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MOTOLIGHT
Halogen Riding Lights
See the road better
and be seen better.
I was stopped on the side of the road
looking at a map when I looked up and
did
a double take when I saw a
motorcycle with three lights in the
same pattern as a train, in bright
sunlight
heading my way. That bike
had the MOTOLIGHTS. There was
nothing special about the headlight,
but the MOTOLIGHTS
were blazing a
bright path that is hard to miss to all
oncoming traffic. Besides adding
supplemental lighting
for night driving,
being seen in daylight is a great safety
advantage. How many times has a car
or truck
looked right at your bike and
still started to pull out anyway. With
the MOTOLIGHTS installed I don't think
anyone will look at your bike and still
pull out. I guess at this point I have to
say it's more like 9 out of
10 will now
stop and not pull out and the 10th
(an idiot) will still pull out. Before
installing the Motolights
the ratio
seemed be more like 4 out of 10
would pull out and the other 6 would
see me and not pull out.
With the
Motolights you'll seeing a big
improvement, and a lot less heart
pounding moments because you have
now avoided many of the near misses
that result from not being seen.
MOTOLIGHTS's are very popular
on
BMW touring bikes because like the
older Ducati ST line, older BMW came
with weak headlights. My first
Ducati
ST4 (2001) had insufficient stock
headlights for a Sport Touring bike, as
do the Ducati's ST3's and
ST2's, (made
before 2004). In my opinion, those
stock lights are dangerous for night
driving, and need to
be changed or
supplemental lighting should to be
added. No matter what bike you drive,
with the exception
of Harleys, (with
three headlights), most bikes will
benefit from the MOTOLIGHTS.
Starting in 2004 Ducati
ST's have a
new lighting design, which has gone
a long way towards fixing the problem.
Now the Ducati ST3
(the only ST model
being made) has the bare minimum
lighting to see your way on an
occasional night ride.
If you install the
Motolights you won't ride at night
without turning them on. Once you go
Motolights you
can't and won't want
to ride without them.
I have been testing configurations
using two 35 Watt bulbs
(included), two
50 Watt bulbs and also mixing one 35W
and one 50W. I have settled on using
the 50 Watt bulbs
as the best choice.
It's true that this is very bright to
oncoming traffic, but these days so
many cars
have extremely bright
headlights in my face, I'm just trying
to keep up. I do leave my high beam
on so when
oncoming traffic is
heading my way, I wait till I'm sure
they see me and then I lower my high
beam so they
know that the Motolights
are not part of my high beam pattern.
If you never ride at night, you should
be able to get away with the stock
lights, but being seen in the daylight
with that dim low beam (even with
a
PIAA bulb replacement) is just a little
better than not having any headlight.
Because the Motolights
are round and
create a round pattern, they light up the
road whether you are straight up or in
the turn.
Rectangular headlights usually
create a straight horizontal line at their
furthest reach across the road, which
then dips when you make a sharp turn,
loosing significant lighting towards the
direction you are traveling.
Adding
rectangular supplemental lights, like
the ones from PIAA, may add more
lighting but suffer from this
same
effect. Round lights simply do a better
job then rectangular lights.
(Note:) When you use the
Motolights
you are adding 70 to 100 watts of
draw to you battery, which is ok when
you are underway, but
you should turn
them off before you turn off your bike
so they are not on when you go to
start-up. If you
pull over and stop for
any length of time, you should turn
off the Motolights or up your revs to
compensate
for the extra draw on your
battery. I use the Whistler Motorcycle
Radar Detector (reviewed in the column
to
the right) to keep tabs on my voltage
when I'm using the Motolights. If I see
my voltage go below my usual 13.4
volts to anything below 13 volts I up
my revs or adjust my choke or simply
turn off the Motolights. If I
stop at a
light and my fan comes on, I turn off
the Motolights. If the fan doesn't turn
on then upping the
revs works.
As far as I'm concerned, these lights
are indispensable.
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ROADGEAR
Magnetic Jumbo
Sport Tank Bag
This is my 'First Use' review.
I've been testing this bag for more
than
a few months. It is well made with
a lot of thought given to detail. It
has a zipper around the bottom of
the bag that stays zipped most of
the time, which can be unzipped to
add a few more inches to the height
of the bag allowing for more stuff
to be added when you need it. It
has hidden dual slider zippers along
both sides of the bag that reveal
compartments about 4" high and
14" long with room enough for a
few folded maps or thin summer weight
gloves. I use this pocket for
my kick-stand plastic oval and other
small objects. The clear seamless
map area on top of the bag
measures 8" by 10". It has a sleeve
under the clear vinyl that is
part of a removable zip off map holder.
So far I like it. It's doing what needs to
get done. This model uses magnets
to attach to the metal tank. It
also can be ordered as the Three-Point
Jumbo Sport Tank Bag if that's your preference.
I
will be posting a expanded review sometime
this summer.
Stay tuned.
(The following description is from
the Roadgear
website)
Same great features found in the
Sport Tank Bag but on a much
larger scale!
Its unequalled list of standard
features includes a top-loading
main compartment—big enough
to fit a full-sized helmet.
An expandable zippered body
section and two expandable
zippered
exterior side pockets
for additional items picked up
on the road.
A pocket under the flap can hold
the optional rain cover, and a
removable map pocket converts
into a two-pocket shoulder tote
for unmatched
versatility.
Add an inside key hook, closed-
cell foam-backed, anti-skid
Toughtek® base and built-in
carrying handle, and it's no
wonder this jumbo is our best
seller!
Capacity: 18-26 Liters
Dimensions:
10" W x 15" L x 7-9" H
Colors: Red/Black, Yellow/Black,
Silver/Black, Blue/Black,
all Black
RUGGED, HI-TEC LUGGAGE
FOR THE ADVENTURER
Ergonomic, functional and
elegant! ROADGEAR's
critically
acclaimed and top-selling soft
luggage system is meticulously
handcrafted in the mountains of
Boulder, Colorado-a recognized
center of excellence for outdoor-
industry manufacturing.
Developed
by the noted product
designer Josh Valentine-with
input from a veritable "Who's
Who" in the motorcycling
industry-the bags represent the
current state-of-the-art in
motorcycle luggage. No expense
was spared
and no detail
overlooked in their engineering.
The result is the standard that
the rest of the industry
judges
itself against.
Constructed of DuPont 1000
Denier Cordura Plus, these bags
provide unprecedented
strength
and durability. Heavy-duty YKK
zippers stand up to the most
extreme conditions, while
specialized
tab pulls, make them
easy on your fingers and glove
friendly.
Accordion style pockets expand
to
double capacity without
unzipping, then pop back to
standard size when emptied-a
ROADGEAR exclusive. Add
ITW Nexus and Euro Sandow
hardware for reinforcement and
you have the toughest bags
available at any
price. Plus, our
tank, tail and saddle bags use
a closed-cell foam stiffener
heat-laminated to the outer
Cordura Plus shell, providing
body shape and shock damping
like no other soft bags.To top it
off,
ROADGEARis so confident
in its luggage that every bag
carries a full 10-year warranty!
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LEE PARKS DESIGN
DeerSports
PCi™ Deerskin
and Elkskin Gloves
Lee Parks Design make several deerskin
and elkskin gloves
styles. For review here
I picked the DeerSports PCi™ with
Outlast™ phase-change material liner
that provide the
widest temperature range
possible in a leather glove.
It is always a real pleasure to slip on
these gloves
because they are so soft
and flexible. They truly feel luxurious
especially when it cools down and I
change from
any of my summer weight
gloves to the DeerSports PCi™.
These glove take the strongest yet
softest leathers
available, deerskin and
elkskin, to form the outside of the gloves
and add the Outlast™ phase-change
material
liner, that add warmth and
comfort to the inside of the already
comfortable glove. There are other glove
makers
using deerskin, but I have yet to
find the quality deerskin that Lee is using.
This is the ultimate in deerskin gloves.
Although
I have worn these gloves in
temperatures up to 70º, they stay the
most comfortable from 65º down to
about 52º
and usable to 48º. (I should
note that I spent a lot of time working as
a photographer in a Vermont ski area
wearing
only lightweight glove liners for
about 4 hours a day, taking photos in
temperatures down to 5º and it did take
its
toll on my ability to keep my hands
warm). Lee says that many riders can
ride in lower temperatures than I can
without
changing to heated gloves.
Deerskin and elkskin also have the ability
to stay warmer than cowhide and other
leathers
when they get wet, while you are
riding. When most other leather gloves
get wet they they don't provide the warmth
of deerskin and elkskin and tend to shrink
and stiffen when they dry out. Deerskin
and elkskin don't shrink and
maintain
their softness after drying out. Of course
you should try to carry rain covers in case
it rains, just
as you do for your tank bag.
A lot of other glove manufacturers use
Kevlar® Fiber and Carbon fiber to protect
the
knuckles. Lee has a pair of his
deerskin and elkskin gloves that were
worn on the racetrack and were involved
in
a crash and went sliding along the
track that demonstrate the strength and
durability of deerskin and elkskin. While
they were roughed up, there was no
tearing or holes and the gloves could still
be worn. Lee says that the Kevlar®
and
Carbon can be worn down, from sliding
friction, that can create sharp edges.
I have seen race-bikes that indeed
have
the Carbon fiber worn off and do have
sharp edges. Kevlar and Carbon do the
most good with impact but having
sharp
edges created during a crash can create
its own set of problems. Hard Kevlar®
or Carbon fiber placed over
the knuckles
can and will create pain and fatigue when
your fist is clenched over the handlebars
of your bike
during extended periods of
riding. If you've worn that type of glove
you know what I mean. As you can see
from
the picture there is a second layer
of elkskin over the knuckles which does
not create any fatigue, yet protects your
knuckles.
You
might also notice from the photo that
these gloves have two Velcro™
adjustment, one for the wrist and one to
secure
the gauntlet over any type of
motorcycle coat.
These are my all-time favorite gloves in
nearly 30 years of
riding. Yes they are
expensive but look what you get,
comfort, safety and warmth and they look
cool. What more
could you ask for?
(The following description is from the
Lee Parks Design website)
Premium
insulated performance gloves
provide the widest temperature range
possible by utilizing an Outlast®
phase-change
material liner in a
patent-pending design. When your hands
are cold, the liner acts like insulation and
keeps
heat in. When your hands get hot,
it acts as a heat sink and pulls heat away.
Additionally, when used with heated
grips,
it pulls the heat from the grips and
distributes it around your hand. These
are the only true insulated
gloves that
work with heated grips as most insulated
gloves insulate you from the heat on the
grips. Proudly handcrafted
in the USA
2.75+ oz. deerskin (palm) and 4.0+ oz.
elkskin (back) are more
abrasion-resistant than cowhide
Outlast®
phase-change lining material
changes it properties depending on
temperature giving it an incredibly wide
temperature
range (30-70 degrees).
Thinsulate Flex® insulation on the
backside of hand helps keep heat in
without adding bulk
to the palm side of
the glove. Trimmed and ironed internal
seams provide unrivaled fit, comfort and
dexterity.
Seamless palm for the ultimate
in feel without pressure points. Dual-duty
thread provides the strongest seams and
won't cut through leather like Kevlar
thread. Hand washable leather stays soft
Inexpensive repairs available at
our U.S.
factory. Extra-long gauntlet has dual
Velcro® wrist closures for a secure fit on
any jacket. Double-stitched
ErgoTech™
palm patch doesn't bunch up and
provides strong abrasion-resistance.
Double layer elkskin backing on
knuckles for additional abrasion
protection.
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ROADGEAR
AirTec (Mesh) Gloves
I have been testing these gloves in
cool, warm and hot conditions,
spring, summer and fall.
They
are the most comfortable,
functional and attractive ventilated
gloves I have ever tried.
There is reflective
piping over the
knuckles. They have curved fingers
with excellent air-flow between the
fingers. If it cools down
and you
don't want to stop to change gloves
all you have to do is grip your fingers
closer together which stops
much of
the airflow through the gloves. This
feature is really neat. There is a
Velcro™ strap over the top of
the
wrist. There is extra padding over
the knuckles and fingers
I think you need to go no further in
your
search for ventilated gloves
then the AirTec .
(The following text is from
the Roadgear
website)
Advanced hi-tensile mesh,
reflective piping—engineered
to perfection—these gloves
keep
you going
Sizes: Men M-XXL
Women XS-M
Color: Black
Comfort Zone: 70-100°
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GERBING'S
Classic Heated Gloves
These
are the gloves of choice when
it comes to keeping your hands warm
when the chill overpowers your best
non-electric
gloves. Your fingers will
stay warm and nimble so you can
control your bike without the fatigue
and slower response
when squeezing
the brake and clutch levers with cold
and numbing fingers.
These gloves have worked well, held
up and stayed flawless for more than
two years of use and remain my best
defense against numb fingers. If I can
keep
my hands warm, the rest of my
body seems to follow suit. At times I
have ridden without turning on the
heat because
the design and
insulation are very effective at
blocking cold air. Once you do begin
to feel the cold I turn on
the heat.
In the fall, winter and spring you
will find these gloves indispensable!
In 2008 Gerbing's refined
the heating
elements to provide instantaneous heat.
(My expanded review will post soon).
(The
following description is
from the Gerbing's website)
Gerbing's Classic gloves are drum-dyed
premium black leather
for an
exceptionally light, strong and flexible
glove
Heats entire length of each finger,
including the
thumb, as well as the back
of the hand
Extended gauntlet and adjustable
enclosure
Thermolite® insulation
for great warmth
and dexterity
Brushed lining for added warmth
Waterproof/windproof/breathable
Aquatex®
liner to provide protection
from water and wind (Leather is not
waterproof and should be treated with
Nikwax Glove
proof)
Reinforced padding in palm and on
knuckles
Available in men's and women's sizes
Lifetime
warranty on the heating
elements
Specifications
Heat:____________GHC High Density
Heat
Source:__________12-volts DC
Current:__________2.2 amps
Watts:____________27 watts
Surface Temp:____135°F
+/- 5°F at 32°F
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GERBING'S Heated
Motorcycle Jacket Liner
I am now testing Gerbing's Heated
Jacket Liner. I've never been so
comfortable, in more than 28 years
of riding motorcycles in cold
temperatures! You don't have to
accept that being cold is a part of
what
it takes to ride a motorcycle
in chilly temperatures, as I did for
years when I lived in Vermont.
Finally
I can take a deep breath
without reaching the limits of my
snug Vanson Leather jacket! Until
I tried Gerbing's
Heated Jacket
Liner, I would wear 3 or 4 layers of
clothing and a unheated Vanson
jacket liner to try to
stay warm.
My jacket would get so tight that I
could not take a deep breath
without running out of space
inside my jacket. Also my freedom
of movement was restricted. Now I
just wear 2 layers and Gerbing's
Jacket Liner and I'm warm and
toasty.
I'm using Gerbing's Portable Dual
Temp-Controller to dial
in just the
right amount of heat to both the
jacket liner and Gerbing's Classic
Heated Gloves, with two
control
knobs, one for the gloves and one
for the jacket. The gloves attach to
wires that protrude from ends
of
each sleeve. The controller
attaches inside the coat and hooks
to your belt or the way I'm using it,
to my tank bag with the aid of the
controller cover. The controller and
the cover are both accessories
available separately as are the
gloves. When you're not using
gloves those wires stow in a
zippered pouch
that they protrude
from, in each sleeve.
(The following description is
from
the Gerbing's website)
HEATED JACKET LINER
Heating pads on the chest, back,
collar, and sleeves
Compressible, water-repellent,
durable, Thinsulate® insulation
Teflon® coated, wind-resistant,
soft nylon shell
Inside and outside pockets
Silky soft micro denier collar
Form-fitting
patterns and sizing
to fit snugly and easily under
your outer garments
Glove plug pockets placed on
the
sleeves secure the plugs when not
in use
Power Distribution Unit eliminates
dangling cords
Dual 2 wiring configuration
(for one user only)
Lifetime warranty on
heating elements
Specifications
Heat:__GHC High Density Heat
Source:____________12-volts DC
Current:______________6.4 amps
Watts:_______________77 watts
Surface Temp:____135°F +/- 5°F
at 32°F
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