Driving Spotlights
You will want to install a dedicated power harness w/relay along with this setup to protect the factory relays and wiring of your investment. Do it, don't ask why. To connect your new spotlights see this Gadget page as there isn't much point in me rewriting anything on that. Adaptable relay harnesses are always available from sources such as Pepboys, Walmart and, Autozone, to name a few. Usually around $20.
I originally bought 25W H3 bulbs which are for a Honda VTX 1300 light bar and to my delight they ended up being PIAA bulbs which seem to be stronger than a standard 25w bulb. The Honda part number is 08V31-MCK-A00A, they are $8.50 each and are worth it if you are concerned about power draw and want to reduce the load on the system.
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My trusty set of 4.5" spots from EBAY. These are Custom Chrome cans with Driving Light patterned reflectors. I really like these because of their superior lighting abilities since they use H3 bulbs. I will be running the PIAA 25W. The 50w bulbs are just too much for urban riding. However, I am able to run the 25w at night without everyone flashing me to death. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Custom Chrome stock driving light 4.5" reflectors
Adjure reflectors in the 4.5" cans
hummmmm
HELLA FF50
HELLA FF50 beam pattern
HELLA FF50 in the garage
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Mounting Spotlights Custom World International PN#02-021, "Light bars". Excellent concept in mounting. They are the chrome pieces you see here supporting the driving light cans. Unfortunately, they seem to have 30w bulbs in them which are not H3. The pattern produced by these bulbs is more splash than focus and projection. Too wimpy more power!!!!. I just couldn't handle the conduit routing clamps I tried at one point before light bars of any type were available for the 2005 Nomad. I really don't like the look of most lightbars, they just clutter up the front end of the bike and distract from the chrome look.
The Custom Chrome picture , to the left, have a more true running light type pattern. Looking at the reflector lenses, you can see they are designed differently than the lower set which are a set Adjure reflectors. The top lenses throw a well defined set of beams forward which, when properly aimed, illuminate mostly the lane you are driving in with limited "spill" into the on coming traffic lane. 25W bulbs in the top two pictured reflectors are more than adequate for enhanced lighting. 50W H3 bulbs are a bit much unless your driving way out in the country with little or no on coming traffic.
The pictures , to the left, which are the Adjure reflectors 4.5", more resemble the reflector pattern of the stock headlight therefore, their patterns are more spread out just like the headlight pattern. Honestly, I like both patterns but, the Adjure reflectors light the corners 35% more at night and really reinforce the headlight beam exceptionally. Interestingly, the 25w bulbs in the Adjure reflectors seemed week so I installed 35w H3 bulbs and was pleased with the result. Yes, I did say 35% increase in corner lighting.
The biggest obstacle is that I want the features of both, user selectable. Since I want to use the Adjure spots and their wide pattern, I need something to punch a hole in the night say 50-300 feet ahead of me. Since I had wired in 2 separate relays and harness to the toggle switch, I can switch between 2 sets of lights. Another problem is where to put the 2nd set of lights without it looking really stupid.
I tried to place 2 more of the same Custom Chrome cans down low on the engine guards but my foot kept hitting them when I tried to shift or break. MR-16 based, while great for visual safety purposes really don't throw light very far, even the 9 degree bulbs are pale in comparison to a nice set of true driving lights. I intend to experiment with some MR-11 bulbs and will post the results.
I found a set of Hella FF50 driving lights and installed them high on the engine guards. They are black plastic, oval in appearance and are H7 bulb based. These suckers kick butt and illuminate the hell out of the road ahead. There is no way you could drive around at night with on coming traffic. They would be leaning out their windows trying to shoot the lights out. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay bright. But for lonely back road night driving, they do an outstanding job. Got them off EBAY for $35. So now I really have the best of both worlds and here are my lighting combinations. Low beam/no spots Low beam /Adjure spots Low beam/Hella spots High beam/ no spots High beam/Adjure spots High beam/Hella spots The wiring diagram is shown on my site under this link H4 harness with dual relays and a switch The H7 bulb in these Hellas is shown in red. You can get up to 100w bulbs, but I don't think I want to go there. Here are more choices on H7 bulbs.
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