Bull Grackle
Pack Dog
This topic was covered in the GS/ADV section but I think it merits a mention here as well. I rode my 2007 1200GS for almost seven years but never at night until a week ago. Through a series of miscalculations plus a dollop of downright stupidity I found myself at sunset with 200 km of gravel roads between me and home. Not a train wreck I thought until I realised that my headlamps were aimed at the stars. Flipping the two-up-plus-bags lever down still left the lamps shining at the treetops. There was no moon so the road was nothing more than a grey smudge which, through a generous dose dumb luck I managed not to run off of. That said Ouberg Pass was a real adventure. The moral of this screw-up is: check the alignment of your headlamps before you need them. Don't assume that whoever serviced you bike last took the trouble to do so. Square you bike off about five metres from a wall or garage door and, whilst sitting on the bike, check where the beam hits the wall/door, It should be a couple of cm below the distance from the middle of your low beam lamp to the ground. In the case of my GS that's about 108 cm. If you can adjust it within three or four cm that's close enough. Your owner's manual should tell you where the headlight adjustment is located. If not, make a plan now rather than later.