Headlight Modulators

[Deer Slayer]

The chances of deer being on the road at the time when modulators are most useful, i.e., bright daylight, would be might slim I think. If the modulator is on when you are riding at dusk, then you could encounter deer as that is when deer are most active. But I have a hard time believing that a modulated light would cause a deer to freeze and quicker than a steady light. There is a reason for the phrase, "deer in the headlights." If one is riding at dusk where deer are common, and you think it may be a problem, turn the modulator off.

Last one High Noon!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

There is a guy who has headlight one in a croupe I drive with . Everyone hates it, I will not drive in front of him. I think they should be illegal.

As Grandpot says, have him turn it off. But the fact you hate it demonstrates its value. You hate it only because it so visible, which is exactly why they are useful. It adds visibility to your ride. I have noted quite a few times cage drivers start to pull out and then stop when they see me coming. Was the headlight modulator responsible? No way to know for certain, but I do know they saw me. That is what matters.

I would much rather have a cage driver see me and be po'd than not see me and remain blissfully happy as he runs into me!

[ARtraveler]

that blinking from stock lights, is because the height adjustment is not right, and when you adjust them, insure you have some one sitting on the seat, and the ride control is on soft, and this only will keep the rider on the bike in front of you from complaining. just my opinion

I think it has to do with the metal piece that goes up and down when shifting from low to high beams.

[Bfromla]

So FYI yesterday I replaced my headlights, sorry to say not with LED (yet). Anyway I began wondering about modulation & found https://www.socalmotogear.com/produc...5w-d-(led).htm they only modulate on High beam & somewhat programmable along with a daylight sensor. Good reviews from bikes other than so just asking around see if other options present themselves. TIA

[Fatcycledaddy]

I'm cheap, I use this brake like modulator for 3 years now on my trailer and Spyder. Works GREAT! $5.98 with free shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-...hU0BB9&vxp=mtr

[OlJim]

+1 on the Gearbrake Modulator. Especially if you ride a manual shift and use the gears to slow down.
Also +1 on not liking the headlight modulators.

[ofdave]

I think it has to do with the metal piece that goes up and down when shifting from low to high beams.

could you "splain about the "metal piece"?

[ARtraveler]

could you "splain about the "metal piece"?

A.K.A the "flapper." Our headlights do not have separate filaments for high/low beams. There is a flapper that blocks part of the beam when they are set to low beams. The high beam setting gives "full" lighting.

On most all of my units--when driving at dusk with low beams on, the unevenness of the road tends to make the lights appear to "flash." Some say it looks like"blue lights" and many have said that cars have pulled over thinking there was a LEO vehicle behind them.

[Fatcycledaddy]

could you "splain about the "metal piece"?

Modulator would be constantly activating the electromagnet causing shutter to flip back and forth.

Put your head down by your headlights and flip them from high to low a few times, you can hear the audible clunk of the shutter changing positions.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

So FYI yesterday I replaced my headlights, sorry to say not with LED (yet). Anyway I began wondering about modulation & found https://www.socalmotogear.com/produc...5w-d-(led).htm they only modulate on High beam & somewhat programmable along with a daylight sensor. Good reviews from bikes other than so just asking around see if other options present themselves. TIA

That one won't work. Wrong kind of bulb connectors. No one that I know of has a modulator that is plug and play for the Spyder. I used this one from Kisan, https://kisantech.com/mag/pathblazer/p115w-h3.html, and wired it in my self. Kisan has only one LED modulator and configure it with all sorts of wiring harnesses for various motorcycles, but none for the Spyder. I need to send them info on how I wired mine.

I'll look for my wiring sketch and post it later. It's wired in so that both high and low beam are modulated because there is no separate high and low beam filament in the bulbs. I put a switch into the daylight sensor circuit that serves to turn the modulator off or on. Kisan doesn't have an on/off mode built into the unit. Their approach is to have you switch to low beam if you need to turn it off during the day, like when you're in a group ride. The programming aspect is to adjust the turn off/on point for ambient light level. It is tricky and won't work as designed with the Spyder. That is because the programming mode is entered into by turning the power to the lights on and off three times quickly but you can't do that on the Spyder. The headlight power is turned on by the engine starting and doesn't turn off until 20 seconds after you turn the engine off. I added a push button switch into the headlight power lead to do programming, but it's inconvenient to use so I've just lived with the default sensitivity setting.

Other than having to do a DIY wiring job to use it, it works great.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Another complication with using a headlight modulator on the Spyder. The wire harness going into the headlight module is a 5 pin Tyco/Amp style plug. The standard headlight connectors are all inside the headlight housing. If you don't want to cut and splice wires then you need to build a harness that uses the OEM style 5 pin connectors. I can tell you for certain when you switch to LED headlight bulbs you aren't going to have space inside the headlight module for both the LED power unit and modulators. Plus, you don't want to put a modulator on each light. You have to use one modulator to power both lights.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Here's my schematic and pic of how I installed the Kisan modulator. Not sure how self explanatory it all is. Any questions, ask.

Copper Nid schematic.jpg

Harness.jpg

Sensor & switch.jpg