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Life Brite LED brake lights


Guest Brent

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I've been feeling a little vulnerable to being rear-ended on the bike, so I installed a couple of LED flashers from Life Brite with hopes of avoiding becoming a hood ornament. And now that I have a new digital camera, I thought I'd play around with it and share a couple of pics of my installation. :rolleyes:

 

It seems that I can attach only one picture at a time, so I'll post again with the second. As you can see in the first picture, the LEDs are mounted above the license plate so that they, and the brake light, together form a close triangle. For some reason I felt that this was more visible than placing the LEDs further away from the brake. This also allowed me to hide most of the wires. The LEDs are attached to stainless-steel brackets, which are held on by the license plate screws. The wires are routed behind the license plate, and go through a hole that I drilled into the fender. (The second picture shows where the wires go.)

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This picture shows the wires coming through the hole I drilled behind the license plate. (You can see the stainless-steel bracket to the left.) I routed the wires up through the brake assembly cover, and soldered them to the brake wires. I drilled an indentation at the bottom edge of the assembly cover to accomodate the wires, which allows the cover to fit tight against the fender.

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With this rearlight/christmas tree in the Netherlands you would be stopped and fined by the police. And by the "badtastepolice" also :)

 

But the idea of being more visible is of course OK. I would personally look for another option.

 

Regards

Jaap

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With this rearlight/christmas tree in the Netherlands you would be stopped and fined by the police.  And by the "badtastepolice" also :)

 

But the idea of being more visible is of course OK. I would personally look for another option.

 

Regards

Jaap

Certainly they're not integrated, like Paul's rear-end replacement, but they blend in better than they appear in the picture. Remember, this is a VERY close-up shot to show detail.

 

As for a more aesthetically pleasing option, let's see, there's the brake light that attaches to the back of the helmet. Oh yeah! B):rolleyes:

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They look good to me!

Does anyone know if there is a product out there that would activate the brake light when you slow down quickly with just the engine brake?

I was thinking a mercury switch to detect forward G force coupled with a throttle position sensor detecting that the throttle is closed may toggle the brake light at about the right time.

Or a sensor measuring intake vacuum.

Evoluzione could market it!

I bought a more standard LED brake light about a year ago and still have not mounted it...

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Hi Brent and others,

 

I know this is a zero intolerance forum and we should keep it this way. But taste has been a discussion point since the beginning of times. (Oh no... not brontosaurussteak again...) And a forum is there to discuss. And being nice to eachother is OK, but there should also be, besides the information exchange, room for a nice but pointless taste discussion. And that's just what I started out to do, with my comment on Brent's brakelights.

Sorry Brent, nothing personal. The most important thing is that you are happy and feel more safe with the extra brake lights.

 

Jaap

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Sorry Brent, nothing personal.

No need for apologies, at least not for me. :bier: You may not be able to tell in my previous reply (about the helmet light), but I was trying to be humorous to show that there were no hard feelings. I guess I missed the mark. :wub:

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why not just add a little brake action> :mg:

I'm not sure if this was meant for me, but I'll reply anyway. :D

 

When possible (when stopping distances are long enough), I do (did) tap the front brake lever a few times before fully applying the brakes. With the flashing LEDs (actually, they flash for 5 seconds, then go on solid), I get the flashing effect every time I brake--without thinking about it.

 

For those who enjoy a more integrated look, a Kisan brake light flasher will do the same thing as the Life Brites, but it's a bit more expensive.

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You may not be able to tell in my previous reply (about the helmet light), but I was trying to be humorous to show that there were no hard feelings. I guess I missed the mark.

 

Although I manage getting my point through in english it's sometimes difficult to fully understand the others'. I think my knowledge of the (american) english doesn't suffice to read between the lines. And you americans are capable of anything, even helmet brake lights! :lol:

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Yep,

 

I've got the Kisan, which is just a plug-in affair... mostly(I had to do a little trimming of it's heat-shield and some plastic to make it fit all the way). It's a halogen bulb with the electronics built-in. It flashes in a decayed rate, then goes solid, in just a second or two.

 

Very bright, and very eye-catching.... and since it's just a bulb, it's completely stock looking. :)

 

al

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why not just add a little brake action

Thanks for the tip Russ. I try to, but sometimes it is like trying to remember to turn off your turn signal. :doh:

A situation where an automatic decelleration brake light activator may be beneficial is when going down steep hill with motorists on your tail. In order to stay within the speed limit most cars need to brake but most motorcycles need only partially close the throttle. One generally does not want to brake at partial throttle. What I do in that situation is pull in the clutch to reduce engine braking and then tap the brakes so that I don't get rear ended.

On my commute to work there is one such hill. At the bottom of that hill I have often seen speed traps. :blink:

As long as the stupid cars are going faster than me, I am safe from the police. But I am not safe from the cars unless I grow eyes in the back of my head.

I was also thinking of putting big truck mirrors on my bike.

Jaap, what do you think of truck mirrors on a Guzzi? :bike:

Big mirrors might match the beefy Centauro bars that I'm getting!!!

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