Quite a few are going to be affected by what we call “The three second crisis zone.”

How’s your eyesight? My partner, Birgit, is significantly disadvantaged when she rides her motorcycle at night. Her eyes don’t adjust to changes in light quickly. Bright headlights coming towards her, then suddenly gone, leave her in virtual darkness. Recently we timed that she’s left struggling for up to three seconds, and at even just 50 miles per hour.

Many reading this will understand exactly what I mean. Some will have always battled with slow adjusting eyes, and some will have experienced increasingly slow light adjustment over recent years; for many of us, our eyes ability is affected negatively as we get older.

The fear of those three seconds of lost control turns the joy of motorcycling into an edgy affair. But it’s not realistic to never ride at night; sometimes there’s no choice. A breakdown, a late arriving ferry, too many viewpoints stopped at….

It’s not only a night-time riding thing. Birgit’s night vision also affects her when she’s riding in and out of long unlit tunnels. A sunny trip to Norway brought that home; thankfully without a thump.

Then it dawned on me—she doesn’t struggle for the three seconds when she’s driving her car. That could be because she’s sitting behind two much more powerful headlights, so isn’t dealing with such a significant light intensity change.

However, a more powerful headlight on her bike didn’t make any real difference, so I researched spot lights and quickly found a huge selection. Some have systems that reviews said are difficult to fit, and many leaked. Some have a significant power draw, and that was something we needed to avoid; she rides in winter with heated grips and a heated waistcoat, plus GPS, already pushing it powerwise.

Meet the Denali DR1 2.0 spots. The kit is very well made and the fitting instructions are clear and logical. They came supplied with a set of True-Hybrid filter lenses which meant that we could adapt the lights to suit her needs. Everything from blasting a long beam down the road, to that flood of light immediately in front. Being easy to angle, we’ve set them so they don’t dazzle oncoming traffic. We also directed them so that the offside spot throws light further down the road and the nearside with a filter so it casts a wider flood of immediate light to the side of the road.

The kit we opted for comes with amber TriOptic lenses. These are designed to increase visibility in rainy or foggy conditions. This is accomplished by blocking the blue tinge, which is what we see being reflected off spray. Birgit rides in all weather conditions.

The DR1 2.0 set offers you two control options, both of which are activated by turning on the ignition:

Option One means that they are on, or off, if you wire them straight into the ignition.

Option Two means you can control the intensity of the light. The DataDim Dual-Intensity Controller enables the DR1s to switch between half and full intensity with your bike’s original high beam switch. 

There’s also a three-position switch option available which allows you to manually control the light intensity independently of the bike’s high/low beam. I like this option better as it puts her in full control of what’s happening. As it happens, she’s mostly been using the lights automatically connected to her high and low; it means she doesn’t have to think about anything other than what’s happening in front of her.

The power the lights are throwing out is significant, even when dipped, which was the original three-second crisis zone. I’m certainly far more aware of her in my mirrors, when she lets me ride in front that is! Mentioning rain and fog again, these lights have the reputation for being completely waterproof; having seen the quality and style of the seals I can see how that works.

What does Birgit think? “Fantastic! I admit to being sceptical, but I’m amazed at how well these work. I’m actually enjoying night riding again! I can see incredibly well with the DR1s and the dazzle factor is absolutely not a problem any more. I feel far safer and way more in control. A bonus is that a quick flash of the spots helps me to make a point when inconsiderate drivers are heading towards me still on full beam.”

The Specs:

• LEDs 2 x 10 watts Cree XPL hi
• Power draw—just 1.6 amps
• Beam distance—spot—1,000 ft.
• Beam width—spot—75 ft.
• Raw lumens 2,190
• Unit size—3.7-in. round and 3.8-in. deep
• Mounting kits are available for frame, bash bars and forks

DR1 Kit Contents:

• (2) LED light pods
• (2) Clear spot lenses (pre-installed)
• (2) Clear E-Mark-approved True-Hybrid lenses
• (2) Amber spot lenses
• (2) Amber True-Hybrid lenses
• HotSwap single intensity wiring harness with the capability of a plug-and-play hot swap to dual intensity without changing the harness itself
• DrySeal waterproof illuminated switch
• 7/8-in. handlebar switch mount
• 1-in. handlebar switch mount
• Hinge mounts with M8 stainless steel hardware
• Zip ties
• (1) adhesive mounting square

DenaliElectronics.com

Available at TwistedThrottle.com

MSRP: $400

PROS:

• They work amazingly well
• Flexible lens options so you can set them to suit your needs
• Easy to wire in
• Waterproof
• Multiple fitting options
• Low power draw so they will work well with smaller and older bikes

CONS:

• They aren’t cheap. But like most things, you get what you pay for.