I have run A LOT of lights. Some have been very cheap, some have cost a lot and did not have very good workmanship, cheap materials, bulbs sucked or what ever. I will try to make it as to the point as I can. I do a lot of night ride/racing so I hope I have some mild credibility. I am not going to talk about helmet lights, that is a whole other ball of wax.
1.
Trail Tech Lights
8" HID Race light- DC Only- 42w- Mega bright, love the beam, great throw, middle of beam is kind of rectangular so when you go into a corner it shines in the low side of a corner so you can see how tight you can chase the corner. It draws 42 watts and I have used it in desert, woods, and street (not DOT approved) but I just aim the beam down when cars are coming. Only thing I would do to make it better is add a led light bar on top to fill in the closer stuff
http://www.rigidindustries.com/product-p/sr-series-10.htm and you would still be under your watt rating. Bulb is about $100, so is the ballast for replacement parts. The lens is stupid tough, I have taken some rocks and it did not even scratch the glass. My personal fav
I have also gone down quite a few times and have only scratched the mount. 1 lb lighter than Baja Designs $514 retail
8" Halogen Race light- AC/DC-55w- pretty bright, just not as bright as an HID. Justin @ Trail Tech sold a lot that guys have converted to HID and have been very happy with them. $275 retail +about $35 for a nice 35w HID conversion with 2 bulbs and Ballast for a spare just in case.
Extreme Race light HID- DC only 90w and 100w- Good for tight stuff, has 3 bulbs. The two smaller ones have a 100 hr life expectancy and are $75 each. The light is well built but not one I would spend any money on. $440-$455. Too much for not being able to get a lot of life out of the bulbs. The ballasts are also slow to light off the bulbs and you need to light them off one at a time or have your RPM's up to get all 3 lights to light off with 100w stator. It drains the battery very fast when lighting off.
X2 HID-DC only-70w- Bright enough to do about everything. I really like it, price is not bad but it comes back to the bulbs and ballasts like in the Extreme Race light. It just has one less small bulb on the X2.
They do not have a very long life for what I do. $324 retail, can find them cheaper on Ebay.
X2 Halogen/Dual Sport-70w- AC/DC- Great bang for the buck, I would try to upgrade the large bulb to HID for the brightness factor but is a great all round light. The Dual sport has a Projector lens on the top light allowing it to throw out a little further, the web site tells different, they are both great lights.
2.
Baja Designs
First off I want to start by saying these guys have been around a long time and have been on many winning bikes. That being said, I have never been impressed with Baja Designs workmanship. For what they specialize in and what they charge, I do not see them as someone that is helping the sport, only draining the pockets of the average racer. People here may have friends that work there or might have had good experiences with them. I have had both. When inquiring on the huge price difference between halogen and HID set ups and what HID set up is worth $350 more than halogen. He would not tell me the brand and said he had another call and hung up on me.
They have more lights available than I want to break down right now. So, in short......
8" single and dual 8"- bigger and heavier than Trail Tech. Almost the same price at the end of the day. Can upgrade halogen to HID+++.
Dual 4" Fuego- HID $660, Halogen $300- Housings are cast aluminum, pretty cheap IMO. Lens rings are brittle and I have cracked about 5 even installing them as per their instructions. So be very careful. I do love this light. I just wish it was made better. I have used mine a lot and it is a bit to maintain. It does not have easy access adjusters like the 8", wish they did. Very bright and I wire them so I can turn off one to act as a low beam for the street. On my KLX I needed to go down to one light to let the battery charge since I was doing a lot of slow riding during a 24hr that turned into a mud/storm fest. Was still plenty bright and compact.
Squadron- LED-$350- DC- Looks like they mounted an LED driving light to an old Polisport MMX headlight shell that they might have got cheap because the MMX sucked and had no standard plug unless you had a KTM. OK bright, not a ton of throw, would sell better at $250 IMO.
Baja D- in short they are available in Halogen and HID. The ugliest light I have ever seen. Gives the bike a sad face look. $99 will get you a halogen. I could not find an updated price on the HID. They are about $300 if my memory serves me right.
Any further questions on Baja Designs PM me to save me typing any worthless info.
3. Cyclops
Lots of cool options for LED lights. If it looks like a Trail Tech, it is under a different name. The customer service is top notch. It all comes down to how much you want to spend. Good options with low wattage. If you wanted to run just a battery and not an MZB, I would run LED for sure.
Penetrator 310- DC- 15w- Super bright 1500 lumens. $255, stack up 2 and you would be able to power heated grips too.
The Sterilizer LED Race light-DC-60w "Lighter and far more reliable than an 8" HID" Weighs 4.6 Lbs and $735.95
4. All other options.... You can get a cheap light for under $100. There are a lot on Ebay. Remember if you want HID or LED you need DC power. Halogen will run on either AC or DC. I have seen cheap light run for a long time. Really the reflector is the most important next to the bulb type.
I hope this helps some. Feel free to contact me with anymore questions. Negative comments about my opinion based on my experiences please PM me.
I love to run different set ups when it comes to lights. A dirtbike to me is is only half the bike if you can't ride at night too!!!!!
Alex
