Why equip your motorcycle with additional lights?
As a reminder, a motorcycle must be equipped, at a minimum, with a main beam headlight, a dipped beam headlight, a front and rear position light, a brake light, two front and rear turn signals, and a license plate light. Article R416-7 of the Highway Code requires motorcycles, light motorcycles, and mopeds to use their dipped beam headlights during the day since March 1, 2007.
The intensity of the light beam is most often related to the age of the motorcycle. Indeed, older generation models, mainly used for Café Racer motorcycles, generally have weaker lighting than those offered today, such as LED lights. This low luminosity does not allow riders of these retro motorcycles, equipped with a single optic, to see well and, more dangerously, to be seen by other road users.
However, over the years, a finding has emerged from road accidents involving a two-wheeler and a motorist: in the majority of such incidents, lack of visibility and lack of perception are the most frequently cited reasons. This is why, concerned with improving their visibility at night or in difficult weather conditions such as snow, rain, sleet, or fog, many motorcyclists choose to equip their motorcycles with additional lights.
Can additional lights be installed on a motorcycle?
The law does not prohibit the addition of supplementary lighting on a motorcycle. This type of lighting is not mandatory but is authorized and even recommended, as it significantly enhances rider safety through much better visibility. On a motorcycle, the number of main beam headlights (long-range motorcycle lights) is limited to two. PIAA additional driving lightsare delivered with a mandatory switch and must be turned off when switching to dipped beam headlights.
What are the different types of additional lights?
Unlike a car or truck with at least two dipped beam headlights and two main beam headlights, a two-wheeler generally has only one light. This reduced lighting explains many accidents with other road users who only saw the motorcycle too late. When overtaking or at intersections, the need to be perfectly detected is paramount for rider safety. This weak light beam not only limits the rider's field of vision far ahead but also in the area close to the motorcycle and on the sides.
The installation of additional motorcycle lights is becoming more widespread. They significantly optimize luminosity in all weather conditions and ensure visibility from afar, without the risk of dazzling oncoming vehicles.
Given the numerous options on the market, it is often difficult to choose and find an additional light model that is efficient, compliant with regulations, and durable.
We distinguish three types of additional lights:
- Halogen additional lights: The least powerful, they provide supplementary lighting without offering optimal visibility;
- Xenon additional lights: Very powerful, they ensure excellent visibility but pose a risk of dazzling, which can result in penalties. They are expensive and generally large, making them difficult to integrate on a motorcycle like a Café Racer;
- LED additional lights: With lighting similar to xenon models, they offer a wider choice of models and superior longevity.
Used particularly in sports, additional motorcycle lights are the best solution for a wider vision and effectively illuminating the entire road, both near and far. By mounting them slightly offset from the main motorcycle light, the three lights form a luminous triangle that will attract the attention of other road users.
To learn more about LED headlights, which ones to choose, and prices, we invite you to read our article: "Equipping your Cafe Racer with LED headlights: why? How much does it cost?"
Types of additional motorcycle lights, Kelvin, lumen, and colors
Additional lights can be divided into three main categories:
- Fog lights: Produce wide-angle, close-range illumination to light up both the road and shoulders without bothering other road users;
- Driving lights: Perfect for road traffic, offers a light range greater than 50 meters with less side diffusion than the mixed version;
- Mixed lights: A compromise between fog lights and driving lights. They have a wider beam angle than driving lights but do not illuminate as far.
The color of the light, Kelvin (K), is a criterion to consider when choosing your additional lights. Between 1,000 K and 3,500 K, the lighting will be comparable to warm white (light tending towards yellow); between 3,500 K and 5,000 K, it will be neutral (natural light), and above 5,000 K, you get cool white (light tending towards blue), similar to daylight. Thus, an LED optic with a capacity between 5,000 K and 6,000 Kwill be sufficient to ensure better safety.
For luminous efficiency, when it comes to LEDs, we speak of luminous flux (lumen lm), and no longer of Watts. This often makes the choice complicated. To better understand the correspondence between Watts and lumens, know that to obtain a luminous flux of 2,000 lm, an LED bulb consumes the equivalent of 20 W, which is an incandescent bulb of 150 W.
As for the color of the lights, particularly when choosing additional lights, the question may arise regarding yellow or white additional motorcycle fog lights. Generally, yellow headlights are considered more effective. The yellow color increases contrasts and improves the perception of road reliefs and shoulders.
PIAA brand additional headlights
Founded in 1963, the PIAAbrand manufactures high-quality lighting equipment. The Japanese brand excels in numerous competitions such as the Baja 100, the Paris-Dakar, MotoGP races, as well as legendary races like the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and of course the F1 World Championships.
PIAA offers many product ranges: auxiliary lights, LED light bars, LED bulbs, windshield wipers, etc. Always striving to offer products accessible to all budgets and of high quality, Blackpines has selected models (vintage motorcycle auxiliary headlights) of PIAA brand driving lights or motorcycle fog lights for its customers, enthusiasts of Café racers, Scramblers, Trackers, Bobbers, Brat, and the motorcycle world in general.
Today, PIAA asserts itself as a leader in innovation. At the forefront of progress, the Japanese manufacturer has developed Reflector Facingtechnology (lamps oriented towards the rear) to optimize the power and control of the light beams of its additional lights.
You can now order the kits selected by our workshop from the Blackpines.fr online store:
To meet your needs, and in case your reference is not yet in our catalog, simply send us your requestand we will find your product as quickly as possible, at the best price.
Why buy additional lights from Blackpines.fr?
As a specialist and preparer of Café racer, Scrambler, Bobber, and Brat motorcycles, we master the steps of motorcycle preparation. In addition to carrying out our preparations there, our workshop, based in Oise, allows us to test numerous spare parts and accessories to refine our selection before making them available in our online store.
We have sought out additional motorcycle lights that perfectly align with our commitment to offering products that provide the best safety.
Based in Île-de-France, we are available to our customers to best satisfy your requests and enable you to find a model not present in our store under the best conditions. Discover our various offers, free delivery from €70 of purchases, payment possible in two or three installments without fees.
