I'm looking at getting a rear facing flashing LED light for when I hit the brakes. I've looked at the P3 and the Hyper-Lites on line and here and I need some advice on them. I have been rear ended in rush hour traffic three times since August of 2011 and my bike has spent more time in the dealers garage waiting on parts from the Fatherland than I've had it. I need something to get the attention of the ADS fucktards behind me. Every time I have been hit has been in daylight or twilight conditions so what ever solution is chosen need to be visible enough during daylight to say "Get the fuck off the phone". I'm to the point that I don't really want to ride anymore because I don't want to get hit, but I really enjoy riding and my F650GS (except for the traffic in Chicago). So the question is which solution? I'm still leaning towards getting a reward facing cannon that shoots ice every time I hit the brakes. The ice melts and leaves no trace . Videos or first hand experience following another rider in day light conditions would be great. Right now price is not an object. A trunk monkey with a baseball bat or M1 Garand would be cool too but not very practical as I only have a 1br condo.
I put the Skene P3 lights on my bike a week after I bought it. I love them and even transferred them to my new bike when I bought that. At stop lights, cars usually get in a different lane than behind me, not sure if its the lights but I think so. I also notice if someone is tailgating and I'm slowing down, the fast flickering of the stoplights causes them to back off and leave some space. At night and even the day, the constant modulation makes the bike a bit more noticeable than other bikes. Its actually kind of annoying and i think thats why people don't stop behind me My buddy has the Hyper-Lites with LED turn signals and those are bright too, but I don't know if they're programmable as much as the P3. I think his are just bright LED stop/Taillights and flash when stopped if he cuts a certain wire on them. Skene also gives a discount to those with MSF course card.
I agree with Hikertrash. I have P3s on both my bikes and programmed them to the brightest brake light setting. Definitely noticable and probably annoying up close.
On my Concours I have Electro-pods, which are Hyperlite knock-offs. I also lined the inside of my brake light with reflective tape to brighten that up, and I have taken to wearing a hi-viz yellow neon helmet. I did this several years ago after experiencing several times the hair raising feeling you get when you are at a stop light and hear a car with locked up brakes skidding up behind you.:eek1 It has not happened since.
Ordered the P3 lights for my 07' GSA, almost got ran over by a woman playing with her phone, going at least 90mph on the interstate. I already have a flash pattern light installed in the stock 07' GSA taillight that may have saved me. I lightly squeezed the front brake and punched it, creating a flash for her and buying me a few inches from the front of her nose diving Prius. I was wearing a high vis Arai helmet and vest... Lord save us from the idiots out there.
Electropods: I have a set laying around in the garage. Not worth half the little money I paid for them. I have had Hyperlites for a couple of years now on two bikes. Seemed to work great on Italian tail gaters, so they must be doing their job. Great customer service as well in the unlikly case you need it. Last fall I was stopping for some food and an old guy in a beatup pickup truck stopped next to me and started yelling at me. I thougt I pissed him off for some reason but after I pulled my earplugs out I found out he was telling me how great my brake lights were. On my Dakar I mounted one of the hyperlight to close to the exhaust and it melted the housing badly. The LED's are still working just fine though. These Hyperlites are tough. KP
16 LED HyperLite. Set to flash for 5 sec, then go solid. <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff496/wayneatmayo/Vids/hyperlite02.mp4" height="361" width="600"> If I'm stopped/waiting to make a left turn with no one behind me, I'll get off the brake and back on when someone does come and they flash again. I've got two of them on my ST.
Why go the kiddie route? Buy a Whelen LIN3 and blind everyone behind you! Whelen LIN3 Linear LED Module--Vehicle Lighting Solutions, Inc. Whelen Super LED module - ADVrider
I have both the Hyperlights and the P3's on 2 different bikes. They work just as good. You cannot go wrong with either of these solutions.
I have one of these on one of my bikes. I've ridden behind it and it works quite well even in bright sunlight. It's also effective for getting tailgaters off of my butt in traffid. One key to not being rear-ended at lights is to watch your six and reapply the flash when a cage is approaching from behind. http://www.run-n-lites.com/prod-LiteBlazer.asp
P3 Lights on my 1200gs, ended up installing five more sets on various riding buddies bikes. Their on my 1600gt. Just installed a set on my wife's c650gt Best $140 you can spend Photon blasters in the front, for the oncoming traffic Both simple to install, Jerry Skene a good guy to work with
^^^ I watch vehicles approaching from the rear and reapply my flash brake lights all the time. I have P3s on the back integrated with the left and right indicators too. ....and these too. The combination makes for a great set of lights.
I've got Hyper Lites, in fact I have three modules (for that extra punch). They work great and people back off when they see them light up. If I had it to do over I would buy the Whelens. Either way, they will get attention and keep you safer. By the way I also put a modulator on the head light. That works too. Best regards. Paul
This. It is a better comprehensive approach. Yes, some sort of really BRIGHT flashing light is good as it gets the brain dead cager's mental slumber jarred. At that point, the cager needs to process info and make decisions. A bright colored helmet is a real bonus as the cager can see it from a long way off. Put some decent reflective stickers on it for after dark. Another inmate mentioned a reflective vest. While it is damn hard to prove exactly how well these things work, my observations over the years have convinced me that they work surprisingly well. Assuming that one does not have a top box or gear blocking the rear view of the vest. Even if the top box blocks the bottom 2/3 of the vest, it will still work pretty good. I credit the 2.75" X 17" strip on the back of my Stich for keeping the cagers off me at stop signs 99% of the time as compared to when I wasn't wearing such gear long ago. Several budds wear full-on Icon-type vests and the effect on traffic just amazes me. Another budd (40 yr. MSF inst.) has worn a cheap 2-stripe road worker's vest for 40yrs and reports that traffic is right on top of him when he hasn't worn it for short errands. If you have hard cases mounted all the time, 3M makes some great reflective tape in a few colors that disappears when not needed. The problem with lights is that they have to be seen in direct sunlight. Hyperlights disappear in certain sunny conditions. If you have a top box all the time, mount them in the shadows under the corners of the box. Or build a little sun sheild for them. Lots of bikers will pile up the lights around the tail light/plate. It is better to separate the lights and create an array. First, the array makes the bike look bigger and therefore more substantial making the cager leery of a 'bigger' collision. Second, The array allows the cager to triangulate better and get a good feel for approach speeds. If the bike looks like it is getting bigger faster, the cager might get into the brakes a little harder sooner. Finally, it doesn't matter one wit what you have if you don't know how to use it. Magicians go to great expense and excruciating care making props and gear. And then they practice endlessly perfecting their presentations. Same thing with the bike. One becomes a riding magician presenting the bike magic to traffic in such a way as to manage traffic for the biker's best effect/safety. Some riders need very little in the way of lights and costume to get their presentation correct. But they do need some bit of equipment. And they have figured out their limitations for themselves so they know what doesn't work well and what to do about that. As an example, I have a small LED light bar under my plate as the lone taillight was just not enough. My riding habits include using my ring finger to flash my brake lights before actually braking to wake up following traffic. That habit requires me to be paying attention and account for the time to do the flashing brake thing. Being able to do this with alacrity actually drops my commute time by a cuppla minutes and keeps me safer allowing me to get to my destination with a more pleasant demeanor. YMMV
I had Hyperlites and the P3 lights and I think the P3 lights are better. However, my experience with the Hyperlites is several years old so they may have improved them. The P3 lights can be programmed to to legal in CA which has particular requirements on flashing brake lights. I think the high frequency flickering when the brakes are not applied also increase your conspicuity.
+1 on P3 lights. I cannot compare them with Hyperlites, but they are very easily programmable and have a flicker at still that makes the bike even more visible.
