Tail light

[tom robinson]

Last Saturday morning i decided to have a jaunt out on my C90 cub,i set of from Kendal and headed out on the A6 destination Penrith about 30 miles away.The route took me over Shap Fells,which is hilly and bleak,it was Very misty,and because of the steepness of the hills it had me down to 25 mph,2nd.gear,because i was travelling rather slow i was worried some lunatic car or truck driver might run up my ar.. end,it came to me that i would improve my chances of being seen if the stop light was on as well.I pulled onto a lay by and after a couple of jiffs fiddling with the stop light switch had the stop light permanently ON,i set of feeling a little safer.Ha ha after a half mile i went over the summit and it was brilliant sunshine and clear,stopped in the next lay bye and readjusted the stop light switch.
I am considering fitting a fog light or at least a switch to turn the stop light on
Any other members got a fog light fitted?i know the c90 only has a small charging output so i am a little hesitant to fit anything using much "juice",any thoughts anyone?any electrical professors with sensible advice.

Safe ridding my friends

tom robinson

[Newtsalad]

Well that was a good move. When I joined Nut on the JoGLE, I took his advice and fitted a second tail light, as he rightly says, if you're tail light fails and you are unaware of it....
I fitted an LED bulb in a Land Rover auxiliary light I got from Prolek in Diss.
I DO NOT advocate the use of LED rear lamps because they are truly shit and DANGEROUS!
I was on the Matlock run, following ag and Mav and Simon-Ipswich, and Simon had an LED bulb and the difference is immense.
We scrapped our LED taillights shortly after installing them at Rhayader last year. They really are crap, and I feel so strongly about it, they're bloody dangerous!
I also fitted an amber flashing light, in case of fog on the motorway, but I didn't use it. Prolek do a low consumption version for £35 uses almost no current and is really bright. I saw a sidecar outfit escorting other units using them on the Autobahns in Germany.
A good Hi Vis jacket is probably the most practical answer.

[Boo]

LEDs are great! Very bright, but only in a very narrow field of view. Fit supplementary ones if you don't want to lose the original incandescent tail light. You can't overload the alternator with 'em at milliwatts each, so you can fit several.

[tom robinson]

Thanks for comments Newtsalad/Boo,yes ive had 2 led flashlights for when i go dog walking late at night and ive not found they was very good.Ive gone back to a normal rechargable type from maplins for about £20,i wish my cub headlight was as powerfull.
I recently picked up a cracking gortex biking jacket at a car boot at Preston (£10 great bargain)so i am reluctant to use a high viz jacket but its just come to me that i could get a high viz waistcoat type and put that on top,i might not look the height of fashion but i will be a lot safer.
Ive often thought that if my rear right indicator bulb was to fail i could end up getting ploughed down,i often supplement my indicators with good old fashioned hand signals.

When Jap bikes first arrived on the scene i thought they was garbage and would never catch on,how wrong i was,they truly are brilliant,i reserve my opinion about Chinese bikes,i think they will develop them and in a few years will be as good or even better than the jap bikes.
Food for thought ! ? ! ?
Cheers,safe riding guys/galls

tom robinson

[Boo]

The difference is - Japanese bikes (at least Honda!) were clever original designs. Chinese bikes are universally copies of old Japanese designs (to the degree that parts even fit!)

Have a look at the modern CREE 3W LEDs... Just one is good enough to use as a torch! http://www.cree.com/

[tom robinson]

Hi Boo,
i understand the first jap bikes to reach this country where very similar to some brit bikes.
A good example of this was the ty series of Yamaha,the engine was very much similar to a BSA Bantam,it had a much improved exhaust system and was far better machined.the Yamaha ty was a great bike and was made as a 175cc and 250cc,in their day they was the best trials bike money could buy,i owned several,175/250 twin shock and mono.
I worked in the motor industry when jap cars came into this country,these cars were copies of brit and other countries cars,BUT much improved.
The Japanese government have a law that states whatever goods you are manufacturing a certain percentage of your profits must be spent on the development of the goods you are manufacturing,it dosnt matter what it is,camera ,radio,motorcycle anything,thats why they are GOOD,sometimes expensive but usually well worth it.My 25 yr old C90 is worth as much now as when i bought it,it must have saved me hundreds or thousands of pounds in fuel and running costs and parking.
I can remember when c90's could be bought for £25,it seemed nobody wanted small bikes,i wish i had bought a gaggle of them or is that a pride of c90's,ha ha

cheers happy riding and be safe

tom robinson