Lighten Up!

Riders should be seen and be hyper-vigilant to be seen. Being heard is okay and can sometimes be helpful in being seen but we should remember what goes on inside the cage with the stereos thumping, cell phones beckoning, passengers begging for attention, and vehicle warnings beeping and all within the snug confines of an enclosure designed to keep sound out and passengers isolated from the outside world. The only way to be sure cagers know you are there is if you see their eyes and even then we can’t take it for granted that they’ll do the right thing.

 

Good lighting is a step in the right direction. When I had my Honda Sabre, I added a light bar. When I was looking to move up and considering the Victory Cross Roads I intended to do the same but I then went with the Cross Country (VCC) instead with the slick fairing and sleek forged highway bars. A year after getting the VCC I started adding little things like the chrome saddlebag rails and new Arlen Ness Tear-drop mirrors and then began considering ways to add some lights. I wanted to find a way to put running lights in the upper corners of the highway bars thinking that this would be an ideal position to keep the overall lines of the bike intact.

 

With the 25K mile service  due I decided to get serious about lights and called John Pucciarelli at Southern California Motorcycles (http://www.socalmotorcycles.com ). John sold me the VCC while at Cycle Dragon before the shop closed down and I’ve found him to be an innovative rider with good design ideas. I used to take the bike to Bert’s for service after Cycle Dragon closed but then Bert’s wimped out and stopped offering Victory bikes. John had me call Scott Child, CEO of Wolf LED Systems, who had put together a system which Mike Cadena helped design, with Mike being from the old Cycle Dragon shop it sounded like a cycle circle of life. I perused the Wolf LED site but couldn’t find a kit for the VCC and when I called Scott he took care of it and got Kristoffer Stoll involved. Within a short time the kit was listed on the site as promised; I placed my order and the next day it was hand delivered to SoCal Motorcycle for installation the following day during my 25K service. The kit comes complete with a Victory switch (see photo below), spot lights, wiring, and mounting hardware with a photo of the installed kit on the Victory Cross Country Tour.

 

For your convenience, here is the link to the Wolf LED VCC light kit: http://www.wolfledsystems.com/Victory_2_5_HP_Systems_Kit_p/v1025-sqb.htm

 

I knew that the installation would be a little different with my early model VCC and the forged highway bars but I had every confidence that Mike would be able to come up with something and he did not disappoint me while completely meeting my expectations. In fact, the installation looks factory designed using the cruiser peg holes which can still be used for pegs, and it kept the lights inside the lines of the bike just as I had envisioned. I am ecstatic!

 There is nothing like having people as passionate about bikes and service as we are about having and riding them. Kudos to Scot and Kristopher at Wolf LED and to Mike and John at SoCal Motorcycles.

Thanks for making me even happier with my bike. Keep the iron side up.

 

The Switch
 

 

 

  Inside the lines

< -Lights off
















Lights on!