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Very Active Member
UtahPete, I have been thinking and thinking about this same issue, though I do like the TricLED lights mounted to the inside of the RT's front fender so the driving lights shine where the wheels are pointing, I still would like some switched extreme downrange lights from a higher perspective, I think the upper deflectors (small deflectors directly behind the windshield, as I have a '13 RT with the scoops vs the lower deflectors) would allow a small triangular plate extending out to the sides of the bike that those lights could be mounted to would be excellent positioning, I'm thinking I might hang the light below the plate. Those small deflectors directly behind the windshield bolt holes seem solid enough, and I could route the new wiring behind/under the front dash valance.
Before someone asks, I'm planning several IBA Long Distance rides that will feature lot's of night driving on unfamiliar roads...
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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I was even wondering about fabbing up a small triangular plate that would fit into the socket the upper deflectors mount into, come up the outside of the deflector, then come out flat. The upper deflector bolts would then capture/mount both the deflector and the plate, with the top outboard peak of the plate having the mounting surface for the driving lamps. My bike is away in winter storage right now, so I'm not sure of the clearances, alternatively I'm wondering if those little deflector's really have any benefit (Especially if I get a wide / tall new windshield) and could just be removed using their mounting bolts as the driving light mounting plate mount.
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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Originally Posted by DGoebel
I was even wondering about fabbing up a small triangular plate that would fit into the socket the upper deflectors mount into, come up the outside of the deflector, then come out flat. The upper deflector bolts would then capture/mount both the deflector and the plate, with the top outboard peak of the plate having the mounting surface for the driving lamps. My bike is away in winter storage right now, so I'm not sure of the clearances, alternatively I'm wondering if those little deflector's really have any benefit (Especially if I get a wide / tall new windshield) and could just be removed using their mounting bolts as the driving light mounting plate mount.
- My thoughts exactly. Maybe Lew or Mike could fab those. Might be another 'must have' farkle at some point!
- My wife's bike has the F4 windshield and the lower deflectors are pretty useless. Unfortunately, it's my bike with the OEM windshield that I want the driving lights for.
- That gives me another thought; remove the small deflectors from Jane's bike and use them as templates for the light mounting brackets fabrication...except I still don't know how to work with metal other than drilling holes in it....
2014 RTL Platinum
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Very Active Member
UP, I'm thinking of heading to my storage unit, pulling those upper deflectors, and sending them into work with my wife. Her company refurbishes/recreates Classic Antique aircraft from the '30's and 40's and they have to fab up lots of one off special mounts (it's seems back in the '30's they didn't think to include a GPS antenna mounting plate inside the A/C fuselage...<G> Shoot nobody looks through those deflectors anyway, maybe I could get an all in one deflector/accessory light mount powdercoated black. hmmmm.....
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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Very Active Member
Pete, pretty easy, church friend of mine has a large polebarn he's got a spyder also and they're sitting side by side, I'll go after church tomorrow. He and I are planning 10 day 8000 mile trip this summer and I'd like to have the additional lighting on by then.
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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Very Active Member
UP, will do, though if you get yours mounted soon, please post pics. I went today but my buddy was out of town (seems its a holiday weekend here that has nothing to do with Spyders).
But I'll see him this week and get the deflectors pulled for the fabricators.
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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Very Active Member
UP, sorry it's just been so bitter cold here in MN that I haven't wanted to remove the Windshield fascia to get at those lower deflector mounts.
We're supposed to hit the 40's tomorrow and will likely start my Spring maintenance and farkeling season. A small space heater will help warm up some of the parts just to be safe.
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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Very Active Member
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Low-tech solution
Finally got it done today. 1/8" x 1" bar stock aluminum was easy to work with.
Bracket 2.jpg Bracket 3.jpg Bracket 1.jpg
Next step is the electrical connection. For now, I've got the light cable routed through a notch in the speaker grill on each side.
2014 RTL Platinum
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Very Active Member
That's keeping with the KISS principle. I'm waiting to hear what kinda light throw you're gonna get with them up that high. Looking forward to a night time light shot.
Safe Rides,
David and Sharon Goebel
Both Retired USAF Veterans
2018 Anniversary Edition RT Limited
Baja Ron ultimate swaybar. Vredestein tires, Baja Ron Front Shock Pre-load adjusters, Pedal Box, See my Spyder Garage
IBA 70020 |
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Me too..
I was wondering the same, looking for a higher point. I have not got the lamps yet, but I am thinking of the clear plastic wind deflectors - or one of those bolts. Those deflectors are thick and solid. I was thinking maybe getting 6mm threaded rod and replacing one of the bolts with a standoff (from McMastercarr.com) and putting the lights on maybe a 1.5" to 2" standoff.
So the lamp would mount on one end with two nuts clamping the mounting bracket; then slide on the spacer, then screw it into the wind deflector hole. Once tight, loosen the two nuts to adjust the lamp and re-tighten.
Just my two cents!
Originally Posted by UtahPete
I've been looking to add more lighting both to be seen and to see. From everything I know about driving lights, the higher they are mounted, the greater effective distance a given lamp will throw the light. Many on here mount them on the A-arms or fenders, but for my purpose that is too low to the ground. So, I'm going to try mounting them up higher using existing strong attachment points and hopefully avoiding modification of the body panels in any way.
I decided on the Denali DR2 lights. Got them on sale at Twisted Throttle (they're 2015 models). Great build quality and heavier than I expected. I want to mount them higher than the A-arms and thinking about two locations (see pics). Has anyone used either of these locations and if so, what did you use for a bracket? My metal fabrication skills are practically nonexistent.
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Originally Posted by UtahPete
Finally got it done today. 1/8" x 1" bar stock aluminum was easy to work with. Next step is the electrical connection. For now, I've got the light cable routed through a notch in the speaker grill on each side.
Okay, decided not to try creating my own wiring harness so bought one from Twisted Throttle where I got the D2 driving lights (although now that I've got it, I realize it wouldn't have been that big a deal). This is what it looked like, laid out on the workbench;
20180621_112412.jpg
This is what it looked like after tidying it up and attaching wiring connectors. I'll be feeding it through the space between the left and right speaker cavities;
20180621_113744.jpg 20180621_113632.jpg
2014 RTL Platinum
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20180621_113822.jpg The wire with yellow tape is the switched power wire I fed up from the Electronic Fuse Block (see that thread). I'll be clipping off the two battery terminals and connecting them to that wire instead.
20180621_124827.jpg This is the finished installation on the right side, where I decided to put switch on the speaker grill
20180621_124810.jpg Now I just have to wait until dark to aim them and check out the difference they make over the headlights by themselves. The objective was to be able to throw a lot of targeted light down the road when riding in rural areas at night.
2014 RTL Platinum
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Very Active Member
Looks good Pete. I may go with a different mount using the two bolts that hold the deflector. I want a different place to mount the switch though.
Lew L
Kaos----- Gone but not forgotten.
2014 RTS in Circuit Yellow, farkle-ing addiction down to once every few months. ECU FLASH IS GREAT.
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Originally Posted by Lew L
Looks good Pete. I may go with a different mount using the two bolts that hold the deflector. I want a different place to mount the switch though. Lew L
Yeah, I'm still considering where I want to mount the switch. Fortunately the provided cable is long enough to bring it out to the right hand grip if I need to.
2014 RTL Platinum
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Maybe some plasti-dip?
Originally Posted by UtahPete
Finally got it done today. 1/8" x 1" bar stock aluminum was easy to work with.
Bracket 2.jpg Bracket 3.jpg Bracket 1.jpg
Next step is the electrical connection. For now, I've got the light cable routed through a notch in the speaker grill on each side.
Having a dark red RTS, I thought making all the plain accents black would make it nicer - and it did. Also did the bottom part of the windshield to hide the EZPass. You could do the same to hide the mounting bars, just blackout the side pieces?
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...ght=plasti-dip
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Very Active Member
Originally Posted by stevencovert
Having a dark red RTS, I thought making all the plain accents black would make it nicer - and it did. Also did the bottom part of the windshield to hide the EZPass. You could do the same to hide the mounting bars, just blackout the side pieces?
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...ght=plasti-dip
I remember when you plasti dipped your windshield.I did that to mine also but it never did hold up.How is yours doing? BTW your light installation looks great. So does yours Pete,giving me some ideas for some lights I bought awhile ago but never mounted.
Happy TRAils/NSD
Paul
2012 RT L
AMA 25 years Life Member
TRA
PGR
Rhino Riders Plate #83
Venturers #78
TOI
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Originally Posted by pegasus1300
I remember when you plasti dipped your windshield.I did that to mine also but it never did hold up.How is yours doing? BTW your light installation looks great. So does yours Pete,giving me some ideas for some lights I bought awhile ago but never mounted.
I think the pictures in his post are of my installation. He has a red bike.
2014 RTL Platinum
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Very Active Member
Happy TRAils/NSD
Paul
2012 RT L
AMA 25 years Life Member
TRA
PGR
Rhino Riders Plate #83
Venturers #78
TOI
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Originally Posted by stevencovert
Having a dark red RTS, I thought making all the plain accents black would make it nicer - and it did. Also did the bottom part of the windshield to hide the EZPass. You could do the same to hide the mounting bars, just blackout the side pieces?
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...ght=plasti-dip
Working on doing mine. Did not want to drill on the clear plastic. I used the existing mounting holes and adjusted to have the bracket vertical instead of at an angle. I will finish as soon as I receive the light. Picture shows the parts needed and finished installed.Fog light bracket-1.jpgFog light bracket-2.jpg
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Originally Posted by mbenazeraf
Working on doing mine. Did not want to drill on the clear plastic. I used the existing mounting holes and adjusted to have the bracket vertical instead of at an angle. I will finish as soon as I receive the light. Picture shows the parts needed and finished installed
Fog light bracket-1.jpgFog light bracket-2.jpg
Is that the lower deflector, rather than the upper one I used?
Last edited by UtahPete; 06-26-2018 at 02:08 PM.
2014 RTL Platinum
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Originally Posted by pegasus1300
I remember when you plasti dipped your windshield.I did that to mine also but it never did hold up.How is yours doing? BTW your light installation looks great. So does yours Pete,giving me some ideas for some lights I bought awhile ago but never mounted.
My plasti-dip is still 100%. I put about 10 heavy coats on it
Steve
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Originally Posted by UtahPete
Is that the lower deflector, rather than the upper one I used?
Lower, below the mirror. Used different length spacers to make the bracket vertical (looks better that way). The wire will run through the grill behind it with a small male/female plug in case I need to remove for whatever reason.Fog light bracket-5.jpgFog light bracket-4.jpgFog light bracket-3.jpg
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Originally Posted by mbenazeraf
Very nice.
2014 RTL Platinum
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Active Member
Driving lites
Looks like the design just keeps getting adjusted. Hope you both show the final product
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