Flashing Brake Lights?

[AZkatana]

i'm pretty paranoid about the idiots in cages all around me and do my very best to be seen as much as possible. i like the emerging L.E.D. trend but havent found any L.E.D. brakelights for my 99 kat - either way, i think i want my brake light to flash when my brakes are applied. every time i notice a bike with a flashing brake light, i notice how easily i noticed the bike!
i believe the legality quotient lies in the rate of the flashing. you'd want to keep it fast enough to be noticed but slow enough as not to be impersonating an official vehicle. other than that, any thoughts on the flashing lights? anyone know where i could get the hardware?

[Vanorvis]

I bought a license plate frame with a light on top and a "Back Off". Then wired the "back off" into that light, works pretty well. You can wire the backoff into the brake light wiring under the seat and mount it there also. Just need to run new wires back to the new light from the backoff unit.
The "back off" unit I found at cruiser customizing, I bought my license plate frame from kuryakyn.

[inspiron]

I've got a set of tailBlazers on my bike.

[azoazc]

I am putting a set of strobes in my taillight to flash when the brakes are applied. I don't care if I get in trouble I can disconnect it. I doubt they will say my Bandit is impersonating an official vehicle.

[mr_resistible]

I think the fasster they blink the better. I have the "Back off" flasher and a friend I ride with said when I get on the brakes its missleading because he cant tell if I'm hard on the brakes or if I'm just easing on them a little.

[CManT1914]

The "Back-Off" is a little cheaper here:

http://www.customdynamics.com/signal..._modulator.htm

Or if you have LED brake lights:

http://www.customdynamics.com/radian...ght_strobe.htm

I'm gonna get a back-off kit as soon as my undertail comes in.

[AZkatana]

thanks for the links, thats exactly what i've been looking for.
I would like to go L.E.D. one day but it seems the only way to do it to my bike is to get a clear taillight lens and install red L.E.D. bulbs which i'm just not sure would be as effective as my current big ole cone shaped red lens.

mr resistable: how could your friend tell the difference in your applied brake pressure from a solid light? isnt it 6 of one, half dozen of another?

[Rickster]

mr resistable: how could your friend tell the difference in your applied brake pressure from a solid light? isn't it 6 of one, half dozen of another?

I've noticed the same thing. I think it's a target fixation kind of thing. I get so focused on that flashing light that I start to loose some of my other perspective. It doesn't seem to happen in normal traffic, only when I'm highly focused chasing another bike through the twisties. At that point I have two options, either pass him, or back off. I usually back off.

I have also heard some people (cagers) say that the flashing break lights are very annoying, specially in stop, and go traffic. For that reason I have never put one on my bike. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I can visualize some a$$hole bumping me just to keep my break light from flashing.

[DrBob]

Do web seach for the Kisin Tailblazer. It costs about $55, and simply plugs in the the socket in place of the conventional bulb. It uses an exponential decay pattern, which is a fancy way to say it flashed really fast at first, then the flashing slows down until the light is solid after 4 seconds. It really catches your eye, but doesn't flash constantly so it does not drive those behind you nuts, and it is legal is all 50 states. As an added bonus, it is much brighter bulb than the stock one, and brighter than LEDs also.

[Shea]

Just something to think about. Someone brought u pa good point to me once when I was talking about those. Motorists can get distracted by the dumbest things. Be careful, it's possible for motorists to get fixated on pulsating brake lights and forget to brake too.

IMO, if someone doesn't see you hit the brakes a couple times or even at all to begin with, what do you think the percentage that flashing brake lights will increase them to let them know they are supposed to brake?

[Rockhead]

Flashing Brakes? Every drunk in town would be running into me.

[Mavman]

I just pump the brake lever lightly a few times when I'm preparing to slow down....on long stretches/medium traffic it seems to work for me. Also, I would think in stop/go traffic, it would flash so often to a point that it would be ignored at some point.

[mr_resistible]

We were riding through town and he couldnt tell if I was comming to a stop or if I was tapping the brakes myself. I think If I did happen to hit the brakes hard and stay on them it might be missleading to how fast I was actually slowing down. I think its good if your at an intersection. But riding in front of somebody, they might not understand that if I have to make a hard stop my tail light is going to flash. Right now I think it flashes 3 fast and one long. So it is in a pattern, but I don't think most drivers are going to understand it. I did change the OEM 1157 bulb to a 2357 that is a little brighter when your on the brakes. I already bought the Back Off unit and I dont really have anything bad to say about it. I just don't think its as good as it could be. I saw one guy that had his origial tail light and when he hit the brakes he had some high intensity LED's that would flash really fast. They were really tiny and looked like they attached to his liscense plate. At first I thought it was kind of annoying. But it really got your attnetion if you were behind him.

[Clint]

The police cars in my area have a device that flashes the brakelights 4 or 5 times quickly then returns it to solid. It gets your attention but doesn't hold you in a trance. Like everything else, though, eventually they'll become mainstream and we won't see any of them.

[AZkatana]

just like the 3rd taillight on cars started out as an aftermarket addition to increase saftey and visibility. since tiny little hidden LED's replacing the factory signal lights on bikes seem to be the mainstream now, i'll go ahead and let my brakelights flash to gain whatever extra, albeit fleeting, measure of notice i can while i can. if my flashing lights piss off a few cagers, so be it, at least they saw it! its a warning light and its purpose is to be seen, its not as if its as horribly annoying as their SUV's misaimed headlights blinding me through my mirrors in traffic.
the moron behind me who's in such a fragile mental state that my flashing brake light will hypnotise her into hitting me probably would've hit me anyway because they shouldnt hold a license to drive an automobile if they cant tell that the vehicle on which the flashing light is mounted is slowing which means they should consider doing the same.
i had been on the fence about the whole thing, but i made up my mind today as i was watching my brother test ride my bike, braking for a stop sign. the stock light is pretty cool looking, but could be brighter, and flashing would make it much more visible.
again, thanks for the links - i wildly appreciate the candor of your thoughts and the generosity of your options

[bajaraider]

Also the back off XP works for led lights also. I love mine. It seems to help. At least to me.
So if you plan on LED's in the future you might consider the XP so you wont have to replace it later. It also has two flash settings.