Thursday 11 April 2013

Small packages

A few fellow bloggers have posted recently about the joy of receiving small packages in the post. Well, not to be outdone, here’s my small package story.
I almost made it.  It was only 2 months ago that I posted about not needing anything for the bike this year. What I actually said was “the bike is just about exactly where I want it right now” which, as any motorcyclist will agree, is probably one of the most, if not *the* most, stupid thing I could have said. There is ALWAYS something to be improved, changed, added, or otherwise tweaked… and sure enough I found something.
My small package arrived today.
Photo 7
Photo 2
Photo 1
I had noticed that the LED taillights on some new model cars were a lot brighter and the instant-on feature tended to catch the eye better. And so having had a couple of close calls because drivers clearly didn’t see my brake light and integrated rear signal lights I thought I’d brighten up the back end a bit.
If you’ve looked at a motorcycle parts catalogue lately you’ll know that there are hundreds of options for LED lighting and an electronics engineering degree is needed to identify all the parts required to make it work. (Simply replacing the bulbs won’t do it – I tried that route already, major fail!) But then I found this complete kit at my favourite supplier – J&P Cycles. Gave them a call and… Sold!
I will be installing this kit over the weekend and hopefully all will go well and it is really as “bolt in” as advertised. But if not I have lots of time to make it work as we’re getting a major snow and ice storm through here over the next couple of days, pushing the riding season out at least another week. Sigh….
Winter
UPDATE April 12:
One of the easiest installations I’ve ever done. 20 minutes, tops. Instructions were clear and everything fit the way it was supposed to. The most time was spent getting all the wiring jammed back under the seat when the job was done. It even works with my turn signal conversion. So two thumbs up for Biketronics’ LED Bulb Upgrade Kit from J&P Cycles.

12 comments:

  1. I installed additional LED lights for braking that flash 5 times before staying on. I've had numerous people tell me that it really gets their attention. This is both from riders and non-riders.

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    1. Richard - I'm hoping for similar results. Although these don't flash I expect the brighter lights will help.

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  2. I installed a somewhat similar mod on my Road King recently- it turned the rear turn signals into auxiliary brake lights (they still flash for left or right turns) and all three lights in back are always on, and brighten when I apply the brakes...

    Winter is so persistent this year, we're gonna need a wooden stake thru the icy heart of that snowman!

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    1. No Name - If it takes a wooden stake let's go for it. I've had enough!

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  3. Did you have to? ... Now you've got me thinking I need LED lights.
    (Winter may die, but this year it's being such a drama queen - what's with this winter storm warning and now ice rain warning in April. Really, whatever it takes, just kill it, please!)

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    1. Karen - Sorry about that. I'll be sure to post whether I think there's a significant improvement or not and then you can decide.
      As for the weather this weekend, I'm planning on hunkering down and spending most of it in my (heated) garage while dreaming of motorcycling, golfing, being warm....

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  4. I love that snowman picture so much, I am going to have to use it......

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    1. Gary - Feel free. It sums up the feelings here this year quite accurately. We're all sick of winter, even more so than usual. And it doesn't help that the weather guessers spent all winter telling us what a nice, warm spring we'd have. :(

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  5. Canajun:

    We don't always get a chance to rub the weather into the faces of our Eastern friends so let me just say that another riding weekend is coming up. It was so sunny and warm today that I actually rolled down my windows and enjoyed our nice Spring air.

    As I looked at the weather report on the news I saw a big storm going north from Atlanta into the Toronto area with forecasts of possibly snow.

    I like the idea of using the rear turn signals as running lights and also blinking too, but with the BMW canbus system I don't think it's possible

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. Bob - I'm looking out the window right now and it's switching back and forth between rain, freezing rain, and snow so I'll let you get away with it just this one time. :)

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  6. I've heard nothing but good things about LEDs for tail lights. I think hubby may have just put some on the Tiger too. He had them on his Triumph America and they were a big improvement.

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    1. Trobairitz - It's one of those things that you'd expect manufacturers to do, except it would probably add about $25 to the cost of a bike which makes it a non-starter. Besides, this way they get to sell a lot of add-ons.

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