Quick update on my Speedmachine running light project. Here in Ontario all motor vehicles must have daytime running lights, i.e. the headlights are always on day and night. Without getting into the politics of the matter, in my opinion as a cyclist they are a good thing. I can see vehicles approaching from much farther away, both in front and especially in my mirror. It also helps differentiate moving traffic from parked vehicles.

So because I ride this bike on the road my plan is to install daytime running lights. I decided to go with a 12 volt system (actually a 14.8V Li Ion 4 AH pack from Batteryspace.com) because I can use a standard automotive taillight unit, and it give me more flexibility and sufficient watt-hours for long rides. The system will include:

- A LED tail light/stop light. I ordered one each of the red 4" round and 2" x 6" rectangular truck lights from Superbright LEDS and we'll see which shape works best. I took the rack off my bike so the rear lights will be mounted on the back of the seat shell.

- Front and rear turn signals, each unit using 4 of the amber spider LEDs from Quickar wired in series. Not sure if they will be bright enough, but they will run at up to 70 ma., and at 10 cents each I couldn't resist. The idea is that they will normally be steady on, but when I signal a turn the two units on the same side will flash on and off. For housings I have some Cateye TL-LD120FCs that I can use.

- A 1 Watt LED headlight that will be on day and night. I plan to use this one http://tinyurl.com/4caed, but I'll remove the battery box and hook it into the 12V system.

- An instrument light on the handlebar to light my computer and HRM at night. Not sure how to construct this yet.

All this will be hooked into a junction box under the seat that includes a jack for the battery charger and the flasher and battery protection circuits. The battery will fit under the seat shell and will be almost completely hidden. All this will become a permanent part of the bike. For nighttime riding I will build a separate, removable headlight system, something like a 15 - 20 Watt halogen or maybe HID. I've ordered most of the parts but haven't yet received them. I'll post as I progress.