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CBR 1000RR LEDs
- IgorPartola 6y agoOof. Red lights on the front are illegal because those go on the back. Blue lights are illegal on any vehicle that isn’t police. Green lights I believe are also illegal.
- moron4hire 6y agoOnly when used on public roads
- IgorPartola 6y agoTrue. But read the very first sentence of the article.
- moron4hire 6y agoThey're selectable. I'm sure the author has no intention of using the colors while in the road.
- NikolaNovak 6y agoBased on... What exactly? :-) Tons enough people with both safe and reasonable, and Crazt and illegal mods out there :-/
- moron4hire 6y agoBased on site guidelines asking people to assume good intentions in others. Based on believing individuals should have the liberty to do what they want, as long as they aren't harming someone. Based on thinking people should be free to post their projects without having some internet rando come in, looking for an opportunity to prove how wrong they are.
- NikolaNovak 6y agoHmm, I agree with between 50% to 66% of that: * "Assume good intentions" - fair enough :). I'll agree with that noble posture. * "Free to post without randos commenting" - mmhm... if you don't want internet randos to comment, don't post it to internet randos. To a certain degree, the whole point of posting it to the intertubes rather than emailing it to close friends & family, is to reach internet randos :-/ * "Based on believing individuals should have the liberty to do what they want, as long as they aren't harming someone" - I fully agree in principle, but I also 100% believe that red forward lights are in fact "harming someone". As I pointed in a sibling comment, I don't believe that's a rule that's there for funzies. "Principle of least astonishment" is crucial in driving, and drivers have lifetime of reflexes based on "White lights are coming to me, red lights are moving away from me / braking". Can you imagine being on a lonely country two lane road, and then some red lights are coming your way in the opposite lane? Etc etc... scenarios are not difficult to figure out.
- moron4hire 6y agoIt's also not difficult to figure out scenarios in which he would never use red lights on public roads, but might use them at private events, like shows. Given the lack of evidence that OP is an idiot, I'm going with the assumption that he's not going to run forward running red lights in public. I'm going to assume the only reason the color is changeable is to show off for fun. BTW, your paraphrasing of my comment on random commentators is a mischaracterization. I'm not talking about all random commentors. Just the ones who can't see past their noses far enough to know their criticism is not universal.
- IgorPartola 6y agoI can’t speak for the author but lots and lots of people who do these mods, do them with the intention of using them.
- moron4hire 6y agoLots of people who do these kind of mods show their vehicles at shows or local meets.
- TylerE 6y agoJust like all those people with “off road” (no muffler) exhausts, right?
- moron4hire 6y agoYeah, swapping mufflers is totally the same level of effort as using a smartphone app to configure the light colors. So clearly this guy totally intends to cause mayhem on the streets.
- IgorPartola 6y agoIf you haven’t swapped mufflers, you probably assume it is more complicated. It takes 10 minutes, 8 of which is finding your tools.
- moron4hire 6y agoI have, actually, which is why I already knew it's that long, which is still an order of magnitude faster than changing the color of some lights in an app.
- loeg 6y agoIt seems unlikely you'd own a CBR 1000RR (this is a high-end sports bike, $17k new[1], top speed north of 200 mph) and not drive it on public roads. [1]: https://powersports.honda.com/street/supersport/cbr1000rr https://powersports.honda.com/street/supersport/cbr1000rr
- mdoms 6y agoThis is a very common dedicated track bike, but at that point you remove all lights entirely.
- dharmab 6y agoMore typically you cover the lights with masking tape. Its cheaper.
- mdoms 6y agoFor a road bike on the track, yet. For a dedicated track bike no, you remove the lights.
- dharmab 6y agoOnly for a true race bike. For a track bike, why spend the money and make it harder to sell later?
- mdoms 6y agoI don't know anyone who has a dedicated track bike with headlights, lol. No track bike will be re-sold as a road bike, especially not something as serious as a CBR 1000RR. Once they're set up for the track with no headlights/indicators/brake lights, race exhaust, rear seat/pegs/brackets removed, number plate holders and various other brackets removed, slicks fitted, fairings painted etc etc they're too far gone to b re-sold for the road. No to mention most guys with dedicated track bikes are pouring thousands into them, not penny pinching on $35 headlight blanking panels.
- 6y ago
- the_only_law 6y agoI remember a year ago I got in a lyft and the driver talked about the little light they had given him. Apparently the first color it was set to got him pulled over by a rather confrontational officer.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Rumudiez 6y agoIn his first paragraph he says he wants to improve the visibility of his forward blinkers, so I feel this critique is undue. Like another poster said, I’m sure his only intention is to use them in an amber hue. Many LEDs on the market happen to support RGB – it’s okay to have a little fun with the available features in development.
- IgorPartola 6y agoTrue. But since the author didn’t discuss these nuances and people reading this might be tempted to make the same mod, it’s prudent to bring up this point lest someone else isn’t aware of them. From experience in these discussions on e.g. /r/motorcycles people who do these mods are unaware of these issues until someone points them out in about 3 out of every four posts and the 1 our of 4 will often state that they don’t care because they can outrun the cops on a 1000cc sport bike anyways.
- NikolaNovak 6y agoAnd dangerous. There are things that are formally illegal that we can argue merits of. But red light on the front is just a no go from any sensible perspective :-( Note - I have a heavily nodded Soobie that's a lot of fun - I'm not at all claiming we shouldn't enjoy tinkering with our toys. But I also made myself familiar with Ontario highway act to ensure anything I do is safe and legal.
- IgorPartola 6y agoAgreed. It’s the same as with all those low profile turn signals that are basically on top of each other. There is a reason most jurisdictions require something like at least 12” between the turn signals to make it easier to tell which one is on.
- zionic 6y agoDepends on state. In my state red is legal on the front if it never flashes, same with green.
- inamberclad 6y agoDepends on the state. Here in Texas, many construction vehicles will have yellow and blue lights.
- adverbly 6y ago> Green lights I believe are also illegal. for R/G colourblind I guess?
- IgorPartola 6y agoBecause it can easily look like a green traffic light. You might not think it’s a problem because traffic lights are normally not that low but at night on a street with no streetlights and with a hill involved...
- waste_monk 6y agoIts usage is geographically specific, but this article [1] is a decent starting place. Green is commonly used to indicate that a particular vehicle is the command post for an incident, e.g. for fire fighting. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_vehicle_lighting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_vehicle_lighting
- packetlost 6y agoJust being capable of other colors isn't itself illegal, if he runs with white or amber in the front it's perfectly fine.
- sandworm101 6y agoThat depends on which cop is evaluating you. Once a ticket is issued, great deference is given to the officer's judgement. Ask anyone with a heavily modified vehicle: rules are often secondary to the officers personal opinion. Personally, I got stopped more than once, ticketed once, for my bone-stock exhaust on my vfr2000. All I ever did was give it a good polish.
- packetlost 6y agoIf he's only running amber or white, there's nothing illegal going on. There isn't even a reason for them to be pulled over. It's also possible your exhaust is illegal in your jurisdiction, many places have decibel @ distance requirements for exhaust and vehicle noise, which your exhaust may outside of even if it's stock.
- northwest65 6y agoThat seems unlikely, given the bike (stock VFR exhaust are very modest, quite suitable for touring, your suggestion is ignorant and frankly insulting to the poster). Many places the rules specifically state that OEM exhausts are legal regardless of how they test. I've always presumed that's the case because Ducati and Lamborghini owners are sufficiently cashed up to ensure legislation is written to accommodate them.
- packetlost 6y ago> That seems unlikely, given the bike (stock VFR exhaust are very modest, quite suitable for touring, your suggestion is ignorant and frankly insulting to the poster) Forgive me for know knowing the exact noise levels of a specific motorcycle exhaust /s Even if you're within explicit noise limits, many states also have laws about 'disturbing the peace' that you can be ticketed for regardless of actual noise, in particular when done intentionally such as revving while in neutral/clutched. > Many places the rules specifically state that OEM exhausts are legal regardless of how they test. Some, but not all. In Wisconsin, the only thing that matters is that it's "not louder than stock". In Florida, you cannot exceed a specific decibel rating at a specific distance regardless of stock dbA [0]. > I've always presumed that's the case because Ducati and Lamborghini owners are sufficiently cashed up to ensure legislation is written to accommodate them. Maybe in some states. Many explicitly exclude motorcycles from exhaust noise limits as well. [0]: https://www.semasan.com/resources/exhaust-noise-laws-state#Florida https://www.semasan.com/resources/exhaust-noise-laws-state#F...
- pibechorro 6y agoOk mom.
- 0_____0 6y agogood idea to box up and waterproof electronics. a potting box and potting compound is a quick way to ensure that your electronics keep working, stuff tends to take a beating on a motorcycle as there usually isn't a spot that stays dry 100% of the time.
- worldmerge 6y agoThis is really cool! I would love to have something like these running on my car.
- triangleman 6y agoThe cellphone/app seems like a weak link for such a safety critical system. Is there no other way to control the blinkers?
- Nbox9 6y agoI’ll agree that turn signals are a safety system, but I wouldn’t describe it as a critical safety system. Out of the 1000 things that could go wrong while riding a motorcycle the turn signals not working wouldn’t rank in the top half as far as safety implications if improperly functioning.
- bborud 6y agoIf it can kill you it is critical. I had an intermittent short in the indicator switch on a motorcycle. One day it suddenly started indicating left at an intersection when I was going straight. A car in the opposite direction was turning (their) left and almost hit me. According to the other driver my bike started indicating (my) left as I neared the intersection so it looked entirely intentional. Fortunately we both had left ourselves safety margins and had eye contact so we didn't crash. But add youth, testosterone and aggressive driving and that could easily have been a really dangerous misunderstanding.
- istjohn 6y agoHand signals can be used in a pinch.
- hwillis 6y agopretty sure it's just a checkin app that can change colors etc. He uses a current sensor to detect when to blink the lights.
- darrylb42 6y agoAt least in BC you are always supposed to use hand signals in addition to lights if you have them. Lights are secondary.
- 6y ago
- allears 6y agoThis looks really cool, but I'm generally against non-standard flashy blinky lights on vehicles. They're distracting to other drivers, and may not be as easy to interpret as a standard turn signal. Light shows belong in your living room, not on the road.
- hwillis 6y agoThere are arguments for and against the turn signal looking like this. Its got longer periods at low brightness and its more visually complicated, vs. potentially the motion is more indicative or the fact that the light doesn't have a long "off" period means you are less likely to miss that its on. Motorcycles have lots of arguments for and against driving with your brights on (ie both headlights, which can look like a faraway car) or loud pipes (save lives vs. cost rights). As always the #1 safety feature is the one holding onto the handlebars.
- bborud 6y agoA few car models around here started having this style of indicator light a few years ago and I've noticed that they take a bit longer to process when you are at a busy intersection. And it should be noted: on a car you do not have the problem of the lights being closer together, which seems to be the problem the OP was trying to solve.
- dm319 6y agoI think these 'licking' lights are a fad that will pass. Some of the more recent Audis do an entire light show on starting up. This isn't about safety - more about show.
- Hamuko 6y agoYeah, I'm wondering what LEDs these are. Are these actually LEDs that are designed specifically for road-use, or are these just some generic LEDs that you'd stick in a PC?
- jiofih 6y agoIf you look at the videos, or read the intro, the original blinker is flush with the sides and almost invisible when looking head on at the bike. That’s the problem he is solving, not pimping it up.
- Lev1a 6y ago404 Not Found. Was the article removed?
- thelazydogsback 6y agoPersonally I think a "forward blinker" would be useful, in the middle of a car/bike. Many times at a 4-way stop where all the cars arrive relatively simultaneously, if a car doesn't have any blinkers on, I have to guess if they intend to go straight forward, or have forgotten to signal -- or they start signaling after they begin to accelerate for some reason. If I had to guess, I'd say that up to 1 of 10 cars may fall into one of these categories. People at busy 4-way stops (incl. myself) tend to want to increase flow by a self-organized optimization of allowing more than one car in the intersection at a time if they don't interfere w/each other- such as two cars across from each other going straight or turning to opposite roads. I think that's one of the unappreciated features of self-driving cars, is that they will always signal their intent, whether to other human drivers and cars via lights, or directly via data.
- dreamcompiler 6y agoWhen all cars are self-driving, it gets even better because the cars will exchange information with each other over short-range RF networks. Paxos-like intercar signalling of intent will be a huge safety boost. But as long as self-driving cars share the road with human-driven cars, the automatic cars will still have to drive defensively, assuming every other vehicle is potentially a Byzantine adversary.
- Hamuko 6y ago>When all cars are self-driving, it gets even better What if I want it to get better during my lifetime?
- toast0 6y ago> People at busy 4-way stops (incl. myself) tend to want to increase flow by a self-organized optimization of allowing more than one car in the intersection at a time if they don't interfere w/each other- such as two cars across from each other going straight or turning to opposite roads. The algorithm is pretty easy (but sadly, not universal) once the intersection becomes congested, you switch from whatever you were doing to opposite sides enter the intersection simultaneously, straight and right turns exit first, left turns turn after passing the opposite traffic; then the perpindicular direction has a turn. Easy peasy, unless you live where the convention is to maintain first arrival order per entry direction, even when congested.
- malkia 6y agoCool, but my gripe is that it maybe too bright. Here in Los Angeles folks seem to be using high head-lights as if no one is driving against you...
- bborud 6y agoI come from Norway and in general, it seems to me that the requirements for low beam are different in the US than in Europe. My impression is that the low beam is higher in the US. Which is really unpleasant when driving at night.
- malkia 6y agoOne of the first thing I've learned from my father and grand-father while they were driving is to lower the beams for oncoming vehicles, and give a little blink signal to notify incoming vehicle that hasn't lowered it. Like everyone seemed to be following this "standard" (Bulgaria, back in the 80s/90s). Here (Los Angeles), even in well lit streets, or worse on the freeway, you may see someone with raised high-beams and just don't care. It's particulary bad, if you are in the right-most lane (freeway) that's for more than one passenger in the car.
- Aken 6y agoThese are small LED strips with no reflection mechanisms. No where near as bright as the headlight, or even modern LED running lights that many cars have now.
- malkia 6y agoThanks! It just seemed that way, so hard to say.
- agloeregrets 6y agoSo uh...does it turn off the headlight on the side with the LED like a car does? Because otherwise when the headlights are on (which is required in many places on motorcycles at all times) you will not at all be able to see these. Edit: to be clear I’m talking about the large projector units below the LED driving lights. Most motorcycles come from the factory without the ability to turn those main headlights off and many states mandate them. On my FZ1 the main headlights are some of the brightest and most powerful I have ever seen from the factory on any vehicle including cars, by putting the LED in the same housing you are putting this LED strip just three inches from an incredibly bright light source. The factory turn signals (that the Author removed) are normally located at least a foot from the mains, the new models put them on the rear view mirrors way out to the side.
- jiofih 6y agoThe author did not remove the factory turn signals. His model is from 2007 and a quick google search shows they did not have turn signals behind the mirrors, only the flush-mounted and very invisible ones you can see on the lower sides in his video.
- jaxx75 6y agoI don't get this--if visibility is the real issue, perhaps re-installing the factory turn indicators would have been a better solution.
- Aken 6y agoThe factory signals are still there - they are lower down towards the sides.
- breput 6y agohttps://web.archive.org/web/20201101143953/http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~fisk/cbr1000rrLED/cbr1000rrLEDInfo.html https://web.archive.org/web/20201101143953/http://pages.cs.w...
- renewiltord 6y agoThis is freaking cool, homie. I'd love to have these on my car as additional accents. The style is pretty cool.
- bborud 6y agoI hate to rain on your project but... I'm not convinced this style of blinker is a good idea as they are considerably more demanding of attention to understand for other drivers. That might seem like a good thing, but it really isn't. In part because they use an unusual signalling patterm and in part because the cycle time for this pattern is too long in your case. At the very least I think I would at least double the speed of the animation to lessen the amount of time people looking right at them. Also, these lights seem awfully bright. Especially at night, this might endanger other drivers in confusing situations. You may want to add some ambient light sensing so you can adapt the brightness to the ambient lighting conditions. Think of attention as a budget. You have X amount of time to look at and understand things around you in traffic. The more time you allocate to one thing, the less time you will have for the dozens of other things you need to keep an eye on. A common mistake when driving is to spend too much of your attention budget on one thing. You really don't want other drivers to spend 2-3 seconds staring at your blinkers. Ideally they shouldn't need more than 500ms or so. As a fellow motorcycle rider, what I would recommend would be to find traditional turn signals mounted on stalks further from the centerline of the motorcycle. Those are much more of an improvement since they communicate more clearly and are far less "remarkable" and attention-demanding. I know, this is boring, but in my view, a much safer option.
- dm319 6y agoI partly upgraded my bike (to a CB650R) for greater visibility. The indicators are LED and much brighter, and they also remain on as running lights.
- ObsoleteNerd 6y agoHaving done basically this same project before (but just adding amber LED indicators, no MCU) I’m a bit confused over the use of the sensors vs a relay on the existing indicator wiring. Was it to save from splicing into the factory wiring? If so, as an alternate method, on mine I got some of the same connectors used on the factory indicator wiring to add an in-line split off to a relay that triggered my new indicators which were then powered directly off the battery. This made the entire system very simple and reversible. I wanted to do mine animated like my car but I wasn’t sure how well MCUs hold up to the pretty extreme vibrations bike electronics get submitted to. Plus I’m lazy.