Times and circumstances may have changed but I have never lost that sense of anticipation when opening a package, even if I know what’s in it.
But I’m rambling.
As the astute reader may have guessed, a package came in the mail today.
FortNine is quickly becoming one of my favourite online shopping sites. They carry a great range of products for all sorts of motorcycles and, best of all, they’re Canadian. Which means no exchange rate hits, no import duties or taxes, usually no shipping charges, and I have the items I ordered on my doorstep in two or three days. What’s not to like, especially when shipping fees from the US can often surpass the item’s cost, and it can sometimes take weeks to clear through Canadian customs?
With that bit of free advertising out of the way, here’s what I got.
A few years ago, after a couple of close calls with inattentive drivers, I installed LED brake and signal lights on the Dyna. They were very bright, I loved them, and, best of all, no more near rear-end misses. I’d been meaning to do the same with the Road King this past year but life intervened and I didn’t get around to it. Until now. So with some help from the folks at FortNine I determined what was required and ordered the parts Monday night. They arrived this morning.
Fifteen minutes later the signal and tail lights were installed, a simple plug-and-play operation. And I’m very pleased. Not only are they much brighter than stock, but I believe the instant-on nature of LEDs also raises visibility.
So to all the half-blind, burger-eating, texting, cell-phone using morons out there on the road, can you see me now?
No, probably not. But it looks like a good upgrade. I put on the flashing brake lights on both the BMW and the Ural. I have heard from cab and truck drivers that it really does help but if someone is staring at the phone then it doesn't matter what you have, they'll still not see it. It's surprising the number of times that buses get rear ended. And they have flashing lights all over the place.
ReplyDeleteRichard - True enough, but even if it helps just a little bit.
DeletePut turn signals on my 850T (the original owner removed them) after using hand signals for over twenty years. Feel almost invulnerable now!
ReplyDeletehttp://smilesfromnowherre.blogspot.com/2017/05/winkin-blinkin-and-nod.html
But think of all the left arm exercise you'll be missing.
DeleteVery nice. It never hurts to light up the back end when stopping. I still have the hyper lights to install on the Versys. We took them off the Gladius before selling it. Extra lighting to flash when either brake is applied.
ReplyDeleteI may still put the flashing module on, but for now just brighter will help.
DeleteTrue, but now my thumb's in great shape!
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteThey look like a very worthy addition to me! I've been slowly adding some extra though small, quite bright LED's on the back as much for some redundancy as anything. have to believe that anything and everything will help.
ReplyDeleteThere's no complete solution but I agree, every little bit helps.
Delete