Headlight Modulator for a Ninja 250

[khad]

I'm a bit of a new rider and I'm very concerned about being seen. It just feels like I am completely invisible. Every time I go through an intersection I am paranoid as hell.

So, I want to get a headlight modulator for my '06 Kawasaki Ninja 250. One that isn't too hard to install and will work on my bike. Has anyone installed one on theirs?

I really don't wanna be in over my head messing with the electrical and stuff like some modulators require, because I tend to have parts left over when I put everything back together....

I was looking at the Kisan website and apparently these are supposed to be very easy to put in. $110 for what seems like $20 in silicon but I will pay it.

I'm thinking the correct one to get would be the "Single hi-power H4 or Japanse H7 bulb" one.

Also is there an etiquette for using these?

Thanks!

[Randy]

Well you can't use them at night, and depending on where you live, they may be illegal. Have you tried just riding around with your bright light on? That is what I do.

I also talked to a state trooper here in New Mexico, he said they didn't recommend them, because drunks are attracted to flashing lights.

Good luck.

[dieziege]

I've heard favorable things about comagination.... and Signal Dynamics, and Kisan. They're all good from what I can tell. I'm probably going to get the Comagination version just because... but Signal Dynamics is the same price ($70) and has a disable switch which I don't want but you might. Kisan is the most expensive but has some nice features (adjustable sensitivity). I don't like the fact that it seems to mount to the bulb directly. Otherwise it looks effectively identical to the Comagination in terms of operation and function.

If you want a tail light flasher, Comagination has a bundle of 115w modulator and brake flasher for about $92 (shipped)... that's less than the Kisan modulator alone as far as I can tell.

BTW: They ALL have sensors to disable them at night... it's a fed. requirement. Statistically they are safer, even with their supposed drunk-attracting abilities.

[Basic]

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I_want_to_ ... modulators.

One of the forum Admins has a write-up floating around, but it's not in the FAQ yet. Go to the main page, look for the search box (top of page), type in "Headlight Modulator install" hit enter, then scroll down until you find the thread by Jeb "Headlight Modulator brief write-up". It should help you out a bit. Sorry i couldn't post a link to that thread for some reason.

[dieziege]

That write-up is screwy. There's no point in having a modulator if you aren't going to use it all the time. In my years as a driver (before getting my motorcycle endorsement) I always preferred the riders who had their modulators ON because it helped me to see them. Frankly a motorcycle with high beams and modulators is still harder to see than the average car.

Just going from lowbeams to highbeams in daylight hours cut the number of people turning left right across my path by about 50%... I expect the modulator (when I have one) will cut it another few percentage points. That's the goal... and it won't happen if you turn the thing off.

[Nibblet99]

Um at night, I either want my lights dipped (so I'm not dazzling other drivers), or on main beam (so I can see where I'm going)...

I really don't like the idea of a strobe effect on the road ahead.

Also out of interest, how do the modulators effect bulb life?

[dieziege]

Modulators have a light sensor connected to them by a wire... when you install the modulator you snake the wire up and mount it to your bars or fairing in such a way that the sensor can detect the ambient light level as you ride. If the light falls below a certain threshold, the modulator stops modulating and the lights go to normal brightness. The modulator stops modulating in tunnels and covered parking, maybe even on deeply shaded forest lanes, and of course always at night. So at night you can have them dipped to avoid dazzle or mainbeaming to see where you'll soon be.

Bulb life shouldn't be hurt...much. Modulators ramp the voltage up and down softly and never fully shuts the bulbs off, which prevents the major power-cycling damage that normally happens when you flick the lights on and off.

[Nibblet99]

Ahh ok, didn't realise they had a sensor

[Lion_Lady]

You're better off adding two additional lights, making a triangle shape than messing with your main beam. (Folks often mistake the single MC headlight for a pair of car headlights very far away.)

Check these out:


The flat oval lights down low are PIAA 001's. I got them for $40 on eBay, now they're going for half that.

It isn't that tough to rig up a bracket to attach the lights to your body panels.

Pam