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Leaning Blind At Night


JimGregory

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Check out www.24x7diy.com. mine are old 3000lm - this guy now has 3200lm which are more powerful.

http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/products_id/94

These? Marked down from $189 to $146.

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Looks like Clearwater lights?

When I installed the LED headlight, the cutoff was so sharp even on high, that when I leaned over I couldn't see through the corner. I used to just grab my light and pull it up if it was an empty area. The halogen projector I had before spilled a lot more light up when the high beam was on. Eventually, I installed some Denali D2's on my forks. Fog spread on one light and spot on the other seems to do the job nicely. As a plus, they're brighter when I hit the high beams and people seem to notice them.

I've got the Denali D2's but there are probably a lot of other great LED aux lights out there now as well.

JW Speaker headlight and Denali D2 fogs

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Check out www.24x7diy.com. mine are old 3000lm - this guy now has 3200lm which are more powerful.

http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/products_id/94

These? Marked down from $189 to $146.

http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/products_id/256/osCsid/9cd09e1400f7be3d7f87d9a054524af1

These...

Check out www.24x7diy.com. mine are old 3000lm - this guy now has 3200lm which are more powerful.

http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/products_id/94

These? Marked down from $189 to $146.

http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/products_id/256/osCsid/9cd09e1400f7be3d7f87d9a054524af1

These...

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"I must adapt. But really I was shocked that honda would put me in that situation."

First time for everything but blaming the manufacturer for causing you to ride into a corner too hot in the dark is a new one.

I think its common knowledge and more to the point that most seasoned riders do not ride at night the same way they ride in daylite.

Add some lights and congratulate yourself ... a wiser thing than blaming Honda.

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"I must adapt. But really I was shocked that honda would put me in that situation."

First time for everything but blaming the manufacturer for causing you to ride into a corner too hot in the dark is a new one.

I think its common knowledge and more to the point that most seasoned riders do not ride at night the same way they ride in daylite.

Add some lights and congratulate yourself ... a wiser thing than blaming Honda.

Ya know Mr. Case, just as a for instance, I had an 82 900F. It didnt do this. I had a 79 XL500. IT didnt do this either. I had triumphs and guzzi's and BMW's and norton and I dont even remember what else. None of them did this. Some had crappy lighting, but it was crappy going straight OR cornering. So ya you bet your @ss I am surprised this more modern bike does this.

And of course I ride different at night. I know all about over running the headlight and I don't do this. But for god sakes you should be able to go round a curve without being blind.

After a lifetime of riding bikes that didnt do this I remain surprised, if you dont mind. And really I cant think of who else to be surprised at, other then mother Honda herself.

At your own sugestion you say add some lights. Really? I never HAD to do that before. Again I am surprised. You got me on the congradulate yourself part. I dont even know how to answer that.

I started this thread to see if perhaps my bike has been set up wrong or tampered with. It's new to me.

EDIT: I see now that you don't have a 5th gen. Maybe the 6th gen bikes dont do this. I don't know. Doesn't matter because the 5th gen bikes apparently do and you don't know about it because you don't have one. Whatever. It's a weakness I didn't know about and now I do. As I said. I will adapt.

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It's a problem with all newer (better) lights. They're designed with a crisp cuttoff to focus usable light on the road and to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. This is great for cars, and good for motorcycles traveling level. Better lights for a while had a crisp cutoff on the low beam and lots of spill with the high beam, so the fix was just to flick on the high beams when you leaned the bike over. My led headlamp also has a crisp cutoff on the high beam, as do other lights now. It allows for better focus of the available light onto the patch of road in front of me, but fails when leaning. I actually contacted the manufacturer since I had one of the lights very early in their availablity. I'm not sure if they've changed them at all, but a less crisp high beam would help with this.

You can sort of see what you're dealing with in this picture, but the solution is actually that you need worse (less focused) light.

thwingc 329831105190547113 244109210

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Thats exactly the problem is the crisp cut off. Without researching it i think the lens/reflectors ma also

contribute. I will be riding more and more at night with the days getting shorter. Shouldnt be a problem just switching to high beams.

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http://www.visionxwholesale.com/cannon-led-lights-by-vision-x/

Maybe you can find some aux. lights from Vision X. I have 1 @2500 lumens and 1 @3000 lumens... aimed at the left and right side of the road/ditch..a couple of hundred feet out. Got them for critter avoidance...a big issue here in BC, day or night. Side benefit..great illumination at lean angle... so whatever Honda provided as a basis can be improved on according to each riders personal requirements.

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http://www.visionxwholesale.com/cannon-led-lights-by-vision-x/

Maybe you can find some aux. lights from Vision X. I have 1 @2500 lumens and 1 @3000 lumens... aimed at the left and right side of the road/ditch..a couple of hundred feet out. Got them for critter avoidance...a big issue here in BC, day or night. Side benefit..great illumination at lean angle... so whatever Honda provided as a basis can be improved on according to each riders personal requirements.

How do you use them? Like high beams or can they be left on when in traffic?

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Latest Additions To Silver

I posted the above item here...but dont get how to copy/paste it to this thread ..but to answer your question ...both lites are wired direct from the battery on a fused circuit that also powers my 12v charger port. The lites come on/off via a simple weather proof marine grade rocker switch. Due to the intensity of the lites, I do not use them at night when there is oncoming traffic, but as a side note, I have used them in daylite when I have seen drivers deciding to pull out of a side-lane into my path, and using them that way has saved my butt a few times
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  • 2 years later...
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https://www.mslmagazine.co.uk/tested-jw-speaker-8790-adaptive-led-motorcycle-headlight-review/

 

So, I know it's a bit of a zombie thread, but I found a solution other than buying a BMW. 

 

Also, I know it won't fit a stock (or not stock) VFR, but it'll fit my xVFR.  It's also not cheap, but, I've had their original 8700 for at least 6 years now and it's been a great light.  So, I guess, if anyone has suggestions for what to do with a single, non-adaptive, 7 inch round light, I might be looking for suggestions. . . maybe I'll craigslist it or see if I can find a local café bike nut or something?

led-motorcycle-headlight-model-8790-a-series-optics-combined-2016-500x500.jpg

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