Two Wheel Tales

Two Wheel Tales

Light Them Up

Most people who purchase a motorcycle rarely keep it the way it arrived from the factory. Modifications are a way of life when it comes to owning and riding a motorcycle. Some modifications are done to improve the handling of the bike, while others are strictly ornamental. For many years ornamental meant adding lots of chrome if you own a cruiser and carbon fibre parts if you own a sport bike. A recent trend among my friends and I has been to add lighting. Now I’m not talking about extra riding lights; no these would be colourful L.E.D. lighting arrays.

A brief explanation of L.E.D. lighting would be a good place to start, so I’ll do my best to explain what they are, how they work and some benefits too.

L.E.D. stands for light emitting diode. These tiny lights are starting to work their way into everyday applications as you may have noticed them on new traffic signals and as tail & signal light assemblies on late model cars and motorcycles. L.E.D.s are extremely bright when compared to regular light bulbs in spite of their tiny size. A bulb’s brightness or intensity is measured in lumens and while regular bulbs produce 16 lumens per watt and halogen bulbs produce 22 lumens per watt, the tiny L.E.D. is busy producing 32 lumens per watt!

Light is conducted through a diode which has been contaminated with various impurities. The diode itself is actually a chip of semi conducting material with a pn junction created by the impurity that has been added and when electrified light is emitted. Since different impurities can be used in the manufacturing process, we see the many different L.E.D colours available today. Colours you ask? Yes L.E.D.s can come in many different colours, such as Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, and Purple and of course White, thus they can match any bike you choose to add them too. Manufacturing these lights has taken leaps and bounds since they were first “discovered” in 1962 by Nick Holonyak Jr. A benefit of the recent technological advances is the price reduction which has placed the L.E.D. within the financial reach of most people. This might be a consideration to many when it comes to personalizing their ride.

Benefits of L.E.D lighting are many. Life span of an L.E.D is estimated to be 100,000 hours. Typically a L.E.D. light will draw minimal power which will help if you decide to add some colour to your favourite ride. You might also decide to swap out the existing signal/running/brake lights on your motorcycle to conserve stator capacity which can be an issue on some bike models. If using L.E.D. bulbs to replace the stock bulbs, note that you will also need a load equalizer to prevent the bulbs from flashing in an irregular manner if at all. With such a minimal power draw the lights can be left on for days, without the worry of draining the rather anemic power of your motorcycle battery. Thus L.E.D. lights are perfectly suited as a decorative enhancement for your motorcycle. Unlike regular light bulbs the L.E.D. is very durable and almost unbreakable which helps it withstand the vibrations associated with many motorcycles today. If you have replaced the regular 1157 or 1152 bulbs with L.E.D. assemblies this also means almost never having to worry about a bulb breaking at an in opportune time. Most likely one tiny bulb might blow and you’ll still have ample illumination for the car approaching to see you late at night! While regular bulbs produce tremendous amounts of heat the L.E.D. produces practically none, so your lenses will be in no danger of a meltdown.

Anyone with a soldering gun can head to the local electronics store and purchase a supply of L.E.D.s and create your own accessory lighting. Pricing will vary depending on quantity and colour purchased. There’s that word colour again; yes the various colours cost different amounts due to complexity in the manufacturing process. Red and yellow are the most affordable to purchase followed by Blue and Green, then Purple and finally White, which is the most expensive colour. You can search the web and find many different companies who are selling various L.E.D. lighting accessories. Currently you’ll find light strips, light bulbs and license plate frames with the lights installed, most of which use the red or yellow L.E.D.s. These are relatively easy to install and add a measure of safety to your motorcycle.

It’s as a decorative accessory however that L.E.D.s are proving worthwhile to many motorcyclists. The lights on my friends and my bike pictured with this article are locally assembled by JD Custom Lighting of Caledon, sold by Leatherlock and come in quarter inch channel and guaranteed too. They are sold in strips of 3 L.E.D.s up to 18 L.E.D.s. Custom sizes are available if you have the cash, but then again isn’t everything? The longer strips can be heated slightly to fit around bends in your frame or the bottom of your gas tank. Different bikes can utilize different sizes depending on how much room you have to fit them and keep them hidden. My Intruder for example uses mostly 3 light strips as hiding them is a problem, while the Sabre pictured uses a couple of the longer 9 light strips. Windshields installed on the bike can be lit for your night time riding pleasure also. Installation of the strips is as simple as finding the location you want to highlight, affixing some double sided tape and attaching. Wiring however can be a little more difficult as you will want to hide all the wires as you go. For my bike that meant removing the oil cooler, neck panels, gas tank, side covers and the seat! While I’m not an electrical wizard, I managed to get everything hidden and tucked away very nicely. One trick I used was a 9 volt battery to test my progress as I went along. When wiring your ride it’s a good idea to pay attention to what is removed from your motorcycle when it’s time to get it serviced. Many bike shops will cut your wires with little or no concern for your hard work or charge you extra for the hassles involved with doing the job properly. Any two wire connector can be used if you wish to attach a strip to a removable part of the bike in question.

While none of my friends have been ticketed the legality of the lights has been questioned by many. Incidental evidence suggests there isn’t a problem as I have ridden beside a couple of police cruisers, with not even so much as a second look as to whether it’s a ticket garnering offense. At least one friend did have officer friendly yell at him that his blue lights were “illegal”. At that point a search was done on the web and the relevant Highway Traffic Act Codes were found. You can check for yourself here for the regulations online.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/English/90h08_e.htm#62.(1)
A quick search shows no regulations directly affecting installation of L.E.D.s as long as they are not of the flashing variety, and no inappropriate colours project either forward or rearward on your motorcycle. The installations pictured with this article all use a reflective principle. No lights are directly visible and as such should provide no legal issues with your local constabulary

Since my Intruder doesn't’t come equipped with 4 way flashers for emergencies, I feel the blue lights on my bike provide an important safety factor if my motorcycle becomes disabled at night. With the low draw mentioned above, my bike will be visible while parked on the shoulder of any roadway. It goes without saying that I think the glow achieved by the installation of L.E.D. accessory lighting is cool. Others may disagree, but that’s ok as long as we are on two wheels everything is cool in my opinion.

I guess that now would be a good time to mention the drawbacks of using L.E.D. lighting Draw backs you ask? Yes unfortunately there is one I can mention from personal experience. Once you think you have purchased what you need, you’ll find yourself heading back to the local dealer to pick up more.

Type @ Ya'll Later
Night_Wolf

Pictures are clickable & open in a new window
Pictures Taken By Kevin Rosenthal, Max Minagawa and Me

This is an original article written originally for publication.
Circumstances however dictated its release here

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