New 800 vstrom lights.

[porter]

Yesterday I was out a run in the car, three bikes came up behind me, first was a VFR 800, blinding headlights  next a Vstrom 650 2017, OK light, not great but OK, next a Vstrom 800re, very poor, looked like a wee 125 or something. I could look right at the light in the rearview mirror no trouble.
 Now I've not riden an 800 so to the rider they might be OK but for other road users to spot you I'd say that's the worse big bike I've seen.
 If I owned one I'd fit some spotlight just to make it more visible.

[vstroman]

I find bikes with fog lights on really stand out when I'm driving a car, if a light is dazzling even in daylight I find it annoying but still if it's dazzling at least you've been noticed I suppose.
Often wondered if it's better to flick on high beams approaching junctions etc to make it easier to be noticed,
if I had an 800 which I hope to have in the near future I'd be fitting a set of fog lights at least on the crash bars.

[nigel s]

There was a lot of talk over on stromtroopers about how poor the headlight on 800s were.
A lot seem to be set too low from new was one point, but I think aux lights is the way to go.
Lights seem to be put on for the look rather than the efficiency these days  Toys for the boys rather than machines to be used?
I would be careful flicking on to main approaching a junction, they may think it is a flash saying "go ahead"....Not that it takes a lot for them to pull out as is

Ho Hum

[Sir Trev]

I also saw some of those comments about the 800 lights on Stromtrooper when I did my research on what to buy next. My std headlight actually seems set quite high but as it's so small I still added aux lights so other road users can see me better.

Bikes with them fitted seem much more noticeable but then I'm conditioned to look out for bikes anyway...

[Barbel Mick]

It's been mentioned to me, by one of our members, that when I'm following the headlight is barely visible, so I presume it's pretty much the same for an oncoming, or waiting to pull out, vehicle.
I had auxiliary spots on my 650 for most of it's ownership. I have bought some for the 800, just waiting to fit them. 
I very rarely ride in the dark but I had cause to a few weeks ago & I wasn't impressed with the headlight. There was no light on the road for maybe 10 yards to the front & the dipped beam seemed to be spread very wide, lighting up a good bit of the pavement/grass verges & the other carriageway. Switching to the main beam didn't seem to make much difference, but I was on a roads with decent street lighting, I didn't ride it on an unlit road, but will soon, I don't expect it to be great.
I intend to call into the dealer at some stage & ask about adjustment.

[nigel s]

In the Bicycle world , to use an analogy, there are two sorts of lights you can buy.
Ones to be seen with ( but not see with).. and ones that do both...
The poor light on the 800 won't stop me getting one, but if I did regular night rides like Uk_Vstrom 650 , I would have to sort some of the latter type of aux lights.
It seems really hard to pin down an aux that does a good , honest dip beam, not spot or fog but an actual cut off dip.
I am open to suggestions from night riders, ( oh er), that have found some .

Ho Hum

[graingerblaze]

My old first gen 650 had brilliant headlights, the best I’ve ever had to be honest. I only fitted auxiliary lights for day time visibility, so car drivers had no excuses not see me.

My 1050 headlight is crap, possibly better than the 800 but only because it’s larger. You would think LED would be an improvement but my old halogens (twin) were far better. I’m going to be adding auxiliary lights again, but this time because I can’t see the road at night. Might even fit two sets, one low down for the road ahead and another pair in yellow to enhance visibility.

[nigel s]

 Yeah, same with my fazer 1000s ,two whacking great halogens pointing out the front may not look "cool n hip" today, but they bloody worked well.

Ho Hum

[UK_Vstrom650]

I hear what you're saying Nigel. When I did my first mountain bike ride at night in Sherwood Pines I turned up with a 800 lumen light which is fantastic during the day/riding lit roads. Barely had enough light to see 5 metres in front in pitch black. My mate pulls out this Hope R8 light 3000 lumens and lights up the trails for about a mile. Unfortunately for me he then proceeded to do the entire 9 mile loop at about 1000 watts so I could barely see his rear light in the distance to follow.

On the V-Strom, I have a pair of cheapish spot lights mounted low down on the crash bars pointing down so they light the road without blinding other drivers which I just have on all the time (apart from not fixing the blown one last week). As the evenings start to get dark, I also swap the main bulbs to Osram Nightbreakers and leave them in until the evenings lighten up. I've probably got to make that swap mid next October.

[nigel s]

3000 lumens...damn that is bright.Cars are capped at 1200.
Though it does give me an idea.........
I currently ( current ...HAH  ) keep a small head torch in the back box for night emergencies.
I also have a Cateye Volt 1300 lumen light on the gasgas.It has a quick strap type mount.
I could get another to replace the head torch and it would be  more than enough ( with a 5 hr run time full out) mounted on the crashbars to light the road should the dip beam fail on my single headlight gen 3 ....hmmm.
I have a set of spots sitting on the shelf ready to go, but some severe thumb twiddling has so far stopped me fitting them
I know...

Ho Hum

[The Doctor 46]

I have just fitted a OSRAM Night Breaker Laser in the dipped beam side after the original bulb blew. I haven't ridden with it yet but took the bike onto the driveway right after fitting and to be honest, the +150 mentioned on the packaging doesn't appear true. I couldn't see a visible change in it and the old bulb.

I'm going out later today and will ride home in the dark and rain so I'll know better then. Also, I have adjusted the fog lights very slightly to shine further than 4/5ft in front of me. I'll carry an Allen key with me in case I need to make an urgent adjustment.