Flashing Rear Brake Lights, Worth the Bucks??

[craigt]

Has anyone tried those flashing rear brake lights? They seem like a good idea, any recommendation, comments, criticism???

Thanks,

Craig

[widebmw]

A lot of people use them and they do seem to get noticed better.
Just one thing, they should be in addition to the stock brake light.
I have heard that in some states you must have a brake light that comes on and does not blink.

[keelerb]

I use them on a few bikes and think they work well. I use the Kisan Tech version (I like their headlight modulators too) and they flash the brake light quickly at first and then at a "decaying" rate and finally stay lit. They do catch the eye, so I think there's some marginal value at least.

Kisan Tech is pretty good at producing "lawful" devices, so without having researched it further, I suspect these are legal. They pass inspection, and no cop has ever pulled me over, FWIW.

[Acejones]

I have "Hyper-Lites" on my R1150R and had them on a F650GS.I believe they are beneficial and will probably add them to my K75.

I'm not going to add them to my R80RT as I'm probably going to sell it. (too many bikes and not enough space).

[20715]

I've had SOS Priority Lights PLUS on my airhead for over 25 years. The same unit. I just did a google, and was surprised they're still selling the same thing. It doesn't affect the function of the brake light. When you turn your lights on, the rear turn signals come on at half brightness and act as running lights. When you hit the brakes, the rear signals flash full bright very rapidily about 8 times. If you are using the turn signal when you hit the brakes, the appropriate rear light flashes as it normally would, and instead of flashing the opposite turn signal just lights up brighter, like a brake light.

I read long ago it's illegal to have amber running lights in the back, but I left the stock amber lenses in place and have never been hassled by the police. I seem to recall years ago somebody sold red lenses to replace the amber to meet that legal requirement. I long since quit worrying about the legality.

Do they help? Well, they certainly increase the visibility. I don't remember what it was, but a friend had an auxilliary light on the back of his BMW in the early 80's that supplemented the brake light. The unique thing about it was I believe it had some kind of mercury switch inside, and the quicker you were stopping the faster it flashed.

I've got a BRAKE ! LED light in place of the standard bulb on my 1200GS. I've gotten lots of comments from cars and other bikes on how noticable it is.

Personally, I feel better with some extra attention getting back there, but the fact I've never been rear ended isn't a testimonial to the effectiveness of what I have. If my SOS unit ever does take a dump, I'll replace it in a heartbeat.

Hope that helps.

[11212]

anything that catches the eyes of a follower is good news----slopoke

[mervingry]

I bought the P3 auxiliarly tail/brake lights after being rear-ended while stopped at a red light in downtown Ottawa last May.

[Manfred]

I have these on my bike http://www.motoelekt.com/electropod.htm and have been told by other riders that they make a big difference. $25.00

I used this with an LED brake light and 2 extra LED brake lights that I added on my Yamaha XS850. Very good service from these people and the product (single circuit) worked fine and is sturdy. $10 delivered. http://autolumination.com/braker_installation.html

[craigt]

thanks for all the suggestions. i think i might go with the hypers. my k75 brake lens assembly has empty cavities left and right of brake light cavity. it appears that the small hypers would fit inside, behind the tail light lens. has anyone ever tried this?

[Manfred]

My boxer had one hyperlight inside the tail/brake light housing when I bought it. There's room for two.

I mounted the ElektroPods on the turn signal stalks, to provide some separation from the brake light and - hopefully - be more noticeable. That's the reason I bought them, so that's what I wanted to maximize.

[tghsmith]

having worked on this project with Leon Friday at its very start one of the first test was inside the taillight unit on a k-bike, I still have my proto-type unit in the taillight of my rs, this was soldered up and hand cast in the back of the shop before he got the patent.... still works great, have had other bikes follow me to ask how it works...

[10564]

I have been using these and they work like a charm. They replace the 1157 bulb and if you use a ballast resistor from the same source they work great with canbus AND ABS. :dance


http://superlumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/1156_pt_r_wm.jpg

BRAKER FLASHING BRAKE LIGHT BULB

The BRAKER strobes brightly at 20 flashes per second for two seconds every time you hit the brakes.

.........After 2 seconds the lights stays bright as long as your foot is on the brake.



20 Red 1157 High Powered Leds $20.99 EA.


Available at: http://superlumination.com/1156_1157.htm

[PaulStarry]

I've had SOS Priority Lights PLUS on my airhead for over 25 years. The same unit. I just did a google, and was surprised they're still selling the same thing. It doesn't affect the function of the brake light. When you turn your lights on, the rear turn signals come on at half brightness and act as running lights. When you hit the brakes, the rear signals flash full bright very rapidily about 8 times. If you are using the turn signal when you hit the brakes, the appropriate rear light flashes as it normally would, and instead of flashing the opposite turn signal just lights up brighter, like a brake light.

I read long ago it's illegal to have amber running lights in the back, but I left the stock amber lenses in place and have never been hassled by the police. I seem to recall years ago somebody sold red lenses to replace the amber to meet that legal requirement. I long since quit worrying about the legality.

Do they help? Well, they certainly increase the visibility. I don't remember what it was, but a friend had an auxilliary light on the back of his BMW in the early 80's that supplemented the brake light. The unique thing about it was I believe it had some kind of mercury switch inside, and the quicker you were stopping the faster it flashed.

I've got a BRAKE ! LED light in place of the standard bulb on my 1200GS. I've gotten lots of comments from cars and other bikes on how noticable it is.

Personally, I feel better with some extra attention getting back there, but the fact I've never been rear ended isn't a testimonial to the effectiveness of what I have. If my SOS unit ever does take a dump, I'll replace it in a heartbeat.

Hope that helps.

:german

[PaulStarry]

:german

I have them on my 84 R100 and yes they are great addition to being seen and not smasthed .They're also very easy to install.Ride on,Ride on.

[rpeckham136133]

:dance



Thanks for posting the link to autolumination..... I had not seen that one, and it has an incredible array and variety of lights, bulbs and possibilities that boggle the mind.... superkewl......Thanks!

[jlsmith37804]

I was wanting to do this as well. The brake light is a single filament bulb; how does the stock tail light work, and serve as tail light? Does the LED function the same way?

[Manfred]

LEDs are available in the same mechanical/electrical interfaces (1156 or 1157 bases) as normal bulbs and will act the same when used in the regular bulb locations.

[Ridealot]

I have P3's on both of my bikes now. Having flashing brake lights does some to bring the cagers out of their coma and they stop farther behind me now. I haven't had a cage stop inches off of my back tire since adding the flashing lights. Before adding them it seemed to be a daily occurrence.

The one thing the P3's have over other flashing lights is the flicker mode that you can set. If you look directly at the bulbs they appear to be on solid. But if you direct your eyes away from the lights out of your peripheral vision you see the lights are flickering. Its very good at bringing attention to the lights. And anything that attracts the attention of distracted cagers is good.

[Paul_F]

My dealer at my request added some type of flashing LED lights inside my rear lens along with my regular brake light. The results were so so. At West Bend, I bought and had installed two long stretches of hyper lights added to the outside of the brake lens. Now, if someone should be tailgating me, I just touch my rear brake and three sets of lights start flashing wildly, as well as the regular brake light lighting up. With the white helment and neon stripes, maybe they think I'm a LEO. The tailgater very quickly backs off. A friend who toured with me once said that every time they came on, he'd grab a handful of brake lever, and he wasn't even tailgating. I've had other riders pull up and comment how effective they are.

No they won't stop some inattentive driver from running into me, but they will certainly help reduce my chance of being rear ended.

[CTellman]

I installed Hyperlites on my bike. They certainly attract attention. In addition, on a Christmas trip to Miami I spent a lot of time on Interstate 95 at 85 or more mph. When a cager was too close I could just touch the brake and when the Hyperlites came on they backed off. I have not had a problem with people being too close at stop lights either. One of my better decisions.
Campbell Tellman II
'93 R100RT
:thumb

[jforgo]

having amber running/brake lights is illegal here. Does someone have red LEDs which fit in the rear turn signals, glow red thru the amber??

[Manfred]

having amber running/brake lights is illegal here. Does someone have red LEDs which fit in the rear turn signals, glow red thru the amber??

This thread, post #12, page 1.

[20715]

having amber running/brake lights is illegal here. Does someone have red LEDs which fit in the rear turn signals, glow red thru the amber??

It appears this guy is selling red lenses for a reasonable price.

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cool-Beam-Motorcycle-Parts__W0QQ_armrsZ1