Clearwater Lights

CLEARWATER LIGHTS

IGNITION

EVALUATION

Auxiliary illumination for BMW's R1200GS

Blake Conner

ERICA Six LED bulbs per lamp 6,000 lumens each 60-watt draw each on high CNC-machined aluminum 3.7 x 2.8 in. DARLA Three LED bulbs per lamp 2,000 lumens each 24-watt draw each on high CNC-machined aluminum 2.2 x 2.4 in.

Modern motorcycles like our 2014 long-term BMW R1200GS Adventure have excellent LED headlights that punch a nice hole into the abyss. But what if you want to absolutely obliterate all of the darkness on that lonesome highway?

Clearwater Lights has just released two high-quality kits for the R1200GS/A that do just that. Better yet, they integrate with BMW’s CAN-bus system via Clearwater’s CANopener, allowing an wide range of functionality via the GS’s flash-to-pass (FTP)/high-beam, wonderwheel, horn, and turnsignal cancel switches.

We mounted a pair of Erica lights to our GSA’s crashbars (utilizing the accessory fog light mounting locations) and a pair of Darla units to the lower fork legs pointed outward at a 30-degree angle for lighting up corner entries.

The lights can be synced to the high-beam/FTP switch, so you can quickly turn them off for oncoming traffic. You can also preset daytime, nighttime, and high-beam intensity thanks to the BMW’s photocell light sensor. Both pairs of Clearwaters can be dimmed in 10 steps (too to 10 percent), the least powerful of which is more like a running light. Another great safety feature: Hitting the horn button can additionally strobe the lights.

During the day, we typically used the Darlas (and occasionally the Ericas) as marker lights for better conspicuity. Then, at night, we would unleash their full wrath via the high-beam switch. Both pairs feature a flood pattern, the Ericas providing a reflective range of up to 2 miles, while also illuminating the edges of the road quite well. As responsible riders, we only used the high-

beam/full-power setting when we were sure oncoming traffic was well out of range or nonexistent.

Lighting up the night like this isn’t cheap, but if you want some of the most powerful and best-integrated illumination solutions available, Clearwater’s kits can’t be beat. CUM

CLEARWATER LIGHTS

ERICA AND DARLA LIGHT KITS

clearwaterlights.com

PRICE: ERICA $989; DARLA $649

UPS + Unparalleled controllability + Amazing output + High-quality construction DOWNS - Having to learn a new set of “key strokes” to control - Vulnerable in a tip-over - Highly effective, yes, but a lot of money for accessory lighting