Best Auxiliary Lights

Triangle with yellow aux lights for maximum visibility. These are a mid-priced Chinese brand called GR or GoldRunway which has held up flawlessly for me since 2019. The machining of all parts including the otherwise often chintzy crash bar clamps is excellent, as is the waterproof relay harness with waterproof connectors. These have survived countless tip-overs, too.
For a 1250, the Clearwaters and other competitors might integrate better with the bike’s electronics and controls, I don’t know. For my old hexhead, having the included separate controls for on/off and brightness is fine with me.
I just wanted to give a nod to a Chinese company that obviously is going above and beyond the typical expectations to produce a quality product.

[email protected] said:

I want to add auxiliary lights to my 2020 GS1250. I rarely ride at night, I want to add the lights to be more visible to oncoming traffic. Any recommendations? My local shop recommended Clearwater. He recommended NOT BMW branded.

Click to expand...

[email protected] said:

I want to add auxiliary lights to my 2020 GS1250. I rarely ride at night, I want to add the lights to be more visible to oncoming traffic. Any recommendations? My local shop recommended Clearwater. He recommended NOT BMW branded.

Click to expand...

I installed the Clearwater Dixie with slip on amber covers on the front of my 2016 R1200GS and the Billie on the rear. The system comes with the Clearwater CANopener which does not require any splicing and operates seamlessly when switching between low beams and high beams due to oncoming traffic. I have mine set at reduced power levels oF 30% in low beam mode and 70% in high beam mode. Both the Dixie and the Billie are fully abrightness adjustable via the CANopener. I often ride desolate roads in Northern California at night and love them, I would not be without them. In traffic they are not blinding to other motorists but make a huge difference in being seen. My son has a 2016 S1000XR that I ride on occasion, and I find that I am not nearly as well seen on his bike with stock lighting. Clearwater’s are American made and carry a lifetime warranty. They are expensive but work seamlessly, offer excellent support, and offer a lifetime warranty. The Dixie’s are my Prius melters. They are incredible.

I opted for the Denali D4’s & CANsmart system. It integrates with the whiz wheel and works really well. I ordered it from “a bike thing” after watching his YouTube videos. He modified the mount from a GSA to fit the GS which places the lights a little lower. I also added the yellow lenses.

[email protected] said:

I want to add auxiliary lights to my 2020 GS1250. ... Any recommendations? ...

Click to expand...

For your consideration:
I have been in the same place but have not felt like spending hundreds if I could get a good-enough result for far less (< $60 in my case),
And ended up with the following, which I am happy with:

Light pods:



wiring harness





Also, while on the topic of lights, I have upgraded my headlight bulbs from halogen to the following LED and very happy with them:


and in this post I have listed some testing-related details (power consumption + light output of LED vs stock halogen) and the reason for choosing these bulbs


Lastly, keep in mind there is a lot of cheating going on when it comes to the claimed output of light pods - I have posted some details in this post after running some tests during my research/search on/for pod lights.