5 Great Lighting Upgrades for your Motorcycle
We may cruise around in big trucks and supped-up JDM icons, but we have a soft spot for those two-wheeled and crazy. Just like the cars we drive, motorcycles require quality lighting too. Today we will be looking at five lighting modifications you can make to your motorcycle to help you see and BE SEEN on the road.
Great lighting upgrades for a motorcycle are both safe and powerful. Cars and big and people do not always look twice when making lane changes. As a rider, you need to be vigilant. With just one of these upgrades, you will see an improvement in your riding experience.
THE MOTORCYCLE LIFESTYLE
From Harley’s to Ducati’s, and café racers to enduro motorcycles; they all need quality lighting. According to the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recorded 58.33 motorcycle fatalities per 100,000 registered motorcycles. Since 2010, that statistic rarely wavered. While it may be dangerous, motorcycle riding yields an insatiable desire for the open air and wild spirit popularized in Easy Rider (1969).
Ever since then, motorcycles have yet to shed that celebration. Whether you are looking to improve your nighttime riding experience, make your left turns more noticeable, or just looking to give those dusty old halogen bulbs on your classic a much-needed upgrade, we have something for you.
We loaded up some Bob Seger while writing this to get ourselves in the mood for cross-country, self-discovery motorcycle rides into the western sunset.
TOP 5 LIGHTING UPGRADES FOR MOTORCYCLES
GTR Lighting CSP Mini
Probably the most versatile bulb we sell. GTR Lighting made a bulb, by nature of its compact design, is perfect for several different motorcycle applications. We are talking about the GTR Lighting CSP Mini.
Motorcycles come in a variety of sizes, and it can affect the amount of space you have to install LED bulbs. Generally speaking, these LED bulbs are bigger than the OEM halogen bulbs. However, the CSP Mini is perfect for those tight housings.
Caleb, an avid motorcycle enthusiast, installed LED bulbs on his bike. While he used S-V.4s instead of GTR Lighting bulbs, Caleb still saw an improvement in side-to-side lighting and confidence while driving at dusk and nighttime.
“Not only this, but I felt a lot safer knowing I had a very clear headlight for oncoming traffic to see me well in advance - this was a major problem with the OEM yellow halogens,” Caleb said.
GTR Carbide 2.0s
Turn signals are just as important as your headlights. While you can throw up bike hand signals all day, a quality turn signal will go a long way in making your turns noticeable to other drivers. These Carbide series bulbs also can be used in a taillight application.
Brake lights need not have their importance stressed. The GTR Lighting Carbide 2.0s are incredibly bright and their compact size makes it a great option for those small brake lights on the back of your bike.
Mod Pods
While still used for your brake or turn signals, mod pods offer a level of visual customization that LED bulbs cannot always give you. The Morimoto ModPods and ModPod Minis feature an anodized aluminum body and are built to be retrofitted into your headlights or taillights.
Wiring is simple, with just three input wires, they allow for you to choose between a positive for the white (or bright) mode along with a positive for the amber (or dim) mode. They can also be retrofitted for a daytime running light (DRL) function.
Full LED Housings
If LED bulbs are not your thing, we also have a variety of 7’ round LED headlight housings. It can be hard to tell what lights are best when it comes to motorcycles. We have a handy guide here that we made to help you decide.
In short, brands like JW Speaker and Holley make incredible housings. JW Speaker’s 8700 Evo 2 is an incredibly popular housing. It has modern looks with a really well-made beam pattern.
A more dynamic, and motorcycle-centric housing is the JW Speaker 8790. They feature similar styling to the 8700 Evo 2 model, but this time they utilize adaptive headlight beams. When you lean into those sharp forest road corners, the beam pattern leans with you. Now you can see into the corner that you are rounding.
If you are going for more of a subdued, classic appearance; Holley has their RetroBright LED headlights. These give the appearance of those sealed-beam headlights common on classic cars and motorcycles. For those of you who do own an older motorcycle, the shallow housing will easily fit into your bike’s headlight bucket.
Want to get yourself a Holley Retrobright? Be sure to contact our customer support team so that you can purchase one headlight for your bike, as opposed to the standard set of two.
You can find our full 7in line up here if neither of these fit your bike’s aesthetic.
Accent Lighting
This list item is not strictly necessary to make your bike safer when riding around after hours. Accent lighting can be added to your tank you even inside your wheels with LED light strips. Profile Pixel produces some high-quality exterior LED strips that will give your bike that cyberpunk look.
There are even LED ‘tails’ that you can attach to the rear of the bike for some added flair.
CONCLUSION
Regardless of which you go with, each of these will in some way improve your riding experience through your own visibility or how noticeable you are on the road. We here at Headlight Revolution love our cars and trucks, but motorcycles deserve the love too.
Looking for more options in a 7-inch round headlight? Check out our full shootout video below comparing the Top 6 best versus the absolute worst ones out there. While you're there, make sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest in lighting upgrades for your motorcycle or vehicle.
Have questions about one of the products we mentioned? Contact us today and our customer service team would be happy to help.
