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are stock bikes safe (as sold) with the single rear brake light?

2.1K views 20 replies 17 participants last post by  qu@s@r  
#1 ·
i knew the single brake light was a piece of pooh

my wife got a sport-dog, and riding behind her for days, i realized the single brake light was an accident waiting to happen,

so i paid $25 for a used module, that made the turn signals light up as brake lights.


it's AMAZING,

it's not like double, or triple, but like ten times as noticeable and very bright.

i understand the MoCo needs to hang me upside down by the heels and shake EVERY LAST DOLLAR out of my pocket,

but could they not make me safe, to live long enough, to more thoroughly make them richer?

it's ignorant that is not built into our bikes.
 
#2 ·
What about the rear brake lever? What would it cost to extend that? Not much, the bike already comes with one.
 
#3 ·
Did you ever think that by changing the blinkers to red, that you might not be as safe. Anyone who drives subconsiosly knows that a blinking amber means desire to make a directional change. A blinking red could be something else. I suggest that you add 2 lights and hook them up to that unit, but keep the amber lights for blinkers.
 
#7 ·
Carrie said:
Some nice bright LED lights can do the trick...It's a little pricey, but you'll get noticed. My brake light also flashes when I hit the brakes then becomes a solid bright light. Very noticeable.
i think if it had a decent electrical system that was hardware controlled (relays) vice SCR (silicone controlled rectifiers - switching transistors off and on) we could easily add more/auxiliary lighting to make us safer.

a local sport bike shop has LED's cheap, gonna add those to my rear brake lites, instead of paying a HunnertDollars for a module.

i noticed today that my 06's speedo is filling up with water & gas fumes, has a little sheen of oil & funk on the inside. if it blows while i am riding it, print this out & mail it to the wife
 
#9 ·
An example of bad lights;

I'm out on a dark night and I see a chopper from the back with one of the plate mounted brake/turn lamps mounted on the left side by the axle. When I changed lanes to the right lane, in a right corner he was just about invisible to me and I knew he was there. At a stop light I could not see him unless there were car lights behind him in the other lane (obviously no reflectors).

There is no doubt in my mind that if he gets hit, the driver will say "I never saw him".

I have the module on both our bikes.

Chris
 
#10 ·
I've been telling people this for years.

Cars usually have 4 taillight bulbs that light up with the brakes PLUS a third brake light... a sleeping person knows when the car in front of them is stopping!

Motorcycles have one, sometimes two taillight bulbs... WTF?? The logic, or actually lack of, is that motorcycles are smaller and "require" proportionally less lighting per DOT regulations. The opposite is trucks... they are bigger than cars and are required to have lights all over them. Either way it's bullshitte... their reason for having less light on our bikes is exactly the reason we need more light.

Every once in a while I have someone ask me if my taillights are too bright and then I explain the above scenario of 4 bulbs, 2 in each large taillight, plus a third brake light vs. our single taillights. Even though my lights are whoppin' bright compared to stock and any of the other toy LED taillights out there, they still do not put out more light than what the average ass-end of a car does... for now.

The more the light you can get, the better off you are... bottom line.
 
#11 ·
ceraaa42 said:
An example of bad lights;

I'm out on a dark night and I see a chopper from the back with one of the plate mounted brake/turn lamps mounted on the left side by the axle. When I changed lanes to the right lane, in a right corner he was just about invisible to me and I knew he was there. At a stop light I could not see him unless there were car lights behind him in the other lane (obviously no reflectors).

There is no doubt in my mind that if he gets hit, the driver will say "I never saw him".

I have the module on both our bikes.

Chris
yep... just because you spent $60k on that bike doesn't mean you won't get your arse run over.
 
#12 ·
DrHeathenScum said:
I've been telling people this for years.

Cars usually have 4 taillight bulbs that light up with the brakes PLUS a third brake light... a sleeping person knows when the car in front of them is stopping!

Motorcycles have one, sometimes two taillight bulbs... WTF?? The logic, or actually lack of, is that motorcycles are smaller and "require" proportionally less lighting per DOT regulations. The opposite is trucks... they are bigger than cars and are required to have lights all over them. Either way it's bullshitte... their reason for having less light on our bikes is exactly the reason we need more light.

Every once in a while I have someone ask me if my taillights are too bright and then I explain the above scenario of 4 bulbs, 2 in each large taillight, plus a third brake light vs. our single taillights. Even though my lights are whoppin' bright compared to stock and any of the other toy LED taillights out there, they still do not put out more light than what the average ass-end of a car does... for now.

The more the light you can get, the better off you are... bottom line.
This is why I'm in love with my Heavycycles 3 wire rear turn signals. :thumbsup: Nice bright running lights with 3x extra bright turns and brake but unlike the brand K lights the running lights match the brightness of the middle taillight and don't look like the brake is stuck on. My next set will have a ring of amber around the edge for the turns when I get some extra ching to spend on lights. -2$en#e- unless the Doc wants to set me up with some for free. ;) :dunno:

Running lights
Image


brake
Image
 
#13 ·
Cop_Stanger said:
This is why I'm in love with my Heavycycles 3 wire rear turn signals.
Nice bright running lights with 3x extra bright turns and brake
Hey, Joe!

You have some new stuff out? Can´t find the turn signal inserts on your website.
I recently got som Cycle Dynamics Turn signal retros. They are really nice and bright and all, but they don´t fit very well. I had to really work them to get the lenses back on and even then, they´re not really all the way back on (for the life of me, I can´t get them to "snap" back into place, there is still a little bit of a gap)

Lemme know, I´m still looking for the perfect ones...

C Ya
Sponk
 
#14 ·
04ctd said:
i think if it had a decent electrical system that was hardware controlled (relays) vice SCR (silicone controlled rectifiers - switching transistors off and on) we could easily add more/auxiliary lighting to make us safer.

a local sport bike shop has LED's cheap, gonna add those to my rear brake lites, instead of paying a HunnertDollars for a module.

i noticed today that my 06's speedo is filling up with water & gas fumes, has a little sheen of oil & funk on the inside. if it blows while i am riding it, print this out & mail it to the wife

:roflback: :roflback: :roflback: :roflback: :roflback:
 
#15 ·
04ctd said:
i knew the single brake light was a piece of pooh
my wife got a sport-dog, and riding behind her for days, i realized the single brake light was an accident waiting to happen,so i paid $25 for a used module, that made the turn signals light up as brake lights.

it's AMAZING,

it's not like double, or triple, but like ten times as noticeable and very bright.
i understand the MoCo needs to hang me upside down by the heels and shake EVERY LAST DOLLAR out of my pocket,but could they not make me safe, to live long enough, to more thoroughly make them richer?
it's ignorant that is not built into our bikes.
I put the module on my RK also. IMO... big difference. I've been trying to get my brother to do the same on his Dyna.
 
#17 ·
trooper113 said:
I agree. The H-D module doesn't cost much, especially at a 20% off dealer, and provides significantly better lighting.
I agree as well... it's a good investment.

personally, I prefer the color difference of the amber signals, but I would be more concerned with overall visibility... you can always flap your arms when changing lanes.
 
#18 ·
DrHeathenScum said:
I agree as well... it's a good investment.

personally, I prefer the color difference of the amber signals, but I would be more concerned with overall visibility... you can always flap your arms when changing lanes.
And one can also buy some really great lights from The Doctor. Someday when I save enough pennies.....
 
#20 ·
One thing to consider is how close your turn signals are to the tail light. On my RK Custom they are very close and I've seen them when all three light are red and you can't tell at all when one is blinking. In fact, in WI it's illigal on my bike because they are too close together.

Plus, I find the contrast between the amber and red a LOT more noticable than red and red.
 
#21 ·
04ctd said:
i knew the single brake light was a piece of pooh

my wife got a sport-dog, and riding behind her for days, i realized the single brake light was an accident waiting to happen,

so i paid $25 for a used module, that made the turn signals light up as brake lights.


it's AMAZING,

it's not like double, or triple, but like ten times as noticeable and very bright.

i understand the MoCo needs to hang me upside down by the heels and shake EVERY LAST DOLLAR out of my pocket,

but could they not make me safe, to live long enough, to more thoroughly make them richer?

it's ignorant that is not built into our bikes.
I think hey are as safe as anything else. Of course, all the lights in the world won't make you more noticeable to some idiots.