Does anyone else use a headlight modulator?

[Arger68]

I put one on my bike last year and I haven't had a close call by someone pulling out in front of me or turning in front of me since then. They are legal in all 50 states and I would highly recommend getting one for your bike!!

http://www.kisantech.com/index.php?cat_id=2

[flamin lib]

1. I did not know such things existed. Can't be a bad idea tho.

Anything to attract attention can't be all bad. Nice to see they come complete with a copy of the appropriate legal stuff to show the local constabulary that it's a lawful improvement too.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. Is it difficult to get used to?

Is this like driving with a strobe light instead of a headlight? Does it affect your perception on the road?

It just looks like it would give me a headache!

But it would certainly make me more visible to others.

:hi:

[Arger68]

3. You don't even notice it's on. It only works on high beam

in the daylight, and at night it switches automatically to steady headlight only.

[Shardik]

4. Those are pricey.

I've seen some less expensive options over at Scootdawg.com

yes, I drive a scooter. 300cc Linhai. Go ahead and laugh :) But I can take her up to 80 and still get 70mpg.

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. I used to. It's was called "a Suzuki voltage rectifier".

Now that I have an aftermarket replacement and my bike doesn't have to rev to 4000 rpm+ to properly (and steadily) illuminate my headlight, I don't think I'll go back.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. Is a Suzuki voltage rectifier...

anything like the Triumph zener diodes? :)

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Yes, exactly.

Unlike the British and Lucas electrics, the Japanese drink cold beer because they apparently don't use Suzuki refrigerators. :)

[IDemo]

6. I've got a "passing switch". Is that basically the same thing?

[Arger68]

11. I'm not sure, but if it makes your headlight flash on and off

it probably works the same way.

[ThomWV]

7. Some questions

I have seen bikes on the road with the flashing headlight, they certainly are visible to oncoming drivers. I thought that maybe I wouldn't mind installing one on my bike so I'm really glad you posted this. I didn't even know what the things were called to be quite honest about it, but I do have a couple of concerns.

The very first thing that occurs to me is that the pulsating power supply to the bulb might shorten its life, possibly by a considerable bit. I use a high-power H4 (75w Osram Hyper vs. stock 55w) bulb in a Euro-spec headlamp contained in a custom light shell; the bulbs are not particularly expensive (~$20) but I would prefer not to burn them out prematurely. It may be that the working of the modulator will not have any effect on bulb life, but I'd like to know first.

The next thing that caught my eye is the light sensor and its placement. It was not clear to me how long the pig-tail for the sensor is and I don't have any idea where I'd put it, having a bike that doesn't use a fairing of any sort so some sort of bracket would have to be fashioned (not a big deal by any stretch of the imagination) to mount it somewhere around the trees where it would have to meet two criteria - pointing up with a clear sky-view but at the same time be unobtrusively out of sight. That could take some doing.

The final concern is heat. Fortunately my bike doesn't use the headlight as a junction point for wire harnesses so there is plenty of room inside the shell and very little stuff in there that might burn. Unfortunately it is essentially air tight too so whatever heat is generated in there dissipates slowly. Part of me is screaming that this is an idiotic concern because electricity will either be used to light up the bulb or interrupted and converted to heat by the modulator but one way or the other the same amount of power is being used up so there is no difference in the heat that will be generated, but another part of me is whispering in my inner-ear 'you don't know that's true, maybe the modulator has a higher power demand and gets real hot'. I did notice in the instillation manual (PDF files deep in the website) that they limit the use of the device to bulbs that draw 100 watts or less; I'm moving up to a 100 watt bulb when the current one blows so that little notice caught my eye too.

So, those are the things that I'd be thinking about. The price isn't bad, I think it was $109 for one that would fit my bike (2002 HD) plus $7 and some change to ship it. It wasn't clear to me that I was looking up the price for the right model though because the part number that came up on their part-number-locater didn't exactly match any of the numbers on the buy list; I'd have to give them a call before I ordered one.

[awoke_in_2003]

9. It may shorten the bulb life...

however, if it gets you noticed, it may extend yours. Never skimp on safety.

[Arger68]

10. I remember reading something about bulb life

and I believe that article said it actually extended bulb life. There were a bunch of technical reasons for it, but I can't remember exactly what. I have mine installed on my old 1984 Honda Magna, and the daylight sensor wire is plenty long enough, I have mine zip-tied to one of the cables running up to the handlebars and you can barely see it. I don't know about heat buildup or anything, but have had mine for over two years now with no problems, and no replaced bulbs yet. I also have not had one car pull out in front of me or turn in front of me since the day I installed it!

[Robb]

12. I'll admit to being turned off by these

...on the basis of "target fixation." I know no one ever misses seeing you, but they're hard to look away from as well. On a bike, you go where your eyes go; in a car, obviously that doesn't happen as much, but it is distracting.

I dunno. It does help your visibility, but it might make you start to think you're not invisible to car drivers, which is a dangerous thing to begin to think. To each their own.