Let There Be Light

When Graham from Australian Moto Gear & Clothing rings me up and says he has sent me some new lights to try out, he knows they have to be a very decent piece of equipment - in fact - somewhere between excellent and awesome! Why? Because I have spent many years refining my gear and equipment for long distance riding doing certified runs as a Member of both FarRiders Australia and the Ironbutt Association, which includes plenty of night time miles.

I don't have time or patience for anything below par these days.

The equipment I use now is basically the result of over 160,000 kms of field testing current technologies and updating to smaller and better items. It must also be most reliable, and good value for money. We've all been out in the boonies and had an equipment failure like an electrical gremlin on your bike, a bluetooth item not connecting/pairing up, or even riding gear breaking or malfunctioning etc etc - you KNOW what I mean.

Anyway - from the moment I started unpacking the box, I could tell that these lights were a quality item.

They are the 40W Gold Runway LEDs (GR-40X). I noticed how small they were too, and wondered what kind of "punch" they were going to pack.

They come with all the connections and mountings.

All you have to do is run a switch, fuse, and the wiring from your bike.

Once again, I was impressed with the quality of the components, including the stainless mounting cradle and nuts n bolts.


















The cast aluminium bezel and heat sinks are very well manufactured as well and clearly do their intended job for dissipating heat.




















The lenses are toughened glass.











Here is why I was a little dubious in changing out my existing lights...

You can see the obvious differences... Anyways, I persevered.

I was already thinking I can probably mount the old JayCar spotties UNDER the mirrors and get a bonus!

So time for a test ride...

Here is low beam and high beam with the new Gold Runway LEDs!

Totally remarkable! in fact, so remarkable that it will be pointless adding the JayCar LEDs anyways as I'm sure they will make no difference!

The guys who make the GR-40Xs have certainly done their homework because the distance Vs spread ratio of these lights are the best I've seen. It is not uncommon for long distance riders (read NIGHT RIDERS) to have an auxilliary set of spotties pointing out to the road's tabledrains to spot potential marsupial missiles. I can assure you these lights have that covered! there is a genuine 250-300 metres of direct visibility, and I mean GENUINE. Reflectiions from signs and posts are easily visible from twice that distance. You can not out ride these lights and your stopping distances are not at risk.











They also shake a lot less down my 2km dirt road driveway compared to the JayCar LEDs. I believe this has everything to do with the much more substantial gauge of steel used for the mounting cradle.

FINAL WORD:

If you are looking for some great lights in the mid range dollar budget, and want a robust, well made and reliable no-nonsense unit, I can assure you that the Gold Runway 40W LEDs will not disappoint.

I reckon Graham will have them to your door in under a week for $275 plus delivery. I KNOW he will give you loads of support and after sales advice and help too.

Just ask him anything you want about them or about me and he will be more than willing to help out.

Hope this helps folks.

Cheers, Diesel Dave