way more than you'll ever need for LED lights. As Jo says, you don't actually need a relay for the Vision-X lamps as together they only draw roughly 1.5A (for a pair).

My advice would always be to earth back to the battery. Frame earthing points will always end up getting furred up and cause trouble in the long run. Also, if you use a frame earth, other electrical circuits that suffer a ground fault can shortcut to earth via another circuit's earth. Electricity will always take the easiest route to ground, which might not always be the intended one, so make sure the intended route is the easiest!

"Earth back to the battery" = physically connecting a wire to the negative battery terminal? 'Cause that would mean removing the tank and I'm really not looking forward to that.

The way I was planing to do it:
- use the idle connector below the speedo;
- split both "+" and "-" in 2 separate wires;
- - 1 x "+" and 1 x "-" would feed the aux power socket;
- - 1 x "+" would go to the switch for the aux lights -> than to a 15A fuse -> than split again in 2, to each of the lights "+"
- - 1 x "-" would again be split in 2, for each of the lights "-"

What I'm not that convinced is if the initial wiring of the connector will endure the strain of both aux lights and aux power socket.

Just don't accidentally put parking lights on when you leave it - and definitely not have both heated grips and LED lights on when you do ....

8 hours later there was'nt even enough power to turn on the dash and the scottoiler resat itself ....

You can quite easily feed wiring through under the tank and along the frame without having to remove it. I have done it several times. When you next take the tank off (to do the valves or whatever), you just take the opportunity to tidy/tie it up. Just make sure what you feed through is sheathed and isn't going to get trapped. Easiest way is to simply follow the existing cable routing. It helps if you use a thick domestic electrical wire to pass through first, then tape the auto-electrical wire to the end of it and pull it all through.

You can do it this way, but... You must fuse each thing separately as the socket and the lights have completely different power demands. BTW - a 15A fuse is going to be next to useless in protecting a pair of LED auxiliary lights which run at 1.5A. The auxiliary lights need a 2-3.5A fuse max.

The other problem you'll have is the main fuse (in the fusebox) for the parking light circuit is rated at 10A (and it doesn't just run the parking lights). Now if you allow 2A for the LED lights, 1.5A for the bike's parking/tail/plate lights and 3.5A for the indicators (x4 in hazard position), that leaves you only 3A for the power socket which is just enough to deal with a sat nav with a completely flat battery. Obviously the electrical diversity principle means that you're unlikely to be using everything at once, and most of the time a sat nav will be float charging, so you can probably allow maybe 5A for the socket, but it means you are always running at the limits of what that spare connector can safely give.

This is where a relay comes in. You can trigger it (at a very low current) off the spare connector, but it can switch a fused load straight from the battery of whatever size you need (within reason). So you could have your LED lights and a full-fat 10A at the socket.