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Sounds like an a**e h**e. Go somewhere else.
HID's and LED's are supposed to be naughty but bright bulbs like Osram Nightbreaker Laser are OK because the headlamp is designed for bulbs and they are still 55/60w.

I may well but its bloody convenient less than 1km away, I can drop it off and walk home until its ready.

It's no longer an immediate fail, but an advisory

It was only tested a coupla months ago though, did the law change or the guy being a jobs worth?

Hi all, long time no post or even frequented any forums but have some time on my hands now.

I'm a little late to the switchback LED game (just for the front indicators not the rears), most of the links in the forum seem to point to expired links with most dated from 2017 or earlier, there does appear to be a chap in the US that does them but would rather buy local (UK) if thats an option.

Is there anybody in the UK that does simple (such that I a clumsy oaf) can easily buy/fit them?

My GTR is a 2017 EGF, I've very few mods as I've not felt the need as the bike just works for me, but since the bike had its first MOT (after the 6 months extension) it failed on:

"Repair immediately (major defects):
Headlamp light source and lamp not compatible (4.1.4 (c))
Headlamp aim too low (4.1.2 (a))  <- somewhat annoying as I'm a fat git and the lights are perfect for me !! 

The tester initially claimed that they were HID's but they arnt, I showed him the bulbs, he then changed tack and mentioned compatibility with the lamp and source mentioning heat etc...we didnt see eye to eye!!

I hated the original lamps and changed them almost immediately but seems the law changed in Jan this year and its an immediate fail, so, I'd like something like the switchbacks that are neatly tucked away.

Any ideas/direction/links would be appreciated.

thanks

Try osram nightbreakers or similar. They seem fine to me for a standard fitting bulb.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

I'll have a gander thanks.

Is this my imagination or maybe Déjà vu, hasn't someone else experienced the same scenario recently

BTW you wont blind the MOT inspectors with science     

But it wouldnt stop me from trying if I felt strong enough, as an ex IT consultant I've had many discussion with people regarding IT and their total lack of knowledge of it.  But I did feel it was goign to be somewhat pointless.

After reading the reg's and advice from some bulb manufacturers the arguments they were throwing at me simply didn't apply to the question of legality around the LED's. 

But the bike needs an MOT so swapped out.   

One argument they could have used but didnt seem to want to was the brightness, they are 160w's, thats clearly too bright for headlamp usage and if they were not Kitemarked etc, BUT, the only way they can confirm that is to take them apart, and thats not in their remit.

It's been a while since I posted as I've just been enjoying the bike and riding.   

I've done very few changes to the bike to get it perfect 'for me'  the fitting of some LED headlamps shortly after I bought the bike was one of the bigger changes, OEM's were/are just awful. 

Anyways, first MOT last week and it failed, Akropovic with the baffles removed were just a advisory but the LED"s failed.  I was told at the time that it was due to the fact I had fitted HID's and they were an automatic fail unless the bike came with them (eg: special moving reflectors, able to deal with the extra heat etc).  I explained that I thought they were just replacement LEDs and by that token generated significantly less heat than the original halogens.

They werent having it, I felt that I was close to baffling them with science but that it really wasnt going to go anyway as they would have come up with something else.   I've just put the originals back in and they are dire again.

The MOT rules on Lights seem to go back to 1985 ish, and seem not to take into account factory fitted LED's on the majority of cars out on the road.

Does anybody know if they are going to catch up with the times at some point?  Or had similar issues?

I'm tempted to do the MOT then swap back again, but I've got big hands it its a ball ache to install them, less hassle  to remove but a ball ache nonetheless.

My son was asked about his car, but thats the only time I've ever heard of it.   

But even so, it did affect my quote so it must have some bearing.

I'll consider them at renewal time next year.

tks

My interphone has huge battery life, I took it to Normandy this year, charged before I went, used it for comms and nav daily, didnt need a charge until about 2-3 weeks after getting back home.

I also left it on the lid once switched on for over 2 weeks.. still had half juice in it.

Maybe they arent all created equal.

Bear in mind if its a real croc skin, many countries around the world need proof of its origin.

I was in Australia a coupla years ago and had an export certificate for a catlemanshat that I had with a croc braid on it. 

No idea if that applies to here though.  You'd prolly get some perpetually offended person smear shit all over your bike though.   

My RAC renewal came around recently.

Shopping around as I do, I found the biggest issue I had (I have myself and my wife on the same policy for anything we ride, drive or are a passenger in be that a non commercial truck or bus or just a scooter) was that for our cars they had to be less than 10 years old, most wouldn't touch me, my Quattro is now 12 years old, its perfectly maintained.  Green flag wanted my first born, AA was laughable, RAC went up a tenner so ended up keeping them. 

If you have a car that ageing then it might be worth hanging on to what you have if you have similar cover requirements as me.

There is a good lesson here, cars generally always win with the damage and mass stakes.

I run a video camera 24/7 in both the car and bike, I let the rozzers do their job, alas, I dont get the same satisfaction I used to get,  I'm quite intimidating so my size, presence and temper could escalate is silly situation like this.

I could also beat the living S*** out of them too, still, not the best solution.

Humiliation via Youtube, Police or facebook does the job these days and nobody has run over my GTR   

Insurance is always a nightmare. And they all want the cookie cutter spec machines, deviate and it can reduce or raise the premiums.  Its most often caused by backend computer systems trying to be clever, sometimes they simply arnt as smart as devious humans.

Its nothing personal, its the system trying to get the insurer the best deal, if you dont check or have auto renewal on its the same thing.

I always shop around.

I use web comparison sites mostly these days, then a single "we dont advertise of price comparison sites" insurer, this allows you to tweak settings to see what works for you and for the insurance companies'.   It might be mileage, or use for work, add on's, security kit etc.

The GTR was brand spanking new, everything I had was declared, mileage, pilion etc, came in at a reasonable £171 for me at the time, however, time was an issue so I just went for it. Turned out MCE was was the best for me.

In 2018 I decided to have a play, security was interesting, by this time I had a professional tracker installed, I had been using little rechargeable thingies.  In order to get the tracker listed (in order to reduce insurance quote - or so I thought) I had to drop off this KISS immobiliser, this drove up the cost for £40 or so quid. 

I ended up not telling them about the ground anchor, disc locks, CCTV cameras and other security I had, as it just raised the premiums.   
Sometimes simply removing 1000 miles can make a huge difference. I always vary stuff these days, I saved £40 with the same insurer. 

Some of these costs are insurers ripping off loyal customers , so I now repeat the favour  and compare everything, also not leaving it to the last min helps a LOT, 3 weeks seems to be the sweet spot for renewals.

The entire industry is about to get a shake up for its dodgy dealings, this may also increase everybody's insurance to compensate ! 

It was a cracking trip, very relaxed this time.   

Less packing and repacking as per my Isle of Man/Wales trip last year, too many hotels/B&B's made me cranky, lugging the panniers around were a ball ache.

This time a house in Normandy in a little village called Le Ferre was our home for a week, Only ran with the top box for the most part just to chuck gear into when we headed out. It was a tad hot but doable.

Fantastic roads (whatever road type!!),  nice people and 100M away from the local patisserie!!!
Pre paid credit card for tolls and stuff made thing easy, obviously a bit of a problem for fuel (mental note), Going to try to Nordics out next year if I get a chance, but need to save some serious cash, its a bit expensive out there.

Until last year I had no idea that personal membership gave you cover on bikes or cars or buses etc, whatever you happened to be riding or driving.

I have a personal policy now that covers both my wifes and my car, and when I'm on the bike.

Currently RAC cover, does everything I need. 

Cost me around £100 per year fully covered, relay, breakdown, any car/bike irrespective of whether I'm driving or not.

£100 is cheap for piece of mind.

Tons of companies doing decent cash back offers too..

https://www.topcashback.co.uk/category/breakdown-cover/