does anybody here use pulsing brake lights?

[Stig]

Skene Design P3 Lights are nice since you can program them on the fly. When you turn the ignition on, you tap the brakes the following number of times for the following results:

Brake Light Programming
4x No brake light modulation
5x Brakes modulate 4 times slowly, then solid
6x Brakes modulate 4 times rapidly, 4 times slowly, then solid
Mode is saved on power off

Emergency Flasher
7x Medium repeating flash
8x Rapid repeating flash
9x Quad flash
Flasher is disabled when you apply the brake again

Tail Light Modulation
10x Toggles tail light modulation on & off

Tail Light Brightness
12x Toggles tail light brightness - high/low (this is the "flickering" effect that people usually refer to)

[sdpc2]

before you lay your head on the pillow!

Or maybe that is 13 taps.....

Skene Design P3 Lights are nice since you can program them on the fly. When you turn the ignition on, you tap the brakes the following number of times for the following results:

Brake Light Programming
4x No brake light modulation
5x Brakes modulate 4 times slowly, then solid
6x Brakes modulate 4 times rapidly, 4 times slowly, then solid
Mode is saved on power off

Emergency Flasher
7x Medium repeating flash
8x Rapid repeating flash
9x Quad flash
Flasher is disabled when you apply the brake again

Tail Light Modulation
10x Toggles tail light modulation on & off

Tail Light Brightness
12x Toggles tail light brightness - high/low (this is the "flickering" effect that people usually refer to)

[kantuckid]

I have the little bulb that has a brake flash feature built into it-has been on two bikes for several yrs so far, so good.

[bmwrider88]

i have seen rear brake light flashers that also cause the rear turn signals to alternately flash along with the brake light. anyone know of this brand, or whether it is brand specific or programmable?

i would love to have these on my BMWs

[bmwrider88]

i recently went into my local BMW dealership to schedule some work for my 1988 K100.
i ordered some PIAA lights for the front end and asked if they sold flasher kits for rear lighting/brake lights. i was informed by the service manager that such equipment is illegal in PA and my bike (s) would NOT pass PA State Inspection if equipped thusly! a quick search or the PA motor vehicle codes for motorcycles did NOT turn up any solid info on the subject. in fact it does not mention rear brake flashers at all.

anybody here know the PA law on this?

[brisco]

I just added the Skene P3 setup to my RT last week.
I do notice cars seem to follow less closely and really back off when I hit the brakes, especially at night.

They are programmable, but I really like the stock programming. I was concerned at first with the flickering of the LED's in taillight only mode, but oncee you back up about 30 feet they appear to shine steadily.

[kthflieger]

just installed the hyperlites california pulsing option on my new RT. Works well without messing up the canbus. The added light sure seems to make cars stop sooner and keep their distance.

[careycsg]

Huge fan of the P3 lights after having breakfast with the owners in Johnson City a couple of years ago. Great people! Combined with the BRAKE light from the former Road Rocketeer company, cars literally hit their brakes when I touch mine. Some even might get a mouthful of phone one of these days.

[PGlaves]

i recently went into my local BMW dealership to schedule some work for my 1988 K100.
i ordered some PIAA lights for the front end and asked if they sold flasher kits for rear lighting/brake lights. i was informed by the service manager that such equipment is illegal in PA and my bike (s) would NOT pass PA State Inspection if equipped thusly!

Well I guess I'm going to have to miss the Bloomsburg rally because I sure don't want to get a ticket for the flashing LED brake lights on my bike. It seems, based on the number of posts in this thread that a lot of us will be in trouble in Pennsylvania.

Oh, I think I'll go anyway. I'll just add the cost of that ticket to the cost of the $5 gas to get there.

[marchyman]

anybody here know the PA law on this?

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/vehicle_code/index.shtml

There is nothing in chapter 43 (Lighting Equipment) about this. The closest I can find is a statement in Chapter 45 that says you cant have police/emergency service type flashing lights.

(d) Vehicles prohibited from using signals.--Except as
otherwise specifically provided in this section, no vehicle
other than an emergency vehicle may be equipped with revolving
or flashing lights or audible warning systems identical or
similar to those specified in subsections (a) and (b). A person
who equips or uses a vehicle with visual or audible warning
systems in violation of this section commits a summary offense
and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
less than $500 nor more than $1,000.

But I'm a California guy who doen't know anything about PA law and certainly doesn't know what a vehicle inspector might flag rightly or wrongly.

[bmwrider88]

Well I guess I'm going to have to miss the Bloomsburg rally because I sure don't want to get a ticket for the flashing LED brake lights on my bike. It seems, based on the number of posts in this thread that a lot of us will be in trouble in Pennsylvania.

Oh, I think I'll go anyway. I'll just add the cost of that ticket to the cost of the $5 gas to get there.

Paul,
hey the folks i know who have them on their bikes here in PA never got ticketed and as far as i know, they all have their bikes inspected annually, according to the law... i read the text of the statutes myself, they're posted above- seems subjective to me. obviously somebody's inspecting (or putting stickers on) bikes around here. one might expect, of all dealerships in the area, that the BMW dealer would advocate for the use of this equipment. i sent a contact letter in to the PA Attorney General's office asking about brake light flashers AND pulsing headlights. when i receive a reply i'll post it here.

see you in Bloomsburg.
Tom

[sdpc2]

that Paul and Voni have ridden in PA many times before....

[jskene]

My company makes the P3 Lights system and we have sold many, many of them to Pa customers. We have yet to hear from any of them that they have had any legal issues with their modulated brake light function.

The modulation rate that we use has been shown to decrease the reaction time of following traffic by ~ 0.2 seconds, which could make the difference between being hit and not being hit.

They are programmable via the brake lever, so it's easy to switch the modulated brake light off if a LEO has an issue with them.

[greenwald]

i recently went into my local BMW dealership to schedule some work for my 1988 K100.
i ordered some PIAA lights for the front end and asked if they sold flasher kits for rear lighting/brake lights. i was informed by the service manager that such equipment is illegal in PA and my bike (s) would NOT pass PA State Inspection if equipped thusly! a quick search or the PA motor vehicle codes for motorcycles did NOT turn up any solid info on the subject. in fact it does not mention rear brake flashers at all.

anybody here know the PA law on this?

What 'appears' to be consistent across all 50 states is that flashing red (or blue) lights that continue to flash could be confused for an emergency vehicle, and state traffic codes do not allow you to mimic such behavior.

However, Hyper-Lites (and many other brands) default to a steady red light after a certain sequence (usually 4-12) of flashes, thus complying with traffic laws.

Afterall, flashing your brake lights to alert a motorist behind you that you're slowing or stopping is taught in driver's ed classes across the USA as a universal concept of safety.

If you happen to run a flashing brake light that does nothing but keep flashing.......well, then you may run afoul of the Law.

[bmwrider88]

thanks for the comments RE: PA guys.
yeah i don't know why the local BMW dealer of all places wouldn't let you go with a brake flasher-type warning system in place. i will almost certainly add such a system to my bikes and simply have someone else do the inspections on them from now on.