Cycleops LED upgrade or Rigid light bar

[RhodeTrip]

As we all know, the stock lights leave a little to be desired so I am looking at upgrading to LED or keeping stock lamps and adding a Rigid light bar below the stock right. Any opinions?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[HeliMark]

There is a tough decision. If you can, do both. I have both and it really improves the night riding and my visibility to other cars during the day. But saying that, if it was only one, I would do the Cyclops headlights. No more worry about the headlights burning out. And although it may be imagined, when I am splitting traffic, cars seem to notice me more with the Cyclops than when I only had the Rigid light bar and stock headlights.

Mark

 

[Roge]

I've got both, the tunnel of light is beautiful, the light bar is set up as high beam and the cyclops make low beam and high beam brilliant on their own, the rigid bar is set beyond high beam.

 

[OX-34]

I'd recommend the light bar.

I installed the Cyclops kit and was very disappointed.

If you were to run the light bar through a Skene controller, you can even 'gently' dial up how much light comes from the light bar when you are on low beam (10%, 20% etc).

Of course light up the world on high beam when the light bar goes to 100%.




I fiddle with extra lights all the time.

 

[SilverBullet]

I'd recommend the light bar.

I installed the Cyclops kit and was very disappointed.

If you were to run the light bar through a Skene controller, you can even 'gently' dial up how much light comes from the light bar when you are on low beam (10%, 20% etc)...

You're the first person I've heard not to like the Cyclops. It is a HUGE improvement and I have the old 6,400 lumems kit, they are now shipping 8,000 lumen kits. I also have a Rigid lightbar but have been lazy to install it after installing the Cyclops as really not needed anymore except for high speed off road riding.

Also Rigid lightbars are not dimmable with a Skene controller. Their circuitry prevents it.

._

 

[VRODE]

The cyclops were an improvement for coverage if not distance. They stand out more and the fact that they won't burn out easily is a plus. I added 2 10W aux lites (45 deg beam) that really fill the road with lite, but they're adjusted as to not blind anybody on lo beam. I'd say Cyclops plus Rigid would do it. If only one of those, the Rigid probably throws more lite.

 

[Cycledude]

As we all know, the stock lights leave a little to be desired so I am looking at upgrading to LED or keeping stock lamps and adding a Rigid light bar below the stock right. Any opinions?
Thanks,
Jim

Stock Tenere headlights leave a LOT to be desired ! I recommend starting with the Cyclops LED headlight kit it's 100% improvement .

 

[Checkswrecks]

I have both.
The Cyclops are better than stock, but the Rigid light bar blows them away.

 

[Roge]

::026::

You're the first person I've heard not to like the Cyclops. It is a HUGE improvement and I have the old 6,400 lumems kit, they are now shipping 8,000 lumen kits. I also have a Rigid lightbar but have been lazy to install it after installing the Cyclops as really not needed anymore except for high speed off road riding.

Also Rigid lightbars are not dimmable with a Skene controller. Their circuitry prevents it.

._

 

[SilverBullet]

I have both.
The Cyclops are better than stock, but the Rigid light bar blows them away.

While I agree (I've tested my Rigid and know the output, just haven't permanently installed yet) you cannot use the Rigid 100% of the time. It is without any doubt a high beam only light for use only when you have no oncoming traffic. Stock headlights are dangerous to me when in turns at speed, their cutoff is brutal and will keep you riding at Grandma speeds. Cyclops however are 100% on lights and illuminate your view up to spirited speeds.

Also if your headlights are adjusted and aimed downward enough you can get by with using the Cyclops high beams 100% of the time. This is what I do and have only received feedback once in 20,000 miles and 4 months that my lights were affecting oncoming traffic and that was a lowered Miata. Cyclops on high beam light up your world.

_

 

[AVGeek]

You're the first person I've heard not to like the Cyclops. It is a HUGE improvement and I have the old 6,400 lumems kit, they are now shipping 8,000 lumen kits. I also have a Rigid lightbar but have been lazy to install it after installing the Cyclops as really not needed anymore except for high speed off road riding.

Also Rigid lightbars are not dimmable with a Skene controller. Their circuitry prevents it.

._

The Baja Design light bar is dimmable with the Skene controller. In fact, they now ship the Skene instead of the remote control version they originally had when I bought my kit.

You can also look into handlebar mounted lights. TABASCO here on the forum sells mounts that attach to the hand guards, which is what I am using in conjunction with some 10w spot lights controlled by the Skene.

 

[RhodeTrip]

Sounds like I will be doing both. Phase one is complete, the Rigid light bar is installed. It mounted pretty easy just below the headlight. I put a couple of spacers behind the bracket and bolted it right through the existing holes; looks like it was designed to be there. I bought an Eastern Beaver 3CS and a handlebar toggle, powered it up and wow what a difference in light output. Haven’t ridden at night yet but it lights up the garage like is day time. Have to remover the slush fund then on to the retrofit.
Jim

 

[snakebitten]

Don't know enough about lumens, just that it's a bunch of thousands of them.
My description is "go directly to jail" bright if you actually flip all the switches at once.
Jaxon did it. Put awesome controls at my thumb and forefinger.
And he put some kind of bright lights in the oem lenses that are far brighter.

Sucks to actually bask in them late night, and then see an oncoming vehicle appear, forcing myself back to normalcy.

Love the handlebar mounted twins for setting up camp at night.

 

[arjayes]

Don't know enough about lumens, just that it's a bunch of thousands of them.
My description is "go directly to jail" bright if you actually flip all the switches at once.
Jaxon did it. Put awesome controls at my thumb and forefinger.
And he put some kind of bright lights in the oem lenses that are far brighter.

Sucks to actually bask in them late night, and then see an oncoming vehicle appear, forcing myself back to normalcy.

Love the handlebar mounted twins for setting up camp at night.

Snakebitten - Is it true that Jaxon was able to retire after modding your bike? You definitely didn't hold back. Very possibly the coolest Tenere ever.

 

[snakebitten]

LOL. Possibly so!

I unashamedly dared Jaxon to spend it. So nobody should hold him accountable. Looking back, I'm sure some measure of it was emotional. The rest, a defensible strategy.

The emotional portion can be summed up that there was nobody there to "talk me down". Or to be reasonable. Or just say NO! (She had a nice balance between her enjoying watching me have joy, and saying "honey, are you sure?" Which was about as no as she could muster)

The strategy portion was black & white. I put in play the theory that a Tenere doesn't have to be a discounted, and thus compromised, second fiddle to the bike it obviously was designed to directly challenge. The BMW GSA. The ongoing, and nauseating at times, debate seemed simple enough to remedy. Spend the discount on the Tenere!

The way I put it to Jaxon was "I'm keeping the bike. Resale value or depreciation is out of the equation. I want you to attempt to make my Tenere every bit as capable, exciting, fun, and as bash-proof as possible"

And although it was probably not the best time for me to have what I asked him for, he did pour his heart and soul into giving me my wish.
It handles like a dream. It runs like a scalded cat. It even has a really gorgeous snarl. And it can fall down with nary a chance of serious injury. (the bike, of course)

And yea, he made it "pretty", at my request, too. But that is my least favorite part of the outcome.
I will say it draws continuous questions. Hard to be stealthy on it.

Just imagine what a special edition Tenere could be if the bean counters told the engineers they can build it with a dolled up GSA $budget?
Say...$24k msrp?

Like I said on ADV, there's no law against it.

And by the way, Hello arjayes! I'm glad to see ya still here man.

 

[dietDrThunder]

Also if your headlights are adjusted and aimed downward enough you can get by with using the Cyclops high beams 100% of the time. This is what I do and have only received feedback once in 20,000 miles and 4 months that my lights were affecting oncoming traffic and that was a lowered Miata. Cyclops on high beam light up your world.

_

What is the point of doing that? The hi beam isn't any brighter than the low beam, it's just a shutter that opens and allows a higher cutoff. If you adjust them down, you just lower that higher cutoff back to low beam level. I don't get it.

 

[Cycledude]

Well mine were adjusted a little to high for my likes from the factory, so I adjusted them down a little, very happy with the low beam now, the high beam still seems a little to high so I don't use it much, but maybe I will try adjusting it down a little more next summer and see what happens.

 

[arjayes]

And by the way, Hello arjayes! I'm glad to see ya still here man.

Cheers to you, Snake! Great to see you back. And you're a good sport as always. I pushed your buttons a little about your ridiculously pimped-out Tenere but you laughed it off, with class! One of the keys to life that I don't always abide by - never take yourself too seriously!!