Re: Let There Be Light?

"Tom $herman (-_-)" wrote in message news:jomerg$m6i$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anyone use driving lights with good or bad experience? While the stock
headlight on the NT700V is fine for around town and freeway use, I am
looking for something that provides better visibility going into a
corner on secondary roads, and for seeing mobile hazards such as
opossums and raccoons on the shoulder. Also, since I travel at night
quite a bit, a back-up would be nice in case of bulb failure, since
trying to get at the bulb is reportedly a major operation in a lighted
garage with a full tool kit (so in the dark and rain with a minimal tool
kit does not sound appealing).

Needs to be something that:

1. Is for sale in the US (or by someone who takes credit cards and ships
to the US);
2. Will not blind on-coming drivers/at least quasi-legal for road use;
3. Does not require custom fabrication by a machinist to mount;
4. Weatherproof, since I ride in the rain.

I see that Honda offers fog lights for the Deauville? Any good, and any
UK dealer that would ship across the pond (since along with several
other accessories, not imported by Honda to NA)?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both of my bikes have driving lights, the Valkyrie with the radiator pod lights, and the RS with the typical three light setup.

While I often ride short distances at night, most of my riding is during the day.

If I did any significant night riding, or had to commute through the desert/woods/haunted forest I'd invest in a set of HID lights mounted on the engine guards, and unlike my present setups, I'd have a switch to turn them off. These are manufactured by several companies, so if you go this route, I suggest you do some research into who makes the best units, offers good customer service, and so on.

What I like about these is they consume less energy than conventional lamps, and put out a buttload of light...kind of important on a motorcycle with limited resources for electrical devices. LED replacements for signal/brake/running lights are a good idea here too, however avoid the setups where "load equalizers" are used, as they not only use the same amount of power, they waste it as heat, which seems pointless to me. There are systems out there where they avoid mechanical relays and give handy options, such as self cancelling signals, flashing brakes, and so on.

CS

.

Relevant Pages

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