Brake! LED Taillights

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keysman
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Brake! LED Taillights

#1 Unread post by keysman »

Product: Brake! LED Taillights
Product Type: Saftey
Manufacturer: Gizmo Mill - Seems to gone out of business. :(
Product Rating: 9 (out of 10)

Retail Price: $115.00

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Visibility is a key element in motorcycle safety. Since they are smaller motorcycles can be difficult to see. Many motorcycle accidents are the result of drivers not seeing the motorcycle. All too often drivers in their cars, trucks and SUVs are not even looking for motorcycles. As a rider it's your responsibility to make yourself seen. If the other drivers are not looking out for you, then you have to what you can to communicate your presence.

There are a number of ways you can make yourself more conspicuous out on the highways. Brightly colored clothing, using your high beam during the day, always using your turn signals are a number of ways you can communicate your presence to other drivers. Technologies such as headlamp and taillight modulators have been around for some time and were created for the safety of the rider.

There are a number of different taillight modulators on the market and there are also many different LED brake lamp replacement units available. Gizmo Mill has taken these two ideas and brought them together in a unique and engaging manner.

When properly implemented LED taillights are brighter and more visible than traditional incandescent lights. LED lamp modules also consume less power and produce less heat than traditional bulbs. The brighter LED lamps are alone one benefit of the Brake! kit. The real enhancement that Brake offers is with it's strobe effect. When the rider applies the brake, the module strobes for several seconds, and then stays on like a regular brake light. It's very visible and its behavior makes it unmistakable to other drivers that you are preparing to stop. The module offers three settings for the duration of the strobe effect and compatibility with ABS braking systems.

Installation of the Brake! kit, couldn't be easier. The LED conversion kits fit your existing taillight housing without any cutting or permanent modifications to your bike. You don’t even need to snip any wires in most cases; it simply plugs into the existing light bulb socket. To make the kit even better the LEDs are designed specifically for the automotive industry, and are rated to last over 100,000 hours.

The kit is constructed very well and comes with well detailed and professional installation manual. I was able to complete the installation in less than 15 minutes. I am very impressed with this product and I would recommend it to anyone looking a good safety modification for their bike. Gizmo Mill has a number of kits for specific bikes as well universal fit kits.

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Last edited by keysman on Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Hammersfan
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#2 Unread post by Hammersfan »

Seems like a great idea, do they have them for most bikes ?
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#3 Unread post by CentralOzzy »

I want one! (or 2)
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#4 Unread post by flynrider »

It's a good idea. Rather than the better visibility, I think the main reason I like these is that it eliminates the hazard of having your brake light bulb unknowingly burning out while you're riding. A lot of bikes just have a single bulb in back and when it goes, you could be in trouble.

I'm not too crazy about the feature that flashes the light for "several seconds" when the brakes are applied. This could give the cager behind you the idea that you're just tapping on the brakes and not necessarily braking hard. If I need to flash the brake light on and of, I can easily do that myself, when appropriate. I wonder if you can turn that feature off?
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keysman
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#5 Unread post by keysman »

You can indeed turn off the flashing feature. It's illegal in some locations so they give you the option to turn that off. You can also set the duration of the flashing if you like.
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#6 Unread post by backrevin »

Hi:

I liked the idea of having LED brake light/tail lights; my OEM was dim (IMO) especially when the sun was shining on it. Came across Signal Dynamics. ..and they have a whole bunch of stuff including have universal fitting LED arrays.

http://www.signaldynamics.com/

I used the LED's mounted on the licence plate bracket. I bought the configuration with LED's above and below the plate plus the BackOff XP modulator..you can wire this a whole bunch of ways for the brake and tail light. The way I went ...left the OEM light unaltered, top LED array on braking 3 short flashes, long flash & repeat, lower LED array 5 short flashes -then remains on steady. These cycles are repeated every time you relase and then re-engage the brakes, front or rear of course. All for about $150.

When braking % in motion there is always a steady brake light, plus flashing to get attention and when stopped at lights/junction etc there is always a steady on brake light and one flashing to get the attention of the partially blind...

Very easy to mount & wire on my bike (bought a device to check live feed $29 Radio Shack)...would definately recommend you plan your wiring config before you start with the cutting tools..

Signal Dynamics delivered on time AND responded to an e-mail question on wiring plan within 24 hours...way to go ..and worthy of a recommendation. :jump:
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keysman
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#7 Unread post by keysman »

Signal Dynamics also makes good products. I have their Voltage Monitor and it works like a champ.
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#8 Unread post by blues2cruise »

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#9 Unread post by MotoF150 »

My 05 Suzuki M50 has a factory equipted LED tail light, I get great comments on how good it looks when the wind is blowing just right and the heavy black smoke coming outta the exhaust isn't blocking the view of the tail light. The LED is more visiable even thru black smoke, I highly recommend it.
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LED taillight

#10 Unread post by Rydr »

I installed a KURYAKYN red low profile LED taillight P/N KA4970 on my Harley. It wasn't very good. As a matter of fact I would strongly recommend against installing one. The taillight was OK at night but the brake light part was dimmer than the original equipment. During the day it didn't show up very well at all. I ended up buying an after market led board that inserted into my original harley taillight lens. It works much better and is quite visible during the day. Unfortunately I didn't keep the box or receipt for it and can't remember the name of the product. Sorry but I'm not inclined to take the taillight apart at this time to find out the LED board's manufacturer. Cheers.

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