best place to mount auxiliary lights

[barryhn]

I'm thinking of adding LED lights on my RT and I'm leaning towards the rigid LED lights particularly their D2's since they are plug and play. Does anyone have this kind of upgrade? Where did you mount your aux LED lights? Any info will be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Tomline]

Trying to mount mine low using fender bolts with a bracket that will position them inside the front tires and use the fender tip lights for power. LEDS so there shouldn't be much of a draw. I think keeping them low will work best for what I want them for. Good Luck!

[trikermutha]

I went with the Clearwater LED lights. A bit pricy but have been happy with them so far.

[Don T.]

I recently mounted two 18 watt aux light bars (2 rows of 3 LEDs on each light) on my black 2014 RT-S. I found the light bars on Amazon for less than $20 as a pair and they are finned black aluminum, adjustable and quite bright. Now for mounting: If you look under the center of the top A-arm on each side you will find a pre-drilled hole on a flat piece of metal welded horizontally to the forward tube. This hole is at the body side of the electrical connector (centered on the A-arm) that feeds power to the forward running lights. Since the plastic cover of the A-arm is 3/4" above the pre-drilled horizontal plate, simply insert a 3/4" spacer (any material) between the plastic cover and the metal plate with the pre-drilled hole. I made my own spacers but you can buy them at any well-stocked hardware store that carries them. Where I live Ace/True Value carries them in chrome and black chrome in 1/8" increments. I mounted the brackets using 1 1/2" stainless cap screws with strips of 3M two face mounting tape between the brackets and the plastic A-arm covers. To determine where to drill the plastic A-arm cover, I heated the tip of a small awl and pushed it up thru the pre-drilled hole until it penetrated the plastic cover, then drilled the right sized hole from the top. Because these lights are quite bright I angled each 10 degrees down from horizontal and the left one as you sit the Spyder turned 5 degrees toward the curb side. I Did not want to blind oncoming drivers. These angles work nicely. This set up makes for a rigid, centered between wheel and body mount that does not turn with the wheel. I wired it to my fog light circuit but you choose what to electrically tie into. I also did a hyper flash for the new voltage values on the fog light circuit. The finished product gave me two LED headlights + two LED fog lights and two 18W aux LED lights when all are turned on--all bright and white. Hope this gives you some ideas

[DGoebel]

Pictures, Show us pictures!

[pegasus1300]

Don Great post,thank you for the ideas. Can you take pictures and post them?

[Don T.]

Aux light.jpgCap screw location.jpglights on.jpgFirst Picture shows a mounted light to the top cover of the left A-arm with the mounting nut attached to the 1/4 20 (1 & 1/2" long) cap screw. Second picture shows the underside of the top A-arm with the head of the cap screw going through the pre-drilled hole in the horizontal bracket welded to the front tube of the upper A-arm--the cap screw head is right next to the red power lead to the fender running light. Picture 3 is all lights on. I installed a toggle between the fog light power and the aux lights so I could turn them on or off as long as the fog lights were turned on. Could not get a good picture of the 3/4" bushing as it is hidden between the plastic cover and the welded horizontal plate. I made my bushing from 1" diameter brass stock, 3/4" long and center drilled 5/16" hole. Hope this visual helps. This is only my second post so I'm still feeling my way around the site. Safe rides, Don T.

[barryhn]

Thanks for sharing some pics, Don! Your setup looks nice.

[El Dorado]

Thank you, very nice. Can you please explain this/. :I also did a hyper flash for the new voltage values on the fog light circuit

[UtahPete]

I recently mounted two 18 watt aux light bars (2 rows of 3 LEDs on each light) on my black 2014 RT-S. I found the light bars on Amazon for less than $20 as a pair and they are finned black aluminum, adjustable and quite bright. I wired it to my fog light circuit but you choose what to electrically tie into. I also did a hyper flash for the new voltage values on the fog light circuit. The finished product gave me two LED headlights + two LED fog lights and two 18W aux LED lights when all are turned on--all bright and white. Hope this gives you some ideas

Looking around this forum for references to hyper flash, it seems that's a problem with turn signals; why would you have a problem with these lights wired to your fog light circuit? Anyone got any advice on this? Also, I don't see any reference to the more expensive lights (e.g. TricLED driving lights at $300 a pair) causing a problem with the circuitry. What am I missing?

I would like to add some brighter lights lower down for visibility (not light projection onto the road) because the fog lights just don't cut it for me (can't see them in daylight) and don't want to buy pricey driving lights.

[Ben Burped]

Looking around this forum for references to hyper flash, it seems that's a problem with turn signals; why would you have a problem with these lights wired to your fog light circuit? Anyone got any advice on this? Also, I don't see any reference to the more expensive lights (e.g. TricLED driving lights at $300 a pair) causing a problem with the circuitry. What am I missing?

I would like to add some brighter lights lower down for visibility (not light projection onto the road) because the fog lights just don't cut it for me (can't see them in daylight) and don't want to buy pricey driving lights.

I have a 2010 RT with the factory fog lights. They really didn't do much with the halogen bulbs. I installed the Xenon Depot Xenon upgrade with the Phillips bulbs. The result is absolutely amazing. It fills in the dark place between your Can Am and where your headlights hit the road. I go on night rides just to look at how amazing they are. If you are comfortable with working on your Can Am, it is not a big deal. You do have to remove the "frunk" to install the ballasts required. This is for your consideration.

[CMA/IBA_rider]

I mounted my LED lights on a RT using the lower shock Bolt.

[UtahPete]

I have a 2010 RT with the factory fog lights. They really didn't do much with the halogen bulbs. I installed the Xenon Depot Xenon upgrade with the Phillips bulbs. The result is absolutely amazing. It fills in the dark place between your Can Am and where your headlights hit the road. I go on night rides just to look at how amazing they are. If you are comfortable with working on your Can Am, it is not a big deal. You do have to remove the "frunk" to install the ballasts required. This is for your consideration.

With all the attention on LED kits, I'd overlooked the HID option. Thanks, I'll check it out.

[UtahPete]

I have a 2010 RT with the factory fog lights. They really didn't do much with the halogen bulbs. I installed the Xenon Depot Xenon upgrade with the Phillips bulbs. The result is absolutely amazing. It fills in the dark place between your Can Am and where your headlights hit the road. I go on night rides just to look at how amazing they are. If you are comfortable with working on your Can Am, it is not a big deal. You do have to remove the "frunk" to install the ballasts required. This is for your consideration.

Do you have a link to the kit you used? Do they throw enough light down the road to work as driving lights, or do they only fill in the dark spot in front of the Spyder?

[Ben Burped]

Do you have a link to the kit you used? Do they throw enough light down the road to work as driving lights, or do they only fill in the dark spot in front of the Spyder?

Yes, they throw a clean, white, powerful light without blinding oncoming drivers. It is wide enough to light up from line to line and will light up the whole area up to where the headlights start. Look up Xenon Depot and click on motorcycles, Can Am, and your year and model. I went with the 4100K color with the Phillips bulb upgrade for maximum lumens available. Hope this helps. Finally, I did not use the relays and have had no trouble from the lights. Xenon Depot sells a very high grade product that produces clean, reliable, and predictable light.