R1200R Dual Headlight

[Sander Abernathy]

I noticed the following discussions concerning an interest in a dual headlight for the R1200R.

What I'd *really* like to see for the R1200R is a dual headlight setup. I think that would look great on the bike.

- Lewellen

Oh Yeah me too.

Mark

Rather than reply there, I started a new topic as I've been obsessing about the same thing. I really want a headlight similar to the dual one seen on the Lo Rider concept bike. You can see a picture at this link: http://www.webbikeworld.com/BMW-motorcy ... -lo-rider/

One option is a headlight built by an Italian company called Ghezzi-Brian. Ghezzi-Brian builds modification kits for Moto Guzzis. One of their bikes is called the Furia and it has a streetfighter style dual headlight which they also sell separately. You can see both on the first page of the pdf you will find here: http://www.ghezzi-brian.com/documents/TuningCat_EN.pdf. The Ghezzi-Brian light plus the fairing is 630 euro for the MG V11. They indicate that they sell the parts for other bikes as well. The prices are 307 euro for the light and 223 euro for the fairing.

The problem with all of the above is that they are mounted diretly to the tubes of upside down forks which are static in the area where a headlight is mounted. A typical fork mounted headlight isn't an option for an R1200R because the first time you hit a bump the top of the fork will compress and destroy whatever is mounted to the inner tube of the fork. Any headlight must either be mounted to the existing mounting points on the R1200R at the very top of the fork clear of the path of the outer fork tube or mounted solely to the outer fork tube.

I wouldn't want to move the headlight because of the odd shape of the leading edge of the gas tank of an R1200R. It has that huge divot taken out of the front that allows the fork and paralever to be recessed into the tank. Without a headlight to cover that chasm it will look a bit like a face without a nose.

Finding the actual lights for something similar to the pictures above is actually really easy. Visit Hella at http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/ ... gen-lamps/ and go to the bottom of the page where they have 90mm and 50mm halogen headlight modules including low beam, high beam and dual. The halogens run $50 to $150 per module.

For literally 10 times the price, they also have xenon which you can see here http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/ ... on-module/ and here http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/ ... -bi-xenon/.

The real challenge in making this conversion is getting the bracket made. At some point I'm going to find a machine shop to do it for me.

Another dual headlight option if you want a different look is the AC Schnitzer kit that takes the dual headlight off an F800 and fits it to an R1200R along with a custom windscreen for a mere $1200 plus paint.

So what else is out there that I've missed? Is anyone aware of anything? I've seen the LSL streetfighter kit. It would work but it mounts to the forks so an alternate bracket would be needed and the shape makes me think it was taken out of a superbike fairing. There are some black and chrome 4 inch dual headlights mounted side-by-side but I really don't like them and Acerbis makes some fairings with integrated dual headlights that cost around $89 and look it.

[lewellen]

So what else is out there that I've missed? Is anyone aware of anything?

I don't know if you've seen these folks' offerings:

http://www.streetfightersinc.com/Headlightkits.htm

Some of their headlight sets look interesting, and might be made to work using the stock R1200R mounting points.

I haven't investigated it further at this point, although I probably will soon. (Calm down, Wallet, I'm just kidding...)

Good roads,

- Lewellen

[websterize]

The Lo Rider concept bike is arresting, isn't it, and seeing it again confirm that mirrors, although necessary, just kill the lines on a naked bike. Aprilia has come closest to solving that design problem.

I would love a xenon light out front as a retrofit kit — I've got them on my autos — but they require so much juice to ignite, they'd kill our already weak battery. Will be interesting how much of the Lo Rider concept makes it into BMW's next naked bike.

The notion of custom designing a naked BMW bike is thrilling. Mini meets moto. And If I could take delivery in Berlin and go on a factory tour, I'd order one tomorrow.

[rokinrider]

Gotta love that street fighter look!!!

[sproggy]

I would love a xenon light out front as a retrofit kit — I've got them on my autos — but they require so much juice to ignite, they'd kill our already weak battery.

Sorry, but this is rubbish. The igniter puts only a momentary load on the battery and although I don't have any figures I'd hazard an educated guess that the Amp-Hours are far lower than what's required to turn the motor over on the starter.

Any battery that can't fire up a xenon igniter probably won't fire the bike up either.

As for the dual headlight debate I'd favour an R1200GS/K1300R/F800R/F800GS type asymetric headlight because I like the look and it's just so BMW. And of course it's 'right' for an 'R' model of any range (K1300R, F800R - R1200R follows on naturally). If you used one of these you could also consider using a GS screen (which is already cut to match the headlight shape) mounted on a custom frame, something that I'm kicking around inside my head anyway. I'm thinking something along the lines of a frame that would mount to the stock screen mounting points plus the headlight mounting points and would support the screen (adjustable, of course) and replacement headlight.

I'm always thinking of things like this, though, and rarely get around to putting the idea into practise..... Maybe someone else will do it first.

[fastdogs2]

You may want to wait until the April 2011 launch of the K1600GT and try to adapt that bike's active/xenon/"angel eye" headlight to your R1200R. It may be a bit too large for the R1200R frame, though.

I have this type of headlight on my 5 series BMW automobile and I have really appreciated their value in rural areas. They light up both lanes of traffic on two lane roads and the "active" headlight sweeps the view around curves.

Bill

[fastdogs2]

Sorry, I wrote "active" and I meant to say "adaptive."

Check out the headlight video on the K1600GT on the WebBikeWorld link and you will see what I mean:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/BMW-motorcy ... k-1600-gt/

Bill

[websterize]

You don't have to apologize for calling what I wrote rubbish — my wife does it all the time. My point is that, like the fuel strip, the factory battery is a weakness in an otherwise superlative machine. Based on experience, I don't trust either of those components on my bike. The additional strain of xenon over incandescent on the factory battery would most likely spell trouble. For many, many riders, the batteries die without warning, in the middle of the desert, at noon, and the fuel strips just plain lie.

I'm sure your battery and fuel strip have been impeccable, and I hope that continues.

Bill, that BMW Motorcycle Adaptive light video is pretty cool.

[sproggy]

I've not had my R12R for long enough to comment on battery life but once illuminated Xenon headlights typically draw half the current of conventional filament bulbs (wattage for wattage they are about 4 times brighter but most installations run at 2-3 times the brightness of a filament bulb and half to 3/4 of the power consumption) so they will actually draw less from the bike's electrical system when riding than the standard headlight would.

Your concern was for the current drawn by the igniter but this occurs only at start-up (just after, actually, as the headlight doesn't light until the engine starts) and while I've not seen any figures, the wire gauge typically used for the igniter-to-battery connections indicates that it is far lower than the current drawn by the starter and it is drawn for less than a second, just once each ride.

Batteries will fail, some faster than others depending upon a whole range of factors including frequency and nature of usage, but a Xenon installation will not IMO have a significant effect one way or another on battery life.

[deilenberger]

Some numbers - the usual 35W HID conversion draws about 3A when "running" - and ~10A on the start up pulse. Your 55W halogen bulb draws ~4.4A steady state (whenever it's on) and two of them (as is used for the high-beam on the R12R) is twice that.

I would be somewhat concerned about the startup current draw on the HID causing the ZFE module to see what it thinks is a short circuit and it turning the light off.

And I'm more concerned about glare problems caused by HID "conversions" being used in reflectors not designed for them (and without a glare-shield in front of the bulb - which is on all factory HID systems.) Having more light in front of me is good - but not so good if it blinds someone who then drifts toward the bright light (which people have a tendency to do..) That's the reason I have my auxiliary lighting - it gives more light when it's safe for me to use it - not all the time.. so I can switch it off if I suspect it might cause glare to oncoming traffic. FWIW - I have BTDT on HID conversions on BMW cars - and ended up removing them. The increased glare the HID conversion caused was a safety hazard. I only had to drive toward my car once with it's lights on to realize this.

[celticus]

Gotta love that street fighter look!!!

I saw a Buell Ulysses today . It had the head lights I want on my bike.

Mark

[waynemathews]

Some numbers - the usual 35W HID conversion draws about 3A when "running" - and ~10A on the start up pulse. Your 55W halogen bulb draws ~4.4A steady state (whenever it's on) and two of them (as is used for the high-beam on the R12R) is twice that.

I would be somewhat concerned about the startup current draw on the HID causing the ZFE module to see what it thinks is a short circuit and it turning the light off.

And I'm more concerned about glare problems caused by HID "conversions" being used in reflectors not designed for them (and without a glare-shield in front of the bulb - which is on all factory HID systems.) Having more light in front of me is good - but not so good if it blinds someone who then drifts toward the bright light (which people have a tendency to do..) That's the reason I have my auxiliary lighting - it gives more light when it's safe for me to use it - not all the time.. so I can switch it off if I suspect it might cause glare to oncoming traffic. FWIW - I have BTDT on HID conversions on BMW cars - and ended up removing them. The increased glare the HID conversion caused was a safety hazard. I only had to drive toward my car once with it's lights on to realize this.

HID headlights definitely provide more light and draw less power. Many (most?) have issues with focus and glare issues when utilizing the original headlight shell, but some work quite well. The conversion on my R100S works extremely well, but the best HID conversions will usually come from replacing the headlight shell with one designed for HID lights ($$$).

[waynemathews]

Gotta love that street fighter look!!!

I saw a Buell Ulysses today . It had the head lights I want on my bike.

Mark

Only if you don't ride at night. I had an '06 Ulysses. Great bike with a couple of issues. First, the cooling fan for the rear cylinder is incredibly loud even with ear plugs. Second, the headlights are terrible. My 1978 R100S had better lighting before the HID conversion. At least it mostly kept me below the posted speed limits at night. Attempts to improve light output by having both lights on at the same time caused heat damage to the lights. Still, a pity that Harley killed Buell off.

[celticus]

Gotta love that street fighter look!!!

I saw a Buell Ulysses today . It had the head lights I want on my bike.

Mark

Only if you don't ride at night.
Still, a pity that Harley killed Buell off.

As a matter of fact I very rarly ride at night and it would be NEVER if it were up to me.
I was mainly talking about the way the lights look.
I also like the looks of The Triumph Street Fighters headlights.

Mark

[craigleo]

I'm all in on dual headlights that meet Don's specs. I also like the Triumph's dual headlight 'look'.

I like riding at night because there is less glare,bikinis. dogs, cats, pedestrians, bicycles, surfers with boards walking around, and non-road surface distractions and hazards. When I go out after about 8;30ish pm, there are fewer cars on the road so more room for playing. I assume that no cars can see me and the aggressive drivers at night are worse. I work to create space accordingly. I cannot say riding at night is safer. I like it when I can do it though.

TMI perhaps

[deilenberger]

I'm all in on dual headlights that meet Don's specs. I also like the Triumph's dual headlight 'look'.

I like riding at night because there is less glare,bikinis. dogs, cats, pedestrians, bicycles, surfers with boards walking around, and non-road surface distractions and hazards. When I go out after about 8;30ish pm, there are fewer cars on the road so more room for playing. I assume that no cars can see me and the aggressive drivers at night are worse. I work to create space accordingly. I cannot say riding at night is safer. I like it when I can do it though.

TMI perhaps

What there are in great excess in the Northeast US after dark is hooved rats (and now black and brown bear.) Deer are a constant menace, and much worse after dark. I never assume no cars can see me - I assume they DO see me and are out to kill me. Healthy paranoia = safe riding IMHO. You can predict that drivers will do the worst thing they possibly can at the least opportune moment and plan for it. You can't predict the deer that suddenly is RIGHT THERE in front of you, bounding across the road.

[websterize]

Deer are the bane of my daily commute on the R12R.

[deilenberger]

Deer are the bane of my daily commute on the R12R.

Bill - I think I mentioned it at Square Route - two words: headlight modulator (in my experience, they ain't just for cages..) Unfortunately - it's no good after dark.

[lewellen]

Bill - I think I mentioned it at Square Route - two words: headlight modulator (in my experience, they ain't just for cages..) Unfortunately - it's no good after dark.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the HID lamps would work well with a headlight modulator...

Good roads,

- Lewellen

[deilenberger]

Bill - I think I mentioned it at Square Route - two words: headlight modulator (in my experience, they ain't just for cages..) Unfortunately - it's no good after dark.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the HID lamps would work well with a headlight modulator...

Good roads,

- Lewellen

Absolutely correct - was Bill installing HID lamps? You could use one on the low beam since the high-beam is what's modulated. Actually - since HID's don't instantly come to full brightness - using them on the high-beam is questionable unless you're using one that uses a shutter to change the beam pattern (my M3 has that - called "bi-xenon"..)