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Shootout – Dual Sport Lighting Kits (part 1)

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Baja Designs Kit

Over the past couple of years, there have been two predominant dual-sport lighting kits available. These are the Baja Designs kit and the Malcolm Smith Motorsports kit. Recently a new kit is also available. Designed by Driven Industries, available from DSC Motosports, the Driven DSC Legalize Dual Sport Kit is one of the latest kits to hit the market.

What we’re going to try to do is take the guess work out of choosing which kit is best for you. In some cases there may be only one choice; in others maybe all three will work. To start with, let’s look at which kits are available for which bikes.

Year/Make/Model

Baja Designs

MSM

Driven
Honda XR200

$395

N/A

$399
Honda XR250

$395

$429.95

$399
Honda XR350

$395
+ Stator Rewind ($85)

N/A

$399
1996/97 Honda XR400

$395

$429.95

$399
Honda XR500

$395

N/A

$399
Honda XR600

$395

$429.95

$399
1993/98 Husaberg

$470

N/A

$399
1992/98 Husqvarna 350/410/610

$429
Not all years/models

$429.95
Not all years/models

$399
1990/99 Kawasaki KDZ 200/220

$429

$429.95

$399
Kawasaki KLX250

$395
+ Stator Rewind ($75)

N/A

$399
1997 Kawasaki KLX300

$395

N/A

$399
Kawasaki KLX 650

$395

$429.95

$399
1993/95 KTM 400/620

$395

$429.95

$399
1996/97 KTM 400/620

$415

$429.95

$399
1990/98 Suzuki DR250

$395

N/A

$399
1990/97 Suzuki DR350

$395

$429.95

$399
1991/on Suzuki RMX250

$395

$429.95

$399
YZ 400

N/A

$459.00

$399
WR 400

$385.00
(Fully D.O.T. $439.95)

$459.00

$399
Universal Lighting Kit

N/A

$439.95

$399

Note: According to DSC, the Driven DSC Kit can be used with any bike. We haven’t actually seen one of these kits yet, but we hope to really soon.

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Malcolm Smith Motorsports Kit

So as you might guess, the first deciding factor is going to be who offers a kit for your particular bike.

So other than availability, what’s the difference between kits? Generally speaking, the Baja Designs kit is totally componentized, meaning that each major piece is a separate component. The headlight is separate from the turn signals, the battery and voltage regulator are separate components from all the other components. Next comes the MSM kit. Its front turn signals, ignition switch, and high/low indicator are all integrated into the headlight. However, the battery, voltage regulator, etc. are all separate components. Last is the Driven kit. It’s a completely self-contained kit. The front turn signals, battery, and all other electronics are built into the headlight assembly. The rear turn signals are also integrated into the tail/brake light and license plate assembly.

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Driven DSC Legalize Kit

What’s that mean? Well, a lot really. For example, I have a Baja Designs lighting kit installed on my XR600. I recently replaced the headlight with an 8" PIAA light. I could not have easily done this with the other two kits and remained (relatively) street legal. However, the other two take fewer steps to install. DSC claims it takes about twenty minutes to set up a bike for their kit. Once it’s installed it can be removed in less than five minutes. This sounds ideal for a part-time dual-sporter.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll compare these kits in more detail…

Note: Images taken from supplier's web sites.

 

Ev'Mon

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