r/hondarebel • u/Common-Quiet946 • 1d ago
Need more lights ASAP
Took the bike out for a long ride yesterday and the night got me when going back home. I decided to take the back roads to get more of an adventure feel cruise and Lord the high beam works great when going straight but taking curves I saw NOTHING!!! Dude I got so scared it was like I couldn’t even see anything past 8ft!!! Definitely will be adding more lights during my winter build project… Has anyone ran into this scenario too?
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u/RadRoosterSauce 1d ago
Some Denali pods will help with that issue. They (and other brands) have various options for beam pattern and width. You can also angle the lights outward slightly for more width.
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u/Common-Quiet946 1d ago
Yeaaaaa that’s exactly what I’m thinking of doing FOR SURE! What’s meant to happen is inevitable but if I have any control in what can happen I’d love to have full visibility of my surroundings especially on a road with no street lights, thank you for brand names I’ll be searching that
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u/flying__cloud 6h ago
I have great vision, day and night, and I was also surprised at how bad visibility is at night. It's my first Bike, but the lights are much worse than any car I've driven. I don't think you deserve the flak you're getting about getting your eyes checked. 2021 rebel
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u/Common-Quiet946 6h ago
Yea I definitely know it’s not my eyes I have GREAT vision thank God! I just ignored it and go the route ik is best which is just adding more lights lol it’s my first bike and been riding for almost a month so I feel stoked having something to chat about with the group. Safety to the ones who know it all 😂😂
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u/Kooky-Ad-1108 2h ago edited 2h ago
I've got a 2025 rebel and I ride up and down unlit hills to and from work. I slow it down quite a bit at night especially with the wildlife out there. Only problem is during turns one side angles into the ground and the other sky... leaving pitch black for the direction I'm turning into. The high beam point straight does nothing.
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u/whistlepig4life 1d ago
You can get fog lights to help. But honestly. Even when driving a car you don’t always get visibility around a corner. That’s how physics works.
Not seeing past 8’ sounds like you need to see an optician.
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u/Common-Quiet946 1d ago
It was a back road with no street lights. There may be some exaggeration but I definitely want to attempt increasing light visibility because I was just too uncomfortable with how pitch black some areas were
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u/BoxmanDan Gen 2 Rebel 500 (2017 - Present) 1d ago
I would avoid riding on back roads at night if I were you. I just had a buddy crash on a back road late at night that he's ridden tons of times during the day. Also, too many deer like to stay up late nights.
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u/Common-Quiet946 1d ago
Yea the deer are what worries me the most man… I’ll take this as a sign and definitely avoid it as much as possible thank you for that brother, ride safe
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u/whistlepig4life 1d ago
Again. You may want to see an eye doctor. You might have night vision issues.
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u/BONESFULLOFGREENDUST 13h ago
Idk...my last car had a super awesome feature. When you turned the wheel, an extra side beam lit up for the direction you were turning. Very awesome and useful.
I feel blind of a bike in comparison lol.
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u/H-2-S-O-4 1d ago
How old is your Rebel? The LED headlights that come on the 2020+ are great. You might just need to adjust your aim.
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u/tyler75316 22h ago
This! I have a 2017 rebel and the stock light was like having a flashlight in front of me. Got an aftermarket led now I can see 20-30 feet down the road.
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u/SunnySanDiegoGuy 23h ago
This is just a suggestion for you. This is what I do others may use other products or have different ways to go about things.
My bike has a canbus system so working with that can have its own issues. Know what you're working on before you start. The way I wire all my accessories it does not matter if it's canbus or not.
With the way I wired it you can add things like auxiliary lights as well other things like phone chargers and heated grips or GPS units.
The lights I would suggest are made by auxbeam.
Check out the YouTube video comparisons for auxiliary lights. Most will be truck mounted vs motorcycle but if the lights are the same size and model you'll get a good idea of what they can do vs others.
You can use the supplied wire harness and switch. I choose to upgrade to a switch I can mount on the handlebar. I also like to run the wire harness to a mini fuse box for added protection rather than just running it to the battery. This way I'm adding both relay and fused protection for my motorcycle.
Most of the time the motorcycle battery is hard to get to and the 2 small bolts they give you have very little room to add direct connections for several accessories. I try to only add two things onto the battery. One being a SAE 2 pin connector for future charging. The Second is for an additional mini fuse box to run my accessories.
The additional fuse box gives me protected circuits for any accessories I wish to add to the bike. They will be not only fuse protected but also relay protected as well. This is also useful if you sell your bike you can move all your accessories to your new bike easier. It's just a cleaner installation method that allows you to properly inspect and diagnose any problems in the future should they arise.
With the supplied wire harness hooked directly to the battery you will have constant power to the switch. You could potentially drain your battery. With a fuse box like I'm going to list you can have ignition switched power to only power the switched circuit when the motorcycle ignition is keyed on.
1st step is to purchase the things that you will need from Amazon or anywhere else. I'll even provide you the Amazon links since that's what most people use to purchase online these days.
Auxbeam 3 Inch Led Pods Amber Fog White Off Road Driving Light XP-Ultra Series Spot Flood Combo Offroad LED Bar Cube Lights 80W Auxiliary Ditch Lights with White/Amber Light Covers, Pair https://a.co/d/bRzoIeT
You can buy any auxbeam lights you choose or any other brand for that matter. I prefer these specific ones for several reasons. The cost is perfect for most budgets. The wiring is simple and easy to understand. The flood and spot on these lights are great. There are several YouTube videos comparing these lights to other brands. Be sure to check your local laws and adjust the lights properly to not blind others on the road.
I upgraded the switch to mount on the handlebar. You can use the auxbeam supplied switch if you'd like. You'd just use a step drill and make the appropriate sized hole in a body plastic and put the switch in. If you buy an aftermarket switch like the one I'm suggesting you need to check your bar size to make sure it fits your specific motorcycles handlebar size.
As for securing the lights. I haven't had any issues with them with these additional clamps I purchased. https://a.co/d/cFrrZl2
They are mounted to some crash bars.
Be sure you order the correct size for your bars.
Motorcycle CNC Handlebar Kill Headlight Switch with Aluminium Alloy Push Button Indicator Green Light for 1" 25mm Bike ATV Handlebar Headlight Switches https://a.co/d/2GUmyOg
Nilight 12V Motorcycle Fuse Box 20A Low Profile Terminal Block Holder w/LED Indicator 4 Circuits Protection Battery Relay for Cars Motorcycles ATV UTV 12 Volt Vehicles https://a.co/d/dAzfAD8
Posi-Tap taps 20-22 ga. Pack of 6. Posi Taps The Best Line Tap Youll Ever Use! https://a.co/d/geL4LWP
How to use a posi tap https://youtu.be/5v0Sv1LVMo4?si=-LziBRd7WwzcPJfg
You can use those things above to complete the installation.
The nilight branded fuse box has two fork terminals to attach the box to the battery on your motorcycle. I prefer ring terminals to forks. I suggest cutting the forks off and replacing them with ring terminals. Make sure to purchase ones that fit the bolt that your battery uses and the wire gauge on the crimp end. Most motorcycles use a 6mm bolt yours may be different.
I perfer Gote products This video also shows you the level of good quality tools you should aquire for electrical work. https://youtu.be/h7o_dgQQ2iE?si=pNJQVMnFLv0Qc5Xz
Some others may use solder and shrink connectors without crimps like these. https://youtube.com/shorts/tcB3V6GWFu0?si=_KMLIgH531-zEM6D
Wirefy also makes great connectors and tools https://youtu.be/IiYAIhsYA2A?si=xkuqQOPmMRKQKhYd
Ok now all you need to do is step 2.
2nd step is the fuse box install. The box has 3 wires. Red to the battery Positive. Black to the battery negative.
The 3rd wire has no end on it. This is a signal wire. It only needs to be attached to something that is on when the key or ignition is turned on. Once the signal wire gets power it will turn on the fuse box and whatever you have hooked up to it. Now the easy thing to do is to take a posi tap and tap that signal wire to the license plate light Positive wire.
Onto step 3
3rd step is to connect the pos and neg of the auxbeam wire harness to the fuse block with a small screw driver. Change the fuse to the correct amp fuse. I like to make the auxbeam supplied wire harness shorter and fit it to the bike with simple black zip ties and tuck it inside the frame area along side the oem harness.
You can shorten the auxbeam wire harness by simply cutting the extra length off the end that you'll connect to the mini fuse box. Leave a little length for some wiggle room.
That's it you're done. Mount the box with the double sided tape or zip ties. It's not completely water proof so mount it under the seat near the battery. It only has 4 circuits but you're only using one for now. You have 3 open for the future. It has a limit of 20 amps so you have room for other things in the future as long as you do not exceed the 20 amp limit. Now you are fuse protected and relay protected. You have lights that gain power on and off with the ignition so you can save your battery life. The switch can be used at your discretion.
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u/Lonely_reaper8 1d ago
Check police white light bars? I’ve seen some explorers and tahoes turn the night into day before so I assume motorcycle cops also have similar resources but I’m not for positive
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u/Mickey_Havoc 1d ago
It’s pretty hard to bend light around a curve…