Riding off into the..........

[ribbert]

I rode it.

The FJ been down for maintenance (but it appears not enough) and heading off on it felt like being re acquainted with an old friend, even though it had only been a few weeks. The first few miles feeling a bit strange after the high and wide GS bars.

Great days riding, felt like Spring is around the corner, caught up with Arnie and gave the old girl plenty through the day.

This was my last stop on way home.



Not a breath of air, It was so quiet I could hear a couple of seagulls talking a few hundred metres out to sea. I stayed for half an hour or so soaking up the tranquility and taking a few photos. A stark contrast to the battering the senses had endured all day riding at speed.

I rode the last 100km home in the dark and love my lights more each time I use them. They have proven to be an excellent addition, more so than I would have thought. I seem to have dropped "I'd better get going before it gets dark" from my vocabulary.



What a way to spend the day, life's good from the behind the bars of the FJ.

Noel

[FJ1100mjk]

Great picture of the sunset.

[Country Joe]

Noel,
Thank you for the beautiful photo!

[aviationfred]

Great photo of the sunset and your FJ. 

What is the brand of driving lights that you have installed?


Fred

[FJmonkey]

An inspirational post to get out and ride. It needs an FJ related caption...

[ribbert]

What is the brand of driving lights that you have installed?

Fred

Fred, they are from a Hong Kong guy called Komy Kwan http://2allbuyer.com/3500LM-Cree-Led-Light-x2Switch-P4307179.aspx Clearwater lights are the undisputed king of night riding but they are about $800 for a similarly powerful pair of lights and their brightest is a whopping $1400 a pair.
There are several other brands that are well regarded too but still expensive. These days I'd rather not ride at night in the country but it happens, so spending that sort of money for occasional use wasn't a consideration. I have been caught out on trips several times over the last year alone, having to travel hundreds of kilometres at night on unlit, animal infested back country roads and twistie mountains.

I found these lights after searching dozens of adventure / touring bike forums and the name kept popping up with great reviews. Merely citing improvement over the standard headlight is not conclusive and could mean no more than lighting a second candle, so I started looking for guys who were literally running these side by side with Clearwater, Denali and other known brands. Nearly every search ended up with BMW GS's and you know how anal those guys are.

They performed well against the others and were generally considered the best value for money, They are however a broad beam light. While the throw down the road is many times the standard headlight it is not like a narrow beam light. The sides of the road are flooded in daylight (6000k), something no headlight does, and is fantastic for cornering at night, you can actually see way around the corner while leaning over.

If I had to choose one over the other (and I did) I would not swap riding in this ball of daylight for a pencil beam throwing a kilometre down the road.

Having said that, I find cruising on unlit, unmarked back roads at night comfortable at 120 kph, previously I would be waiting for things to pop up, including corners and intersections, out of now where at half that speed.

They were $300 AU and I'm very happy with them, they also have an inbuilt dimming function for daytime use.  35W / 2.9amps / 3500 lumens (each)



I fitted another set last week.





This is how you wire a BMW - soldered, heat shrink joins front to back, totally enclosed in high temp, low friction expanding sheath (to match OEM) and wrapped in the original loom where possible.



...and the FJ? .... it didn't get so lucky. A case of the "cobblers shoes"

Noel

[jscgdunn]

Anybody ever bought from AliExpress....this set "looks" identical.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-40w-super-bright-cree-led-work-light-waterproof-IP68-RGD1039-motorcycle-projector-headlight-with/1229386260.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.17.4ZGUoa

[FeralRdr]

As stated by others, beautiful picts.

If I might ask, what camera did you use to catch the sunset?

[ribbert]

As stated by others, beautiful picts.

If I might ask, what camera did you use to catch the sunset?

Nikon P900

Noel

[ribbert]

....this set "looks" identical.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-40w-super-bright-cree-led-work-light-waterproof-IP68-RGD1039-motorcycle-projector-headlight-with/1229386260.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.17.4ZGUoa

They sure do, and they may well be but I read of a number of experiences that locked me into the Hong Kong bloke. He was the only one selling them with a history and a stack of testimonials about great after sales service.
No shortage of guys telling of losing the lot buying from unknown vendors. They returned faulty goods and never heard from the shop again. Lights and money gone.

This could be rubbish, but I believe he makes his own internals for them.

Noel

[jscgdunn]

Noel,
I have some experiences with Chinese parts (ebay vendors).  The issues usually have been taking 60 days plus to arrive.  I whined to them and the actually refunded the purchase price.  But as you say...you never know what might happen.

[FeralRdr]

As stated by others, beautiful picts.

If I might ask, what camera did you use to catch the sunset?

Nikon P900

Noel

Thanks for the info.  I'm certainly not a professional photog, nor do I consider myself very knowledgeable in the area.  However, I do appreciate good photography and when I reach limits with my current cameras, I tend to look for what others are using when considering upgrades.  Looks like you have a solid performing camera.