Mounting Denali DM1's to the front reflector bracket?

[Skeptic]

Let's face it, there are not a lot of great mounting options for lights... then I noticed the relatively stout bracket used to secure the 50 cent front side reflectors. I wonder if this could be used for set of the small DM1's? There is a bit of flex in this bracket, so I would be bit concerned about vibration, although I am not sure it matters and it sort of depends on the mass of the DM1's. The lights will get some shock from the front wheel bouncing around, and seemingly they can tolerate that. Has it been tried? Any luck? Seems like it is an easy option, and would not look like an afterthought.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've had my Denali D1s mounted on the fender, using the front fender bolt hole and the bracket that TT sells for it. The only troubles I've had with the Denalis there has been because of a bad relay. The lights have stayed aimed right where I want them and I can't feel any difference in the handling.

I think the DM1s are quite a bit lighter than the D1s and I think you could mount then using the reflector bracket. I like them lower to make a bigger "triangle" of light so people will (hopefully) see me more easily.

 

[junglejim]

Here is where I put my DM1s. I wanted them higher and not mounted on the un-sprung part of the bike. I made the brackets out of 1/8" or 10 ga steel.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jim, can your turn signals be seen when the DM1s are turned on? I'm impressed with your brackets!

 

[Chuck 500]

Since I can't fabricate my way out of a paper bag, I used the same mounts Phil did, straight from Twisted Throttle. I have the D2 lights and have had no mount issues.

 

[junglejim]

Jim, can your turn signals be seen when the DM1s are turned on? I'm impressed with your brackets!

The lights do not obscure the view of the signals. But the lights may overpower the signal lights at night. Don't know the answer to that yet. I'm anxious to try it at night to see how they work. But, no one pays any attention to motorcycle turn signals anyway, so what's the difference? I can turn them off with the thumb switch on the left handlebar if needed.

Night riding trial will have to wait for better weather. We are still ice fishing here. I went out once on the bike this (so called) spring. The ride went fine, but when I got home the sun had melted the top layer of my driveway making a layer of mud over frost. That was the most exciting part of the ride. Almost dumped it on the way to the garage.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Spring will not doubt come. It was here yesterday, with a high of 71. Right now it's 15 with snow and windspeeds of 25-35. At least the snow's not accumulating much -- they had predicted 8-11", but right now, I doubt if we've got 3". We do have a layer of ice on the roads, but that'll be gone by the weekend.

 

[Bear]

Phil, Sounds like ou are living in Maine. That's how our weather has been.
Back to the Denalis. Mine are mounted just like yours and Chuck's. The idea of a large white triangle seemed like a good idea. I run mine all the time. I did modify my lights on my top case. When I hit the brakes, the two lights come on giving me a large inverted triangle. I have had quite a few people comment on what an attention getting setup that is.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I added Admore LEDs to my CooCase, thinking that along with the Back-off brake light flasher, I'd be more noticeable, too. But the lights in the CooCase haven't been particularly reliable.

I've still got Larry Buck's LiteBrite reflectors on the back of the bike and it apparently shows up pretty well.

 

[ARKNT]

Another mounting option that some have used are the tip over bars (wings). They are solid and give a fairly large triangle of lights.
They may be more unprotected in a tipover or fall.

Brad

 

[Bear]

I added Admore LEDs to my CooCase, thinking that along with the Back-off brake light flasher, I'd be more noticeable, too. But the lights in the CooCase haven't been particularly reliable.

I've still got Larry Buck's LiteBrite reflectors on the back of the bike and it apparently shows up pretty well.

I have the Admore lights as well. On the CooCase one has to sometimes use needle nose pliers and ever so gently spread out the plug blades the case mates to. This has to be done very carefully and the outward bend should be almost indetectable. Using Corrosion Guard or similar on the prongs helps.

 

[junglejim]

I beleive it is illegal to mount driving lights above the headlight height in a lot of states. I'm in violation of that, but I don't have to pass any inspection in my state. Most cops won't care (or even notice).

 

[Skeptic]

I will probably give the reflector brackets a try, they are too tempting to pass up. The brackets seem stout, especially if the DM1's are lighter than the D1's.

 

[ken]

Has it been tried?

I gave considerable thought to mounting my D2's on those brackets. I think they are strong enough, but I decided to find a place where they would be more protected in case of a SAD. Since I was also mounting the lower faring, it occurred to me that a suitable bracket could be welded to the bracket that attaches the faring to the main down tube of the frame. I talked with some of the Industrial Tech and Engineering faculty where I teach, and got a consensus that a piece of 1/4 x1" mild steel welded to the bracket would be strong enough. So far, it's working. If it passes the stress test this summer, I'll work on the aesthetics. It looks a bit crude now, but here's a picture:



Ken