Headlight modulator?

[Syd Poole]

Hello Kiwi Bikers,
I'm an expat living in Qld. My apologies if this has been posted before but headlight modulators are great for helping one to survive on the roads. A HM is an electronic device that reduces the voltage from 100% to approx 16% over 200 times per minute. This "flashing" makes the bike so much more visible. Not sure if this is legal in NZ, but they are legal in the US & Qld and the HM can only operate in daylight (has a PE sensor) and can only work on one beam. Mine's wired for high beam so to turn it off I simply go back to low beam. I use it approaching intersections, roundabouts and when several cars are coming towards me on the highway, prevents cars from pulling out and passing. Very easy to instal, plug and play. It works great on my ZRX1200S.
I support two teams, NZ and etc etc.
Go Safe.
Syd

[What?]

Yep

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=1376

[Syd Poole]

See you are in Tauranga, I'm an ex Mt resident. Bought my first bike in Tauranga back in 1970.

Regards
Syd

[NordieBoy]

From the WOF Failure list...

Performance
15. When switched on, a headlamp emits a light that is:
a) not substantially white or amber, or
b) different in colour or intensity from the other lamp
in a pair, or
c) not steady, or
d) not bright enough to illuminate the road ahead,
eg due to modification, deterioration or an
incorrect light source, or
e) too bright causing significant dazzle to other road
users, eg due to an incorrect light source.

[What?]

So if you have one, make sure it is switched off at WOF test time.
Personally, not sure I would bother. Those that don't see us now frequently don't see 40 tonne B-trains either, so I'm not convinced that a modulated headlight would make a huge difference to my wellbeing.

[Roj]

So if you have one, make sure it is switched off at WOF test time.
Personally, not sure I would bother. Those that don't see us now frequently don't see 40 tonne B-trains either, so I'm not convinced that a modulated headlight would make a huge difference to my wellbeing.

Unfortunately it is not just at WOF time, part of the regs state that a vehicle should be up to WOF standards at all times, this is why you can be ticketed for tires (or anything else) that are not up to standard even if you have a current WOF:scooter:

[What?]

True, but probably less than likely to get ticketed over a thing like a modulated headlight. Not that I'm volunteering to test the theory...

[Bnonn]

Better to get some running lights in my opinion. I know modulated lights are very helpful for visibility, but I am fairly certain they wear out bulbs like nothing else, and the wof issues aren't really worth it. The average wof-failing "feature" isn't awfully noticable to a cop as he rides by, but a modulated headlight is designed to be noticed, and most cops are probably going to suspect that it ain't legal, even if they aren't sure.

[vifferman]

True, but probably less than likely to get ticketed over a thing like a modulated headlight. Not that I'm volunteering to test the theory...
I used to go past the HP headquarters every day, and several times ended up with an HP car/bike behind me, but never had any problems with my modulated brake lights, even though they too are illegal. Would've been interesting to see what the cop who ticketed me for speeding the other day would've said if the brake light modulator was still fitted. Mind you, he didn't check the bike, otherwise it would've failed for the illegal muffler (has a modifiable baffle) and the dodgy indicators (meet E-standards but the fitting doesn't). Luckily, the registration had been renewed only hours before...

[SARGE]

i thought it might be time to dig this topic up again ...


i ride with a modulator on my FJ .. flip it off at WOF time


coupled with the hi wattage ice blue beam it gets me noticed from a long distance away

[Chooky]

https://www.kisantech.com/


Here ya go.........:cool:

[xgnr]

I have disconnected my HID cos I was advised it was illegal by some dick on KB.

I feel so much safer now

(tui's everywhere)

[CookMySock]

I have disconnected my HID cos I was advised it was illegal by some dick on KB.

I feel so much safer now

(tui's everywhere)Haha yeah. I love my HID. No one else does though - they think I'm a cunt because my bike sticks out like a dogs cock, and they think I am a double fucking cunt because I don't care. Its' headlight is bright too, LOL.

It is curious watching bikers going in the opposite direction - I'm sure they can tell what a hyo looks like, but they can't see the front of my bike.. all they can see is a eye-watering shimmering 6000k titanium flare, LOL.

The WOF man won't like it either, but I bet he likes my unmuffled screaming demon shorty even less, so at WOF time I'll swap that for the OEM one too. :niceone:

The moral of the story, is that I have no morals when it comes to being seen and heard.

Steve

[Katman]

It is curious watching bikers going in the opposite direction - I'm sure they can tell what a hyo looks like, but they can't see the front of my bike.. all they can see is a eye-watering shimmering 6000k titanium flare, LOL.




'Cos it's pants pissingly funny blinding other road users, isn't it?

:weird:

[SARGE]

'Cos it's pants pissingly funny blinding other road users, isn't it?

:weird:

yes...yes it is..

i run a 100/80 ice blue run through a regulator and a modulator .. i get the fingers all the time but i know the blind cunts saw me ...


im gonna weld 2 20mm copper pipes on the side of my bike to shoot of flares at roundabouts ...

[Katman]

yes...yes it is..

i run a 100/80 ice blue run through a regulator and a modulator .. i get the fingers all the time but i know the blind cunts saw me ...


im gonna weld 2 20mm copper pipes on the side of my bike to shoot of flares at roundabouts ...

Hey, I thought you had me on ignore.

[SARGE]

I thought you had me on ignore.

i do.. but i can click the windup button anytime i want

[terbang]

Katman I have to disagree there. Shine a bright light in someones eyes at night and you will dazzle them and destroy their night vision for up to 30-40 mins. We actually use a different area in our eye to see at night. However during the day our eyes are automatically adjusted to the light emitted from the sun (and that's fairly bright). So apart from perhaps a distraction, it isn't really an issue.
Aviators have used "pulse lights" for some time now to very good effect, especially with bird avoidance. Aeroplanes have far brighter lights than any motorcycle and the only time we do shut them down is at night when facing another aircraft, but by day, as for the reasons above, we leave them on.

[CookMySock]

I've never had the fingers from my headlight. I may have been flashed by cars (never by motorcycles) five or six times over a year, and once a cop shaded his eyes with his hand (indicating to me to dip perhaps) - read - they aint that bright.

The thing is, projector HIDs dont actually throw out a lot of light, as the reflector area is tiny. But they do produce an incredibly intense ball of light that looks almost alien in comparison to incandescent, and thats why they get attention, and also the beam is spread really widely so it is viewable from a large angle.

If it was a H4 HID in a large reflector-type housing like on a cruiser, on fullbeam it would be offensively and unworkably bright, day or night, but its not.. its only bright enough to alert anyone in its' vicinity, and that it does really well.

Steve

[Katman]

Katman I have to disagree there. Shine a bright light in someones eyes at night and you will dazzle them and destroy their night vision for up to 30-40 mins. We actually use a different area in our eye to see at night. However during the day our eyes are automatically adjusted to the light emitted from the sun (and that's fairly bright). So apart from perhaps a distraction, it isn't really an issue.


So do those who have an HID bulb in an incorrect headlight housing swap their bulb back to a standard one when riding at night?





No - I didn't think so.

They just keep on riding with their 'fuck everyone else on the road' attitude.

[CookMySock]

They just keep on riding with their 'fuck everyone else on the road' attitude.No we don't. We dip our headlights. We all have feelings and families just like you.

Your irritated projections just show off how angry you are about something else, and not much else.

Steve

[Katman]

No we don't. We dip our headlights. We all have feelings and families just like you.

Your irritated projections just show off how angry you are about something else, and not much else.

Steve

Even on dipped beam an HID bulb in the incorrect housing can be a hazard for other road users.

But you don't give a fuck about that, do you DB?

[CookMySock]

Even on dipped beam an HID bulb in the incorrect housing can be a hazard for other road users.

But you don't give a fuck about that, do you DB?No, I have a (rather pitiful) incandescent korean standard bulb in the low beam housing.. only for use at night or in other low-light circumstances where the resulting glare might cause problems. It is a horrible dim candle-yellow colour, and using it for any recognition at all is completely foolhardy. I would be better served to affix an LED headlamp to my helmet - it would stand out more due to its' high colour temperature.

Actually, I think it is you who does not give a fuck about peoples' feelings, and I think you are driven by your irrational projection that others do not give a fuck about yours, violently fueling your righteous crusade to change everyone so they stop interfering with you. Tragically and unfortunately, by your age I think it is too late for you to change, which means you are stuck on your angry rollercoaster forever. Soon it will be stroke, heart attack, or alienation.. maybe one or more of those things will make you slow down, but somehow I do not think so.

Steve

[Katman]

You have previously claimed that you never dip your beam. (Unless you're following a cop).

[CookMySock]

You have previously claimed that you never dip your beam. (Unless you're following a cop).No. Again your perception lies to you, and you only recall what you feel angry about. This is called a projection.

I ALWAYS dip on request - but it is rarely (if ever) requested, and I WILL and DO dip in advance in other low-light situations, such as approaching another car (particularly if intend NOT to pass).

Seriously mate, if you do not cool off you will pay for it with your own life. Think about it, and get angry about that, and then do something about it.

Steve

[Katman]

No. Again your perception lies to you, and you only recall what you feel angry about. This is called a projection.

I ALWAYS dip on request - but it is rarely (if ever) requested, and I WILL and DO dip in advance in other low-light situations, such as approaching another car (particularly if intend NOT to pass).

Seriously mate, if you do not cool off you will pay for it with your own life. Think about it, and get angry about that, and then do something about it.

Steve

So you leave your HID headlight on high if you don't get a flash requesting you dip your lights?

Why should it be the responsibility of other road users to indicate to you that your headlight is blinding them? Any considerate road user dips their lights automatically when another vehicle is approaching them.

[Kickaha]

Any considerate road user dips their lights automatically when another vehicle is approaching them.

I think the key word there is "considerate"

[CookMySock]

So you leave your HID headlight on high if you don't get a flash requesting you dip your lights?Yes. I get no complaints at all. Perhaps once every two months maybe. I don't remember when I was last flashed.


Why should it be the responsibility of other road users to indicate to you that your headlight is blinding them?It isn't, it's my responsibility. This is clearly set out in law, but the thing is I am not blinding them.

I read some time ago, some biker blew the lowbeam filament in his headlamp, and was forced to ride home at night with his lights on fullbeam. He felt guilty and horribly embarrassed to have to do such a thing, but on the way home NO PERSON complained WHATSOEVER. In the interest of science and research, he rode around with his fullbeam filament lit on a long term basis to see who complained, and came to the conclusion his lights were shit and no one cared. I repeated the experiment myself, and got the same result. Perhaps your lighting is better than mine and you get a different result. Perhaps I will ride a different bike and get a different result.

Case in point, my daughter has a 250 Comet with a big round reflector headlamp with a H4 bulb in it. She is instructed to ride on dip beam. That light is way too bright to leave on fullbeam. Mine is not, but the colour temperature of the HID is quite frightening and attracts a lot of attention.

Case in point, I was in wellington last year when I had the conventional crap korean yellow-candle incandescent bulb in it, and I was told just how bright my headlamp looked then, and that was on dip too. Projector lamps are quite piercing - nothing to do with what bulb is fitted - its more a function on its poor ability to focus said beam.

Now I also have a Hilux Surf with about 350W DC of input to the lighting system, and trust me when I say, it is completely impossible to drive that ANYWHERE NEAR any motorist without causing complete mayhem, but the crap lights on my bike are just not like that.


Any considerate road user dips their lights automatically when another vehicle is approaching them.Now you combine two assumptions - one of the assumption that I am actually blinding people, and the other of the idea labelling me me "inconsiderate" if I do not conform to your expectations will actually make me change.

Firstly, I believe (unlike yourself) that I am doing no harm on the basis of the evidence (not getting flashed), and secondly, other people casting their own baggage at me is not relevant.

Of course, you may do as you choose, and so will I. I am not really interested in your explanation, nor you in mine even though you ask. So lets just go back to the interesting thing we were doing, shall we?

Steve

[Katman]

Yes. I get no complaints at all. Perhaps once every two months maybe. I don't remember when I was last flashed.



There would be a great number of drivers out there who would choose not to flash an oncoming motorcyclist in case they ended up with a hairy arsed 1%er following them home.

The fact that you haven't been flashed does not mean that you are not blinding other drivers.

[CookMySock]

There would be a great number of drivers out there who would choose not to flash an oncoming motorcyclist in case they ended up with a hairy arsed 1%er following them home.

The fact that you haven't been flashed does not mean that you are not blinding other drivers.They cant tell anything about me from 300m in the opposite direction, and what would you rather go head-to-head with in a road rage battle, a 200KG bike, or a two tonne Hilux with bull bars?

Try driving the hilux around with its massive spotlights on fullbeam, and you will get TOLD very quickly and very resoundly. Do it on my bike and no one says a word. I was going to say "decide for yourself" but readers will do that regardless - this is the internet.

last post, sorry.

Steve

[dipshit]

Haha yeah. I love my HID. No one else does though - they think I'm a cunt because my bike sticks out like a dogs cock, and they think I am a double fucking cunt because I don't care. Its' headlight is bright too, LOL.


Another cock sucker on a bike. Who would have thunk it.

[Pussy]

Another cock sucker on a bike. Who would have thunk it.

Yup!
If I was him, I'd carry a file with me ALL the time, to get all the sharp edges off the bike before someone who takes exception to his selfish attitude shoves the bike right up his arse

[dipshit]

Aviators have used "pulse lights" for some time now to very good effect, especially with bird avoidance. Aeroplanes have far brighter lights than any motorcycle and the only time we do shut them down is at night when facing another aircraft, but by day, as for the reasons above, we leave them on.

HID and modulators the two different things. You can still run a modulator on a standard bulb.

[terbang]

The fact that you haven't been flashed does not mean that you are not blinding other drivers.

Get with it, we are talking by day, OK. You don't blind people by day with lights, OK. However if it be by night, then you could, but the point of this thread was about day visibility, OK. See the point..?




No I guess not, you are after all, Katman...


Augenklinik der Universität München.

In various Scandinavian countries the use of headlights during daytime (daytime running light DRL) is obligatory since many years. In Canada all new cars have to be equipped with a daytime running light since 1990. Whether or not in Germany or in the southern neighbouring countries a daytime running light should be used is matter of controversial discussion during the least years. Daytime running light increases the visibility of oncoming cars tremendously. Not only the drivers, but also pedestrians and cyclists profit from this gain of visibility. Especially drivers with poor vision, who will become more and more frequent during the coming years due to the increase of percentage of older drivers, have a specific profit from daytime running light. Potentially negative side-effects of daytime running light are: reduction of visibility of the brake-lights, glare, loss of visibility for pedestrians and cyclists, damage to the retina, increase of fuel consumption. All these arguments are either not crucial or cannot be documented by statistical data. On the other hand the data which are available up to now concerning frequency of accidents in those countries and areas in which daytime running light was used or is used, show a trend, sometimes even a statistical significant reduction of daytime accidents. This reduction is especially pronounced for accidents with pedestrians and cyclists. Overall, there are more and better arguments for using daytime running light, also in Germany. A technical alternative would be an automatic switching of the headlights if horizontal illuminance drops below a specific limit, e.g. 2000-3000 lx. Such an automatic procedure would increase the percentage of cars using headlights in critical situations during daytime.

[Pussy]

Even a normal headlight on full beam is VERY irritating to oncoming traffic by day

[_STAIN_]

I feel this "steady" refers to the mounting of the light on vehicle. ie the lens is not secure in it holder and can change pitch over an irregular road surface, or like those 14 " Hella's you had mounted on the flimsy Mk 1 Escort bumper.

Can anyone point me to something from LTSA that say's modulators are illegal ?

http://www.gadgetjq.com/headlightmodulator.htm
http://www.kriss.com/h4mod.php



From the WOF Failure list...

Performance
15. When switched on, a headlamp emits a light that is:
a) not substantially white or amber, or
b) different in colour or intensity from the other lamp
in a pair, or
c) not steady, or
d) not bright enough to illuminate the road ahead,
eg due to modification, deterioration or an
incorrect light source, or
e) too bright causing significant dazzle to other road
users, eg due to an incorrect light source.

[wingrider]

I run a headlight modulator on my wing.

There is provision within the regs that allow modulators on any bike manufactured in the USA after 1978. ( I spoke to LTA). Many bikes came with them as standard.

It must only be activated on high beam, must have a device to indicate it is operating ( main beam indicator pulses). Must dim the lights sufficiantly so as not to dazzle, ( mine draws 17% of full power), Must modulate twin light at same time (Not allowed to wig-wag, reserved for emergency vehicles only) reverts to normal in low light ( PE Controlled) and in the event of failure reverts to normal.

Not many wof guys or Police were aware of the fact.

Vehicle testing and local bike shop have never been a prob with issuing warrants.

Police I have talked to who have seen it in action have all commented on how effective it is. Several have said "no way we gunna book you when you have fitted something for safety.

[xgnr]

I run a headlight modulator on my wing.

Several have said "no way we gunna book you when you have fitted something for safety.

I will continue to use my HID... esp. now that we will be prosecuted for not being visible (aka no headlight)

Some bikes I see might as well have no lights. Crap yellow things. Almost invisible.

I have never been flashed by other drivers. My HID is obvious but not glaring (according to my rider mates)

Not warrantable apparently, but hey, the Govt has stated (through the new headlight rules) that bright lights are GOOD and might save us from using up valuable ACC resources.

Cheers

Stu

(OBTW Stranger... up you)