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Our website is all about motorcycles, especially BMW cycles. We cover rides in the Southwest and Mexico, motorcycle modifications and review motorcycle products. 

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Mods

Denali D2 Dual Intensity LED Lighting Kit on BMW R1200RT

Ricardo Perez

Denali D2 Light
My brother and I installed the Denali D2 LED lights on my R1200RT last weekend. The install was not too difficult took a few hours. The most time consuming part was taking the tupperware off both sides so we could route the wires from the lights to the battery. The install was neat and clean looking. We tapped into the parking light wires and we chose to use only the high intensity level since I didn't see much need for the low intensity setting. We placed the on/off switch at the base of the handle bars kind of sitting between the trip odometer and the instrument light level buttons. It's a reach, but in my opinion it looks much better there than trying to mount it on or near the clutch lever. In our setup the D2 lights work with either the low or high beam.
I ended up buying the lights for just under $350 which come with the wiring harness. On one end of the harness you have three leads; two to hookup the two LED lights and one for the on/off switch. The other end has the leads to the battery. The positive lead is fused.

Apart from the D2s I purchased the brackets (not the brackets in the kit which are for mounting the LED lights, but the brackets on the bike) which are a very good fit and don't require any cutting of the fairing. They're easy to install and are anchored by two screws which replace the ones that come on the bike. I also purchased the CAN-BUS adapter to tap into the parking light wiring.
Overall, the difference is clear as you can see by the pictures below. I'm one for as much light as I can get and these Denali D2 lights deliver. My HID lights that I've got on another bike are brighter, but they have two huge ballasts that are hard to place in this new RT and those ballasts also generate a ton of heat and need ventilation.
What I like best is the look. These lights are small and look like they belong on the bike and not a gaudy add-on that takes away from the clean lines on the RT.

Here's what comes with the kit:
  • 2 x Denali D2 LED light pods
  • Wiring Harness with Dimmer Module, Relay and Lighted Switch
  • 2 x M8 (8mm) mounting brackets
  • 2 x spot driving beam lenses (10 degree beam pattern)
  • 2 x flood beam lenses (25 degree beam pattern)
  • Installation instructions
  • Allen wrench



D2s After Install - Off
D2s 'On' High Intensity 







Side Rear View of D2 Install
Fairing Brackets


Regular Low Beam BMW Light
Low Beam With D2s 'On' High Intensity

High Beam With D2s 'On'

Zoomed In View of High Beam with D2s 'On' High Intensity

Auxiliary Motorcycle Lighting

Ricardo Perez

Micro HID Lights From Hella
Debating whether to mount my old Hella HID Micro lights on my new '13 BMW R1200RT bike. I've had this set since about 2005 and have had them on BMWs and Harleys. They have never failed me and they give off a great light. The negatives are that they each have a ballast that's almost 4"X4"X1" so they're hard to place under the fairing or anywhere else where they're out of sight. On the Harley Ultra Classics they are easy to install because you can just place the ballasts in the pocket of the lowers (the fairing that's for leg protection). All it takes is drilling a small hole in the lower fairing to route the cable to the ballast.
Another issue with the ballasts is that they generate a great deal of heat so it's good to find some place where they get some air flow if possible.
The new setups, like from Clearwater are much easier to install, but I really like the size and quality construction of my Hellas.
I'll be checking out those other systems and will file a followup to the blog in the near future.

With Ballast

BMW LT Setup





By the way, in case anybody is concerned, here's the law in Texas concerning number of lights we can have up front:
(d)  Not more than four of the following may be lighted at one time on the front of a motor vehicle:
(1)  a headlamp required by this chapter; or
(2)  a lamp, including an auxiliary lamp or spotlamp, that projects a beam with an intensity brighter than 300 candlepower.
I would take the risk of getting a ticket than not seeing something down some dark country road out is West Texas.

Touratech iBracket

Ricardo Perez

I was on my way West out of Texas and into New Mexico when we stopped at Motohank's in Dilley, Texas for some work on my brother's 2010 BMW RT when I spotted the Touratech iBracket on Hank's bike. We were set for a long ride so I decided that this new farkle would be a good addition to my list of gadgets. The Touratech iBracket is really quite practical and it's easy to install and to use. What attracted me to it was that it's simple yet functional for my needs. The iBracket will swivel in any direction and you can leave your iPhone in a horizontal or landscape mode.
Placing your phone in it is simple. Just pull the lever that has the Touratech label on it, that will expand the cradle and yellow bands enough to place your phone in it then simply close the lever and it secures the phone in place.
The iBracket is meant to use in a wireless, blue tooth mode, but I prefer to use my ear buds so we had to dremel a notch on one of the black corner braces so as to allow enough room to plug my ear phones into the phone. That was no big deal, but it left a little bit of a cosmetic blemish on that corner of the bracket. It won't bother me.
With a little bit of skill and a steady hand and thin gloves (or no gloves) you can switch around your music albums or take a call if you're into that type of thing. Running a GPS map application can mean goodbye to needing a separate GPS unit.  I still like my Garmin Zumo 550 with a bigger screen and its more intuitively functional setup than a cell phone map. I'm going to run my Zumo along side my iPhone with the new Apple Maps (new OS6 operating system) just to see how they compare.
Installation is simple with the included RAM mount.
I would say that it's a very good bracket and it's yellow bands with black frame make it stand out and look good in my opinion. Things to consider are plugging a jack into headset won't necessarily work without some modification; at $149.00 it's not cheap, but the build is high quality using high quality products, and for those of us that just got the iPhone 5 ...well let me see if I can squeeze it into that opening.



Here's what the Touratech site says about the iBracket,


  • Fits iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s
  • Secure closure with one-handed operation
  • CNC laser cut and CNC shaped stainless steel components
  • Touratech iBracket plastic corners with UV-resistant silicone rings.
  • Touratech vibration dampening
  • Able to be rotated 90 degrees
  • The iBracket can be used with many common silicone protective cases for the iPhone 4
  • Designed to mount to 1/2" or 7/8" bar, but can be adapted to any motorcycle using RAM systems
  • If used in dusty conditions, opening mechanism can jam with grit, requiring regular lubrication with WD-40 or other spray lubricant



Vertical Left
Vertical Right 
In "Open" Position


Horizontal - Landscape Mode



Ram Mount