Harley headlamp modulation kit, anyone?
#81
08-07-2013, 11:37 AM
Road Master
The first couple times I saw the modulator light thing, I thought, 'look at this idiot with the broken headlight ready to fall out', but now that I know what they are, I think, 'look at this idiot pissing everyone off'.
I do not believe they are all they claim be be in the safety world. There are better ways to been seen, stuff like that brings the opinion of bikers down a peg, and I could just see a cager doing a quick swerve over the center line to return the favor.
Do us all a favor - Look up something like Moto Lights if you want to be seen better.
I do not believe they are all they claim be be in the safety world. There are better ways to been seen, stuff like that brings the opinion of bikers down a peg, and I could just see a cager doing a quick swerve over the center line to return the favor.
Do us all a favor - Look up something like Moto Lights if you want to be seen better.
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Goose_NC (08-11-2016)
#82
08-07-2013, 04:15 PM
Road Warrior
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Central Florida, USA
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Be careful with this one. Some states have laws which, if your bike is registered and tagged in that state, maybe more restrictive than Federal law. The Federal Motor Vehicle code is the minimum required to be a legal M/V. A state can make a more comprehensive rule if it wishes, i.e., CA ARB vs. US EPA. Now, if the item is legal in your home state, where your bike is registered, and you're just visiting a different locale, you shouldn't be hassled, but you might be anyway under the "just because" clause.
#83
08-07-2013, 05:15 PM
#85
08-07-2013, 07:47 PM
The first couple times I saw the modulator light thing, I thought, 'look at this idiot with the broken headlight ready to fall out', but now that I know what they are, I think, 'look at this idiot pissing everyone off'.
I do not believe they are all they claim be be in the safety world. There are better ways to been seen, stuff like that brings the opinion of bikers down a peg, and I could just see a cager doing a quick swerve over the center line to return the favor.
Do us all a favor - Look up something like Moto Lights if you want to be seen better.
I do not believe they are all they claim be be in the safety world. There are better ways to been seen, stuff like that brings the opinion of bikers down a peg, and I could just see a cager doing a quick swerve over the center line to return the favor.
Do us all a favor - Look up something like Moto Lights if you want to be seen better.
#86
08-09-2013, 09:38 AM
Road Master
Be careful with this one. Some states have laws which, if your bike is registered and tagged in that state, maybe more restrictive than Federal law. The Federal Motor Vehicle code is the minimum required to be a legal M/V. A state can make a more comprehensive rule if it wishes, i.e., CA ARB vs. US EPA. Now, if the item is legal in your home state, where your bike is registered, and you're just visiting a different locale, you shouldn't be hassled, but you might be anyway under the "just because" clause.
Title 49 USC 30103 (b1) (US Codes) prohibits any state from forbidding a system that conforms to FMVSS 108 (see copy below). Here is a web page with all of Part 571 and all of the subsections; they've now broken it up by section to make it easier to read. The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University also has a nice website where you can read the various sections of the entire Title 49 USC.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcyc...lator-regs.htm
#87
08-11-2016, 11:53 AM
I don't have a modulating headlight, but I'm considering getting one. Something that no one has mentioned during this debate is that the human eye is attracted by motion. Extra lights may help, but nothing attracts the eye like the "motion" created by the modulation of the headlight.
If it weren't effective, you wouldn't have people getting pissed off and pulling over. They wouldn't have noticed it in the first place.
If it weren't effective, you wouldn't have people getting pissed off and pulling over. They wouldn't have noticed it in the first place.
#88
08-11-2016, 03:27 PM
Grand HDF Member
They are obnoxious and are legal due to the efforts of a few who lobbied to get them Federally approved thinking they would become mandatory. They were allowed before even Halogen headlights were common, long before LEDs. They were a band-aid then for an incandescent bulb headlight. How far we have come since then, yet how some hang on to old ideas.
There are no statistics which show they are effective approaching other vehicles. They are useful for getting cars to pull over when you are following them. In some areas, they have been interpreted as a signal that it is alright to pull out ahead of you.
I don't have a dog in this fight, so do what you must. We have ridden this summer in every state West of the continental divide. In one month of travel we never saw a modulated headlight, though we saw plenty of flash and stop tail lights. I believe the benefits of a modulated headlight are slim to none and would not allow one to be installed on my motorcycle, but the argument can be made for: 1) New riders, 2) Certain urban, commute style stop and go traffic situations but I would prefer flashing hazard lights, 3) Yuppie's who need to show that they are the most techy of the high tech, 4) Riders who scare themselves, 5) Loners, who don't care to ride with others, and 6) former and current bicycle commuters who got tied of pedaling. Now I know this will get some of your shorts all in a bunch, but this is my experience. I even once considered them until I did research into the negatives as well as the promised positives. Then I rode with two different people that had them. That convinced me they were not a safety feature. It offered me and my riding no increased safety. But I do understand that a modulating headlight may offer you comfort. I admit freely that you are different from me and actually, I'm happy about that.
There are no statistics which show they are effective approaching other vehicles. They are useful for getting cars to pull over when you are following them. In some areas, they have been interpreted as a signal that it is alright to pull out ahead of you.
I don't have a dog in this fight, so do what you must. We have ridden this summer in every state West of the continental divide. In one month of travel we never saw a modulated headlight, though we saw plenty of flash and stop tail lights. I believe the benefits of a modulated headlight are slim to none and would not allow one to be installed on my motorcycle, but the argument can be made for: 1) New riders, 2) Certain urban, commute style stop and go traffic situations but I would prefer flashing hazard lights, 3) Yuppie's who need to show that they are the most techy of the high tech, 4) Riders who scare themselves, 5) Loners, who don't care to ride with others, and 6) former and current bicycle commuters who got tied of pedaling. Now I know this will get some of your shorts all in a bunch, but this is my experience. I even once considered them until I did research into the negatives as well as the promised positives. Then I rode with two different people that had them. That convinced me they were not a safety feature. It offered me and my riding no increased safety. But I do understand that a modulating headlight may offer you comfort. I admit freely that you are different from me and actually, I'm happy about that.
#89
08-11-2016, 04:43 PM
#90
08-11-2016, 04:54 PM
They are obnoxious and are legal due to the efforts of a few who lobbied to get them Federally approved thinking they would become mandatory. They were allowed before even Halogen headlights were common, long before LEDs. They were a band-aid then for an incandescent bulb headlight. How far we have come since then, yet how some hang on to old ideas.
There are no statistics which show they are effective approaching other vehicles. They are useful for getting cars to pull over when you are following them. In some areas, they have been interpreted as a signal that it is alright to pull out ahead of you.
I don't have a dog in this fight, so do what you must. We have ridden this summer in every state West of the continental divide. In one month of travel we never saw a modulated headlight, though we saw plenty of flash and stop tail lights. I believe the benefits of a modulated headlight are slim to none and would not allow one to be installed on my motorcycle, but the argument can be made for: 1) New riders, 2) Certain urban, commute style stop and go traffic situations but I would prefer flashing hazard lights, 3) Yuppie's who need to show that they are the most techy of the high tech, 4) Riders who scare themselves, 5) Loners, who don't care to ride with others, and 6) former and current bicycle commuters who got tied of pedaling. Now I know this will get some of your shorts all in a bunch, but this is my experience. I even once considered them until I did research into the negatives as well as the promised positives. Then I rode with two different people that had them. That convinced me they were not a safety feature. It offered me and my riding no increased safety. But I do understand that a modulating headlight may offer you comfort. I admit freely that you are different from me and actually, I'm happy about that.
There are no statistics which show they are effective approaching other vehicles. They are useful for getting cars to pull over when you are following them. In some areas, they have been interpreted as a signal that it is alright to pull out ahead of you.
I don't have a dog in this fight, so do what you must. We have ridden this summer in every state West of the continental divide. In one month of travel we never saw a modulated headlight, though we saw plenty of flash and stop tail lights. I believe the benefits of a modulated headlight are slim to none and would not allow one to be installed on my motorcycle, but the argument can be made for: 1) New riders, 2) Certain urban, commute style stop and go traffic situations but I would prefer flashing hazard lights, 3) Yuppie's who need to show that they are the most techy of the high tech, 4) Riders who scare themselves, 5) Loners, who don't care to ride with others, and 6) former and current bicycle commuters who got tied of pedaling. Now I know this will get some of your shorts all in a bunch, but this is my experience. I even once considered them until I did research into the negatives as well as the promised positives. Then I rode with two different people that had them. That convinced me they were not a safety feature. It offered me and my riding no increased safety. But I do understand that a modulating headlight may offer you comfort. I admit freely that you are different from me and actually, I'm happy about that.