Niken GT night riding observations

[maximNikenGT]

Finally got the first oil change and filter completed only to have hurricane storms roll through the Carolinas with some heavy precipitation. So when everything was dry I finally got the chance to take it out for my first night ride. A few thoughts:
1. Stock LED headlights throw a trapezoidal beam pattern with the widest part at the top. There Is an almost razor sharp cutoff in lighting in the area beneath the trapezoid closest to the bike - where the ground immediate in front of the bike beneath the sunscreen is dark area. Maybe it's the LED technology but the throw of the stock headlights didn't quite wow me for a bike being billed as a GT bike.  Aftermarket driving / fog lights seem like a must have on the Niken GT since the throw even with high beam doesn't inspire me with a ton of confidence for early morning mountain rides where encounters with animals is not that uncommon. 

2. While the dash is illuminated, none of the switches on the handlebar are backlit, not even the emergency flashers. I may have to see if I can get some luminescent paint to at least give some kind of nighttime legibility to the switches.  

3. Rocker switch on left hand side to control hand warmer settings / scroll through trip meter options are a bit odd in that the top of the switch is bigger than the bottom - seems like Yamaha wanted riders to use their thumbs to cycle up and push down with their index finger to cycle down. Now I understand why BMW uses a jog dial. Much easier to use and fits a wider range of hand sizes for actuation. 

4. Standard stock settings on the Yamaha as recommended in the owners manual was  a bit harder than I expected for my tastes. May need to dial back the compression and rebound settings a bit too soften up the ride to my liking  

5. Level 10 maximum hand warmer settings were too hot for my ride at 70mph with 59 degrees Fahrenheit ambient temperature. Level three was just good enough for me. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by maximNikenGT
Added photos

[maximNikenGT]

Just finished a 150 mile ride. A few more notes :

1. If a motorcycle ever needed cornering lights, it's the Niken. Assuming 0 degrees is directly in front of you, the light illumination cuts off sharply at 315 degrees and 45 degrees at the outer edges of the beam throw.The harder the turn at night, the darker it is going into the turn. Part of the reason has to do with how far the LED headlights on the Niken are recessed into the projector headlight housings in the fairing  that causes such a sharp cutoff. 

2. Hooked up my Garmin GPS using the front cigarette lighter adapter above the dash. The problem is that while i was riding, the cigarette lighter adapter would constantly wiggle out of the socket and prompt my GPS to ask if I wanted to resume using battery power only. It's not like the Niken has a lot of vibration, it's actually a pretty smooth motorcycle. But there is some vibration  in conjunction with the socket tolerances of the lighter adapter that prevents a solid connection at freeway speeds. 

3. Cruise control works well. Makes a huge difference on long distance rides. 

4. Wind protection on the Niken is not as big as you'd think with such a large front end. My head was in a full airstream despite the touring windshield of the GT and my legs, shoulders and hands felt the cool of mid 50 degree Fahrenheit night air. 

[betoney]

7 minutes ago, maximNikenGT said:

2. Hooked up my Garmin GPS using the front cigarette lighter adapter above the dash. The problem is that while i was riding, the cigarette lighter adapter would constantly wiggle out of the socket and prompt my GPS to ask if I wanted to resume using battery power only. It's not like the Niken has a lot of vibration, it's actually a pretty smooth motorcycle. But there is some vibration  in conjunction with the socket tolerances of the lighter adapter that prevents a solid connection at freeway speeds.

Common issue even as far back as the first year FJ, the 12v socket routinely lost connection with my GPS.  Its really easy to hardwire the GPS to the key-on auxiliary circuit and never have to worry about it again.  I ended up disconnecting the power from my 12v socket and using it for something else.

Garmin USB Power Cable

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Rated 4.6/5. Low prices, reviews, videos and more for the Garmin USB...

 

[maximNikenGT]

9 hours ago, betoney said:

Common issue even as far back as the first year FJ, the 12v socket routinely lost connection with my GPS.  Its really easy to hardwire the GPS to the key-on auxiliary circuit and never have to worry about it again.  I ended up disconnecting the power from my 12v socket and using it for something else.

Garmin USB Power Cable

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Rated 4.6/5. Low prices, reviews, videos and more for the Garmin USB...

 

Please share with me how you did that. I may end up converting both outlets using your method. 

[knyte]

11 hours ago, betoney said:

Common issue even as far back as the first year FJ

Yep, I've experienced this, too.  No matter what kind of adapter you insert, it seems to vibrate out - super annoying.  Could zip-tie it down I guess, but then you wouldn't be able to replace the cover.

My Garmin Zumo 396 LMT-S came with the cable to hardwire directly from the battery (easy to install).  This is both good and bad.  It's good because...it was included!!  It's bad because the live traffic receiver is NOT included nor supported in this configuration.  The default motorcycle mount has a two-pin power connector when it's all assembled.  For the traffic updates, there is a seperate power cable that uses a micro-USB cable instead.  Garmin assumes that you will be pairing with your smartphone on your motorcycle, so receives traffic data through the phone.  However, maybe not everyone wants that.  I could install a vehicle mount instead, but then, using a different mount and power connector, there is no protection from rain.  Arg!

[maximNikenGT]

2 hours ago, maximNikenGT said:

Please share with me how you did that. I may end up converting both outlets using your method. 

I'm curious if it has something to do with the plastic that is used. I was riding when it was moderately cooler outside mid 50s Fahrenheit and if the plastic just contracts due to the colder ambient temperature. If it was hotter outside I'm wondering if the lighter adapter would actually keep its connection better. Is it the same regardless of hot or cold outside?

[knyte]

I've tried a light plastic adapter, and a heavy metallic adapter.  Both rattled out, warm or cold.

[BBB]

3 hours ago, maximNikenGT said:

Please share with me how you did that. I may end up converting both outlets using your method. 

@maximNikenGT, lots of info in here about the spare connectors under the windshield. I’m guessing they are there on the Niken too.

I replaced the cigarette lighter adaptor completely, with a dual USB outlet that had a volt meter display in between the two outlets. There are a myriad of these on ebay.

[MrFritz86]

On 9/20/2020 at 11:33 PM, maximNikenGT said:

Aftermarket driving / fog lights seem like a must have on the Niken GT since the throw even with high beam doesn't inspire me with a ton of confidence for early morning mountain rides where encounters with animals is not that uncommon. 

I added Denali DM 2 Kit with the fork mounts on my tracer bc I had the same issue

Dark in the area from the front wheel to where the beam started to hit the road

it made a huge improvement, now the front road is well lit and it made the road ahead better illuminated, also on both sides

you might want to consider the D2 if you want a wider and deeper illumination 

[Clem Fandango]

Replacing the cig socket with one of these dual USB/voltmeter doohickeys is on my winter to do list.

[maximNikenGT]

12 hours ago, knyte said:

I've tried a light plastic adapter, and a heavy metallic adapter.  Both rattled out, warm or cold.

Nuts. Good info though. Not much user of the cigarette lighter adapters then. Unless.., anyone know if you can use the old school push in auto cigarette lighters into these ports? In case I ever needed a match at least the ports could do that?

[maximNikenGT]

On 9/22/2020 at 1:09 PM, BBB said:

@maximNikenGT, lots of info in here about the spare connectors under the windshield. I’m guessing they are there on the Niken too.

I replaced the cigarette lighter adaptor completely, with a dual USB outlet that had a volt meter display in between the two outlets. There are a myriad of these on ebay.

You mean like one of these? Any pix of how it looks installed?

Edited September 24, 2020 by maximNikenGT
Grammar

[maximNikenGT]

9 hours ago, MrFritz86 said:

I added Denali DM 2 Kit with the fork mounts on my tracer bc I had the same issue

Dark in the area from the front wheel to where the beam started to hit the road

it made a huge improvement, now the front road is well lit and it made the road ahead better illuminated, also on both sides

you might want to consider the D2 if you want a wider and deeper illumination 

Do you have a picture of what it looks like mounted on your forks as well as nighttime pictures of what the light throw pattern looks like with and without the D2s?

Edited September 23, 2020 by maximNikenGT
Grammar

[MrFritz86]

34 minutes ago, maximNikenGT said:

Do you have a picture of what it looks like mounted on your forks as well as nighttime pictures of what the light throw pattern looks like with and without the D2s?

I didn’t take pics during nighttime yet, but I can definitely do it
I'm planning on buying the dual intensity relay and hi/low switch pretty soon

here some pics of the lights and mounts
please consider that I have the DM 2.0 kit

D2 2.0 kit is a step up

Denali DM lights

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Imgur: The magic of the Internet

 

[maximNikenGT]

6 hours ago, MrFritz86 said:

I didn’t take pics during nighttime yet, but I can definitely do it
I'm planning on buying the dual intensity relay and hi/low switch pretty soon

here some pics of the lights and mounts
please consider that I have the DM 2.0 kit

D2 2.0 kit is a step up

Denali DM lights

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Imgur: The magic of the Internet

 

Looks great! Did you have the option to mount the lights on the outside of the forks instead of the inside? Not sure I can do an iside mount because of my front Niken suspension mechanism. Also did you wire  the lights directly to the battery or did you tap into the headlight wiring?