PIAA 510 Driving Lights

By:cpmodem

I mounted these driving lights to help me see in the dark, center of the Earth, blackness where I frequently ride. On moonless nights in the forests of the Pacific Northwest and the remote deserts of the Southwest and northern Nevada, the more light you can put out in front of you, the better. I have HID's (High Intensity Discharge) on several of my other bikes. I thought I'd try a different route on the big Katoom. I installed the Euro headlamp with its H3/H7 dual bulbs and sharp cutoff low beam, in place of the anemic DOT H-4 single bulb setup that comes stock on the North American models. The Euro is very good with halogen bulbs, as both high and low beams are illuminated simutainiously on hi-beam with this unit. I may upgrade the halogens with HID's sometime in the future, but so far, I haven't had a pressing need.

For long distance illumination, I chose a pair of PIAA 510 halogens. They are compact and rugged; two attributes that fit the needs of a big adventure bike like the 950 Adventure perfectly. I mounted them on a bracket attached to the front subframe that puts them below the headlight and within the width of the fuel tanks for maximum protection. The low positioning keeps any stray light from blinding the pilot.

PIAA 510's:
Bulb Type: 12V - H3, 55watt = 85watt XTRA Super White.
Headlamp is EU standard with 55watt H3/H7

Protective Covers

Mount

Pattern of EU low beam from the saddle. Reach is ~40 feet. Notice the finite cutoff and the "flag" to the right. This is to illuminate the side of the road for right-side of the road countries.

This is the pattern of the EU headlight with highbeam on (both beams illuminate on hi). Reach is ~70 feet on the ground and quite a bit more on both sides of the road.

This is the view from the seat of the big Lippizan with the EU on hi and the PIAA 510's. It is 100 feet to the yellow gate, and another 100 feet beyond to the yellow building in the background. Notice the full illumination to both sides of the road. The far yellow building is 30 feet tall. That's a lot of illumination out of such small size lights. Night vision in minimally effected as a result of the low/forward (out of direct view from the saddle) mounting location. With all four halogen bulbs burning, the power draw is significant, but the LC8's alternator handles it easily at engine speeds above 2k. It is always a good practice to "husband" electrical loads at low RPMs. Install a voltmeter.

Opposing traffic's view of the EU highbeam.

Opposing traffic's view of the EU highbeam with PIAA 510's.

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