Back of hard bag- - suggestions

[caper]

Well you know I find the back of our Nomads a little plain. The hard bags too. Except for lights do you have any ideas on the back of the bags?? Hope thats clear :) The rear fender ,I will put a crome tip . Thanks Donnie

[fish]

how about KawaNOW stickers I know! no stickers on the paint :-[
wait till you see the lights on TC's bags.

[Top Cat]

Thanks Lar, they look better in person but this is a pic from Cindy and my 10 day 8 state trip last summer.

[ballast]

How 'bout some rocket launchers to take care of those without a sense of personal space.

[caper]

Rocket Launchers Hmmmm! could be handy :) Yeah TC, I like the lights,I was looking at the lights but they are expensive ! But haven't counted them out yet!

[cnc]

looking at TC's Picture for inspiration, it would look neat to do the following. Have a lay down license plate bracket with a small light incorporated on the top of the chrome frame to illuminate the plate. Remove the existing tail light and mount it on one bag and by a second OEM tail light for the other bag. Fill the mounting holes in the fender and paint. Or instead of using the existing light plus a new one, buy two 2009 Nomad OEM style tail lights. Either way one might have make a tapered mounting block to deal with differences in the curve of the fender vs the curve of the saddle bag.

[Top Cat]

cnc, look at my picture again and try to imagine in your head three stock tail lights in a row. I thought about it but decided, well, Cindy and the guy who painted my bike decided, stock tail lights are just to big to look good on the bags. That's why I went with smaller tombstone lights. They are LED and just as bright as the stock tail light if not brighter.

[macmac]

I came with in a inch of buying led lights like a 39 Ford 'style', and in the last second stopped. I found they were a bit overly directional, and the 'viewer' needed to be in line to see them working. Plus they were expensive.

I did make a lay down plate adapter from black micarta. Mine sits up off the paint and there is a gasket. Since the micarta was over stock to me, it was free.

Most of my riding is 2 up, so while I like the solo look, it won't work well for me.

I'ld like to come by other lamps and junk the turn sig lamps as stock right to the bars and mount.. cleaning that mess out.

Same thing up ft too... But still have running lamps fore and aft with working sigs to be legal, but nicer.

[cnc]

TC, I agree three that big is too much, My Idea was to remove the stock light on the fender and just have one on each bag.

[cnc]

Same thing up ft too... But still have running lamps fore and aft with working sigs to be legal, but nicer.

Mac, Maybe this sort of thing would interest you. Note the extra turn signal in the driving lights, right side flashing when the picture was taken. These are 1156 bulbs / sockets, so flasher only, but swap them for an 1157 bulbs / sockets and you could remove the front signals completely.

[macmac]

cnc, I could do that, but would need to swap out the lamps I have now as they are all glass sealed beam amber fog lamps.

Down on the lowers I have anopther set of the bullet tyope at 55 watts each, and so the ft end is pretty well set, unless I find something in tirn sigs very bright and very small.

Pretty much not there till turned on.

The lack of light on the rear, combined with a sigle bulb, that if it fails leaves no light back there is what bugs me most.

I did install a aftermarket bulb which burns brighter in brake mode, and have a back off flasher set to 3 flashes befire it goes solid on.

There seems to be a lack of decent lighting for cheap, so far as the saddlebag mounts go.

I like the idea of a three point appearance so another driver can gauge a distance better.

It seems to me a triangle of lights allows for a better guess to how far one is from the source of light.

I run what I consider to be fog lamps to hopefully be better seen, and for fog which we get in New Hampster.

I know I can see best in fig with no white lights and snow, for that matter, not that the Nomad goes in much snow.. But my cars have had fog lights and so do my trucks.. some I have now and some from my past.

In fact in fall time around here I have considered a switch to cut off the stock hi and low bean entirely. All I need do is add switch to the ground at the lamp relay.

Before I do I need to see if the alternator can take the lesser load. I am not sure, that it can work with out the headlamp, as this system may use the hi/low as a resistor.

My 81 yammi 850 can still run and charge set up this way, but I am not sure the Nomad can.


ARE Canadian bikes set up with a 'main bucket 'parking lamp? 1156 type?

[cnc]

ARE Canadian bikes set up with a 'main bucket 'parking lamp? 1156 type?

No, just high and low beam.

[cyclecat]

We have the LED ford tail lights mounted in our bags. As pointed out, they are a bit more money than other but look really nice. We do not, however, find them to be directional; we stand 75 feet away and can see them perfectly fine and they are bright.

[voyager]

I have the same lights as TC and just love them. Easy to install, reliable and nice and bright. I as well have had no issue with any "directional" problems.

[grumpysrg1]

HI I HAVE CHANGED THE BACK OF MY NOMAD AND I HAVE YET TO SEE ANYONE THAT HAS A NOMAD ON HERE DO. I KILLED THE END OF MY V&H'S. I CUT THE EVERY DAY 1,000'S & 1,000'S OF SLASH CUT MUFFLERS OFF AN INSTALLED TRUCK TURN DOWNS ON MY BIKE & YES I MADE THE PIPES MORE DEEPER SOUNDING. I ALSO INSTALLED A 9" LED LIGHT UNDER MY BACK FENDER THIS I SEEN ON HERE SOMEONE FROM CANADA DO. YES IT MAKES THE BACK OF THE BIKE NOTICEABLE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE ON. I ALSO WILL BE MAKING FILLER PLATES THAT GO BETWEEN THE BAGS AN FENDERS REMOVING MY TURN SIGNALS AND MOUNTING THEM IN THE PLATES (LED'S) I LIKE TO BE SEEN FROM BEHIND. AS YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER THING'S THAT I DID THANKS TO KAWANOW. I HOPE THE PIC CAME FOR ALL YOU TO SEE.
THANKS GRUMPY (FROM SUNNY OHIO) NOT!!!