Bar End Mirrors & Extra Rear Running Lights

[jonathan180iq]

The mirrors sit maybe one inch lower than the standard mirrors and hang over the end of the bars a little less than 1 inch. It took me a day to get them in the perfect position for viewing both behind me and out to the sides. The way I have them set up in these photos is not the way they sit today. They are just generic ATV mirrors but work in all 7/8 bars, obviously.

The tail lights are set up fairly simply, although it took me some extra time to figure it all out and work flawlessly. They are wired together and the power line is routed under the back seat and clipped into the BROWN line on the tail light wiring harness. This is the running line, the Black/White line is the brake line. If you wanted extra brake lights, you could splice in to that line.






All of these wires are covered by a fitted foam pad and out of view. They're ugly. I know. This is a first attempt here. I'll make 'em prettier later.





Sorry for the blur. It was dark and it's hard holding the camera still enough to get a clear shot.


Let me know what you think.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by jonathan180iq

Let me know what you think.

I think you have a unique bike for sure!

I can't help but get a chuckle out of the buckhorn bars sticking up above that tiny sport shield.

[jonathan180iq]

Yeah, they look odd from the side.

However, when I was coming out of Autozone yesterday after buying some electrical connectors I was taken back for a split second about how much the bike, from the front, looks like a late 60's cafe racer. The cockpit view from above shows a hint of that. Riding with the sport fairing really helps to accentuate the feel of a being on a different bike. The overall ride and speed are certainly the same, but the view alone makes it feel different. I've always been more a fan of sportbikes than cruisers and I feel like now I have something that is somewhere in the middle, which, I think, is where motorcycles should be. We don't need to have this huge separation between style and function.

All I need to do now is add some hard side cases and I'll be set.

[Water Warrior 2]

Extra lights are good. You can never be too visible.

[jonathan180iq]

I need to ammend what I posted earlier about the brake light line. The wire on the brake light wiring harness that sends power to the brake light is the WHITE line with the BLACK stripe. The BLACK/WHITE line is the ground line.

Now, onto the good stuff. I decided to rewire my extra running lights and turn them added brake lights. Below is a comparison showing the difference between the change in bulb power and the change in brake light wiring. As I mentioned in another post, the new bulb is a 2397 which draws less energy than the 1157 and produces a more brilliant light under braking conditions. There is a small difference, 1 candlepower, under running light conditions.

This is the orignal running light set up with an 1157 bulb


This is the new running light set up with a 2397 bulb. As you can see, there is little variation in the brilliance of the running lights, and it uses less energy.


This is the new brake light set up with the 2397 bulb. I don't have a comparison photo of the old and new brake lights but this new bulb puts out 8 more candlepower over the 1157. To give an idea of the difference, this bulb actually hurt my eyes and made me feel dizzy to look at, whereas the 1157 brake light bulb doesn't really do that.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by jonathan180iq

This is the new running light set up with a 2397 bulb.

Aw gee, Jonathan, now there is something ELSE I've got to go look for!! :tongue:

No, really, thanks. I might even stop looking for that license plate frame and save myself $20 or so!

Good heads-up!

[jonathan180iq]

Doing a little more digging, the 2357 produces the same light output as the 1157 but has the same brake light brilliance as the 2397. So, for those who just want a brighter brake light and don't want to lose a tad of lighting due to lower running light lamp, this would be the way to go.

Here is a bulb comparison chart that I took from www.ninja250.net so you can make your own decisions.

Trade No. Filament Volts Watts Amps Candle Pwr. Life (hours)
2057 Low 14.0 6.86 0.49 2 5000
2057 High 12.8 26.88 2.10 32 1200
1034 Low 14.0 7.14 0.51 2 5000
1034 High 12.8 23.04 1.80 26 1200
1157 Low 14.0 8.26 0.59 3 5000
1157 High 12.8 26.88 2.10 32 1200
2397 Low 14.0 6.72 0.48 2 5000
2397 High 12.8 28.54 2.23 40 400
2357 Low 14.0 8.26 0.59 3 5000
2357 High 12.8 28.54 2.23 40 400

[jonathan180iq]

That doesn't look very good.

Here is the link:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I_want_tai ... 6_contrast

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by jonathan180iq

Doing a little more digging, the 2357 produces the same light output as the 1157 but has the same brake light brilliance as the 2397.

At a slight trade-off in expected life for the stop (high) element. It's only 1/3 of the standard bulb. Think I'll get 2 to have a spare!

[jonathan180iq]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

At a slight trade-off in expected life for the stop (high) element. It's only 1/3 of the standard bulb. Think I'll get 2 to have a spare!

Yeah. I'm keeping these around. The difference in light output is really staggering the first time you see it.