Invisible Angel Eyes

On the topic of being seen, today in Vermont a parade of Beemers came toward me. Maybe a Yankee Beemers event happening somewhere? Anyway, as BMW after BMW came at me, I noticed that K1600's with factory lighting are less visible from the front than any of the other BMWs that passed by. The K1600's with extra lights showed up fine, but the ones with "Angel Eyes" only don't show up very well.

Is there a way to turn on your K1600's headlights during the day? If so, I suggest doing so if you want to stand out. If not, get some extra lights.

Bones I hate to be a PITA, but you cannot make a statement like that! You have to incorporate the word "alleged" in there somewhere just to say that even if you saw it with your own eyes it's might somehow be untrue.

Coop said:

Bones I hate to be a PITA, but you cannot make a statement like that! You have to incorporate the word "alleged" in there somewhere just to say that even if you saw it with your own eyes it's might somehow be untrue.

Click to expand...

"Is there a way to turn on your K1600's headlights during the ALLEGED day?"

Coop said:

Bones I hate to be a PITA,

Click to expand...

OK now that's just an alleged bold face lie LOL.

Bones said:

"Is there a way to turn on your K1600's alleged headlights during the day?"

Click to expand...

FTFY.

--Mark

Blrfl said:

Allegedly FTFY.

--Mark

Click to expand...

FTFY.

I saw a couple K16's out on Friday, one with bullet LEDs low, and while the lights weren't bright, they caught _my_ attention as I knew it was likely a K16...it did look cool and different. But I agree that the halo lights wouldn't demand attention from inattentive drivers.

Bones, this is my first "knowledgeable" BMW answer

you can lock the high beam on by pushing out or forward, but many think the angel eyes are DRL, even though they dont show up well. I agree, the accent lights leave a little to be desired and the smart low beam aims low during the day, minimizing its ability to catch other drivers eye.

The big fix is a software update so that the LED driving lights stay on after a power cycle instead of requiring you to turn on each time.

What's great is that if you fire up the high beams at night on the K16, the indicator on the dash does not blind you

chris

Chris, how awesome is it to be knowledgeable? :yes:

Good to know there's a way to put your high beams on and also a software fix for the LED driving lights. I tend toward the "simple is good" philosophy so anything that makes being conspicuous uncomplicated I'm for. With so many forum members migrating to GT's I thought it would be good to share what I saw yesterday.

Once in a blue moon Scott , once ...

Saw the "angel eyes" effect again yesterday afternoon. I was following an SUV in my wife's car and at a T-intersection the SUV's driver signaled a left turn. I looked ahead left and saw a white helmet, then saw that it belonged to a rider approaching on a left curve, then realized the bike was a K1600GTL. The dark blue paint made the bike itself nearly invisible in this wooded stretch of US 20. What did stand out was the white helmet which was clearly more visible than the angel eyes. If the rider had auxiliary lights on the GTL they weren't burning.

The SUV driver came to a full stop but didn't appear to see the bike coming and pulled out. The rider was able to slow down and avoid an impact. He gave the SUV driver a much deserved hairy eyeball. The driver waved his mea culpa and appeared to be indicating "I didn't see you."

Perhaps this was just a driver not looking carefully, but I think it's telling that as the rider came around the curve I saw a white helmet well before I saw angel eyes.

I first noticed this phenomenon last summer when I was in a group ride and one of the riders had a K1600GT. Even though he was riding behind me I had a difficult time picking him up at times. Made me wonder how this technological tour de force could have overlooked something so critical. I have made it a point to mention this to all of my friends who have since picked up one of these bikes...

Well, except for you Chris. Haven't seen yours yet...

Yea but did they wave?

Only if you're showing the correcting riding form...

Scott told me about this at Locstoc. I never knew. But I did have my aux lites on which said stood out pretty good. I leave the aux lites on all the time. What Scott didn't tell you is that he drives soooo fast we couldn't keep up with him on his home turf of the back roads of Wisconsin. Still not sure where he took us. LOL

Hey everyone, BMW has now given newer K1600s with higher output angel eyes. See here:

http://youtu.be/msBtfg8MIuc

Good move on BMW's part. WTG, BMW! :yes:

Chris Parker said:

Hey everyone, BMW has now given newer K1600s with higher output angel eyes. See here:

http://youtu.be/msBtfg8MIuc

Click to expand...

That's good!

(EDIT: Bet a white helmet would help that rider stand out more than the gray, too.)

I thought I read that these are only available on Euro models.
Maybe I'm wrong?.?

skippy69 said:

I thought I read that these are only available on Euro models.Maybe I'm wrong?.?

Click to expand...

My RT has them...and two sets of Clearwaters.