Blinking brake lights

[RBEmerson]

I installed, on late BMWK1200RS, a tail light assembly that turned the brake light in to a disco light. Fast strobing slowing down to blinking to solid on. Unfortunately it's not transferable to my (new) ride.

A company called Vizi-Tec seems to be close to the light on the Beemer. But, to be plug&play (no splicing, no CANbus gripes), they want $115!

I looked at the Kisan unit - very boring few blinks - solid - boring blinks - solid - etc. In fact all the units I could find were like that.

What units have I missed?

- - - -

BTW Kisan makes a gizmo called a SignalMinder. It's basically a turn signal timer that cancels the lights after a user determined delay. It doesn't check vehicle speed, just watches sand through an hour glass. But it's better than what's used now.

 

[Geezer]

My understanding is that in order to be legal in all 50 states you can not get too fancy with the blinking brake light. Three short blinks followed by steady on seems to be the legal standard.

I have a secondary LED brake light with a flasher unit similar to this. As I recall, the price of the flasher was a lot less than what they are charging now, so you may find something similar for less if you look around.

The quick flash works best with LEDs.

 

[Bounce]

Yep. It's to be sure you don't get nailed for "emergency vehicle lights" laws around the country.

I went with the extra LED lights because the OEM lights are minimal and I didn't want them doing less than they already do. I really like the Hyper Lights. They've been around a long time and are highly visible to others on the road (I first saw them while trailing someone through the GA hills and they weren't easily ignored).

https://www.fjr-tips.org/mods/hyper/hyper.html

 

[rbentnail]

I added the Admore Light Bar. 3 Quick flashes then solid. Admore also has a plug and play harness for the FJR- no cutting/splicing/tapping.

 

[BigOgre]

I know you mentioned plug & play but here's some reading from last year that might help. Check out the link in my Post #7 there to get a little more in-depth. The only thing I'll hedge on is not knowing how the LED lighting system on the Gen 3.5s (that's what we're still going with, right?) might affect some of these options.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/171068-led-brake-lights/?hl=whelen

 

[Steel_Gin]

Yep. It's to be sure you don't get nailed for "emergency vehicle lights" laws around the country.
I went with the extra LED lights because the OEM lights are minimal and I didn't want them doing less than they already do. I really like the Hyper Lights. They've been around a long time and are highly visible to others on the road (I first saw them while trailing someone through the GA hills and they weren't easily ignored).

https://www.fjr-tips.org/mods/hyper/hyper.html

+1 Had Hyper Lights installed when it was taken out of the create. Six riding seasons later no issues.

 

[mech 1 twa]

Blinking 4-5 flashes is good. Then solid. I was behind a few HD bikes last weekend last guy had flashing tail light and he was not on the brakes. Constant. D bag. Very bright and distracting to all.

Do it right and its nice.

 

[ndivita]

I use these and have for years:

https://www.skenelights.com/online-store/Rear-Visibility-Systems-c22720602

 

[rbentnail]

Blinking 4-5 flashes is good. Then solid. I was behind a few HD bikes last weekend last guy had flashing tail light and he was not on the brakes. Constant. D bag. Very bright and distracting to all.
Do it right and its nice.

I've ridden with a guy like this. We sent him to the back b/c he couldn't turn it off and it distracted/pissed off everyone behind him. He was really proud of his blinky light & our actions hurt his feelings so badly he never rode with us again. That's one of the big reasons I chose the Admore light bar. It blinks 3 or 4 times rapidly then goes solid. Plus you have to be off the brake for 20 or so seconds before the blink feature is enabled again so a little brake then not then braking again it's just solid the 2nd time.

 

[RBEmerson]

The Vizi-tec unit allows programming the duration of the (their term) grace period. That is, caught in stop and go traffic, the lights go back to simple on/off until the grace period (reset at every stop) times out. I'm not sure about the maximum time possible, but I know it's long enough to be useful. More and more, I think this is the solution to the problem. I get lots of people like bars but... [/ shrug ] just not for me.

 

[rbentnail]

The Vizi-tec unit allows programming the duration of the (their term) grace period. That is, caught in stop and go traffic, the lights go back to simple on/off until the grace period (reset at every stop) times out. I'm not sure about the maximum time possible, but I know it's long enough to be useful. More and more, I think this is the solution to the problem. I get lots of people like bars but... [/ shrug ] just not for me.

No biggie, to each his own. I'm sure your needs for your traffic are quite different than mine. The only times I've been in stop & go traffic have been in a state other than the one I live in!

 

[RBEmerson]

Living outside of Phila., PA, stop and go isn't that hard to find. OTOH I was once stuck at the end of a half dozen cars at around 5PM, and realized that was rush hour in Grinder's Switch or wherever I was. [/ chuckle ]

 

[HotRodZilla]

I have a whelen TIR3. It's super bright and looks like it came on the bike. Galaxy Blue had one, and it was awesome, so I copied him. That in conjunction with my Kissan TailBlazers works really well to make me noticable. It only flashes when my brakes are activated and is programmable. The TailBlazers were plug&play, but the Whelen was not. However it was pretty simple to get set up. It can be found here:

https://www.swps.com/whelen-tir3-leds.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwwuvWBRBZEiwALXqjw5TVFP0O4lFZ98pE3Tg6sHYPcS6ssGA1KxBCDPNB8eMjYeke6d9uYBoCuD4QAvD_BwE

Here's that light on my bike:

 

[RBEmerson]

Nice enhancement, but I really, really, really want to see the main brake flashing.

It's frustrating that BMW unit I used (and salvaged, having wisely kept the original light assy. handy) can't be ported to the FJR. Unfortunately, it's built into the LED array inside a stock brake light housing. Otherwise I'd be on it like white on rice.

 

[RBEmerson]

One of the Vizi-Tech's advantages is it's plug and play. Except I haven't a clue as to where the plug would go on the '17. I popped the seats, looked back, and realized there's no obvious way to even get to the LED plugs. I have a service manual on order, but is there a Zen master trick to get to the back of the LED assemblies (tail and 2 x turn)?

 

[RBEmerson]

To wrap up the story, the brake/license/turn signal connectors are under the B panel. Remove it and the black plastic thing behind that, and the connectors are in plain sight. The connector with six pins is where the Vizi-Tech connectors go. The wire colors don't match. Ignore that. Turn the ignition on and wait at least 12 seconds, then pull the brake. If you see a blink or two or solid on, button up the bike. If there were no blinks, turn off the ignition and back on. Wait at least 12 second (15-20 is better) then apply the brakes. The stock configuration has a "grace period" of 12 seconds. That is, it won't blink until the grace period expires.

Programming the unit isn't that hard, but it's not that easy, either. Read the manual carefully, and learn to count flashes to read and program the unit. At the end, there can be a series of blinks that go fast to slow, or just go blink, blink a bit. Your choice. The grace period is there to keep the car behind happy about not seeing the whole light show with every brake tap.

Would I buy it again, mostly yes. It's spendy and programming, even for a programmer (me), isn't immediately obvious. But it does give the blink performance I wanted to copy from another, BMW, flasher. And it has the grace period, to limit road rage. Maybe.

 

[rbentnail]

Would I buy it again, mostly yes. It's spendy and programming, even for a programmer (me), isn't immediately obvious. But it does give the blink performance I wanted to copy from another, BMW, flasher. And it has the grace period, to limit road rage. Maybe.

Good to see you got it sorted out, thanks for coming back to update.

I installed an Admore light bar a few yrs back, get lots of compliments on it. Especially the "grace period" as you call it, folks like that short multiple brake applications result in solid lighting. In my very limited experience it does make a difference.

 

[RBEmerson]

"Grace period" is Bernard Lautee's term (Vizi-Tech designer, manufacturer, shipper, and, for all I know, chief cook and bottle washer). I tried to think of an alternative short name - no luck. Whatever the name, the concept is what counts. I think it's a good one. The model for what I wanted was an after-market light assembly for the K1200RS (not only a drop-in brake light and filter, it even had the BMW logo in the right place). The decreasing flash rate was, to my way of thinking, a winner. But I thought "darn - this has to PO the car behind me".

The Vizi-tech programming/function has some oddities, including "carrying over flashes". Apply the brakes, let up on them before the entire flash cycle ends. Get on the brakes shortly after the grace period, and the VIzi-tech picks up where it left off. Say what? But, long tap on the brakes and the light cycle doesn't end, ride for some longer time, and hit the brakes. This time the whole flash cycle happens. I find this as confusing as the description above.

I think the "carry over" thing is weird. There's no way out of it. It's part of the price of using these flashers (AFAIK, the SB-II does it, too). As I said, programming is not "plug and play". However, once the desired flash and grace period cycle is nailed down, that's it. There's no need to ever reload the cycle. When shipped, there's a default flash and grace cycle loaded into the unit. Who knows how long that module spent on a shelf, but it's there when the unit is installed. As I said, "one and done".

I specifically want flashing to happen in the brake light assembly. It's purely a personal opinion, but the external bars, modules, whatever strike me as add-ons and not organic or designed into the bike. To me, they're just not "official" or factory parts. The flashing factory brake light is organic.

My other objection is the actual flash cycle for external lights. Four or five or six flashes is OK, but IMHO not a definitive "I'm braking, Tailgater". It might be taken as a few brake taps and then brakes on. Just not enough "gravitas". The fast-decaying-to-slow is eye-catching and definitive. This ain't no few brake taps, Tailgater.

All of this is my opinion. As always, "ride your own ride."

(Side note: Drunk drivers tend to head to flashing things like flashing brake lights. Dunno why, but traffic research says they do. Something to think about when riding on long holiday weekends that produce more drunk drivers.)

 

[Bounce]

I saw the issue of the in-the-oem-module flashing is that the total lit area on an FJR is not very large. Blinking them means even less light for some parts of the time spent braking.

I went with the Hyper-Lites specifically because they added MORE light when braking to increase visibility to anyone behind me. Meanwhile the OEM brake lights remain working as designed so there's not some % where rear intent is decreased.