Any info ON LED rear lights

[Motorrad4fun]

I am looking for any info on LED break lights for my K1200GT.....it will get dark sooner and I am interested to hear if they are all they are said to be

 

Motorad 4 Fun Site

[ELP_JC]

The best by far is the Brake! LED board; it's a bolt-on affair, but takes a bit of patience to install on stock housing. If you also buy a clear housing, it's a piece of cake since it unscrews in half.

The Brake! LED is programmable to flash at 3 different rates, then goes to solid. I have it on the longest, and it goes solid in about 2 seconds. Much brighter than stock, and never have to worry about blown bulbs (and its consequences: no cruise and dash light).

Bought it here: www.gizmomill.com. Hope this helps.

[Laney]

I have a Lite Blazer, an add-on LED brake/tail light bar that mounts below the license plate. It has three clusters of LEDs. As a tail light, the two outer LED clusters stay lit until the brakes are applied. All three flash during braking, and then go steady on after a few seconds. No problems with using it in the RS/GT brake system.

The manufacturer's web site is HERE. Some dealres sell them, too.

[Tool]

The best by far is the Brake! LED board

 

 

Uhhh... everyone is different, but JC - to say something is "best by far"... I gotta ask: How do you qualify that "fact"?

 

 

I try to avoid making definitive statements like this, because I haven't tested ALL the options available, but...

 

... "the Brake!" better be darn good... it had better be real, REAL GOOD, considering that it costs $120!

 

 

I don't watch my pennies all that close, but for about HALF that amount - $65.95 plus S&H - the Lite Blazer that Laney recommended is a fine way to augment the rear lighting of any bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It consists of banks of HIGH INTENSITY LEDs, is easy to install, and IMHO it works really well, as it ADDS lights to the rear, and in that conspicuous trinagle-shape that some researchers say is quickly noticed by the human eye. I followed 2 bikes, one with HyperLites, the other sporting a Lite Blazer, and the difference was startling! I went home and promptly ordered the Blazer. In fact, I was so impressed that I now have one on each of my motorcycles.

 

 

FYI: I also added >>>Lite Buddies<<< which cost $45.95, and look like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

inside the turn signal housings on my K12RS. I wired them to come on as brake lights, and in combination with the Lite Blazer, the overall is just what I want. YMMV.

[Red Barchetta]

BMW of Santa Cruz has the BRAKE! led for $99, Clear lens is $49. I saw it on display and it is real bright. I'm considering putting one on my bike.

[Motorrad4fun]

Thanks to all for the great info so far. I will check into all three options

 

Thanks,

Stefan

[Limecreek]

Here's one more option for consideration; BMW's rear LED light kit. It fits below the license plate like the one Laney uses on her bike. When you apply the brake it flashes 5 times rapidly and stays on.

 

It cost more than the one Laney told you about, but has given me a year of good service so far. Ok, now you have a bunch choices to think about.

 

Flashing Tail Light 99990006640 $119.20

 

The best price can be found here:

 

https://chicagobmwmotorcycle.com/2frames/2frame.html

 

[Tool]

Greg - thanks for that photo.

 

 

One consideration for people thinking about the rear lighting: changing the taillight to an LED isn't a bad idea, whether it flashes or whatever. LED can be good from many standpoints, but one place LEDs do NOT "shine" is in the angle of dispersion (my term, not a tech term.) Meaning off-axis viewing can be LESS than a standard bulb.

 

 

Another thought is that the license-plate devices ADD extra light sources, which can only be a Good Thing, especially for the KRS/GT rear, with its brake/taillight tucked up and in as it is. And as I mentioned, there is something even more conspicuous about having lighting configured in a triangle, whether it is on the front or rear.

 

 

In Greg's photo - notice the added lights in the turn signals... those appear to be Lite Buddies, but could be another mfg. No matter; what IS important is that they ADD lights. The plate bracket... ADDS lights.

 

 

FWIW: here is a photo of the rear of my KRS -

 

 

 

 

I have a MotoEquip reflective kit on the system cases, with an added helmet kit running vertically (the "checkerboard" pattern) which is quite visible during the day, and everything really pops at night!

 

 

The photo also shows the Lite Blazer bracket under the plate, and if you look close, you can see the Lite Buddies in the turn signal housings.

 

 

OK, I am done with my spouting for the day (I hope). My point is that whatever you do to augment the factory stuff is good.

[stu650]

I’ve got to give a word of warning regarding the use of the Lite Blazer on an RT. I put one on earlier this year and was very pleased with it for about 4000 miles.

 

However, a few weeks ago I was 100 miles from home one day and came to start the bike after a lunch break. The ABS flashing light continued flashing after the bike started. I tried the ignition sequence two or three times and the same thing happened each time. I tested the bike and found that the servos on the brakes were not working and I only had residual braking. Fortunately my wife and I had planned to stay overnight and take an extended drive back the following day, so we went to the hotel and called BMW breakdown.

 

It had been a gorgeous summer Sunday afternoon and the entire motorcycling community of Great Britain were out on the roads that day and the BMW breakdown didn’t get to us until later that evening. Having previous experience of the breakdown system I knew that the engineer would not have a clue what was wrong. I was proved right and he called for a recovery truck, which could not attend until the following morning.

 

My bike was taken to my local dealers who hooked it up to the diagnostic computer, and this showed an error with the rear lights. They disconnected the Lite Blazer, cleared the computer log, , and tested the bike. Absolutely no more problems. We have just completed 3500 miles around Norway with no further problems. I am currently in discussion with the supplier of the Lite Blazer regarding a refund for the lights and recompense for the charge the dealer levied because the lights were not BMW approved.

[JMc]

To maintain a clean look; try the Pirates LED Brake Kit. IMHO , an with no affiliation to the Pirate, I believe it's the best out there when the lights come on. www.piratesk12site.net.

JMc

[Dirtmerchant]

The best by far is the Brake! LED board; it's a bolt-on affair, but takes a bit of patience to install on stock housing. If you also buy a clear housing, it's a piece of cake since it unscrews in half.

The Brake! LED is programmable to flash at 3 different rates, then goes to solid. I have it on the longest, and it goes solid in about 2 seconds. Much brighter than stock, and never have to worry about blown bulbs (and its consequences: no cruise and dash light).

Bought it here: www.gizmomill.com. Hope this helps.

 

I would like to second the gizomill Brake! light, I ran it on my K1200rs prior to trading and I am now running it on my R12GS. I don't want to get anyone's panties in a wad by saying it is the best thing out there but it is the best I have seen and I get a lot of comments about it from club member riding behind me. Most of them ask WTF did you do to your brake light? One guy said it hurt his eyes it was so bright.

 

One thing I liked with it on my RS was that I removed it prior to trading and sold it to a board member at Vic's site. It did not cost a lot to have it on the bike and there was no damage from screw holes.

 

You pay your money and take your chances...

 

Rodney

[Chris RTBOXR]

First, the lite buddies came with these nice little piggy-back connectors for 4mm (.187) tabbed connectors - anyone know of where to get more of them? I really hate splicing!

 

Second, as for LED tail lights. Buying the clear tail light assembly from Pirate's Lair; comes with a red bulb, then put the LED circut board they sell separately works very well. They used to sell a unit which had the LED built in but it was pure junk ( i have one still in my garage - it would stop my ABS and cruise from working and the resistors were huge ungainly things ).

 

Clear Tail

http://piratesk12site.net/Cleartail.htm

 

LED board

http://piratesk12site.net/LED1.htm

[HankB]

Uhhh... everyone is different, but JC - to say something is "best by far"... I gotta ask: How do you qualify that "fact"?

 

If you saw it you would know!

 

Between the brightness and a pattern that varies before going to solid, it is very visually salient. I'm sure you can get good results for less. Got mine at Pirates Lair and didn't worry about the cost because it is well worth the benefit.

 

-hank

[Laney]

First, the lite buddies came with these nice little piggy-back connectors for 4mm (.187) tabbed connectors - anyone know of where to get more of them?

 

Pep Boys (and many auto parts stores) have the add-on piggybacks - remove the existing connector from the tab, plug the piggyback add-on where the connector came off, and now there are two tabs.

 

I've seen the crimp-on type for unterminated wires, I think at Fry's Electronics (their web site is outpost.com), and definitely at an electronics supply place.

[Chris RTBOXR]

First, the lite buddies came with these nice little piggy-back connectors for 4mm (.187) tabbed connectors - anyone know of where to get more of them?

 

Pep Boys (and many auto parts stores) have the add-on piggybacks - remove the existing connector from the tab, plug the piggyback add-on where the connector came off, and now there are two tabs.

 

I've seen the crimp-on type for unterminated wires, I think at Fry's Electronics (their web site is outpost.com), and definitely at an electronics supply place.

 

Well if someone finds .187 versions just yell. I can find those made for .250 tabs but since my K1200RS has a penchant for the .187 they don't do me any good.

[RFW]

I should preface my remarks by saying that I am an engineer with experience in LED lighting, so I should be able to offers some useful insight on LED brakelights.

 

It is my opinion that LED brakelights are lttle more than a neat-o fad. Other than the fact they have much longer life than tungsten lamps, there is very little to recommend them, and certainly no reason to bother to change over to them (except for the "gee-whiz" appeal). What next; a spoiler for your bike?

 

There is much made of the supposed safety issue that LEDs turn on faster than standard lamps. If you actually look at the facts, this is completely overblown. A standard brake light reaches nearly its full brilliance in less than 100 milliseconds (1/10th of a second). Sure, an LED comes on instantly, but so what? In that 100mS that it takes a normal brakelight to reach nearly its full output, you have travelled a grand total of 4.4 feet at city speeds. Not much of an advantage, is it?

 

Nonetheless, for a friend who was enamored with gimmicks, I custom-made a set of LED brakelights. I used 6 Lumileds 1-Watt (!!!) LEDs. These are 10 to 20 times more powerful than standard LEDs. I drove them with an electronic controller I made, so that when the brakes are applied, the LEDs blast their full output for about 2/10ths of a second, then auomatically dim to something civilized. The idea was that this instantaneous blast of light gets the driver's attention FAST! ...then they dim to avoid dazzzling him.

 

Bob.

[Fasterpill]

For me it's more the extra visibility. I have the lite buddies which live in the sides of the rear turn signals. I have a Givi rack and case which seriously impedes view of the brake light, especially for taller vehicles. Those outboard flashing stop LEDs saved my arse at least once so far.

 

I'm not sure about the ones that flash all the time, though. IMO I'd rather flash them when I'm braking. YMMV

[Laura]

So when is someone going to come out with a wireless LED brakelight that attaches to the back of your helmet? Yep, a nice LED strip you can attach across the back and along the sides also so that no matter how you turn your head a driver can see you are braking.

[Limecreek]

It's out. Let me find the link for you Laura.

[Chris RTBOXR]

It is my opinion that LED brakelights are lttle more than a neat-o fad. Other than the fact they have much longer life than tungsten lamps, there is very little to recommend them, and certainly no reason to bother to change over to them (except for the "gee-whiz" appeal). What next; a spoiler for your bike?

 

Well lets see. I have them on my car and my bike. My car because it came that way (G35). My bike because I retrofitted them.

 

Now why did I put them on my bike? Visibility compared to normal incandescent bulbs. Hows that? Simple, because they use lesser wattage I am able to generate more light with less waste (heat). The stock tail light on most BMW models SUCKS. Hell its probably only there as an after thought.

 

I also have used hyper-lites.

 

LED are more flexible in application than incandescent bulbs. They are also longer lived, if not beyond the vehicle they are employed in.

 

Flexibility means I can have special patterns of light display to alert drivers behind me or even to my side. Long life means I don't have to worry it burned out and the built in systems failed to tell me my tail is dark.

 

They are brighter over all, can be more easily focused, have more flexibility, and last longer. Those are not features that are normally associated with a fad. In fact because of their lower maintenance, flexibility, and even lower wattage requirements you will see this fad spread everywhere. In fact the trucking industry already has taking it up.

 

So your opinion is wrong based on the evidence.

 

I would LED every light if I could. Not because it is a fad or looks cool; which in certain ways the are; but because of the previous mentioned reasons.

[Limecreek]

 

Laura, Clicky

[RFW]

So when is someone going to come out with a wireless LED brakelight that attaches to the back of your helmet? Yep, a nice LED strip you can attach across the back and along the sides also so that no matter how you turn your head a driver can see you are braking.

 

Well, there's this basic problem called "power". What do you expect to power all those LEDs from? LEDs use a considerable amount of current to produce the kind of brightness you're talking about. One LED at this sort of light output uses from 30 mAmps to as much as several hundred mA. and that is just ONE LED. You will need many.

 

LEDs are extremely directional, which means you will need a lot of them pointing in different directions to be visible when you turn your head. No way that any wearable battery would power them for more than a few minutes.

 

Besides, I have to ask why on earth you'd even want to do this, considering your tail light is a far easier candidate for increasing light output.

 

Bob.

[David]

LEDs are extremely directional.

 

Which is why they are not the panacea they might seem to be on a motorcycle, especially if the lens wasn't designed for LED use.

[Richard Utas]

So when is someone going to come out with a wireless LED brakelight that attaches to the back of your helmet? Yep, a nice LED strip you can attach across the back and along the sides also so that no matter how you turn your head a driver can see you are braking.

 

About a year or so ago. Click Here

[Laura]

 

Well, I'll be lookey at that...someone did do it! That is so cool and LED to boot!!! I guess the old saying "if it's been thought of, it's been done" is more true than not. Thanks for the link.

 

Besides, I have to ask why on earth you'd even want to do this, considering your tail light is a far easier candidate for increasing light output.

There's a reason they put a third brake light on 4 wheeled vehicles higher up and in the middle of the other two tail brake lights. It's proven that it's more apt to be seen and paid attention to. I would think the same would go for brake lights on a rider's helmet. Hey, it could help and what could it hurt?

[RFW]

There's a reason they put a third brake light on 4 wheeled vehicles higher up and in the middle of the other two tail brake lights. It's proven that it's more apt to be seen and paid attention to.

 

Actually, there is no proof at whatsoever for this. Just because it is a law, doesn't mean there is any sense to it! This is right up there with daylight running lights for cars, that various studies have clearly shown have no effect on accident rates in countries like the US, Canada and most of Europe, that aren't so northerly that they are half-dark most of the year.

 

Countries that don't use the center tail light (i.e. most of the world) show no clear increase in rear-enders as compared to North America. That all this was created by some technically ignorant government committee is evidenced by the requirement for center tail lights that are mounted high up above the window on tall SUVs. The center light is much further away (angularly) from one's vision, than the normal lights!

 

Seems to me that if you are close enough to someone that you will notice his center tail light faster than the normal ones, then you are probably close enough that you'll hit him anyway! Besides, since you (as a car driver) are almost directly behind the normal left tail light of the guy in front, isn't it a bit of a stretch to say that you'd be more apt to notice the center one that is much further away from where you are looking, than his left tail light that is straight in front of you?

 

Just because some committee with too much time on their hands pushed through a requirement like this, doesn't mean there is any sense to it!

 

Bob.

[Laura]

This is interesting. Seems there is a continued decline in their effectiveness since drivers are acclimatizing to the high mounted lamps and paying less attentions to them but still have reduced overall crashes by 4.3 percent.

 

NHTSA Technical Report Number DOT HS 808 696 March 1998

The Long-Term Effectiveness of Center High Mounted Stop Lamps in Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

Charles J. Kahane, Ph.D. and Ellen Hertz, Ph.D.

Abstract

Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSL) have been standard equipment on all new passenger cars sold in the United States since model year 1986 and all new light trucks since model year 1994, as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. The purpose of CHMSL is to safeguard a car or light truck from being struck in the rear by another vehicle. When brakes are applied, the CHMSL warns drivers of following vehicles that they must slow down. This report tracks the effectiveness of CHMSL, year by year, from 1986 through 1995. The statistical analyses are based on police-reported crash files from eight States. It was found that:

 

The lamps were most effective in the early years. In 1987, CHMSL reduced rear impact crashes by 8.5 percent (confidence bounds 6.1 to 10.9 percent).

Effectiveness declined in 1988 and 1989, but then leveled off. During 1989-95, CHMSL reduced rear impact crashes by 4.3 percent (confidence bounds 2.9 to 5.8 percent). This is the long-term effectiveness of the lamps.

The effectiveness of CHMSL in light trucks is about the same as in passenger cars.

At the long-term effectiveness level of 4.3 percent, when all cars and light trucks on the road have CHMSL, the lamps will prevent 92,000-137,000 police-reported crashes, 58,000-70,000 nonfatal injuries, and $655,000,000 (in 1994 dollars) in property damage per year.

The annual consumer cost of CHMSL in cars and light trucks sold in the United States is close to $206,000,000 (in 1994 dollars).

Even though the effectiveness of CHMSL has declined from its initial levels, the lamps are and will continue to be highly cost-effective safety devices.

Executive Summary

Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSL) have been standard equipment on all new passenger cars sold in the United States since model year 1986 and all new light trucks since model year 1994, as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. The purpose of CHMSL is to safeguard a car or light truck from being struck in the rear by another vehicle. When brakes are applied, the CHMSL sends a conspicuous, unambiguous message to drivers of following vehicles that they must slow down. NHTSA was especially encouraged to promulgate the CHMSL regulation in 1983 by three highly successful tests of the lamps in taxicab and corporate fleets, showing 48 to 54 percent reductions of "relevant" rear-impact crashes in which the lead vehicle was braking prior to the crash, as reported by the study participants. Since nearly two-thirds of all rear impact crashes involve pre-impact braking by the lead vehicle, these results are equivalent to a 35 percent reduction of rear-impact crashes of all types.

 

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and Executive Order 12866 (October 1993) require agencies to reevaluate the effectiveness, benefits and costs of their programs and regulations after they have been in effect for some time. NHTSA has already published two effectiveness evaluations based on the early police-reported crash experience of cars with production CHMSL. In the first study, based on Summer 1986 data, CHMSL-equipped cars were 15 percent less likely to be struck in the rear than cars without CHMSL. In the second study, based on calendar year 1987 data from eleven States, the reduction in police-reported rear-impact crashes of all types was 11.3 percent.

 

These levels of crash avoidance were still high enough to assure an excellent ratio of benefits to costs. Nevertheless, the decline in effectiveness from the fleet tests to the evaluations was clear-cut, even taking into account that the data bases were not perfectly comparable (participant-reported vs. police-reported crash data). That raised questions: as more and more cars on the road have CHMSL, do drivers "acclimatize" to the lamps and pay somewhat less attention to them? Would effectiveness continue to decline? A 1996 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, showing an average 5 percent crash reduction for CHMSL during 1986-91, strongly suggested a continued decline.

The principal objective of this report is to assemble enough crash data to allow an accurate estimate of the effectiveness of passenger car CHMSL in each calendar year from 1986 through 1995. That would make it possible to track the trend in effectiveness over time, find out when and if that trend leveled out, and determine the long-term crash reduction for CHMSL. The analysis is based on police-reported crash data from the eight States that furnished their files to NHTSA throughout 1986-95 and have the data elements needed for the analysis:

Florida Indiana Maryland Missouri Pennsylvania Texas

Utah Virginia

 

The whole report is http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/808696.html here. Too lengthy to post.

 

[Chris RTBOXR]

LEDs are extremely directional.

 

Which is why they are not the panacea they might seem to be on a motorcycle, especially if the lens wasn't designed for LED use.

 

Well it is assumed that the purchaser understands the issue and doesn't make his bike less visible. For my K1200RS my friends have told me it is nice that I finally have a real tail light.

[RFW]

This is interesting. Seems there is a continued decline in their effectiveness since drivers are acclimatizing to the high mounted lamps and paying less attentions to them but still have reduced overall crashes by 4.3 percent.

 

It strikes me that 4.3% is such a small figure, it would be in the area of uncertainty, given all the other factors that make meaningful comparisons difficult.

 

Mind you, I'd expect that those promoting these things would find some kind of "improvement". Reminds me of photo radar they introduced here in BC (Canada) in the later '90s. The government made all sorts of claims as to how much this had reduced accidents. Unfortunately, a hard independent look at the stats showed that Photo radar had esentially no effect at all. In the end, common sense prevailed and they got rid of it. Since then, accident and fatality rates have still been decreasing gradually ...exactly as the stats show they have been doing for the last 25 years.

 

As for the center tail lights, you cannot call them "high mounted" since on many cars they are mounted on the trunk, barely higher than the tail lights.

 

In any event, I STILL wonder how these things are supposed to attract one's attention better and faster than normal tail lights, when in many instances they are much farther away from one's line of sight as compared to the the left tail light on the car right in front of you that is smack dab in your vision center? Sounds like a lot of wishful thinking to me!

 

What is really interesting is that looking back over the years, cars first had only a single tail light on the left. Then in the interests of safety, a second one was eventually added to the other side of the car (starting to sound familiar?). No doubt this caught drivers' attention for a while until drivers got used to them. Then in in a flash of brilliance, the government required addding a 3rd brake light in the center, which once again caught drivers' attention for a while before things went back to normal again.

 

So this begs the question: how long is going to be before some genius forces a 4th brake light on us, with "research" to "prove" how effective it is? If this keeps up, cars will eventually be festooned with as many lights (all for safety, you understand!) as a full dress Harley!

 

Bob.

[RFW]

My bike was taken to my local dealers who hooked it up to the diagnostic computer, and this showed an error with the rear lights. They disconnected the Lite Blazer, cleared the computer log, , and tested the bike. Absolutely no more problems. levied because the lights were not BMW approved.

 

As an electrical/electronics engineer, I'm having a really difficult time understanding how a set of LEDs (that simply act as a simple DC electical load) could cause this problem.

 

Sounds rather suspiciously like some other, really annoyingly intermittent, problem.

 

Bob.

[NickName]

hey hotrod ! i'm that guy who bought your LED and it is GREAT ! and . . . i'll also "part out" all my aftermarket stuff when i finally sell my 98 KRS/60k miles - and FYI to all it's really no big deal to install the Brake! LED board into the stock lens

Greg

[Fasterpill]

[hijack] Great name, NickName! Now I hope your password isn't "password" or I'll start logging in as you...

 

Saw that first post and just had to welcome you aboard.

[/hijack]