Rear Foglight on a gsa

[Tractors are go]

One of my friends just bought a K100LT which has a bmw rear fog light on it.

This got me thinking, has anyone used LED's lights as a rear foglight, possibly fitting either under or over the rear light.

I quite like the ones used in F1 that pulse, but conuregs will probably preclude me.

 

[TLSgazza]

Really?

We get the slightest bit of mist round here and certain people seem to think it's the law to turn on their rear fog lights, they are blinding and distracting, some of them mask the brakelights so you can barely see them coming on.
They should never be used unless visibility is down to just a few yards.












Ironically I have my front fogs on all the time on my gsa.

 

[kevingambrell]

Really?

We get the slightest bit of mist round here and certain people seem to think it's the law to turn on their rear fog lights, they are blinding and distracting, some of them mask the brakelights so you can barely see them coming on.
They should never be used unless visibility is down to just a few yards.

I would have to agree with that, fog lights are fine in a real pea souper but not any other time. Its more important for your brake lights to be visible.
Try adding some rear day running lights not as bright as fogs but still visible. I have two on the bottom of my F650gs's number plate. THey are about the size of a 10p
coin and during the day just visible. At night they are very visible but do not obliterate the light from my brake light.
An yes I run my front fogs all the time on the basis that its far easier to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle that has more than one light source. Maybe it gives
the guy in the car more chance to work out how long he has to pull out on me or not.

 

[Tractors are go]

I went out for a wee trip from Edinburgh to Nairn via cockbridge then to Cromarty/Applecross and hence home.

There was a couple of fog banks which the wind had failed to blow away. Visibility was down to maybe 30/40m at times, which is why I had deep thoughts, in between the concentrating bit.

 

[comberjohn]

I believe I've read that three points of light coming towards them make a driver more likely to hesitate and read the situation.
Always give mine a slight roll as I approach the junction.
Have a couple of led bulbs in the spots. Not very bright, but the bluish colour seems to catch their attention!
Use one of Les's HID 50w kits. If I need additional lights to see I'm in trouble.

 

[Tractors are go]

Got one of Les's kits on high/low; excellent. I'm just thinking about making the rear end more obvious in poor visibility.

 

[duckspeed]

Go for it pal. I'm sure you would be intelligent enough to use it wisely, it's the middle management car brigade having them on when there's no need that cause the problems

 

[harrim51]

It's also common now on my M5 commute that the newer cars with auto lights don't have any rear lights showing because the ambient light doesn't trigger I he headlights.

 

[BOBAD]

One of my friends just bought a K100LT which has a bmw rear fog light on it. .......

Not before time. I have been using one since the 70s.

...... fog lights are fine in a real pea souper but not any other time........

Is wrong.

I hate to be pedantic but the term "rear fog light" is incorrect.

They are: "low-visibility lights", and correct use is when visibility is down to 100 metres or less whether that is caused by fog, torrential rain or snow blizzard conditions.

Use over 100 metres visibility is unsafe and illegal. (Though rarely enforced).

Rear high-intensity warning lights need to be wired up to come on only when dipped headlights are used and require an illuminated on/off switch on the dash.

The pic. I have tried to post is of my K100 RS taken in 1990 and shows the light (made by Bosch) underneath the number plate.

Should have been standard issue on motorcycles years ago !

 

[Tractors are go]

That is the very bugger on the LT.

High intensity lights should indeed be standard fitment.

Interestingly, conuregs state it is illegal to have flashing red lights. I can find nothing about rippling; must have been written before LED'S then.

It is illegal to have flashing lights fitted to a bicycle but not wearing them as the cyclist. Often the law is an ass.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

 

[Martyn H]

That is the very bugger on the LT.

High intensity lights should indeed be standard fitment.

Interestingly, conuregs state it is illegal to have flashing red lights. I can find nothing about rippling; must have been written before LED'S then.

It is illegal to have flashing lights fitted to a bicycle

That used to be the case; now it is not.

 

[Tractors are go]

I can't find anything which says that flashing red lights are now legal, but if you have a link or anything it would be much appreciated.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

 

[kevingambrell]

I rode home a few weeks ago behind a guy on a GSX11 fitted with a brake light modulator. The light didnt flash that fast but it sure was eye catching, again dont know how legal these things are.
Id have to say more red lighting on the back of a bike cant be a bad thing im just not sure what would be safe and would would start to become a hazard in its self.
I am very tempted to fit a second brake light on my topbox, or possibly a combined stop and tail.
With LED's becoming so cheap and so easy to wire in it seems like a simple way to make my self more visible.
For the time being I make do with yards of reflective red tape on the top box and paniers, who knows maybe it helps!

 

[kevingambrell]

As an add on to my last post.
Sitting drinking my morning tea it dawned on me id rather be safe and suck up a small fine or a telling off from the police.
So maybe a modulated brake light is the way to go.
Bad me!

 

[Martyn H]

I can't find anything which says that flashing red lights are now legal, but if you have a link or anything it would be much appreciated.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

The Road Vehicles Lighting (Amendment) Regulations 2005

 

[stephen.stallebrass]

Got one of Les's kits on high/low; excellent. I'm just thinking about making the rear end more obvious in poor visibility.

Not a fog light but When I had my F800GS I found 3M diamond grade red reflective tape (ECE 104 Approved) on my Zega Pro panniers to be very effective. Not put any on my 2014 GSA LC yet but this post has reminded me to get some.

 

[Bendy toy]

Getting hit from behind in fog has never been a worry. Getting hit by a SMIDSY from the front is a constant concern. The three front lights certainly seem to attract more attention than the single headlight and none of them are dazzling. BTW I have LED angel eyes as daylights they are bluish white and seem to attract even more attention than the old halogen spots.

Riding on main beam (like some idiots do with sports bikes) is just plain selfish with dazzle likely to cause all sorts of mayhem especially if they are HIDs or high power LEDs.

I would however like to have indicators set wider than the standard units. I believe the fronts get lost with the headlight and the rears are not especially separate from the tail light. Repeaters on the hand guards and side cases make some sense.

 

[BOBAD]

...... maybe a modulated brake light is the way to go......

......I rode home a few weeks ago behind a guy on a GSX11 fitted with a brake light modulator. The light didnt flash that fast but it sure was eye catching,

I have some experience of this. Back in the mid 80s the city of San Francisco equipped it's entire taxi fleet with modulating brake lights as an experiment. The harder the driver braked the faster the brake lights flashed.

It was an unmitigated disaster and the experiment was quickly ended.

The problem was that whereas on an individual car it seemed to work ok, when driving in slow-moving heavy traffic, either in the city or on the freeway, the amount of flashing lights ahead and all around you was so intensely distracting and the fact that American cars have red rear indicators (not amber) added to the confusion.

It was like watching a Pink Floyd light show and it was a relief when the experiment ended and things returned to normal.

.......Getting hit from behind in fog has never been a worry.

Having spent a lot of time driving in Europe in the past, the problem of heavy fog (especially in France in winter) is much more frequent than in the UK. I once saw 2 motorcyclists taken out by a fully-laden truck as they waited stationary at a set of lights in fog and I have never forgotten the experience.

Nobody ever got hurt because they were too visible both front and rear.

 

[Bendy toy]

The last really bad fog that I got caught in was back in the late 1980s near Burton on Trent. I avoided the dual carriageway and took the back lane as it ran higher. It was one of the most scary rides ever. The fog was so bad that I had no idea where the next white line dash would appear and could see neither side of the road. Where the white lines disappeared I just had to ride and hope.

More recently very heavy rain on the M40 would probably have been technically legal to use rear "fogs" - maybe. The water drops inside the visor caused glare from car tail lights and really bad dazzle from those with fog lights. After it cleared one muppet continued to dazzle everyone with his rear light. I eventually got past him but it took ages because most drivers were too timid to just get in front and away from his glare.

 

[Dunblane56]

Fitted rear lights

I think extra rear lights is a great idea, lots of extra fronts but rear normally left as standard.
I fitted 2 extra Stop/Tails to my GSA soon after getting it.
Simple alluminium brackets glued to the pannies with number plate foam strips, 2 Waterproof connectors close to the side of the seat and a relay setup to drive them.
Relay probably not necessary as voltage is so low.
Picture attached shows the lights and the extra reflectors on the number plate and the top box
Not "Fog Lights" just more lights
Strange camera effect on the last one, all looks wonky