Night Riding

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by hovi5

i was searching last night

http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.ph...ight=headlight

osram silverstars seem to be a good choice

Look on http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/. Got my H4 upgrades from there. Latest Philips ones look to be excellent and draw no extra current so the wiring is safe. Better then dodgy non-legal high power ones IMHO.

[mattSV]

I have Phillips GT150 bulbs on mine and they are excellent - bright white light with a much better range and spread however.............

Don't panic if it all goes dark when you brake hard - this happened to me approaching a roundabout back in the summer coming back from Poole last year. Coming down to the start of the 'Cadnam GP circuit' at 'an enthusiastic' speed, I braked hard, forks dipped and it all went very dark

If you really are being dazzled by an on-coming car try moving your head or glance away from the light, it can help a bit.

Also don't be shy to use your fog lights if there is no on-coming traffic, I find it really helps when getting through areas with no lights and potential wildlife.

A lot of the A5 (I think?) between Luton and Bedford is unlit and wide roads with heavy foliage at the sides so corners can really sneak up on you so just take it easy and don't feel intimidated by cars going faster than you because they can usually see further with better lights and generally have it easier.

The other solution is that you can borrow my Night Vision Goggles....

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by PsychoCannon

If you really are being dazzled by an on-coming car try moving your head or glance away from the light, it can help a bit.

Also don't be shy to use your fog lights if there is no on-coming traffic, I find it really helps when getting through areas with no lights and potential wildlife.

Foglights on an SV?? Where you got them mounted?

errmm High-beam then...whats the difference....

I think I prefer riding at night (if weather's OK), your more visible, and so are other road users as a rule, and there tends to be a lot less of them too.

Having said that I've only done it on roads I know from daylight hours.

Agree with above about riding slower. 5mph may seem like a lot, but unless you're going over an exceptionally long distance, it's unlikely to even add up to 5 mins.

It is, however, bitterly cold at the moment, dress up warm, and be prepared to need to go to the loo 5 mins after you set off (cold does that to ya doncha know).

Inner gloves (Silk or even cotton) are wonders if you've not got heated grips, if you do they still help

Also a neck sock is a wonderful thing, fills in any gap between the jacket and your helmet and keeps you from getting a frozen neck and even keeps some of the wind noise out.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by PsychoCannon

errmm High-beam then...whats the difference....

Was not being sarky (ok a little ). Fog lamps are designed to have a low short beam with very wide spread, to illuminate kerbs and white lines while driving in fog. typically these have a throw of only 15m. The idea is to keep the beam low, tightly focused below the eyeline of the driver to reduce dazzle caused by reflection from the water droplets in fog. Fog lamps also very effective in heavy snow for same reason.

High beam / main beam is designed to give greater distance vision. always use main beam whenever possible. Living up here is essential.

Sorry for the lecture, I have a bit of a lamp / tyre / 4x4 fetish!

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Look on http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/. Got my H4 upgrades from there. Latest Philips ones look to be excellent and draw no extra current so the wiring is safe. Better then dodgy non-legal high power ones IMHO.

are the osram silverstars "dodgy non-legal high power ones" ? ?

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by hovi5

are the osram silverstars "dodgy non-legal high power ones" ? ?

Not at all, they are E-marked and they are legal. I run these in my car and the SV, they are noticeably brighter. They draw same current as standard H4, hence are road legal. Pworer of bulbs measured in watts (power drawn) rather than lumens (light power emitted).

However, technology marches on and the new Phillips Extreme power look like they are even better. I cannot vouch for these, but the Phillips Vision Plus were extremely close in tests to the Osram silver Stars. So I would expect these to be good.

By 'dodgy high power' I meant bulbs that draw more power than the design spec of H4 (on a curvey) such as 80W or 130W 'rally' bulbs. These will affect your wiring as it is not designed to carry that much current.