1-What type of lighting are you looking for (To see or to be seen, that is the question…)?

2-What model bike do you have?  Then decide what mounting options are available for that model?

3-What is the available wattage your bike has to spare?

4-Can the lighting the client wants be mounted and wired by my technician in a manner that he/she feels is in keeping with the built quality of the machine (In short, my guys will not install the lighting if it doesn’t look “like it grew there” after they’ve finished).

OK, now focusing on those four questions the following are the typical answers / solutions for a given client:

1-Adding only one set of auxiliary lights you’ve always had to pick between a light that was designed to give outstanding forward visibility to the rider OR give outstanding visibility of the rider to other traffic.  Motolights has been our most common solution to the latter.  Typically mounted to the front brake caliper bolts they create a very conspicuous “triangle” light pattern when coupled with the headlight.  Yes they also provide improved night time visibility for the rider but not nearly as well as a purpose built driving light.

Trail Tech builds several outstanding driving lights that are capable of turning a dark roadway into the 50 yard line during a Monday Night Football Game.  Problem is those beams are designed to project forward and narrow.  From even a few degrees to the left, right, up or down they are almost not visible to an oncoming vehicle.  Thus losing the “conspicuity”

2-Short of going with a “clamp type mount” that simply attaches an auxiliary light to an engine bar or crash bar (which also typically means your new auxiliary light breaks your bikes fall if you tip over) almost no two bikes use the same mounting.  This means a dealer has to stock, and be versed in 12-14 different light mounts just to sell one light kit.  PIAA once upon a time was the most common aftermarket light option on the market and every single PIAA light had the same mounting “stalk.”  This made the mounting a touch easier because the parts department only had to find an applicable light bar for a given model.  But then other brand lights began to hit the market.  I’ll spare you from having to read through a list but I’ll give one very good example.  Twisted Throttle came out with a very slick set of “be seen” lights called the Denali’s.  Pound for pound these were the best money spent to be seen by other traffic and still provided a fair illumination of the dark road ahead.  The mounting style of these lamps however were, to be blunt, idiotic.  They could only be used with one of 15 or so available Denali light mounts.  Were the mounting applications available for most bikes?  Yes.  Did those mounts look and perform particularly well?  No.  Was the proprietary mounting style of the Denali light the most over-engineered object since a circa 2003 Volvo cup holder?  Absolutely.

3-Most halogen auxiliary light kits demand a spare 70 watts for their two bulbs.  Most bikes have 90 or more watts to spare.  BUT for the few models that do not have 70 spare watts at city speeds you’ve got problems.  Toggling the lights on and off each time you drop below 50 MPH or turn your heated grips on high or fire up your heated jacket is ridiculous.

4-To the credit of the aftermarket companies I’ve only seen a couple of auxiliary light kits that did not mount and wire cleanly when installed by an experienced technician.  ”Like it grew there” is a term I tend to throw around the shop but in all seriousness when you have a certified technician install the lighting, run the wiring along the factory harness, loom everything correctly, solder splice any modifications that are needed and switch and fuse the entire project in a way that cannot interfere with the OEM electronics…it’s art.

Ok finally I’ll get to my point.  Halogen is going the way of the “points” ignition.  Too much electrical draw, bulbs that need replaced semi regularly, delicate filaments that are not moisture or shock proof and lumen ratings that border on yellow are all reasons for this.  HID lighting, while incredibly bright for the size of a typical lamp:  Take time to warm up once switched on, get flaky when supplied current surges and often times require hiding a ballast and ignitor somewhere on the motorcycle.  HID still remains my favorite headlight housing modification but it’s best left inside that headlight.

This leaves what I and many others believe will be the standard in the very near future:  LED lighting.  Is it ground breaking new?  No.  Have some of the manufacturers I’ve mentioned in this post offered LED lighting?  Yes.  But the company that I believe is doing a better job of it than any other on the market is Rigid Industries http://www.rigidindustries.com/  .  Specifically the “Dually” and “D2″ light kits.  Here’s why:

They’re priced right in line with the majority of the auxiliary light manufacturers and build a superior product.  Specifically the “driving light” beam pattern.  In the Dually version you get 4 LED’s per lamp.  These lights are designed to devote 2 LED’s per lamp to “gutter lighting” along the sides of the road which also creates outstanding visibility from the front at any angle.  The remaining 2 LED’s per lamp are devoted to blowing up the darkness in front of you.  Riding at night they are brighter, whiter and faster than any other auxiliary light on the market.

The D2 version is the real good stuff.  This kit has 6 LED’s per lamp.  Two LED’s in each lamp are designed for “gutter lighting” same as the aforementioned Dually’s.  The remaining FOUR LED’s per lamp are designed to bring the sun to even the darkest road on your ride.  They are, without question, brighter than any other light I have ever been ably to mount cleanly on a motorcycle.  They are made 100 percent, down to the paper the instructions are printed on, in the United States.  The mounting points are as simple as they come.  They can easily be mounted to a crash bar, light bar, brake caliper, fender mount or fairing.  The mountings are slotted which means you can shift them inward or out for a given application (so if you tip over they’re not the 1st thing to hit the ground).  The included switch and harness is totally sano.  The switch is waterproof and dipped to be shock and vibration resistant.

“So after all that it’s just another plug for some auxiliary light his dealership is selling?”  No.  Let me explain it this way.  I’ve been fielding the auxiliary lighting question for 7 years with varied levels of confidence in the products I could offer.  Easily 300 times I’ve had to figure out an acceptable auxiliary lighting option for a client.  This is the 1st time in seven years I’ve made a point to pull for a specific product in writing and in a broad stroke recommendation.  It’s the first time in seven years I’ve been confident that what I’m recommending will absolutely work for every person reading this.  These lights cover both conspicuity and night illumination for the rider.  I cannot think of a single model that would be difficult to mount or power them.  The are made in the United States.  Lastly, the margins for these lights are SLIM.  Meaning we do not make much money selling them.  If you do not believe that I’ll gladly show you the dealer price list and you’d be very surprised.

Thanks for reading

-Sean DeAngelis

http://ourbmw.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/santa-arrived-on-two-wheels/

Just a quick reminder that we’re trying to fill these boxes with toys to benefit the children of the Towns County Womens Shelter.  On Sunday December 18th we’ll be riding north from the shop to deliver them in Hiawassee!  Should be a great ride with friends to benefit a great cause.

Ron owns a nicely customized and farkled R1150GS Adventure.  He also probably knows a guy or two that can help him maintain said motorcycle.

Well it turns out that if you put 110,000 miles on your BMW boxer engine it’s probably a good idea to check the wear of the front timing chain rails.  Here is an idea of what they should look like:

And here’s a couple photos of what they actually look like:

1 – I only retrieve the mail from the mailbox more than once a week IF I’m waiting for a new moto-toy.  That is to say I apologize to the fine people at the Powder Springs Water Department for the late payment.  Unfortunately your bill did not coincide with the arrival of my new Throttlemeister, those sweet CRG frame sliders or my new Shoei RF1100.

2 – The invention of the “We” gift.  I spent an hour convincing my girlfriend that she really does fit a medium Shoei RF1100 (see bullet point number one) even though it was easily 2 sizes too small and she got mildly light headed after 5 minutes of wearing it.  The key to “We” gift success is a plausible deniability that said gift is not solely intended for use by you the purchaser.  Might I suggest a paint scheme that one could pass off as “It looks great on you Babe!”  But you’re wondering:  Sean, could you possibly wear that ridiculous pink helmet just because it’s the model you really want and your girlfriend believes it’s for her?”  Answer:  ”Absolutely!”

3 – I budgeted $85 for an illuminated Santa Claus riding in a sleigh being towed by 8 reindeer and red-nosed-Rudolf. But then the Michelin Pilot Road 2 was replaced by the new Michelin Pilot Road 3 and the increase in price meant that I had to pull $46 from the Christmas decoration budget and add to the tire budget.  The result were some old flashlights taped to the roof and gutters, red and white spray paint on the “angry illuminated pumpkin” Halloween yard statue and only 4 reindeer. What should have been a pretty Christmas-tastic yard now looks more like a poorly lit red and white angry pumpkin chasing after 4 goats, one of which has a bloody nose.

4 – My girlfriend recently explained to me that a washer and dryer had become a necessity at our house.  Unfortunately my workbench was positioned over the hookups to the water faucets and I had my welder plugged into the 220 outlet.  At 32 years old I’m able to tell when compromise is required.  And no I don’t mean “compromise” in the traditional sense of the term where she says we are eating chicken and rice for dinner and I say I want steak again and so we “compromise” and eat chicken and rice.  We “compromised” and got the washer and dryer…atop the dryer sits my welder and I’ve bolted the bench vice to the washing machine lid.  This means I can clamp my custom made exhaust brackets, lay a weld on them and then tip the entire assembly back for inspection by opening the washer lid!

Thanks for reading

-Sean DeAngelis

Well the Moto GP season wrapped up, World Superbike has been closed out for 2 weeks, AMA motocross and supercross doesn’t begin for another 6 weeks and AMA roadracing hasn’t even released their full schedule yet.  We are officially entering silly season.  This doesn’t simply apply to the various motorcycle racing bodies.  Motorcycle dealerships worldwide are closing out their 2011 inventories in expectation of the 2012 models.  Pretty soon we’ll all be driving to work before the sun rises and going home after it sets….in short…it’s silly season behind the parts counter as well!  So in my boredom I’m simply going to post a few random “almost year end” ramblings until something more exciting comes along (or gets traded in).

-Apparently this scooter talk isn’t just an internet rumor.  BMW Motorrad has OFFICIALLY added the C600 and C650 scooters to their model lineup.  Seen here:

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/index.html?content=http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/urban_mobility/k18/k18_overview.html

Search as I might I haven’t been able to dig up any details on the engines except that they uses a 60HP twin of some sort of configuration.

-Ducati officially released the new 1199 Panigale superbike this week as well:

http://www.1199panigale.ducati.com/en/

The 1199 is still going to be a 2 cylinder “L” engine (contrary to rumors they might be going the V-4 cylinder route) BUT this new engine will have a SUPER short stroke and really big bore to achieve high RPM.  Additionally the engine is now the main frame member and the headlights are LED’s!  This means what between the 1199 and the S1000, come spring BMW Ducati Husqvarna motorcycles of Atlanta will sell the two most powerful and feature packed superbikes on the planet.

OK now that we’ve wrapped up new models let’s cover new gear:

-The Arai Signet is back and updated.  It’s now called the Signet Q and features the new wider visor and cutaway, better vents similar to those found on the RX-Q and some incredible new colors.   Seen here:

http://www.araiamericas.com/default.aspx?pageid=57#/helmets/moto/signet-q

-We have finally received the full size run on Klim Latitude and Badlands riding suits.  This is an adventure touring suit similar to a BMW Rallye suit but it is one of the few on the market that have a waterproof OUTER layer rather than an inner liner.  Seems a lot of apparel manufacturers are going back to the waterproof outer layers because the new materials still allow the waterproofing to breath in hotter temperatures. Check em out here:

http://www.klim.com/en-us/moto

http://www.ducatinewstoday.com/2011/11/first-glimpse-of-the-ducati-1199-panigale-s/?ref=nf

As it does this:

This is not to say you are a drooling, angry visitor from another planet that desperately wants to kill Sigourney Weaver.  You simply have a somewhat limited supply of helmets that fit comfortably.  Well as of November first BMW DUcati Husqvarna Motorcycles of Atlanta has you covered!  Ladies and gentlemen I give you the new Arai Signet Q:

http://www.araiamericas.com/#/helmets/moto/signet-q/graphic/racer-red

The Arai Signet-Q Helmet has an exterior and feature-set similar to the Arai RX-Q, however the internal shape has been elongated by 5MM to fit a truly oval shaped head.  The ventilation system is modeled off of the system used for the RX-Q and the Signet-Q utilizes the wider viewport offered by the new Arai SAI Shield design as well. Additional features include a Arai OEM Pinlock SAI shield with lens. The cheekpads have also been modified with a denser foam around the jawline to encourage a more snug and unform seal and better quiet.

New graphics for a variety of Arai Helmets should arrive shortly including the Signet-Q Mask, Signet-Q Racer & Signet-Q Super Star. Arai Signet-Q solids including a new blue should be equally strong options from the style side of things.

To sum up the improvements over the previous “Profile” model:  Wider cutaway for the visor means better peripheral vision.  Far better ventilation created by new venting atop the shell and Arai’s patented visor vents.  And An overall quieter helmet thanks to a more pliable visor gasket and redesigned cheek pads.

We have a full size run in stock here at the store and availability from the warehouses is excellent.  MSRP is a competitive $599!

Thanks for reading.

http://cyclenews.com/articles/new-bikes/5007/10/191/details-on-the-ducati-1199-panigale/