It slices in the dark…

Here is what I did with my Dinotte head lamp to make it work comfortably with my setup.  First off, the unit that I purchased is the 400L headlight without the battery.  It ran for around $150 and this was my primary reason for being reluctant for screwing it up with a modification.

Not long after placing the order, the headlight arrived.  The headlight was built solid and I had to poke around to get some idea of what I could do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The case was easy to open.  The front plastic cover has 8 small phillips screws that hold it to the metal housing.  There is a rubber gasket that sandwiches between the cover and housing.

The designers had the intent of owners being able to open the cover to change the lenses.  They shipped me a second set of lenses so I can choose between a variation of focused to diffused beams.  I installed both of the diffused because that was my preference.  How nice of the DiNotte folks to offer that option up to their customers.

This was a relief because this meant the inside modification was going to be forgiving.  I spotted the locations were I needed to tap in to and noticed that the cable entry was ready for my monkey business.  I used an old PS2 cable from a dead mouse and soldered away.  It really didn’t take much work to finish it up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cable was a nice fit through the housing.  The cover and gasket went back on without issue.  When I was done, I didn’t notice any modification and this exceeded my expectations.

The mounting wasn’t particularly difficult either.  I took a T bracket, bent it to shape and had the fellas down in the shop grind away the excess.  Then I wrapped the bracket in electric tape and fastened the housing to it.  The whole assembly fit nicely under my front rack.

Testing the beam pattern was just verifying that my direction was good.  I really like the coverage.  The beam modes are all controlled by a momentary push button located by my right grip.  I can also control the beams with the built in push button on the front cover.

As luck would have it, summer had arrived by the time I finished, and my night rides were few.  However, I did get the chance to test it out.  The highest beam is really intended for unlit areas.  I typically use the middle beam and switch it to low when another rider comes by.

Much thanks to Gary R for suggesting the DiNotte, over and over again…

Yes, thank you Gary!  I’ve gone through at least half a dozen different head lights over the years.  When Gary gave his take on his Tubus rack and how durable it was, I listened and got one.  I had already had 3 different racks fail, but the Tubus lives on, even 2 bikes later.  I should never question the man’s wisdom nor be reluctant to follow his advise, I’ve only suffered until concession.