BHPian Captainon2Wheels recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I ride a 2019 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX and I am loving every moment of owning it. I am not a big fan of riding at night due to the hazards that it imposes owing to the road conditions etc. but at times one gets stuck and that was the one moment in time I felt the need to get Auxiliary lights for better rood visibility.
After some search I ordered the desired Aux. lights and associated fitments/mounts from Maddog, Banglore. A descent outfit that they are, helped me to choose the right kind of lights, mounts and suggested the best location to mount them which was on the front mudguard, secured to it's 2 nos. vertically aligned bolts on each side.
Once the goods were delivered I took them to Pathpavers, New Delhi to get them Rigged. During the installation it was observed that the original mounts were rotating under the weight of the lights, no matter how much you tighten the screw. A slight modification was suggested by the crew hence to the original headlamp clamps, an additional leg was welded to make a T mount. The angle of the T is such that it coincides with the angle at which the two mudguard bolt make with horizontal plane. The hole in the upper part of the T mount is aligned with the top bolt. The T stops the rotation of the mount and gives extra strength/support to the Aux Lights. So far so good. Tested the lights after sunset in traffic condition of Gurgaon Faridabad road. The throw of the light is good till 50m ahead and I am satisfied however I did notice that these lights seem to drain the battery. At a stop light I had killed of the engine with lights on. I had to give self 2 to 3 times to fire the engine. Photos attached for ease of reference.
Here's what BHPian Jaggu had to say on the matter:
The perennial problem of 2 wheeler lighting! Completely agree the stock lighting of an adventure bike like GSA 1200 is also pathetic and needs proper AUX lights if one needs to really have a safe experience at night, especially outside city limits.
Just wondering, is there enough space under the existing head light (towards the front lip) for an LED bar? If the mudguard will hit that area when fully decompressed? Aesthetically a sleep LED bar may look better there. But then good ones are pretty expensive and will cost maybe 5 to 10X of Maddogs. Would love to see some night shot of road ahead with these lights on.
And yes never ever leave them on at idle or even slow moving traffic when radiator fan kicks in, sure shot way to drain the battery.
Here's what BHPian vignesh_N/A had to say on the matter:
Great selection.
Like many in this forum, even I use maddog aux lights. They have improved my night travels by huge margin.
I noticed the lights are now part of the unsprung mass, which for a small motorcycle wont be of an issue. But on a litre class, you may feel difference with the front end. Also, the lights will be subjected to more road vibration. You may need to use thread locker for mounting screws, if it hadn't been already used.
During wet roads, the lights will easily get dirty with spray from front wheel.
I guess, if the lights can be moved closer to where number plates are, should be great.
Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.