More product reviews and shameless plugs...

I finally made it to my favorite motorcycle accessory shop recently, Discount Motorcycle Parts in Eugene.

Steve and Annette have run the shop for over 15 years and are helpful, knowledgeable and always friendly. We wander in there to look around, try stuff on and Annette will check up on us to see if we have any questions and then leaves us alone, but is always available when needed. I think that is why I like the shop so much, I am not jumped on as soon as I walk in the door and we are not followed or badgered around the store and out the door like other shops. I don't alway purchase something when I visit but I do more often than not. They stock a wide variety of accessories, pretty much everything you'd need and they will order whatever they don't stock which arrives within days.

As a bonus, there is a great bagel shop a few doors down in the same strip, The Daily Bagel. This is a great little shop and whom I assume is the owner makes it a point to greet you when you walk in the door and his service is above and beyond. I haven't had a chance to chat with him as he is busy, but I will make a point to at least get his name next time I'm in. Great sandwiches, service and staff.

Sure beats the fast food joints.

Anyway, the cold, dark months of fall and winter have me looking for ways to extend or improve the riding season. I wrote a little while back about riding in the rain and how I managed with this challenge but I never overcame the visibility issue. Until now. I talked to Steve about the Pinlock visor system to eliminate fogging and found out that a universal kit it is unavailable but he recommended the FogCity pro Shield instead.

While Steve was actually showing me how to install it, a customer came in with his visor in hand to buy another FogCity insert to replace his old one. I asked him how he liked it and I interrupted myself with "duh, you're in here to buy another one".

I got home, installed it and couldn't wait to try it the next morning. I can't believe how well it worked, I can breathe again! I used to wear glasses behind my visor because I had to ride with my visor open for venting, but this only created another surface to fog up. I tossed the glasses in my saddlebags and now just use the visor, closed. I do open it to vent while stopped at traffic lights as condensation will form inside the visor but it quickly clears up when on the move again. The insert creates a pocket of air between the visor and insert and creates a minor halo effect with oncoming lights but not nearly as bad as fogging does. For less than $20 bucks, I highly recommend it.

The next problem to deal with was lighting, I can't see anything in the dark and rain with just the stock headlight, so driving lights were in order. I researched lighting and found positive reviews on the Optronics QH-7CC Competition Series Round Driving Lights and I didn't want to spend a small fortune on lighting that didn't mount or wouldn't work, so to ebay I went.

These lights are also available through JCWhitney but CarParts accepts Paypal, are a wee bit cheaper and are quicker to ship.

These lights are great, I've mounted them under my headlight and they light up the road very well.

I haven't had oncoming cars flash their lights at me for being too bright, but the guys at work tell me they are bright. I wired them direct to the distribution block and relay for my horn and heated grips without a switch, but I may have to install a courtesy switch for group rides.

I'll do that when I wire my new LED signal/running lights this week. More reviews and plugs to come.

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