|
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | rldr12:
Looking forward to seeing the pics. Very glad you're happy with the lights, cant wait to get mine ordered.
There is a tutorial for uploading pictures here:
http://www.vision-riders.com/bb/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=2692&pos... |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | Just a quick photo of the lights to see if it works |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | try again |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | still no photo |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | must be 80K or less what size are you trying to upload? |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | Someday i will be computor litterate
(Bike Lights.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 Bike Lights.jpg (44KB - 21 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | Tarpits99 I owe you a big THANK YOU for the information and posting it for us. Glen at Clearwater Lights was very excited to be able to da a Vision however it will cost me a ride as he wants to ride it. Was one of his biggest challenges to date. The install looks better than factory. He has my SD card from my camera to post pics in instructions. Should get it back early next week so will post more pics then. The instructions will be written so that mildly mechanical minds will be able to do install. AGAIN Thank You |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | rldr12: No thanks needed, you are the one who took the leap of faith we should be thanking you. From what I can see in the picture it looks like a nice job. You seem pleased with the lamps performance, so I couldn't be happier.
One thing I noticed (completely off topic) is that the shipping tie downs (eyelets) are still mounted to your tip overs, and it looks as if the right side may be backing out. I would pull these and put them in the saddle bags so that they're available when you need them.
I have mine in wrapped in a rag with a rubber band so that they don't bang around. |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | I leave them in on purpose because at least once a day i demonstrate tiopver protection and gives added protection to tipovers. I bent the right one need to pull out and straghten. Thanks for your concern Also leave them in to attach tow ropes to pull buddy's Harleys back when they break down lol lol  |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | I leave them in on purpose because at least once a day i demonstrate tiopver protection and gives added protection to tipovers. I bent the right one need to pull out and straghten. Thanks for your concern Also leave them in to attach tow ropes to pull buddy's Harleys back when they break down lol lol |
|
| |
|
Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Vern, I'm so frickin jealous. Tarpits99 put out the call for a volunteer on the 7th and four days later you had them installed. I think it is great that you got to work personally with the company president to make it happen. Thanks for going to bat for all of us. Very, very cool. |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 273
| And if he liked them, I'd ask him to say so on any forum he could.
But great businesses don't charge for the first pair on a volunteered test mule.
As for the prototype CNC and development time and related costs, those are over with the install on the test bike, so the costs should be less expensive for a group buy.
Personally, I like the concept but dislike the price as I think it's a bit steep. And that's coming from a guy who deals with parts producers and machine shops every day. Once the initial set up and trial run is approved, it's load the material, turn the CNC on, and wait for the profits to come in.
I'd be much more interested in a pair if the price were more in line, and I can't say that I like the black on the silver fork legs.
Now if they have chrome.....
Tarpits99 - 2009-12-11 9:50 AM
The product has been available and in use on many other brands of bikes for some time. The mounting system for the Vision is new.
The development (CNC time and fabrication) of the Vision specific mounting system and the creation of the installation routine and instructions are the issue. There is also the issue of the costs involved in actually producing the first batch of mounts; and there is no guarantee that any of us will buy.
Does anyone know the exact number of Visions on the road? This bike is a very small potential market, with a limited profit potential, and is difficult to reach. There are only 1700 registered on this board and a few on "the other" site. How does one effectively market (another cost factor) a product to Vision Riders?
If someone asked you to develop a product where there were only say 5000 potential customers spread over the planet would you do it free?
I am very pleased that the folks at Clearwater Lights were willing to embrace our little community and build a mounting system for our bikes. I hope that some of us like the result enough to support their efforts. Every successful aftermarket product increases our choices and encourages others to jump in with options for our bikes.
My thanks as well, to rldr12 for donating his time and his bike as the guinea pig. I am looking forward to being able to purchase my set.
Edited by Smitty 2009-12-12 12:17 AM
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 222
Barefoot Bay, FL United States | metalguy,
Which set of "Tailguners" did you use? I've been after them to show me a set that would fit the Vision. They said they had a set that was 38" long with the slash cut, that would fit right on. Looks like you have them on yer scoot. How are they for sound? Must get lotsa coments!!
2008 Vision Tour Premium
Chrome IS a color!! |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | Smitty I do believe the price is im line considering PIAA cost $325for incandesant bulbls and these are LED and putout more power with less volt draw. They puit black on mine to match black fender but if u look at their web u will see other colors Does PIAA do that? |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | Rode home fromtoy run in pouring down rainstorm and noticed that as i approached cagers they noticied me and stayed away Believe the driving lights made a hugh difference. just my 2 cents |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 273
| owners of test mules the product for free.
As for PIAA....they've been around a lot longer and have proven themselves over a much broader spectrum.
That said, I hope the company that's making these is a huge success.
rldr12 - 2009-12-12 9:55 AM
Smitty I do believe the price is im line considering PIAA cost $325for incandesant bulbls and these are LED and putout more power with less volt draw. They puit black on mine to match black fender but if u look at their web u will see other colors Does PIAA do that?
Edited by Smitty 2009-12-13 11:46 AM
|
|
| |
|
Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | where's the deadhorse icon. I think the test product is the bracket and not the lights themselves. sounds to me that rldr12 got a great deal on free brackets and mounting and about half on the lights, great deal. Thanks for the feedback rldr12.... |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | varyder - 2009-12-13 10:35 AM
where's the deadhorse icon. I think the test product is the bracket and not the lights themselves. sounds to me that rldr12 got a great deal on free brackets and mounting and about half on the lights, great deal. Thanks for the feedback rldr12....
Chris: here you go
(Beating_A_Dead_Horse.gif)
Attachments
----------------
Beating_A_Dead_Horse.gif (3KB - 8 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | The newer Visions have a hole tapped in the brake and clutch reservoirs and I think that would make a great location for the dimmer switch mount. I'll have to tap my '08 myself to mount it there. |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | I havre attached 2 pics of the knob We found because this is a do it yourself kit that this was the best and easy location for installation and still hide wires |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | The knob is just forward of the left glove box
(knob.JPG)
(light knob.JPG)
Attachments
----------------
knob.JPG (22KB - 8 downloads)
light knob.JPG (22KB - 5 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
New user
Posts: 1
| Hello Vision riders.
I would like to thank you for your enthusiasm regarding Clearwater lights. I started this company for two reasons: one, to pursue the development of high efficiency lighting for emergency use in off-grid locations and to improve visibility of motorcycles on the road. I have had my share of "cagers" turn in front of me over the past 30 years. The ability to make a rider more visible has become personal.
A few years ago I saw the "Vision" in a magazine and it jumped off the page. I just fell in love with that bike. I could not believe that they actually put it in production. Every time I see one on the road, I stop to talk with the owner. What an interesting group. None of them bought the bike to fit in with a lifestyle.
So, when I was approached to develop a Clearwater Light application kit for a Vision, I was thrilled. We researched as much as we could online by viewing pictures and parts diagrams. We usually offer a substantial discount to an owner who would be willing to give us a "patient" as we like to call it. Then a funny thing happened, we started to get multiple inquiries for Vision patients. Do we charge or not? My manager and I discussed this and we never came to a conclusion. So, one "patient" spoke to me and two spoke to my manager. He said $300 and I said free. So, now we have 3 Visions coming in, one for free and two for $300.
So what do we do? Call the $300 dollar guys back and offer a set of lights for $100. How much do you charge someone to design and install a custom set of brackets for a bike? What if we don't sell any? How many sets of lights do you have to sell to justify the engineering task? We get calls everyday asking to have kits engineered for their bikes. But, how many Bennelli Amazona kits can you really sell? (no joking) It is a tough call sometimes. But then again, I get to work on a Vision!
Construction
Our housings are indeed CNC machined and they start out life as a chunk of billet. If we were simply "making parts" as traditional machine shops do, that would be it. Turn on the machine, load the program and make parts…..well….not really. If you make 1,000 or more parts per run then ship them off to a customer, it can be profitable. But, in our case, we only make hundreds of parts per run with precision machined threads that must be in an exacting tolerance to insure a water proof seal to protect our electronics.
Some parts don't pass our QC and must be scrapped. Then each part is inspected, cleaned, de-burred and sent off for a hard anodize coating for corrosion protection. Then the housings are hand masked with high temperature tape before they are coated with a very expensive outdoor rated powder coating. High grade stainless steel fasteners are used to assemble all internal parts. One housing alone cost more than the entire light sets in some auto parts stores.
Some people question why we powder coat AND anodize our housings. Why? Because it is the best way to insure our parts will last.
Next, our computer controlled circuit boards are bonded to our aluminum heatsink LED circuit boards. Each individual LED is measured and sorted to the highest standard to insure an even color temperature and output. Many LEDs do not pass this test. We pioneered a microprocessor to dim our LEDs with a simple analog volume knob. Why a knob and not a push button? Because human fingers can turn a knob faster and with more precision than holding down a button and waiting. And, motorcyclists wear gloves! At least, they should.
Internal wiring in our lights is made with silver plated and Teflon coated conductors to insure longevity. We even use silver solder to make internal connections. Custom tooled gaskets and quality optics imported from Sweden complete the construction. These are not your ordinary lights.
PIAA makes great stuff and they are a very good company. They also sell a ton of lights and can amortize costs over a much larger customer base. Most of their stuff is also manufactured off shore. So, it is difficult to compare our costs with theirs. Over time, I am sure we can refine our manufacturing process to lower costs some, but for now, we charge what we think is fair.
I would like to offer the Vision riders group a discounted price of $400 (including shipping in the 48) for a set of lights complete with custom machined installation brackets, fairing mounted digital microprocessor volume control, complete wiring harness and detailed installation instructions. Chrome rings are available too for an additional $30. This price offer is good through Jan 30. We are taking orders now. We will not bill your CC or invoice you with Paypal until we are ready to ship. I expect to have the kits ready for shipment the second week of January. Clearwater will be closed over the holidays from Dec 18-Jan 4.
I am leaving for American Samoa on Dec 20 to install a solar powered emergency lighting system in their hospital. They have been devastated and need help. Our system will use 16 Glenda LED lights (the same ones we sell to motorcyclists) and a pair of our upcoming Erica lights to illuminate the emergency escape route up the mountain. Electrical power on the island after the tsunami is spotty and this battery based system should ensure lighting in the event of another power loss at night. We expect to be able to light the emergency room, operating room and three offices for over 8 hours with two marine batteries. The complete installation and trip will be posted on our website when I return. As this installation is our first "patient" I am only charging the hospital $100.
Thanks again for your support.
Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday!
And I can't wait to ride Vern's Vision!
Ride like they don't see you.
Glenn
|
|
| |
|
Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Glenn, Thanks for chiming in on our forum. I'll be calling you next month as soon as my CC recovers from the holidays. Safe travels to Samoa. |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 69
Citrus Heights, CA United States | Not only having these high quality lights on my bike is an honor but I can honestly say it was a pleasure to work with Glenn and his team Truely Pofessional people who believe in their prduct. For those who jump at this offer I can guarantee u wil not be disappointed. During the last few days of rain and severe thunderstorms I know the cagers have seen me better and even had a couple of bikes stop me to ask about lights. Thanks to all of you who called Glenn and got this ball rolling An American made bike with American made lights What could be better |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | Merry Christmas to ME!
The driving lights (w/chrome trim) that I ordered on the Clearwater Lights GROUP BUY are shipping today!
Chris asked me if I wanted to wait for the final version of the install instructions which should be ready by the end of the week, or of if I wanted the lights shipped now with the preliminary instructions.
LOL! WAIT? Man I've been conditioned by fast food, send it now!
I know what I'll be doing this weekend. |
|
| |
Driving lamp test bike needed - Sacramento
