Adding Lights

[tommyred]

I come across a good deal on a few 55w lights, and I'd like to add them to front rack of my Buddy. Anyone do this, and what do I need to do to shore up the electrical system. Don't wanna drain the battery, even though they wouldn't be used a whole lot. drain the battery?

[TVB]

Hook them up to the same circuit as the headlight, and they won't kill the battery directly ... but they might not get the current they need from the engine/stator, which doesn't put out a lot of energy to spare.

[HowHH]

That's a whole bucketload of watts. 175 watts if running all three lamps. You will be running that bettery down. My heated gloves will slowly draw down the battery, and they use a lot less juice (27 watts 2.2 amps).

If you need extra lighting for night time riding (the Buddy's headlamp is pretty anemic), I'd recommend going with extra LEDS.

[tommyred]

Hook them up to the same circuit as the headlight, and they won't kill the battery directly ... but they might not get the current they need from the engine/stator, which doesn't put out a lot of energy to spare.

I have set of LEDS coming, but these were too cheap to pass up...free. Thinking of 2 LEDs & 1 spotlight

[PeteH]

I thought I read somewhere around here that the Buddy in standard configuration has only a couple amps (or 24-30w) in reserve, above which you're draining the battery. That's why even simple deadlights, if wired always-on, will put you right on the edge, and why LED stacks work so much better in a deadlight implementation. 165w may stall your bike while you're riding it.

[michelle_7728]

Maybe run them direct to your battery, with an in-line fuse, and put an on-off switch both under your seat and either around the ignition or the 12-volt charger area...? The under seat one would be to make turning on power to the circuit possible, but then you'd actually turn them on up front (this would keep someone from just flipping the switch on and draining your battery when parked)...and, of course, you'd want to make sure you use your battery tender after each use.

If you go to this thread, and look at my post at Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:17 pm, you'll see an example of how I'm using a similar set up for my heated grips--except I have a rotary on/off variable knob, rather than just an on/off switch up front.

Keep in mind that I'm not being terribly electrically minded...meaning that I have no idea how long of a ride you could get away with before draining your battery too much.....

[neotrotsky]

I come across a good deal on a few 55w lights, and I'd like to add them to front rack of my Buddy. Anyone do this, and what do I need to do to shore up the electrical system. Don't wanna drain the battery, even though they wouldn't be used a whole lot. drain the battery?

Ya know... that doesn't look too bad. Switch the lamps for chrome and the bike for black, and I could see myself getting one.

I've been *strongly* re-considering a Buddy since vintage scoots are impossible to find in Phoenix that aren't VietBodges or priced $4-8k! We talked about getting a Vespa 150s, but after my previous experiences with the new Piaggio and the $5500 OTD price tag, I'm still not so sure.

The multi headlight thing, from the front at least, looks pretty damn sharp! I'll be checking the thread with interest to see how this goes.

[CapnK]

Ooh, look! It's the all-new Buddy VFO*.










*Visible From Orbit.

Does look kinda rad tho! There are companies out there who make replacement bulbs that are LED - maybe you could use them inside those housings to skirt the battery issue? Check out superbrightleds.com. (No affiliation)