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Do you think auxilery lighting really helps with daytime visibility?

pizzle said:
What's the law on strobing lights?
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Legal in all 50 states as long as:

1) they have a light sensor that shuts off the modulator at dusk/night
2) dual headlights modulate in unison (i.e., no "wig-wag" that would look like a police light)

Edit: to clarify, if you have dual headlights, it's OK to have only one modulate and one stay on solid, but if both modulate they have to modulate in unison.
 
So would cost be the only reason why we don't all have flashing headlights? Nothing grabs attention more than flashing lights.
 
It depends on the pattern. A triangle pattern- headlight in the center top, aux lights low and wide empirically draws my eye more than anything else I've seen. Someone on ADV posted a neat side by side of a bike with just the headlight, then bike with headlight and two low fogs. My eye kept looking at the triangle, even though I didn't mean to.

It's not more light that does the trick- it's unusually patterned light- two different colors, a triangle, etc.
 
My perspective parrots rritterson's: To be most effective, daytime auxiliary lighting would have a driver thinking "WTF is that thing? Oh, it's a motorcycle."
The initial reaction I am thinking of is more "Close Encounters" than "That's annoying". You want to grab their attention and shake them out of their haze, not piss them off. With that in mind, I am more liable to choose LED lights over using brights or a modulator.
 
Roadstergal said:
I will toss out one possibility that has absolutely no scientific evidence behind it.

Cars have two lights, and folk are used to judging approach speed by seeing the lights separate. Motos have one, or two very close together, so that clue is missing; with auxiliary lights, you have that clue back again.

I have no real data to support this one, although I think it's worth someone with more time and facilities doing the experiment. Master's thesis?
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Already been done. And yes, 1 point of reference is much more inferior than multiple points of reference to gauge distance and speed.
 
JPK said:
Legal in all 50 states as long as:

1) they have a light sensor that shuts off the modulator at dusk/night
2) dual headlights modulate in unison (i.e., no "wig-wag" that would look like a police light)

Edit: to clarify, if you have dual headlights, it's OK to have only one modulate and one stay on solid, but if both modulate they have to modulate in unison.
Click to expand...

I'm far too lazy to look up the cvc, but I believe that there's a technical limit on number of modulations in a minute so you're not going to give someone a seizure with an actual strobe....
 
fast4d said:
that's what modulators are for.

also more visible than aux lights mounted just above the front wheels and below headlights.
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Don't know why I didn't mention modulators. :thumbup If I had to choose between a headlight modulator or aux lighting, there's no question that I'd take the modulator. Way more effective. And far, far easier to install.
 
I noticed getting cut off a lot less after I installed more lights up front.

The light triangle is your friend.

I have a modulator too, and use that from time to time.

And for avoiding getting rear-ended at night, a light triangle in the back doesn't hurt either.
 
Flying Pig said:
I'm far too lazy to look up the cvc, but I believe that there's a technical limit on number of modulations in a minute so you're not going to give someone a seizure with an actual strobe....
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You're right - there's a bit more to the law than what I mentioned, but most of the other conditions are satisfied as long as you buy a commercially available modulator vs. trying to cook one up on your own. Here's the full set of regs.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-technical-articles/Modulator-regs.htm
 
cycle61 said:
I would rather have cage drivers irritated than oblivious.
But I'm an asshole who values my life above your convenience and comfort.
C'est la vie.
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:| Really ?

Flying Pig said:
The really bright ones need to be dimmed to operate at night... without blinding people. Maybe not everyone bothers to add a dimmer too? :dunno
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According to the above, I guess not. People also are unaware the DOT lighting reg apply to ALL vehicles.


packnrat said:
yea that's right blind the oncoming cage as they only weigh in over two tons and coming you at 100+ mph. (your speed + theirs)

some drivers tend to go to the light.
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BINGO Mr "Asshole" above obviously doesn't care that I have an astigmatism in BOTH eyes. So nightblindness via misaimed headlight IS a problem for me. Yes, I DO wear corrective lenses at all times as require but this only HELPS with the situation. Not completely absolve it.

So if MY blinded ass can't see yours any longer while I'm in my 4000+lbs truck, and you get smashed. Then don't bother bitching, since you caused the situation in the first place.
 
Last edited:
I have the kisan modulator on two of my bikes. IIRC you can get a discount code from advrider
 
jimboFosho said:
Yes I think it helps with visibility. For those of us more on a budget...ADVmonster
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Those on a real budget can pick up a pair of these 6" halogens for $20 from HF: http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-off-road-light-system-95811.html
Throw some amber filters on them bishes and you can clear the chow line in a retirement home like Mosed did the seas.

There's a theory (on ADVrider I think) that says that more surface area is better. LEDs are sexy and bright as the sun, but may not be as effective as slightly less light coming from a much larger disk. There an oke somewhere on that site with a pair of what looks like 10" lamps on his DS. :wtf
 
jeepjockey said:
Those on a real budget can pick up a pair of these 6" halogens for $20 from HF: http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-off-road-light-system-95811.html
Throw some amber filters on them bishes and you can clear the chow line in a retirement home like Mosed did the seas.

There's a theory (on ADVrider I think) that says that more surface area is better. LEDs are sexy and bright as the sun, but may not be as effective as slightly less light coming from a much larger disk. There an oke somewhere on that site with a pair of what looks like 10" lamps on his DS. :wtf
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Unless you spend serious money, LED's are still only useful for being seen. To see with LED's requires very high tech and expensive LED arrays.

HID driving lights is the way to go for seeing. Keep a quality halogen in the OEM headlight housing and use auxilliary wiring to power it.
 
ST Guy said:
Unless you spend serious money, LED's are still only useful for being seen. To see with LED's requires very high tech and expensive LED arrays.

HID driving lights is the way to go for seeing. Keep a quality halogen in the OEM headlight housing and use auxilliary wiring to power it.
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Probably the case, however a lot of bikes don't have the stator output to power a big set of HID's. 2x 55W aux HID's would consume just about all the available power from many bikes, so you could forget about heated grips or heated jackets.
 
Dopesick said:
BINGO Mr "Asshole" above obviously doesn't care that I have an astigmatism in BOTH eyes. So nightblindness via misaimed headlight IS a problem for me.
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I never said anything about misaimed.

I run high beams during the day. I run my (factory installed and DOT legal) aux lights 100% of the time. I have never seen anybody react poorly to them, but when I turn the aux lights off it's as though I become invisible.

Do headlight modulators and regular high beams bother you during daytime, or is it only poorly designed or aimed aftermarket solutions?
 
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