Add Extra Brake Light and Turn Signal LEDs to Improve Motorcycle Visibility
I enjoy motorcycle riding but also recognize the inherent risk associated with operating a motorcycle on public roads. I have excellent protective gear from Cycleport and Aerostich, but I would rather not have to test the protective ability of the gear at all. Toward that end I have added additional brake light and turn signal LEDs to my motorcycle, plus some retroreflective tape for good measure. The added visibility should help prevent a distracted driver from hitting my from behind.
I started by adding a LED license plate frame, which has 4 bars of red LEDs surrounding the license plate. These LEDs are simply wired into the bike’s brake light. Instructions for connecting the wires are included with the license plate frame, but trust me it is easy to solder them in and even easier to use crimp connections (but I recommend soldering for extra durability and corrosion resistance).
Next, I added a 100 LED bar right below the stock brake light, and wired it into the brake light circuitry just as I did for the license plate frame. This is a very flexible strip of LEDs enclosed in a somewhat flexible plastic tube, and is very bright.
For the turn signals I added two yellow LED bars along the rear corners of the bike, aligned vertically. The right LED bar is tied into the right turn signal, and the left LED bar is tied into the left turn signal.
Finally I added generous amounts of retro reflective tape to the area around the stock brake light, between the stock brake light and the LED license plate frame, and around the base of the turn signal housings.
The end result can be seen here below:
I’m quite happy with the performance of the LEDs, which in total draw less power than a single incandescent turn signal bulb. I also replaced the stock brake light bulbs with LEDs to further save energy. The end result is that my bike’s brake lights and turn signals are many times brighter and more noticeable, and the power consumption is actually about 1/2 of what it was with just the two factory bulbs.
Since it may be hard to tell exactly where the extra LEDs are located in the picture above, the picture below shows the LED arrays with red highlighting (for the brake lights) and yellow highlighting (for the turn signals).
You can order these LEDs from Custom Dynamics.
Tags: motorcycle, Protective Gear, safety
