I have these lower down on my engine bars and have put yellow film over the lens to break up the shape of my bike to oncoming traffic 'triangle' I also have fog lights either side of my headlight which are a softer spread of light. All sets of lights are on all the time and I have not been flashed by any oncoming vehicles including traffic police.! The Oxford lights are 'spot lights' so having them fairly low down is better for other road users as you'll light up the road ahead rather than at head hight, fog lights or defused lights are much easier on the eyes for other road users. So if you consider alternative lights you might want to think about lights with a defused lens and or yellow which is certainly noticeable as well.
There is a bike that passes me some mornings on way to my work with auxilary lights fitted. They always dazzle me, but I don't flash out of annoyance as it is a bike and they are more at risk...even though I want to so that the rider knows they are affecting other road users. I think correct adjustment of these lights is key and of course the quality of the equipment (could this be why the dealer installed yours the way they did?) Problem with bolt on stuff for bikes, is that good installation is often dependent on applying thought beyond the basic task of fitting whatever the thing is. Lighting is getting a bit out of control in general in my view (especially on trucks). There is an increase in drivers suffering light induced migrains due to the increased use of LEDs as an example, which can actually be dangerous as it can quickly (within minutes) cause nausea and vision problems.
I bought them as E marked. No matter how low you aim them you'll still get flashed by oncoming drivers. I fitted a cheap generic PWM dimmer in the end which works fine (no flickering) although reduces the output.
If your aux lights are lighting up further down the road than your dipped beam, they are directly hitting the eyes of other road users and likely causing them issues. You may want to aim them lower.
Even with the difficulty of actually seeing the effects due to video recording at night, the aux lights look pretty effective, and I think I’d be quite happy with those. Thanks for sharing this - how are you finding the DE? I have the same bike, and love it! 😀🙏👍
I fitted these on my Vstrom 650 not long ago and it seems like they've changed the switch to a cleaner design on mine, I have a review up of the Vstrom 650 and you see it at 7:41 if curious.
@averagebiker Thanks, they were silly cheap (~£20) and work really well honestly Oxford actually sells a heated seat pad like it but slightly different for £80 odd. Just look a bit naff
Damn I wish I had the S1000GT :D. But I bought a Honda VFR800X Crossrunner new in 2019 and is still perfectly fine at 50.000km. No point wasting money (but it's tough resisting). Nice V-Strom too 🙂. Difference in light is very noticeable indeed, seems like the same as my SW Motech ones (same switch).
Best advice (30+ years rider here): don't travel at night. Plan everything to avoid it. In case you can't, yes, extra light helps but don't make riding at night a habit out of it.
@@shaldmaja Should be obvious if you've ever ridden a motorcycle at night. For one, you can't see much of the road surface so you're more likely to ride over hazards such as oil, potholes, gravel, wet leaves, etc. Second is other road users may see a single headlight and think it is a car in the distance and think they have plenty of time to pull out of a junction and get up to speed, when actually you're pretty close to them... You can work the rest of that one out for yourself.
@@shaldmaja Your visibility is lower, no matter the light you "strap" to your bike, making obstacle avoidance even harder and turning big potholes looking small to to light scattering. If you are traveling known roads that's one thing, but exploring new tracks riding at night is a no no.
I have these lower down on my engine bars and have put yellow film over the lens to break up the shape of my bike to oncoming traffic 'triangle' I also have fog lights either side of my headlight which are a softer spread of light. All sets of lights are on all the time and I have not been flashed by any oncoming vehicles including traffic police.! The Oxford lights are 'spot lights' so having them fairly low down is better for other road users as you'll light up the road ahead rather than at head hight, fog lights or defused lights are much easier on the eyes for other road users. So if you consider alternative lights you might want to think about lights with a defused lens and or yellow which is certainly noticeable as well.
There is a bike that passes me some mornings on way to my work with auxilary lights fitted. They always dazzle me, but I don't flash out of annoyance as it is a bike and they are more at risk...even though I want to so that the rider knows they are affecting other road users. I think correct adjustment of these lights is key and of course the quality of the equipment (could this be why the dealer installed yours the way they did?) Problem with bolt on stuff for bikes, is that good installation is often dependent on applying thought beyond the basic task of fitting whatever the thing is.
Lighting is getting a bit out of control in general in my view (especially on trucks). There is an increase in drivers suffering light induced migrains due to the increased use of LEDs as an example, which can actually be dangerous as it can quickly (within minutes) cause nausea and vision problems.
Interesting. Maybe keeping them low is the answer. Thanks for the input.
I bought them as E marked. No matter how low you aim them you'll still get flashed by oncoming drivers. I fitted a cheap generic PWM dimmer in the end which works fine (no flickering) although reduces the output.
If your aux lights are lighting up further down the road than your dipped beam, they are directly hitting the eyes of other road users and likely causing them issues. You may want to aim them lower.
Even with the difficulty of actually seeing the effects due to video recording at night, the aux lights look pretty effective, and I think I’d be quite happy with those. Thanks for sharing this - how are you finding the DE? I have the same bike, and love it! 😀🙏👍
Love the DE - does everything I want! I wouldn't mind if it was 30 kilos lighter mind 😅
@ 😀🙏👍 yes but would it be as good? 😂😂
I fitted these on my Vstrom 650 not long ago and it seems like they've changed the switch to a cleaner design on mine, I have a review up of the Vstrom 650 and you see it at 7:41 if curious.
Yeah, that looks bigger than mine. Those heated seat pads must be awesome!
@averagebiker Thanks, they were silly cheap (~£20) and work really well honestly Oxford actually sells a heated seat pad like it but slightly different for £80 odd. Just look a bit naff
Damn I wish I had the S1000GT :D. But I bought a Honda VFR800X Crossrunner new in 2019 and is still perfectly fine at 50.000km. No point wasting money (but it's tough resisting). Nice V-Strom too 🙂. Difference in light is very noticeable indeed, seems like the same as my SW Motech ones (same switch).
That’s night and day. Quite literally.
Best advice (30+ years rider here): don't travel at night. Plan everything to avoid it. In case you can't, yes, extra light helps but don't make riding at night a habit out of it.
Care to say why
@@shaldmaja Should be obvious if you've ever ridden a motorcycle at night. For one, you can't see much of the road surface so you're more likely to ride over hazards such as oil, potholes, gravel, wet leaves, etc. Second is other road users may see a single headlight and think it is a car in the distance and think they have plenty of time to pull out of a junction and get up to speed, when actually you're pretty close to them... You can work the rest of that one out for yourself.
@@shaldmaja Your visibility is lower, no matter the light you "strap" to your bike, making obstacle avoidance even harder and turning big potholes looking small to to light scattering. If you are traveling known roads that's one thing, but exploring new tracks riding at night is a no no.