Round-the-World Motorcycle Prep: Lighting Upgrades for the BMW R1300 GSA
We’ve spent months planning this journey—two years on the road, thousands of kilometres through every kind of terrain and weather imaginable, and a whole lot of unknowns ahead. As the departure date gets closer, our days are filled with fine-tuning. Every small upgrade, every decision feels like it carries weight—because it’s not just about performance, it’s about trust.
We need to rely on our setup in the dark, in the cold, when we’re exhausted or miles from the nearest town. With so many long, remote stretches ahead—through fog, darkness, cities, deserts, mountains, and forests—there was one non-negotiable: we needed to see clearly, and be seen from every angle.
Bad lighting means less reaction time. It means not spotting a pothole, an animal, or a pedestrian until it’s too late. It means other vehicles not seeing us in time to avoid a mistake. And when you’re riding in countries where driving norms vary wildly, being visible—especially from behind—isn’t optional.
That meant proper lighting upgrades, bulletproof power management, and gear that we could rely on in any season. So, we took Storm our R 1300 GSA to aBikeThing HQ for a full fitment session with HEX Innovate, Steve’s team—and his brilliant Mechanic, Tom.
Stripping Storm Down
We started by taking the bike apart. Panels off, wiring exposed. There’s always a moment when you look at a stripped-down bike and wonder what you’ve done—but that quickly gives way to satisfaction when you know it’s all going back together smarter and stronger.
Tom, who knows the R1300 GSA inside and out, made it look easy. What could’ve been a fiddly, frustrating job was smooth and confident. Having someone this dialled-in handling the bike we’re about to live on for the next two years was a huge relief.
From the very beginning, the focus was on doing it properly. Clean wiring. Logical routing. No shortcuts. This isn’t a weekend trip setup—it has to survive every bump, every storm, and every border crossing.
The Brain: Dual HEX ezCAN Mojave Units
At the heart of it all are two HEX ezCAN Mojave Accessory Managers—one managing the front and one the rear. These compact modules are now running every accessory we depend on, and the amount of control they give us is game-changing.
They tie directly into the bike’s CAN bus and allow full customization of how our accessories behave. Whether it’s lighting, heated gear, or electronics, the ezCAN turns it all into something we can fine-tune on the fly.
For us, the flexibility is everything. We can adapt to new traffic rules, adjust lighting levels for local conditions, or troubleshoot gear on the road without tearing into the wiring. And it’s all done through the HEX software—simple, intuitive, and quick.
Lighting Up the World: Denali D7 Pro + T3s
Up front, we mounted a pair of Denali D7 Pro lights to our Touratech crash bars. These beasts put out a staggering 23,000 lumens per pair using 7 Cree LEDs in each pod. Whether we’re dodging wildlife in Siberia or threading dark mountain passes in Kyrgyzstan, these lights absolutely cut through the darkness.
Thanks to the ezCAN, we’ve configured them to:
Run at 20% brightness during the day
Snap to full power with the high beam
Flash with the horn
Fade smoothly on and off with ignition
They’re powerful, but intelligent. And they’ve already transformed how confidently we ride in low-light conditions.
At the back, we installed three Denali T3 Switchback Lights—tiny but incredibly bright. They give us full-time running light, an independent brake light with flash modes, and separate indicators. Being seen from behind is just as important as seeing ahead—and this setup makes our intentions crystal clear to every driver around us, which can be life-saving in busy or erratic traffic.
Comfort on the Cold Days: Keis Heated Gear
We also wired in dedicated leads for our Keis heated vests and gloves, which draw nearly 10 amps in total. That may not sound like much until you think about what else is running at the same time—headlights, auxiliary lights, TFT display, heated grips, GPS, phone chargers, and more. On a big ride, especially in cold conditions, everything starts to add up.
Each Keis Heated Vest draws approximately 3.4 amps, and each Keis Heated Glove pulls around 1.5 amps. Multiply that by two (for both of us), and we’re looking at a combined 9.8 amps, or about 118 watts at 12V.
The good news is that the BMW R1300 GSA is equipped with a powerful 650W alternator, meaning it has more than enough capacity to handle the load from our heated gear and everything else—as long as we manage it sensibly.
That’s where the HEX ezCAN makes a massive difference. Instead of just hardwiring heated gear directly to the battery (which risks draining it), we’re using dedicated HEX Heated Gear Leads wired through the ezCAN. This gives us:
Automatic shutdown when the bike’s not running—no risk of killing the battery at a fuel stop or wild camp
The option to adjust power output (so we’re not running everything on full blast unless it’s truly freezing)
It’s the kind of setup that just works—you get on the bike, it’s cold, you turn it on, and you're warm. No worries about balancing loads, tripping fuses, or running flat.
And because it’s all part of the ezCAN system, we can make changes down the road (literally).
Clean Cockpit: Quad Lock Mount
One final piece we added up front is the Quad Lock phone mount. It’s one of those simple things that quietly does a perfect job. It keeps our phones locked in through rough terrain, weather, and vibration. We’ve wired it in as an accessory through the HEX ezCAN, giving it clean power management and automatic shutoff when the bike is off. The result is a super tidy setup that looks and functions like it was part of the bike from the factory.
We rely on our phones constantly—for nav, tracking, filming, and communication. Having a proper mount isn’t an afterthought, it’s part of the system.
Final Thoughts: Built to Go the Distance
Everything we’ve added here—the lights, the power management, the heated gear—has one purpose: to make this bike ready to carry us around the world. When you're committing to a journey of this scale, you can’t leave visibility or comfort to chance. You have to build a setup you trust completely, because at some point, it's going to be the only thing between you and real trouble.
Riding home from aBikeThing late that evening, we took the long way—down unlit country lanes, with fog rolling in and not a single streetlight in sight. And honestly, we were stunned. Storm our R 1300 GSA lit up the road like daylight. We could see every turn, every patch of gravel, every branch in the verge. We weren’t squinting into the dark or second-guessing what was up ahead. We just rode.
That feeling—clarity, confidence, control—that’s exactly what we’re going to need on this round-the-world ride. It’s not about the gear for the sake of gear. It’s about the difference it makes when it counts. And after that test ride, we know this setup is going to count for a lot.
One of the biggest reasons we feel so confident is the HEX ezCAN. It hasn’t just made the install neater—it’s given us peace of mind. Every accessory is now managed properly and safely. Power is delivered exactly when and where it’s needed, and the system automatically cuts off unnecessary draw when the bike is off, which means we’re not worrying about draining the battery at a border stop or campsite.
More importantly, we can adjust settings as we ride, tailoring the brightness, timing, and behaviour of our accessories to suit different riding conditions, laws, or even personal preference. That kind of flexibility is priceless when you're crossing dozens of countries with totally different environments and road expectations.
This setup didn’t just make the bike better—it made it smarter, safer, and ready for the road ahead.
Products We Are Taking Around The World
Power & Control:
2x HEX ezCAN Mojave Accessory Managers (H3-EZL-004)
HEX ezSWITCH (prototype/beta)
HEX ezCAN Extension & Splitter Cables
HEX Heated Clothing Leads
Lighting:
2x Denali D7 Pro Lights (DNL.D7P.050)
3x Denali T3 Switchback Lights (DNL.T3.10300.S)
Diagnostics:
HEX GS-911wifi OBD Tool (H1-GSF-009)
HEX GS-911 10-pin Adapter (H1-GSF-0011)
Cockpit:
Quad Lock Phone Mount
Every decision has a reason—because when the journey is this big, every detail matters.