Head light modulators & flashing break lights | GTAMotorcycle.com

Head light modulators & flashing break lights

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danarchy

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What do you guys think of them? Effective? Dangerous? Just annoying?

Does anyone here use them? Can you turn them on and off while riding or is it a permanent installation?
 
I have three observations:

1. They're annoying and will have oncoming traffic fixate on your light. You probably don't want oncoming traffic fixating on your front end.

2. They can make judging distance difficult for oncoming traffic.

3. They're annoying. Annoying other drivers needlessly is not a good idea, IMO.
 
Headlight Modulation? I would say no. There are many reasons not to do it, the most obvious being that it may confuse/annoy other road users
Rear brake light modulation? Certainly! I've tried a couple different types of modulators, and I find the 3rdbrakelight modulator to be both the most effective and the least expensive (as long as you don't mind doing a little wiring). I've been using the same unit for 3 seasons on 2 different bikes and it's been working flawlessly.
 
I've seen a few bikes with modulated headlights. I'm not convinced that it does more than cause confusion. I do however, flash my brake lights (manual modulation :cool:) when cars are approaching me at a stop sign or light. I've always been amazed at how it causes people to quickly slow down.
 
+1 ^ - I also flash the brake lights when I'm about to start slowing down, and then when I see vehicles approaching me when I'm already stopped.
 
pm127 said:
I've seen a few bikes with modulated headlights. I'm not convinced that it does more than cause confusion. I do however, flash my brake lights (manual modulation :cool:) when cars are approaching me at a stop sign or light. I've always been amazed at how it causes people to quickly slow down.
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I agree, most tactical flashlights have a strobe function meant for shining into the eyes of 'intruders' making it harder for them to identify your location/distance.
 
[SUB]Not a good idea.

Ive heard even more negative comments - even anger - about people riding with high beams on all the time. People get ticked off, flash their own high beams and even swerve as a type of rebuttal.

So beware if you do this as well. I'm not too interested in having cars swerve at me...[/SUB]
 
Torinate said:
[SUB]Not a good idea.

Ive heard even more negative comments - even anger - about people riding with high beams on all the time. People get ticked off, flash their own high beams and even swerve as a type of rebuttal.

So beware if you do this as well. I'm not too interested in having cars swerve at me...[/SUB]
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I'd never ride with high beams on all the time, or even the modulated ones. I was thinking something like this might be a good idea to install but only turn on for 2-3 seconds at a time when I think that people who should be noticing me are not (ex. you're approaching an intersection and a car turning left is inching forward as the car in front of you is approaching as if to make the turn after it). Flashing the high beams a few times would probably have the same effect as the headlight modulator but I've also seen modulated running lights and there's also this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXi_5qN1Ln4

That would definitely be annoying all the time but just turning it on for a few seconds would be a less aggressive and less panic-inducing way to get someone's attention than honking the horn.
 
UltrA_09 said:
Headlight Modulation? I would say no. There are many reasons not to do it, the most obvious being that it may confuse/annoy other road users
Rear brake light modulation? Certainly! I've tried a couple different types of modulators, and I find the 3rdbrakelight modulator to be both the most effective and the least expensive (as long as you don't mind doing a little wiring). I've been using the same unit for 3 seasons on 2 different bikes and it's been working flawlessly.
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I really like that.. it flashes a few times and stays solid.. smart!

I'm going to pick it up :)
 
- I started riding with high beams on during the day 30+ years and a couple of million kilometers ago. I drove my car with headlights on during the day long before daylight running lights became standard, BTW.

- I installed my first headlight modulator 120,000Km ago and haven't turned it off since. Both my headlights are modulated (Bandit has separate high and low beam) when the high beam is on. I switch to low beam at sunset when the sensor start switching the modulator off.

It's legal and it definitely gets me noticed. In the absence of hard statistical evidence I have no reason to doubt it's effectiveness and positive effect on my safety because my personal experience is more than positive. So far I've only heard the "annoying" argument from the same people that wouldn't be caught dead with a lime green helmet like mine :).

I have a brake light modulator as well, but I can't speak about it's effectiveness because I never had any rear ending incidents, not even a close call.
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