Just like when we looked at uprated headlight bulbs, the benefits of adding riding or auxiliary lights to your bike are mainly two-fold.
Firstly, the additional light will help you to see at night, particularly depending on where you position the lights themselves on the bike.
However, just as, if not more, important is the second benefit, that you will be far more visible to other road users by using the spotlights as effectively ‘Daylight Running Lights’ or DRLs. As a result, others should be more aware of your presence and hence, you should be safer.
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Lights can either be mounted high up alongside the headlight for straightforward illumination or DRL-style visibility or lower down so that they illuminate the road closer to the bike or to the sides for a better view of the sides of the road.
This can be particularly useful for rural roads where the bike’s main lights may illuminate the road ahead but leave the edges of the road to the side of the bike unlit.
Related: Best motorcycle indicator upgrades
Lower mounted lights can also be useful in foggy conditions as, just like on cars, they illuminate the road beneath the rider’s eyeline and don’t ‘white out’ the fog, which decreases vision.
Here is a selection of spotlights to help light the way on a dark night.
Prozor Spotlights
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These are Amazonu2019s Choice for u2018motorcycle spotlightsu2019 and offer a range of modes, including solid or flashing mode. They produce 3200 lumens of light each and give a tight, long-range beam from the LED units that should stretch some 200m into the darkness.
They come with the necessary wiring harnesses and control box (the relay) as well as the two-way switch to change the mode and activate the lights themselves.
Pros:
Inexpensive
Additional lighting power
Various modes
Cons:
Flashing little use for motorcycles
Denali D4
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These spotlights from Denali are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but they are of great quality and the brandu2019s most powerful lamps. They produce 8760 lumens of light intensity from two pairs of LED units in each lamp.
One pair projects a wide beam close to the bike to illuminate the road and the edges while the other pair project a tighter, more penetrating beam ahead of the bike into the distance. They are supplied with a handlebar switch but can also be integrated into the bike’s dipped/main switch using an optional harness.
Pros:
Combination of near and far lighting
Excellent quality
Optional total integration
Cons:
Very expensive
Biqing
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These four-way lamps use a brace of LED units to produce 5400 lumens per lamp with a life expectancy of some 50,000 hours. They feature a tight, focussed long-range beam, making them ideal for road use alongside the bikeu2019s main beam unit and their aluminium construction means heat doesnu2019t build up in the units.
They are supplied with mounting brackets but you’ll need to sort out the wiring and relays.
Pros:
Long-range beam pattern
High light output
Low energy consumption
Cons:
No associated wiring or switches
Givi S310 Trekker
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These halogen lamps from Italian specialist Givi are supplied with a complete wiring harness and mounts to fit a range of engine guards or handlebars, from 21 to 26mm in diameter.
They are wired directly to the battery, via the included waterproof handlebar switch or to the bike’s ignition so that they only illuminate when the ignition is on. They come with 55W bulbs as standard though smaller 35W ones are available for bikes with lower-rated electrical systems.
Pros:
Well-known brand
Come with full wiring harness
Can be ignition-switched
Cons:
Power-heavy halogen not LED operation
Opp Ulite
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These tiny LED lamps pack a punch u2013 3000 lumens of light and two colour options u2013 brilliant white or yellow for DRL use or as fog lights. They can also be used as either dipped or main-beam use or a combination of both, depending on your requirements. So you can have yellow dipped beams and brilliant white high beams to supplement the bikeu2019s OEM lighting.
Pros:
Dual colour
High/dipped operation
High output
Cons:
No fitting kit or wiring included
Denali D2
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These tiny lamps from Denali belie their output u2013 a huge 2190 lumens output from each LED unit. They can be used either as spotlights (they come with this lens fitted) to project 525 feet into the darkness or as floodlights, with a wider beam thanks to the interchangeable lens.
They come with the full wiring kit including a handlebar switch though they can be integrated into the bike’s main/dipped system using an optional lead to switch between half and full power.
Pros:
Spot or flood light pattern
Integrate into bike’s lighting
1.6A draw
Cons:
Cost
YnGia Halo Spotlights
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These lamps have a nice twist to them; they feature yellow halo rings that work as DRLs and brilliant white projector spotlights that will illuminate the road ahead in the darkness.
They emit 3000 lumens of light from the white projector lamps and come with a wiring harness and three-way handlebar switch to switch on just the halo or the projector as well. A mounting kit is also included to fit the lamps to the engine or handlebars.
Pros:
Halo and projector lights
DRL and main-beam use
All in one package
Cons:
Switching relay needed
Universal LED DRLs
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If you want to be seen for minimal outlay and profile on the bike, then these tiny LED-powered lamps could be just the ticket for you. Measuring just 24mm in diameter, they come with 1m of cable and a small L-shaped bracket to fit to the bike, such as on a mirror mount or similar.
They would typically be wired into the lighting system to come on with a switched live, such as the sidelights and improve visibility without adding night-time vision.
Pros:
Tiny profile
Add to visibility
Minimal current draw
Cons:
Little additional light output for night-time