auxiliary lights

I am wanting to get a pair of extra driving/headlights for my 78 R100rt.
Around here it's open season on motorcyclists mainly people either don't look or just don't care so I figured a extra set of lights might help.
Somewhere I read a article about a guy who put a set on his bike that would actually strobe if he hit his brakes??? Thanks
Dave

davelegg@att.net said:

I am wanting to get a pair of extra driving/headlights for my 78 R100rt.
Around here it's open season on motorcyclists mainly people either don't look or just don't care so I figured a extra set of lights might help.
Somewhere I read a article about a guy who put a set on his bike that would actually strobe if he hit his brakes??? Thanks
Dave

Click to expand...

That strobe effect is likely from wiring the lights to a HEXezcan. There's a few videos on YouTube showing the features.

I don't see the point in strobing a headlight when the brake is applied. You want to be seen before you need to hit the brake.

You are describing a light modulator, but it's not clear if you are looking to strobe the brake or headlight.

There are lots of options that would work on your bike, just Google "motorcycle headlight modulator" or "motorcycle brake light modulator".
for several options.

A R100RT is pre-CANBUS, so the HEXezcan will not work.

davelegg@att.net said:

I am wanting to get a pair of extra driving/headlights for my 78 R100rt.
Around here it's open season on motorcyclists mainly people either don't look or just don't care so I figured a extra set of lights might help.
Somewhere I read a article about a guy who put a set on his bike that would actually strobe if he hit his brakes??? Thanks
Dave

Click to expand...

In general, extra lights can either be primarily for helping YOU SEE BETTER down the road, or helping you BE SEEN BETTER by others on the road with you. All extra lights give you some benefits in both areas. It sounds as thought you are mostly looking to BE SEEN BETTER by others. This is my case also. I do not ride at night unless absolutely necessary so I mostly want to BE SEEN BETTER by others during daylight hours.

I am convinced (others disagree perhaps) that yellow/amber lights on the front of the bike make you "stand out from the crowd" more than white/blue-ish lights. Some after-market auxiliary front lights come with an amber/yellow lens that you can slip into the case for daytime use and then slip out for nighttime use. That setup in my Clearwater Glendas is what I have on my F800ST.

Whatever you do, good luck.

Clearwater Lights makes some excellent auxilary lights that are probably better made or as well made as any other brand. They are LED with adjustable brightness and can be configured to go full power when hitting the brights which creates a very bright 3 or 4 points of lights for oncoming cars to see. I also believe that with some model BMW's they can flash when hitting the horn.

There are several add on brake light modulators that flash brake lights when applying brakes. There are also several lightbars that can be added on as separate lights or as add ons for top boxes. I have an Admore Smart Lightbar and it is an additional light that works with taillamps, brake lights, turn signals and hazards. It also has an accelerometer that can detect when slowing such as when downshifting and it will flash the brake lights. Many functions of this lightbar can be programmed via a USB cable and a software program. If you Google Admore lighting you can read more about this product. Here is a video of this lightbar in action:

Check out SKENE DESIGN, photon blasters have been standard equipment on my last 4 BMW's
P3 lights complete my defensive lighting

davelegg@att.net said:

I am wanting to get a pair of extra driving/headlights for my 78 R100rt.
Around here it's open season on motorcyclists mainly people either don't look or just don't care so I figured a extra set of lights might help.
Somewhere I read a article about a guy who put a set on his bike that would actually strobe if he hit his brakes??? Thanks
Dave

Click to expand...

The article you read was likely referring to our Photon Blaster-A model, that has an Alert feature. A short double-tap of the brakes triggers the front-facing lights to flash a high-viz pattern to alert oncoming drivers. You activate this if you think drivers ahead of you are not paying attention or may not notice you.

You can read more about it here:

https://www.skenelights.com/online-store/Front-Visibility-Systems-c22717550

Royce is correct about amber/yellow lights being more visible. Several studies have shown this color to be more noticeable than white.

We also offer the same Alert feature on our intelligent dimmer, where a quick double-tap of the high beam causes the attached driving lights to flash the same sequence:

https://www.skenelights.com/online-store/IQ-275-Alert-Intelligent-Dimmer-p80215586

jskene said:

The article you read was likely referring to our Photon Blaster-A model, that has an Alert feature. A short double-tap of the brakes triggers the front-facing lights to flash a high-viz pattern to alert oncoming drivers. You activate this if you think drivers ahead of you are not paying attention or may not notice you.

You can read more about it here:

https://www.skenelights.com/online-store/Front-Visibility-Systems-c22717550

Royce is correct about amber/yellow lights being more visible. Several studies have shown this color to be more noticeable than white.

We also offer the same Alert feature on our intelligent dimmer, where a quick double-tap of the high beam causes the attached driving lights to flash the same sequence:

https://www.skenelights.com/online-store/IQ-275-Alert-Intelligent-Dimmer-p80215586

Click to expand...

Jerry,

I find the Alert function a bit difficult to use with my wethead due to the way the wethead brake lights stay on for about 1 second after the brake lever is released. A quick double -tap will not work on the wethead, the taps have to be separated by about 1 second. This is also true whenever you try to re-program the lights, all the brake taps need to be seperated by about 1 second.

I believe that this is noted in the instruction manual but I wanted to make sure people are aware of it.

By the way, I love the lights!!


Best,
Ski

Ski, you are right about the wet head's brake switch response.

BMW decided to eliminate brake switches on the wetheads, getting brake light information instead from brake fluid pressure. No doubt this saved few dollars.

Unfortunately this delays the onset of the brake light compared to using a switch and also adds a half second delay on when it turns off. You should practice the double tap so you know how long to delay the second tap in order to activate the alert.

The delayed OFF is not a safety issue, but delaying the ON time certainly is. Some customers have added a switch to overcome these limitations. A switch like this one:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/panasonic-electric-works/ASQM11630/255-5122-ND/4692064

mounted at the front lever and rear pedal, connected between switch power and the brake wire on our controller will do the job.