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I had the great fortune of riding my 2003 Harley-Davidson 100th anniversary Softail to the AMA Womens Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2006. It was an amazing three-week, round-trip journey from Sacramento; down to Vegas; over to the Grand Canyon; back down through New Mexico; across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Alabama; and arriving in Georgia for the conference on Thursday. That ride was my 50th birthday present to myself. What a gift I received.
Friday night at the reception, Jenny from MAD Maps called my name as the recipient of the grand prize. In that generous gift package were so many useful and wonderful gifts#8212;boots, a custom-made She-Moto leather jacket, travel packs, MAD Maps, flashlights, gloves, local gift certificates and a set of Motolights. It was such an awesome gift package, I needed the help of friends to carry everything out and box it up to ship home. I shipped everything in the prize package except my new Motolights.
The next day, I took my certificate over to the Motolight trailer and upgraded to the chrome lights. I only waited about an hour, and I cannot even begin to tell you the difference the upgrade made. They did such an awesome job installing my Motolights that they looked like they were a part of my bike, not an add-on.
The best and most amazing thing about these lights was that while riding back home, no one cut in front of me or cut me off. We went through Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. We zigzagged the borders of Missouri, Kansas and Iowa before we hit Highway 80 across Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada into Sacramento. I felt safe the entire time.
I noticed one thing the very next day#8212;the peace of mind that the Motolights brought me riding home. For the first time, I felt safe riding into the night. These lights lit up the road like daylight. After I got home, I had the lights hardwired into my system. Now they stay on all the time, day and night. I would ride without my helmet before I would ride without my Motolights.
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I too am a Motolight owner and fan. I first read about them on WRN and went out and purchased a set for my H-D Road King Classic and my partners H-D Road Glide. We recently purchased BMW R 1200 GSs and felt so strongly about the Motolight’s role in increasing our visibility, that we put them on the Beemers as well. We’ve been using them for just over 1-1/2 years now.The theory behind them is that cagers brains are “trained” to see two headlights, apx 8 feet apart, as a vehicle. Even with auxiliary lights, motorcycles are still “seen” as having only one light, and are oftentimes “filtered out” as a “non-threat” (i.e. we are not seen as another vehicle). Consequently, cars will pull out or turn in front of us. This doesn’t even take into consideration the “distracted driver” phenomenon! The theory behind these lights is to create a triangle of light from the headlight down to the Motolights that is different enough from what is “normal” to grab people’s attention and recognize us as another vehicle. Of course, it is still up to the driver to make good decisions based on that knowledge and for us, as bikers, to be ready for anything. My experience is these puppies get you noticed! Whenever I see these or similar lights out on the road, they always grab my attention. Every time I glance in my side mirrors I can’t help but notice what a huge difference the Motolights make regarding my friends visibility. We frequently get asked about them from other bikers and have even been flagged down while riding to answer questions about them.While it’s naive to say they’ll protect us from the dreaded “left-turner”, I am convinced they make a big difference in being seen, and may very well save our bacon one day – if not already!
I've had Motolights for many many years now. I won't ride without them. And I've had the pleasure of knowing Tina and the Motolight team personally. They are also from Cincinnati. Great group of folks and a wonderful product! The lights definitely make a difference!
I recently had PIAA Multi-Fit 005 lights installed on my Suzuki Boulevard M50. Painted the lights black to blend in with the fenders and have received many complements. No problems bolting them to the fenders myself, but I did take them to the dealer to be hardwired in…so mine also run any time the bike is on. Absolutely love them.
While I do feel more visible with these lights complementing my hi-viz jacket, I am careful not fall into the trap of feeling invincible. People are still lax and distracted in their driving practices, and I would not choose the lights over the helmet. That's just the way I roll.
I have Kuryakyn's large chrome bullet lights installed on my engine guard and hardwired into my electrical system, in addition to their Run-Turn-Brake controller for my rear lights. I totally agree with Kris about how much safer it feels with them and how much more visible I am to cars which are in front of me, beside me, and behind me. I even had one guy next to me at a stoplight roll down his window to thank me and tell me how much more visible I was to see than motorcycles without the additional lights. Maybe motorcycle manufacturers should start having these kinds of lights on their cruiser products before they're shipped!
P.S. I also wear a Hi-Vis motorcycle jacket, which helps, too.
Thanks for sharing! They do look great. I share your excitement!