Let it Shine

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I have begun the process of increasing the chances that I will be seen on the road, or "conpiscuity" as some call it. I will admit, I should probably consider wearing something other than my black leather jacket or black helmet, since that tends to blend in - for that matter I probably shouldn't even have a black bike. But that being what it is, my goal is to make me and my bike as noticeable as possible, and I have decided to do that with some extra lighting.

On the rear, I have replaced the stock brake light with Kisan's Tailblazer. Here is the link to their site - https://www.kisantech.com/index.php?cat_id=3&catname=tailBlazer. This turns your brake light into a modulating light; when you apply the brake, your brake light blinks for about 4 seconds until it becomes a steady on. I've looked in my mirror to see if this works, and it does seem to me that drivers respond to the modulating light. I've heard tragic stories of riders being rear ended, so anything I can do to help myself in this area is worth the $70 cost of the Tailblazer. The best thing about the model I got is that it is "plug and play" - I simply replaced my existing bulb with the Tailblazer.

In front, I have been vacillating as to the best solution. One possibility that I considered was to add the Triumph light bar, which adds two 35watt spotlights, but I wasn't sure if I liked the look, plus it's a $300 item (not including shipping and installation). Aftermarket lightbars were available, but some had fitment issues, and again, looks were of a concern to me.

I ended up with this solution:

These are Silver Bullet Lights from Kuryakyn. Further information on these lights can be found here - http://www.kuryakyn.com/index.cfm/go/Home.ProductDetail/IMID/72. I have the small Silver Bullets, which are 20watts a piece. I got these off eBay from Custom Dynamics for about $80 with shipping. Kuryakyn also sells a wiring kit which I bought as well and which I thought would make the install easy. But an electrician I am not, so after cutting a few wires, blowing the headlamp bulb, and still not getting the lights to work, I took everything down to my dealer, paid $150 and had them installed very professionally in two hours. To me, this gives me added light, and looks like it came with the bike.

I really like both of these modifications to my Triumph, and I think they will help me to be more noticeable out on the road. So, if you see my, wave!