So far I haven't seen anyone really talk about them. In August '08, I got hit on my bike going about 25mph. She was in a hurry and pulled out of a parking lot. She crossed three lanes and her bumper hit right in front of my left foot. I won't go into details, but it was all paid for plus a little extra. So as my bike was getting fixed, $1600 bucks, I ask the shop to install a modulating head light switch.
Since then I have been using it all the time and I have seen more people notice me coming down the road. I think it was the best 100 bucks I've spent. Does anyone else use one??

I've seen them before, but never thought about using one. I understand the idea in theory, but every time I see someone with one, it attracts so much attention that I just stare at it, like "why is that guy flashing his high beams" and considering a car goes where the driver looks.... I try not to make people stare at me for too long. By the time someone with a poor attention span realizes it's a headlight modulator, they're probably going to run over you. I usually just ride around with my high beam during the day. Official statistics somewhere might give you a good idea of how they work compared to high beams, but I'm just going off the 3-4 times I've seen one in my lifetime and definitely fixed on it.

Same reason I don't like bumper stickers. I've caught myself too many times trying to get just that little bit closer so I could see what the sticker said. There has to be some kind of massive ratio of bumper stickers to your chances of getting rear ended.

I think if a cager is going to hit you, a modulating light won't make a difference. I had someone do a left turn right in front of me at 1:30 in the afternoon on a sunny spring day, she said that she didn't see me  I ride with my brights on, I have a white helmet and it was sunny.
It's worth a shot, but I ride extremely defensively now. I just imagine every car is out to get me 

they are.

Century ghost:

That's an awesome picture of you on that cb400. I really want to make a bike like that, but I've also got a couple others I want to make too, and I don't need/can't have 5 motorcycles in my basement.

Thanks!

They are a labor of love for sure! I put some blood, sweat and tears into that bike. The thing is they are not ideal commuters! So I ended up selling it and bought the gs! I never thought I'd like it so much 

I thought about getting a headlight modulator when i first got my gs but the more i thought about it the less interested i was in getting it.

Since we already have problems with people cutting us off and turning in front of us i have become to think a headlight modulator might only make it worse.  If you think about it Alot of times people in cars will flash their highbeams to signal a car sitting waiting to make a turn letting them know that it is ok to turn.  So if your headlight is constantly flashing between lo and hi beam then a car that only looks briefly might think oh he flashed his brights at me to let me turn and may be more prone to cutting in front of you.  That is just my thought. 

If you really want people to notice you coming down the street get an ambulance of police siren for your bike and ride around with it turned on.  Might be illegal but atleast everyone will turn their head and notice you coming.

i was thinking about getting one at one point. still might one day.

i do however, have a brake light modulator. i always have my foot on the rear brake when sitting at red lights. i feel like it helps out a lot when riding late night for those really dark roads.

safety first!

cheers,
~drin

I've always wanted a modulator for my R6 bikes...

BUT:
I've got HID's. They won't work as well IMO and they might burn out the ballasts or bulbs quicker.
The R6 has a two headlight setup.  I want to get something where it flashes the left side, right side, left side, right side, etc...  just like a police car.  I might end up buying some police grade strobes to put inside the headlight assembly.


For the rear, I've already installed strobes in the taillight so that when I activate the brakes, they blink.  It's helped keep cagers from getting too close at red lights. 

Quote from: drincruz on November 06, 2009, 05:46:22 PM
i was thinking about getting one at one point. still might one day.

i do however, have a brake light modulator. i always have my foot on the rear brake when sitting at red lights. i feel like it helps out a lot when riding late night for those really dark roads.

safety first!

cheers,
~drin

Do they blink just when you're on the brake, or do they blink all the time? I think having them blink all the time would be just as dangerous because again someone's going to get distracted and stare at you more than they're supposed to. It's pretty easy for people to get memorized by things when they're just staring at a highway on their way to work.

i'd make sure before considering either a headlight or brake light modulator, you check with your local municipality.. in some places they are illegal as they cause a distraction to drivers.

in Aus people flashing their headlights mean either 3 things..

1. You have your headlights on and it is daytime you duck (or the opposite when you don't have them on at night/dusk)

2. Danger ahead, usually something on the road

3. flashing them frantically.. slow down mate, Po Po just around the corner

-------

if they flash it from behind you it means they want to overtake






if i was to put that on my bike.. not many people would be speeding around me. but then again. i don't know if it is legal. because here it is illegal to have your high beams on within 100 meters of another car.

Quote from: TheDrunknmonky on November 06, 2009, 08:04:15 PM
i'd make sure before considering either a headlight or brake light modulator, you check with your local municipality.. in some places they are illegal as they cause a distraction to drivers.

In the US, headlight modulators are LEGAL in all 50 states.  I don't know about brake light modulators however.

The module has a photo sensor on it so it cannot flash at night. Its totally automatic, but it can be shut off. So far it seems to be working great.

Quote from: allaussiegrownif i was to put that on my bike.. not many people would be speeding around me. but then again. i don't know if it is legal. because here it is illegal to have your high beams on within 100 meters of another car.

I have been led to believe that headlight modualtors are legal in at least several australian states (not sure about all) but they must be switched off at dusk. Automatically flashing taillights  on the other hand are prohibited under ADRs so nut much chance of them being legal.

Modulating Headlights does make you more visible, but also more annoying.   Think of your horn... it will make you more noticeable by other drives but after a while people become sensitized by this and it no longer serves it's main purpose.    Like the horn, it should be used to make others drivers aware when the need arises to get everyone's attention when a critical situation is determined... blind spots, drivers running yellow or red lights, driver awareness.

Prior to car head lights being on all time time, most motorcycles stood out as most had headlights on all the time.   Now that pretty much every car appears the same, so most people can't tell if it's a car or motorcycle, especially when only one car headlight is working.

I'm more likely to treat this feature as a wildcard... use it when you want to make drivers aware, similar to the car horn.   Just the other day, a car ran the yellow and flashed their lights.    Mind you, flicking the high/low beam switch might be more challenging, but an easier to access button might do the trick.

Thought about it, but didn't want to give every left turner in front me the idea that it was okay to go ahead and turn. My orange helmet is so bright, if they don't see that during the daytime, the modulator is not going to make a difference.