Mini Headlight for number plate - Experience

johngofast

Over 1,000 Posts
Sirs, looking for a mini headlight like pictured below, know where to find 'em?

I'd also like to hear how about experience with them. I thinking about using two, one high and one low beam.



Thank ya!
 
I'm looking at the same things for my SR500. Looking at projector driving lights for cars. Not sure if they'd be 'legal' but we don't have to get bikes inspected here unless they're sold.
 
I believe the Sachs Madass uses two small projector headlights, I have a site bookmarked on my PC that sells them, I can post it when I'm on it.
 
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=400550875033

Buy, disassemble, build. Radness under $30.
 
VonYinzer said:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=400550875033

Buy, disassemble, build. Radness under $30.

Mike, thanks, like the price ;)

I can't tell from the pics, do you think those lights have their own lenses?
 
These are interesting:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Dirt-bike-Motorcycle-Universal-Street-Fighter-STREETFIGHTER-Headlight-Projector-For-Sachs-MadAss-50-125-500-KIKASS/663190042.html
 
Is that one a knockoff of the Sachs MadAss?

This guy has a high low..

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/15w-CREE-Driving-Light-Spot-LED-Motorcycle-mx-Fog-ATV-Offroad-Dual-Sport-Enduro-Free-Shipping/898210808.html
 
You could get a Rigid Dually LED if you want some real lighting.
Those 20 dollar lights are just going to get you killed if you ride at night IMHO, unless you're in town and then it doesn't matter i suppose.
 
I'm finding quite a few of these lights that put out more light than my stock headlight. In the $25-$40 range per light.
 
Its not all about the lumens they claim though.
You can have a "brighter" light in a shitty housing and have no visibility.
Just a quick read, its for offroad lights but applys here as well:


Candlepower and Lumens

Don’t be misled by lights that are rated by brightness (candlepower).

Candlepower - ratings only measure light from a single point within a beam of light. A tightly focused beam of light may rate a high candlepower but if that light only falls on a very small area, the light will be less than useful. An extreme example of this would be a laser pointer. While the candlepower would be great, the light would be near useless for illumination.

Lumens - are a measure of potential light output. All 35watt, 4200K HID light bulbs produce essentially the same amount of Lumens. A light’s candlepower or lumens measurement is worthless if the illumination is not where you need it.

Light Distribution - Terms

The most effective off-road light will provide smooth light distribution without Sharp Cut-Offs or Hot Spots.

A “Sharp Cut-Off” is where the light drops off dramatically, creating a horizontal or vertical line into darkness. With the pitch and roll of the vehicle, the sharp cut-off affects your ability to see where you need to see.

A “Hot Spot” is an intense concentration of light in a small area. Hot spots can be very distracting while driving off road; your eyes tend to focus on just that bright spot of light bouncing in front of you.

Light Color

The color of emitted light, or "Color Temperature" is rated in Degrees Kelvin. The most usable light for the human eye is sunlight, which is rated at 4000K-5500K. Don't be fooled by lights offering higher temperatures than this - they tend toward the blue spectrum, which is only good for a "cool looking" light. 6100K and higher bulbs produce fewer lumens than the 4200K and 5000K and are less usable to the human eye.

Light Sources

Halogen Lights - like conventional incandescent lights, use bulbs with a filament. The major difference is that Halogen bulbs are filled with a pressurized gas to prolong the life of the filament and allow it to burn at a higher and brighter temperature. The have a color temperature of around 3200K, which makes them appear more yellow in color than sunlight or HID light.

HID (High Intensity Discharge) - lighting is a quantum leap forward in off-road illumination. HID lamps produce a daylight quality light (4200K-5000K) and brightness (3200 lumens). A single HID bulb produces the equivalent of 250 watts of Halogen lighting power, while consuming only roughly 45 total watts of electricity and generating far less heat. Instead of a filament, HID bulbs fire a charge between two electrodes encased in a Xenon gas filled bulb. Since the bulb has no filament, vibration does not affect its operating life of approx. 2000 hours. The benefit of internally mounting the ballast is easy installation and serves to protect the HID components from the elements.

LED (Light Emitting Diode) - lighting has been around for years but is new to the forward lighting off-road scene. Recent advances in technology have made it possible to produce high-output LEDs capable of reaching the performance and pricing of HID lighting. The lights have an extensive life (approx. 100,000 hours) and are very resistant to vibration. The benefits of LED lighting include smooth, even light patterns and the possibility of making the light assemblies in many varying sizes and shapes.

Beam Patterns

Pencil or Spot Beams - provide a longer and narrower beam that focuses the pattern further down the trail. These lights are designed to be used in conjunction with other wider beam patterns. Baja Designs pencil beams come with a 10 degree wide pattern than can be widened by 4 degrees if desired.

Driving Beams - offer better peripheral vision than the Spot while maintaining good distance projection. They can be used alone or with other beam patterns to create an excellent light system. Baja Designs Driving beam have a 20 degree pattern.

Wide-Driving Beams - are slightly wider than a Driving beam and are good for trail riding or filling in spots closer to the vehicle. They can be used alone or with other beam patterns to create and excellent light system. Baja Designs Wide-Driving beams have a 28 degree pattern.

Wide-Cornering or Fog Beams - are the widest and most evenly distributed light pattern of the bunch. These beams are used for lighting the ground close to the sides of the vehicle and are great for turns or twists on the trail. In addition, this beam is great in dusty or foggy conditions. Due to its low and wide angle of dispersion, this beam should always be used in conjunction with other beams to provide the best possible lighting effect. Baja Designs Wide-Cornering beams have a 42 degree pattern.
 
These led lights come highly recommended on ADVRider :

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/hstrial-QualiRegResou/-strse-8/Model-30-LED-off/Detail.bok

But they are off road lights as well. The smallest DOT approved light I've seen is the 4.25" light from Airtech.

Edit: I should have said the smallest lights are from a MadAss scooter. The smallest "single" headlight is from Airtech.
 
That is good info. I am aware that its not all about lumens. Proper light distribution is key with these small lights, thats whats making it hard to pick a light now. A lot of these lights don't show or specify that information.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pair-12v-20w-high-power-Cree-LED-Car-running-lights-daytime-eagle-eye-drl-lamp-IP67/1030042887.html
 
The shop I work at has had a few of the rigid industries setups come through. Unfortunately we didn't get to see one in action, but I have to say that the build quality was impressive. Everything looked and felt unbelievably solid. If the dually 2x2 came in a round version I would have included one in my build for sure. As far as the Madass headlight goes, It might benefit a buyer to find a dealership that sells the parts and just order it from them. Another guy at the shop here just ordered one Monday. It cost him $157 and that included both low and high beams, both side brackets, and shipping. He just received it last night it it looks really nice. The nice thing about the madass setup is that they ARE actually DOT approved, and the projector lenses are glass, so no melty melty. Another cool little bonus is that they have a city light built in to one of the lenses. They are 12V 55W H3 bulbs for the record.
Anyways. I snapped a few pictures for you guys to check out too...
 

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Those are awesome!

And yes rigid makes incredible stuff.
YouTube rigid torture test if you want to see what they are capable of. They shoot them, drag them behind cars, hit them with sledge hammers, etc and they keep on ticking. And they are bright as shit.
 
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