Blur owners: Headlight Modulators

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GFridrich3
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Blur owners: Headlight Modulators

Post by GFridrich3 »

Ok, so who's running one, and what brand / model do you have?
Also any comments you have about yours would be great!
Let's try not to go off-topic and keep this technical.
GFridrich3
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Post by GFridrich3 »

Ok, I'll go first...

I just bought the Comagination.com "VisiPath" 115 watt single bulb headlight modulator model # sS115H4. I got it in a combo deal they offer, along with a 4 flash brake light flasher model # IBF4

I also picked up a Philips SilverStar H4 headlight bulb today.

I will update once it is installed.

I bought these items based on recommendations from other scooter and motorcycle forums and webbikeworld.com reviews. I liked that the VisiPath is plug-and-play, about $35 cheaper than the Kisan PathBlazer, and also appears to be more reliable on a scooters small battery than the Kisan. I did not want to cut and splice wires, which is why i did not even consider the Diamond Star modulator. The taillight flasher will require splicing into one wire, and tapping into one wire, which is more than I would really like to do, but i do find acceptable.

My total price was just under $92 shipped for both devices. The headlight modulator sells for about $77 shipped alone, and the tail light flasher sells for about $37 shipped alone. Thats $114 shipped separately, so with the combo, you're looking at spending $8 for the tail light flasher when purchased at the same time! (figuring in double shipping costs if purchased separately)
GFridrich3
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Post by GFridrich3 »

Ok, another update...

Still waiting to receive my VisiPath modulator, and will do a writeup on it when i do receive it and test it out.

In the meantime, i picked up an Amperite Auto-Light 12v 120w headlight modulator relay from JCWhitney.com This is that really simple solid state relay that you just plug your hi-beam into, then wire the output to the prong on your hi-beam. I made a simple harness and did a little tweaking so that I didnt have to cut the stock harness to pieces and wired that up.

Hopefully from everything I can gather from the GMAX service manual, even if the voltage is AC on the Blur, it still appears to follow a uni-directional path into a voltage regulator, that has two leads on it connecting thru the bulbs and directly to the battery. It appears to be a basic "bridge" to prevent back current thru the bulb.

Well anyways, I wired that up, and tested it out in my garage since its all I can do with this horrible chicagoland weather we have right now. Works like a charm! Pulses on hi-beam, steady on with low beam. Flash to pass actually does modulate the hi-beam as well since the relay is wired in directly behind the bulb. (The wiring harmess may just be hard wired this way anyways, linking the FTP as a momentary hi-beam switch)

At idle, runs great. On the centerstand, I did give it a little juice to see what would happen and the modulator relay just kept on kicking like normal. No increase in pulsing like some modulators appear to be doing on vespas / buddys / stellas.... Not sure if this is the nature of the beast being a solid state relay, rather than an actual modulator controller. Im guessing as long as its being fed 11v-18v it will be in a constant state of flicker.

Yes, I know I need to wire in a manual "off" switch for this relay if i decide to keep this one after testing the VisiPath I am waiting to receive.

Now I know there are a couple of you wondering "why" I got two different modulators at the same time. Well, my buddy at work wants one for his Suzuki cruiser, so whichever I dont keep, hes buying back from me. Makes it a little easier for me to dish out the extra cash to experiment a little bit.

I will be able to give better feedback on the JCWhitney modulator after I get to take the Blur on a road test when weather gets better, but in the garage, it works like its supposed to!
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docutech
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Post by docutech »

What is the benefit of a headlight modulator :?:
GFridrich3
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Post by GFridrich3 »

Added visibility during the daytime. Even with your hi-beam on during the day, people will still not really notice you. With a modulator, it "flickers" your hi-beam between 100% and 17% power about 4 times a second. It makes your headlight MUCH more visible to other vehicles on the road. Its mostly a safety precaution, some people swear by them, others think its overkill. Either way, I think its a good idea to do whatever I can to make myself noticed.
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docutech
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Post by docutech »

Interesting. Thanks for clarifying.
jim_0068
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Post by jim_0068 »

I think if you need that much to see a bike during the day, you are practically blind.
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BlueMark
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Post by BlueMark »

jim_0068 wrote:I think if you need that much to see a bike during the day, you are practically blind.
The idea is that the flickering light will catch the attention of the zombies on 4 wheels like the pickup driver that drove right into me at a stoplight because he 'didn't see me' in broad daylight while looking directly at me. Then perhaps you won't need a team of doctors to reattach your foot and install a bunch of titanium reinforcements in your arm and leg.

I not only want a headlight modulator on my next bike, but also rotating laser beams and flash grenades.

-Mark
GFridrich3
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Post by GFridrich3 »

jim_0068 wrote:I think if you need that much to see a bike during the day, you are practically blind.
I think you are underestimating the selfishness of most drivers. A vehicle as small as even a large highway cruiser easily blends into the road for some drivers. Its not a matter of being seen, its a matter of making yourself noticed to drivers around you on the road. Its not a matter of being "blind", its a matter of them just not paying attention.
GFridrich3
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Post by GFridrich3 »

Ok, update time!!!

Got the Comagination headlight modulator assembly, and brake light flasher relay.

Installed both of them over the past 2 hours.

Installing the brake light flasher:
Note, the dark blue wire from your brake light is the running light, cut into the other wire!!! I did the dark blue first cause thats what the instructions said, and well, PGO wired the socket differently than what seems to be universal for everyone else. Other than that, no biggie, just takes a little time to disassemble everything and get to the wiring. If i had to do it over, i probably would attack from the underside of the light, above the wheel so I wouldnt have to take everything apart again. This install is really straightforward. Splice the red wire to the battery side of the brake signal wire, then splice the blue wire to the lamp side of the brake signal wire, then tap the black wire into the black ground wire on the wiring harness. Easey Peasey...

Installing the Comagination headlight modulator:
Even easier and less time consuming than the brake light flasher. Following my instructions in the other thread about aligning the Blur's headlight, pop the "hood" on the Blur, move the horn and solenoid thing out of the way to give yourself more room to work. Long story short, slice open the rubber cover for the bulb socket enough to squeeze the cover over the socket and off. Squeeze the female plug on the Comagination modulator back thru the cover the same way you just removed the stock plug. plug the Comagination plug onto your bulb, and then reapply the rubber cover to the headlight housing. Now, just plug the male plug on the Comagination into the female stock plug, and wire tie the modulator down and out of the way somewhere so it doesnt just bounce around inside the cowling. I chose to route the daylight sensor up along the front brake cabling, and then attached it to the rubber cover on the rearview mirror with a few turns of electrical tape. Matched pretty well and holds the sensor nice and vertical towards the clouds where it should be looking. Start your scooter and test the modulator, you may need to shine a flashlight on the sensor to kick on the modulation if its getting darker or you are in a garage. If it works, button her back up and take a rest. You are done!

Now, my final report isnt in on the Comagination since I havent been able to road test it, just a quick idle test with a few short burts of throttle, but it seemed to be running normally with higher than idle rpms. However, I am THOROUGHLY impressed by the Comagination kit. It almost seems to make my hi beam brighter than stock (i know it really cant be thou) But it definitely IS brighter and more noticeable than the Amperite relay from JC Whitney.com Where the Amperite really only looked to be flashing up to about 70% power on the volt up, the Comagination is definitely hitting the full 100% power on the volt up, and both appear to hit the same low voltage point on the volt down.

My recommendation is to spend the extra money on the Comagination kit, seems to really be worth the money so far. Ill report back later if it does somehow blow up or break my Blur, but I really doubt that will happen.
jim_0068
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Post by jim_0068 »

BlueMark wrote:
jim_0068 wrote:I think if you need that much to see a bike during the day, you are practically blind.
The idea is that the flickering light will catch the attention of the zombies on 4 wheels like the pickup driver that drove right into me at a stoplight because he 'didn't see me' in broad daylight while looking directly at me. Then perhaps you won't need a team of doctors to reattach your foot and install a bunch of titanium reinforcements in your arm and leg.

I not only want a headlight modulator on my next bike, but also rotating laser beams and flash grenades.

-Mark
Did he rear end you or front end you? The OP is talking about BOTH headlight and taillight modulators. I was referring to the headlight modulator
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BlueMark
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Post by BlueMark »

jim_0068 wrote:
BlueMark wrote:
jim_0068 wrote:I think if you need that much to see a bike during the day, you are practically blind.
The idea is that the flickering light will catch the attention of the zombies on 4 wheels like the pickup driver that drove right into me at a stoplight because he 'didn't see me' in broad daylight while looking directly at me. Then perhaps you won't need a team of doctors to reattach your foot and install a bunch of titanium reinforcements in your arm and leg.

I not only want a headlight modulator on my next bike, but also rotating laser beams and flash grenades.

-Mark
Did he rear end you or front end you? The OP is talking about BOTH headlight and taillight modulators. I was referring to the headlight modulator
He entered the street from a parking lot and hit me square on the side. You can map the ridges of his bumper and grill by noting where my bones broke. I was just coming to a full stop at the light, so just before then my headlight was pointing almost right at him from his left. The thing is, he looked directly at me as I looked directly at him (I always try to make eye contact). He saw no large vehicles that could harm him in his Silverado and gunned out into the street and nailed me. I didn't "come out of nowhere", in fact I was barely moving as I braked to a stop, his mind just didn't register what he was looking at. Maybe a flashing light would have made him pay better attention.

I know of a hard core bicyclist who deals with negligent vehicles not paying attention to his presence or not giving him enough room on the road by mounting a shiny spinner on an 18 inch (or so) rod sticking out horizontally to the left from behind his seat. It is stupid and silly looking, but makes people look and pay attention. Image

Now I don't think pinwheels should be put on any scooters except the pink ones, but strobelights flashing in every direction - sure. That would probably conflict with laws concerning emergency vehicles, but damn, it would wake the cagers up!

-Mark
GFridrich3
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Post by GFridrich3 »

Just for the record, in the NW Suburbs of Chicago where I am, we have some of the toughest cops in the area for "fix'it'tickets" and I have ridden past MANY cops since installing the modulators, both head-on and cross traffic, and even a couple that were just sitting around looking for trouble to make easy money off of, and I KNOW that they saw me cause our eyes locked behind my tinted helmet visor, and not a single one thought twice about my hi-beam flickering away like the emergency lights of a cherry bar or ambulance on its way to hospital.

If I can feel even just a little bit safer by having a simple device that attracts a little more attention to me and my vehicle, i think its worth the money and time to install it. I mean really, Ive got nothing to lose by installing them, and everything to lose the day another driver doesnt see me. Least I can do is try my best to be seen.
slowpoke
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Post by slowpoke »

i personally don't think ther's any"mod" available here ,now or in the hereafter that will make anyone not paying attention to do so. Inmy opinion, most motorists see the blur as a moped. I got tired of being crowded , cut in front of ,not seen rear ended (nearly) and bought a motorcycle. The Blur has great acceleration , but not after about 45 mph, and really , that's when I seem to need it most. Since i bought the motorcycle i have noticed thatpeople still don't notice me too much. There is a running theme on thediscussion page for my new bike that "loud pipes save lives" Well, after a long trip to the gulf of mexico and encountering many motorcycles(no scoots on the interstate did i see) i can tell youthat with the a.c. on and the radio on and the windows upi didn't hear any motorcycles. in the sunshine i couldn't tell the difference between a motorcycle headlight and a glint of sun on a car's windshield.my new ride has a 55 watt headlight and people still don't see me all the time. What i Did notice while driving to the coast was thatbikers(scooterist)wearinf white helmets were easier to see. I also think that most people , when they see a scooter, whether it is 50 cc. or 500 cc. assume it won't go over40 mph and take liberties thet wouldn't dare with a 3 ton escalade. Since getting a motorcyclei have noticed no change in other motorists behavior, they still drive lke ty're the only one on the road. A curious trend, at least here in central indiana is motoriists following each other through stop signs. we got no protection except what we are wearing and our wits. ride safe.
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