All of us on staff are members of the ride-and-race-at-night camp, and we know the value of having the best light possible. That doesn't mean we like wiring lights and worrying about stator output, though. Enter the battery.
Baja Designs has been lighting up race courses from Baja to Glen Helen to other tortures for years. Its 8-inch LaPaz HID light cannon is an excellent all-around choice for those wanting a lot of blaze in a single light unit. Adding the Racer Battery Kit makes it one of the most convenient and versatile bolt-ons for endurance racing and night riding. We've tested these sets since January 2009 and put 10 or so consecutive hours on one at the last Glen Helen 24-hour race.
Installation is easier than bolting on a new handlebar. The battery sticks to the top of the light and straps down and you plug it in. Congratulations, you're done with the wiring.
The receiver mounts to your fork tubes between the triple clamps with rubber-backed hose clamps. The light itself slides down into the receiver and is secured by pins clipped through posts. The receiver plates can be left on for use with a front number plate during the day. It's secure, simple, clean and tough as heck. We've crashed plenty during the night and Baja Designs' light kits (especially its steel mounts) are amazingly resilient.
Light output on the battery kit is equal to wired-in power. It's bright and the spread is a great compromise between a high-speed distance spot and a tight turning wide-beam. The run time with the battery is claimed at three hours and charge time is the same. During our 24-hour test we were swapping batteries out just shy of a full charge and, likewise, just shy of a full run-down. We have no doubt they stand up to their claims of run time. Out trail riding we have seen over three hours, closer to four without the dreaded shutdown and being left in the dark.
The limitations we see with the battery kit are weight and the increased chance you can be left in the dark over using a wired-in light. While overall weight isn't much more than a nonbattery setup, all the battery weight is carried as high as possible on the bike. The whole kit weighs eight pounds and that's all right at your hands so handling is affected.
It's important to learn HID lights don't fade when they start to lose battery power-they stop working. Instantly. So make sure your backup battery is charged. We experienced this during our race but had a backup helmet light to get us back to the pits.
Finally, there's the price. At $924.90 (as tested, including the light, two batteries, a charger and all mounting hardware and accessories) our unit is almost $400 more expensive than a wired-in unit for the same light on the same bike we raced ('09 KTM 200 XC-W). However, the battery kit can go on any bike, any time and there's no need for ignition mods. Some bikes are simply unable to run HID so this makes the battery kit a product anyone can use. Our batteries have been working great for a year, so we're confident giving the performance and durability categories big thumbs-up all around here.
If you can handle the expense, the experience you'll have from riding at night with an excellent race light is well worth it. And this light makes it just plain easy. -Jesse Ziegler
| Hard Parts |
89.0 |
| Installation |
20/20 |
| Function |
45/50 |
| Durability |
9/10 |
| Design |
9/10 |
| Price |
6/10 |
| www.bajadesigns.com |
| 760.560.2252 |