Bright lights save lives….. oh, wait a minute.
My first BIG Adventure (EU2026)
- Thread starter djgsa
- Start date
Bright lights save lives….. oh, wait a minute.
Good wee ride report there 
thank you for taking the time to post what looked like an excellent trip away ,, I have to say you seem quite organised for a first timer - - well done .
Ps - I do a fair bit of hauling about the place with my camp kit ,,, and would observe that you have quite a bit of stuff on the top box ,,,
I put stuff into 24 L Ortlieb rack packs and Roc Strap them to the pannier tops ,, it gets the weight a bit lower n makes slow speed handling just that wee bit easier
thank you for taking the time to post what looked like an excellent trip away ,, I have to say you seem quite organised for a first timer - - well done .Ps - I do a fair bit of hauling about the place with my camp kit ,,, and would observe that you have quite a bit of stuff on the top box ,,,
I put stuff into 24 L Ortlieb rack packs and Roc Strap them to the pannier tops ,, it gets the weight a bit lower n makes slow speed handling just that wee bit easier
We were only talking about your Maxim at Leenane last SaturdayMentioned it before, elsewhere, many times …
“Put the clothes you’re taking on the bed, the money on the dressing table… now half your clothes and double your money”
The "pastry" tour.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing
I’m not sure he’s open to physically sharing his Kaiserschmarn.
that's a load of bollox...and I see it was in NL. unless you have some extra bright lights which are not standard ones its simply bollox....I ride in and through Holland all the time...never been stopped for lights.. In such a case just be polite, agree and move on.And then this happened
Pulled me over to say my lights were too bright. including the standard fit BMW ones.
Suggested I turned then all off, which I did cos he had a gun
He reckoned this is an EU wide thing, anyone else heard of anything like this ?
The chap was actually very sound. Rides a GPZ900 apparently but I didn't hold that against him
Not sure what is going on there. Maybe he just wanted to check you over for another reason, camera, luggage whatever and used this as an excuse
I did get stopped for parking on the kerb when I went to pick up a takeaway with my Q6 a good many years ago. Police man was pissed off at the audacity and then told me to get my lights fixed. I said they were standard from Audi and they were running lights. Told me to turn them off...i said yea whatever and drove off. He was just being a twat and it wasn't the lights...he wanted the last word... didn't win and he knew he wouldn't so i didn't get a ticket or arrested.
I worked voluntary with the local police and helped them out; done ride along´s and most are pretty good but like anywhere there are twats as well. Most are really young bods, yes, they carry guns but if your polite and reasonable you´ll get the same treatment.
Great write-up for a first trip 
I’m a big fan of Kaiserschmarn too, especially with apple purée. And now I’m hungry….
I’m a big fan of Kaiserschmarn too, especially with apple purée. And now I’m hungry….
I was very polite, and he was very nice about it all. I just find it weird that I'd ridden all that way and back and never had any bother from anyone up to then. Safe to say the lights are now back on
If thats your bike in your avatar then my guess you have put bigger lights on then the factory fitted ones….
Then i understand the reason for them stopping you
I even think farkling things like lights or adding more is illegal if i recall. Will check and let you know by DM
Then i understand the reason for them stopping you
I even think farkling things like lights or adding more is illegal if i recall. Will check and let you know by DM
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The court of UKGSer is now in cession.
Let the inquisition begin….
I refer my learned colleague for the defence to my previous submission from the prosecution. However the crown is prepared to accept the extenuating circumstances that has been outlined by the defendant, notably the many tunnels needing to be negotiated to facilitate a safe return to these shores.
As such the prosecution is recommending that some leeway be given to the defendant as a first time offender, and the prosecution will not be requesting the maximum sentence of pitchforks and fire.
PS. Glad you found a sensible traffic cop who didn’t try to get heavy handed DJ - they’re mostly good and we normally only hear about the stroppy ones so good to see you giving him a fair shout
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should have reminded the johnnie foreigner, if it wasn't for bright lights "english" bright lights..... they'd all be speaking german....
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Less of the insurance jargon please
They are 4x Lone rider MTL9's. It is a thing to have 4 on. Seen it quite a lot.
I've always put the tent up there, but that said, a few folk have mentioned the same thing. I'm going to review my setup anyway and will definitely factor it in.Good wee ride report there
Ps - I do a fair bit of hauling about the place with my camp kit ,,, and would observe that you have quite a bit of stuff on the top box ,,,
I put stuff into 24 L Ortlieb rack packs and Roc Strap them to the pannier tops ,, it gets the weight a bit lower n makes slow speed handling just that wee bit easier
Bringing the weight down lower, reduces the pendulum effect you might encounter.
Experiment a bit, to find what suits you best.
the benefits of having the tent lower and further forward are as described but it's the users choice... I ended up leaving the topbox at home to reduce taking too much stuff which freed up the very back of the rack to take a folding chair... (lightweight chair, and moved the tent more over the pillion seat...) this seemed the best solution for me.. each to their own
the disadvantage I might as well also get listed, it does mean you need to do a kossack kicks into the seat and then hop nearer... which can go spectacularly wrong but less said about that the better...
the disadvantage I might as well also get listed, it does mean you need to do a kossack kicks into the seat and then hop nearer... which can go spectacularly wrong but less said about that the better...
I sent @djgsa a separate DM with some links all in Dutch from the NL police forum as well as reputable bike mag here and also some AI info. It clearly lays out what's allowed and what´s not however when you read into some of the details particularly on the police form its not so black and white although google AI clearly states its not allowed to add extra lights. From the video above @djgsa has 3 sets of lights above the normal main beam. 2 factory fitted as OE and 2 extra sets therefore clearly not legal in NL.
Anyway aside all this....at the end of the day in NL my advice if you get stopped just chat the the guys / gals. 9.5 times out of 10 they will be understanding and friendly and worse case ask you to turn off the peripheral lighting when riding in NL. They won't fine you and won´t remove them. Common sense will prevail...
Anyway aside all this....at the end of the day in NL my advice if you get stopped just chat the the guys / gals. 9.5 times out of 10 they will be understanding and friendly and worse case ask you to turn off the peripheral lighting when riding in NL. They won't fine you and won´t remove them. Common sense will prevail...
My tent sits in its own Ortlieb 24 L rack pack across the back seat , means if it’s wet ,, it does not soak ought else .I've always put the tent up there, but that said, a few folk have mentioned the same thing. I'm going to review my setup anyway and will definitely factor it in.
It is A useful way to do it if you are running solo ,as I use carabiner clips , to clip the tent,s Ortlieb bag onto the the bags on the pannier tops , this makes it a complete unit and vastly lessens the chances of losing anything .
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