As the winter nights are here I still needed to get out for a quick blast after a hard day at the office. I have made and fitted a set of 50 watt halogen lights that fit onto the handlebars. When i flick on full beam its like riding in daylight. They are really easy to make and cost no more than £8. Basically they are plastic pipe used by plumbers 40mm one end and 32mm the other (bought from 'Wicks' £4). The halogen light fits perfectly into the 40mm end and the screw cap holds it in nice and tight. Just a case of running a couple of wires to the green and blue wires on the headlight mainbeam and you have over 100 watts of light. The bikes electrical system runs them perfectly.

If someone could tell me how to add pictures i will add a couple.

get an account with photobucket.com then upload your pictures to it. Copy the URL from photobucket then paste that in your post.

am intrigued to see how the setup looks but sounds promising

Pictures , pictures , we want pictures , i agree that sounds a cracking good remedy to the glow worm set up we mostly have now .
Regards Mike

Let me know what you think. I can send some more pics of how to make them if you like?

http://s358.photobucket.com/albums/oo29 ... 400102.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://s358.photobucket.com/albums/oo29 ... 400100.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

not bad huh!!!

picy of the mounting method from the riders view would be good. Some people won't like the home made look - but you could smooth off the ridges on the caps to improve that.

will be interested in how the bulbs hold up to off-road riding abuse?

Nice job though!!!

A friend of mine did something similar about 8 years ago. Lost contact so don't know how, or if, developed; were quite good.

I've seen that look before somewhere , and i just remembered where , " no dis-assemble C5" , it is isn't it , it's the robot out of that film
I still think it looks great though, well done .Lets have some details of where bits were sourced ,and fixing methods , please .
Regards Mike

Looks Ok to me..
Are the bulbs the 'low voltage' halogen types that are rated at 12v used in domestic installs like kitchens etc? My mate had one of the early 'twin' headlight type units from UFO and found that he could fit those halogen units in that housing. Only thing we found was that they do get pretty hot when running and also they come in different beam widths.. can you confirm what the beam width is of the ones you used? I think its usually stamped on the bulb, in degrees.
We got the bulbs and ceramic bulb connectors from Maplins..they call them 'dichroic' lamps.
A quick look and the lamps are about £2.50 depending on wattage and beam width.
Where did you get yours??
Regards KK

The bulbs are 12v Low voltage so they work fine off the bikes electrical system. You are right about the heat particularly if using 50 watt bulbs. They get very hot at the back hence you must use the proper ceramic connectors. I am going to experiment with the bulbs as at present I have two wide angle beams but think it will give better light if one of them is more of a narrow beam so i can see further ahead. It usually tells you on the packet what angle of light the bulb produces.

The fixing is very simple just a case of sourcing a clamp. I had a couple of old hand guards which had a 'U' shaped clamp that fits perfectly over the handlebars. I wanted these as the light is designed to be removed very easily when off roading in the day. It is then a case of fixing a piece of angled metal and drill into the bottom of each lights to bolt on with a nylon lock nut.

I will take some more pictures of how they are constructed and fixed seing as you guys are interested. They can be removed within a minute so they wont get damaged if you go out in the day for some serious offroading.

This is a very cheap option but I am experimenting with the small pond light units. They look more proffesional and are all wired ready. Unfortunately not so cheap.

In answer to where to source the items. Pretty much any DIY shop will stock all the items you need. The white housing comes complete and I saw one in Do It All for £1.89 which is a standard unit with a hole 40mm one end and 32mm the other, they also come with the caps. There are a couple of different sizes but you need one end to be 40mm as this holds the bulb perfectly. The lights normally come in a pack of 2 for around £3.50. For those of you who are paying attention you will have realised that the smaller end is open. I cut out a round plate from an old plastic drum and put that over the end using the cap to secure it.

One very important thing is to use ceramic connectors when fixing the wires to the bulb. Most electrical wholesalers stoch these and cost £1.05 each. Dont do what I did initially and used a 'choc' block. It melted with the heat from the lamp within 30 minutes. Dont worry about the actual lamp housing as its only really the back of the bulb that gets hot.

Hope this helps and look forward to some feedback if any of you give them a go. By the way they took me no more than a coupe of hours to make and fix and that was with me experimenting.

Regards C

I checked again and Maplins offer 'MR 16 low voltage dichroic lamps'..a range of wattages and beam widths..they even offer coloured lamps..nice if youve got radical plastics..like pink, perhaps..
Regards KK

kernow krusty wrote:I checked again and Maplins offer 'MR 16 low voltage dichroic lamps'..a range of wattages and beam widths..they even offer coloured lamps..nice if youve got radical plastics..like pink, perhaps..
Regards KK

Tony !!!!! play nicely.

What are you implying.......!

Stand easy Howe , i think that maybe the Knight of Kernow was having a side swipe at my somewhat faded Atomic red plastics , which due to a trick of our South eastern light makes the bike appear more of a pink colour at a certain angle, known only to the camera .
Regards Mike

sorry Mike can't quite hear you, speak up, did you say PINK ?

Yeah - He means Fuscia/Barbie PINK