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Clearwater lights shout out

WoodButcher

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Rusty
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Myers
Just wanted to share a good experience with Clearwater lights. A little history first. A lady I work with (was my manager at the time of her accident) fell off a deck over a year ago and broke her neck. She is now a quadriplegic with limited use of her arms. Before that accident she was very athletic and had competed in and completed nine full Ironman triathlons. Fast forward to a few months ago and she has a race wheel chair and a hand bike and was starting to train. She is very slow, but determined. And she signed up for a short triathlon in the Austin area the first weekend in August. So what does that have to do with Clearwater lights? Well, she is riding a different route than the non-handicapped athletes and it is through a neighborhood. I helped her scout the route and while she has a non-handicapped assistant, it seems like having something more visible leading would be good.

Alright, that is the lead in. I have a 2013 BMW K1600 that I bought used. It came with Clearwater Darla lights and their CANopener, which ties the lights into BMW accessory power/communication bus. I read that they can be set to flash when the hazards are on, but it turned out my version of the CANopener firmware only would flash when the hazard button was held. Meaning I'd have to ride very slowly, with my right thumb on the hazard button while still working the brake and throttle. So I contacted Clearwater to see if I could get my unit's firmware upgraded to the version that supports full flashing when the hazards are on instead of momentarily. And they were happy to help. In fact, they shipped me a loaner system first so I would have it in place and working in time for the race and I shipped mine back for upgrade. All of this is no-charge. Granted this is a special situation, but I'm no master negotiator, I just asked how much to upgrade and if it was possible and told them why. They did the rest. So now I'm all set up to lead her through the neighborhood with flashers and my Darla lights alerting people in front. The only trick now is practicing riding less than 10 mph for 6 miles in high heat. :eek2: But if she can do the swim, bike and run, I can handle this little task.

So when you evaluate which lights to get for your bike, I urge you to consider Clearwater. I've had a set of Kristas on my R1200GSA for almost 6 years and wouldn't go without them. They ship with good instructions, and with wiring and hookups for many bikes. Having a turnkey setup that you don't need to be a wiring expert for is very nice. Having support like they have is icing on the cake.
 
Very nice. Sounds like real customer service.
 
That's awesome all the way around. Good job to her, you and Clearwater.

Side note, that 10mph for 6 miles won't be a big deal. I did volunteer for the Hotter n **** hundred bicycle race one year. 17mph for 100 miles in the August Texas heat. Ugh.

Hopefully you can get some pictures of you and her to share.
 
Nice to know the companies that truly stand behind their products.

But I do have to ask, what makes the Clearwater lights so insanely expensive? I'm floored at their prices. Even the cheapest set is outrageous.

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But I do have to ask, what makes the Clearwater lights so insanely expensive? I'm floored at their prices. Even the cheapest set is outrageous.

(It's pretty much along the old lines of "you get what you pay for")

Tech Talk from our Founder: Sevina is a secret weapon we developed in response to requests from the Iron Butt community. They have been asking for a light that really "throws" light down the road. Well, Sevina is the answer. It was an engineering experiment to see how far we can throw with an LED light.

As you may know, I hit a deer after having to turn off my HIDs during a cross country trip. They were bright, narrowly focused and took a long time to come "ON". When I turned them off for an oncoming car, they didn't turn back on fast enough for me to see the deer in the road. It could have ended worse, but after I composed myself I decided to create a better light.

All of our lights previous to Sevina (Glenda, Darla, Krista and Erica) have what I call a "motorcycle" beam pattern. About 75% of the light is in a 15 degree cone and the rest is in a 45 degree cone. The idea is to put light down the road but also illuminate the sides of the road when turning. Sevina still has some road side light coverage, but it has about 80% of the light in an 8 degree pencil beam. By using new optics, new improved LEDs and an even more efficient power supply, we are able to produce over 7500 lumens in a very narrow beam. On full power, Sevina uses about 70 watts each (a little over 5 amps each with the engine running).
 
Correct Texas T you get what you . I ride thru deer and hog infested river bottom on my morning commute so I spent the $ for great lights . Plus I can turn the output down and on my commute home use them it makes a triangle of light to keep a vehicle from not seeing me .


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As far as price, the Darla's I have for the K1600 come with all the mounts and wiring I need and the CANopener interface so that they integrate with the BMW wonderwheel on the handlebars. So the install is moderately short and simple. Reverse engineering the BMW canbus for the CANopener was not a simple job. So you are paying for good support, R&D, attention to detail and good instructions. Oh, and good lights that are fairly indestructible. The Kristas on my GSA have been bounced all over central Texas roads. Had the bike dropped on them a couple of times. I end up leading rides at night because I'm the one that can see, but that may not be a benefit.
 
Well, that could get expensive but sure looks like the saying is true "you get what you pay for". Now if they had a picture of how the lights are mounted on the bike, that would be great. More light out front is always good.
 
Here are mine on the K1600:

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And on my GSA (the red one):

IMD_5068-L.jpg


Sorry, I don't have an pics of them on. The Darlas are the small ones on the K1600 and are mounted to the engine crash bars. The Kristas are the ones on the GSA and replaced the BMW fog lights on the OEM light bar.
 
IMD_5068-L.jpg


Sorry, I don't have an pics of them on. The Darlas are the small ones on the K1600 and are mounted to the engine crash bars. The Kristas are the ones on the GSA and replaced the BMW fog lights on the OEM light bar.

Good Lord that's a big ugly black bike next to the Bug Killer. :deal:
 
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