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RE: [ST] Re: PIAA fork light



Just an FYI for some alternative information to the PIAAs.  I have the
MotoLights installed on my Sprint, and I love them.  They are color matched
to our frame, forks, post '00 wheels, etc.  The mount is seamless with no
exposed wires anywhere, and they function great.  They are specifically
designed for motorcycles, and one of the owners has them installed on a BRG
Sprint ST.  The switch mounts neatly to the fairing, too.  As an added
aside, one of the bulbs recently went out, and I called them about
replacements to find out what bulb it took.  Turns out that the lifetime
warranty covers the bulbs too, so they sent me two replacements - nice!  I
don't currently have a place to post any pictures, but if you would like to
see some pictures of them, email me and I'll send them directly to you.

Matt
'01 BRG Sprint ST

- -----Original Message-----
From: B Parker [mailto:bparker15@xxxxxxx] 
Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2004 10:59 AM
To: ST list
Subject: [ST] Re: PIAA fork light


<  Do you have any pics of the light you mounted on your front forks down
around the front axle?  I need something to light up the road down low
better.
Al>

http://www.members.cox.net/sprinthawk/PIAA%20rt%20fork.jpg

http://www.members.cox.net/sprinthawk/PIAA%20mount.jpg

hmm, looks like i should replace those cap screws with stainless steel ones.
the mount was a scrap chunk of .5x.75 aluminum, milled out by my [R1100RT
riding] bud in the tool and die shop at work. it fits the ears on the PIAA
shell, and has a "V" to keep it from twisting on the fork. it's counterbored
from the fork side for the inner screw. note the seam of JB Weld; an
Oklahoma wind blew the bike over parked on my lawn, splitting the housing
and putting a crack in the right fairing. JB to the rescue - i had nothing
to lose. it worked on both, with fiberglass mat added behind the fairing.
i'm glad it wasn't parked on the driveway.

there are push-on automotive connectors on the wires to make it easier to
dismount the light; that's been handy. the wiring is in a shrink tube [the
second wire in the picture is the pickup for the Echo F1 bicycle computer,
looking at a magnet glued in the brake rotor].


my purpose for the light was to fill in 'near' when i hit the high beams -
since the Triumph 'high' pattern is narrow and wide, and actually leaves
less illumination near the bike [of course, we're not supposed to be looking
near...].

i cooked up a switch circuit* that uses a three way switch: OFF, ON all the
time, ON when the high beams are on, using a little automotive cube relay,
and fused. the long-bat, glove-friendly switch is mounted in the right side
'port' on the tail section; i can reach it easily, but it's nearly
invisible. yes, it's the throttle/front brake hand; but i almost never
change the switch position, and it's never an emergency.

IIRC, the light is a PIAA 1100 driving light. the key is to match your light
wattage and beam spread to your turf - pencil beam for Interstate, fog for
you Maryland guys, driving light for general duty. power? IIRC, it's 55W but
somehow equivalent to 85W. you can get serious with HID, etc., and fry
roadkill. mine seems adequate and rarely gets a high beam flash from the
oncoming drivers. my headlight bulbs are upgraded to the Sylvania H4 ST, a
nice improvement.

see http://www.piaa.com/Lamps/Lamps-General.html. there are other lamp
choices. i carefully selected mine by point 6 below.

what i discovered:

1) it does indeed fill in the near area.
2) it illuminates way down the road, too.
3) it turns with the forks - super in parking lots, and an improvement in
dark twisties, because it fills in ABOVE the narrow pattern of the tilted
high beams.
4) the one-side, Cyclops, off-center position, makes people out front do a
doubletake. i've seen lots of bikes with symmetrical pairs; they are somehow
satisfactory to the brain image processor. the one-light makes the little
old lady in the Buick look twice, because 'it just ain't right'. that is
probably the best effect of the light.
5) it doesn't drop filaments at every bump in the road as i expected. i've
not replaced a bulb in two years, 20,000+ miles.
6) they can be dirt cheap on ebay. my light would be $170 a pair at retail.
i paid $35 for the single that happened to be listed when i looked.
7) your buddies will know you're back there. even a half mile back.
8) your MSF coach will ask you to turn it off so he can see your right hand
action in class - the light's too distracting.

this concludes our morning tech session.

bp

*when i gin up a viewable picture of the circuit, i'll put it as "PIAA
circuit.jpg" at the same web address.


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