TECH
WORDS: ROBERT MARTIN PHOTOS: JEFF ALLEN
HOLY GYROSCOPIC LEDs, BATMAN! THE FUTURE OF HEADLAMP TECHNOLOGY
SOURCE: J.W. SPEAKER jwspeaker.com
B
eing seen on the road day or night is just as important as wearing proper gear when you ride. The vast majority of bikes on the market still come stock with incandescent/halogen bulbs. Aftermarket LED headlights are the obvious next step for most riders who want to improve their visibility, and there are many options currently on the market. J.W. Speaker has taken things to the next level with its new Adaptive lighting units (8690 Adaptive 2, $507.95), which incorporate a digitally controlled
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gyroscope to illuminate your path as you tear through the twisties. It’s really simple: Lean right, and the Adaptive’s auxiliary lights brighten the right side of your path; lean left… You get the picture. Inside J.W. Speaker’s Adaptive series die-cast aluminum housing are an array of onboard sensors with gyrometers and accelerometers that calculate bank angles on a real-time basis, automatically directing the light array up or down as the motorcycle leans. This additional illumination fills in the gaps to the left or right of the motorcycle that traditional
headlights can’t, and it looks just as cool as it performs. This unit is the 5.75-inch round to fit my 2013 Iron 883, but 7-inch headlamps are also available. Installation was a breeze, and after just a few night rides with this new beam of confidence in front of me, I can honestly attest to this technology being worth the investment. I see obstacles in turns I’ve never seen before. The future is here with this one-of-akind headlight, and it’s something you will need to see to believe. HB
