Kisan headlight modulator

Bigbird,

I am planning on adding a Kisan headlight modulator on my 09. I see you have one on yours. When I looked at Kisan' site for the correct part number, there is P115W-D and there is P115W-DHL for the silverwing. I think it is P115W-DHL. What did you put on your swing?

Anyone else who has input on this I will welcome your input.

Thanks.

I have half a P115W-D modulator on my Silverwing. It's connected to the high beam lamp only. I had a left over modulator from my previous Goldwing after I sold it so installed it on my scooter. I tried modulating both lights and just the high beam and decided on just modulating the high beam light. I mounted the sensor in front of the windshield about halfway between the base of the windshield and the top of the vent.
I've been using a modulator for the past six years and can vouch for the fact that they get attention. On more than one occasion a car has started to pull out from a side road and then stopped suddenly when they spotted that flashing light. Once in awhile someone pulls over to let me by thinking I'm riding an emergency vehicle. I don't like people mistaking me for a motorcop but at least theys saw me. I doubt you can put anything on a bike that will improve the safety of the rider any better than a modulator.

Exavid thanks for your input. Bob has a modulator on his bike and swears by it. I believe he has ordered the P115W-DHL. It was kind of confusing the picture they showed on the website.

Exdavid... I have the modulating HL and love it. Like you I have had vehicles stop after seeingg them. A friend of mine here in town even told me that he almost pulled out once but saw the flashing so, he waited for me to pass.

I put the modulation right under "HELMET" for accessories to add for safety.

Interesting observations. The main reason that I have not installed a headlight modulator is how a flashing headlight is interpreted. In many situations, a rider/driver appearing to flash his or her headlights is interpreted by oncoming drivers as, "You go first, and I'll adjust to your movements." In the circumstances you are describing above, this would be the wrong message.

For instance, if I'm at a four-way stop intersection, and there is a pickup truck driver to my right, a quick flash of my high beams tells him to proceed so we don't enter the intersection at the same time. Although constant modulation of the high beams isn't the same thing, I'm concerned as much about what the oncoming driver perceives as what I'm trying to communicate.

Good though Steve. For me, just being seen and creating a cushion of "interpretation" time is a good thing. I can wait a long time at a four way for intersection to clear. It is the approaching vehicle that is going to make a left turn right into my face that I want to get the attention of. More and more modulating headlights are becoming common on the road today. And as motorist are more familiar with them, they will communicate "SEE ME".

No safety mod will stop all accidents. We still have to be alert to the dangers out there. Drive safe.

Opalsboy wrote:

...No safety mod will stop all accidents. We still have to be alert to the dangers out there. Drive safe.

Tsk, tsk - you're placing responsibility back onto us as individuals, that's just crazy.

Thanks, Gary. That seems a well reasoned approach to the issue. I like Dale's comment (darned personal responsibility!) but ultimately there are few if any "all or nothing" solutions. Safety measures are about reducing the probability of accidents knowing we can never drive the probability all the way down to zero and still keep doing what we enjoy so much.

I'm confused! Is the D or the DHL the one to buy?

I always ride with my Hi-Beam on.

CathyN wrote:

Exavid thanks for your input. Bob has a modulator on his bike and swears by it. I believe he has ordered the P115W-DHL. It was kind of confusing the picture they showed on the website.

Is this the part to order? The website is definitely confusing to me!

The correct part # is P115W-DHL with the PA-H4 adapters.

Even though our bulbs are H7, the H4 adapter is recommended by Kisan. The reason is that our H7 bulbs fit better into the H4 adapters. The H4 adapter has 3 slots, the H7 bulb has 2 prongs, so obviously one slot on the H4 adapter is left empty and unused.

BTW, I didn't order direct from Kisan, as they were too pricey.
I ordered from these guys:

http://www.motoshop.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AIM&Product_Code=KSP115WDHL-ATT

They have free shipping and seemed like they knew what they were talking about on the phone.

Thanks for the info bigbird!

The D... I have the SD unit. Here is a link to look at... This works great and is a lot less expensive.

Just for your consideration. I get no commission.

http://signaldynamics.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=35&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=77&vmcchk=1&Itemid=77

Opalsboy wrote:

The D... I have the SD unit. Here is a link to look at... This works great and is a lot less expensive.

Just for your consideration. I get no commission.

http://signaldynamics.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=35&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=77&vmcchk=1&Itemid=77

Where's the link? Ooops!!!!!! Found it!

Not knocking SD at all, but the reason they are a lot cheaper is because they require splicing into the existing headlight wiring. Opalsboy, I, and many others might have no problem with that. But for people without test lights or the wiring diagram from the service manual and no wiring experience, this may present as a daunting procedure.

Kisan is strictly plug and play, no splicing required.

The D and CathyN need to know that.

Thanks everyone. Bob ordered the P115W-DHL. Bigbird I will show him your post about the PA-H4 adapter. It makes sense to me now. Bob works with electrical diagrams etc. in his work. So he is very good with electrical issues. Me I'll be the one looking like a power ranger. I have no clue.

All of you on this forum are very helpful and it makes all these improvements on our swings easier for all of us to enjoy the ride.

Thanks again Guys.

Thanks for that information Big Guy... I had a special tool in my box for installation of my modulator. It is very special but not too hard to find... called DennisB. He installed mine while doing the Steble horn, Givi adjustable windshield and some other things last fall. I helped a little. I believe I could have done the wiring myself with just a little help from Dennis or someone like you that could tell me which wire to tap. Dennis has sent me some very good wiring diagrams in the past for other things.

Any way... having the hint about all the options (spicing wires, matching wires, cost ect.) before making an investment in any mod is what makes this forum so special. I would only recommend the SD, not INSIST that it is the only option. It does a very good job, if you can install or have it installed.

One good thing about the plug and play Kisan is that if you change bikes you can take the modulator off and put it on another.

The way I set up Gary's headlight modulator makes it a true Plug and Play. It just plugs into the 2 halves of the stock Honda front cowling 9 pin connector. The flasher unit is Velcroed onto the back of the head light housing on a flat area that is just perfect for this application. Seems to work well.

Dennis said: Seems to work well.

Gary says: " Yep".

Is the H4 adapter part of the kit, or do they need to be ordered separately?

lcseds wrote:

Is the H4 adapter part of the kit, or do they need to be ordered separately?

It's part of the kit.
But, you can order them separately and install the wire ends into the modulator module. They are simple screw down connectors for the wire ends.
You would order different adapters if you swapped the original module out to a different bike that had different bulbs or your original adapters got damaged.

Installed the Kisan P115W-DHL with the PA-H4 adapters (pre-attached) on my 2009 today.

Took off the tupperware (4 screws) just below the windshield as mentioned here (two screws are at the vent and two are on the dashboard side).  This makes it MUCH easier to get to the low-beam headlight.  FYI, the bottom clip on each side of the tupperware "unlatches" by sliding the tupperware downwards.

Tested each bulb after plugging each connector back in and all was well.  Routed the sensor wire up the edge of the windshield so it pokes out at the end of the tupperware.  As I was tugging on the wire, the chrome end came off!  I thought I broke it, but it appears to be just a housing and was fine after reattached.

Tested everything again and no headlights turned on at all!!!  Thought I shorted something for sure.  Turns out one of the wires came unplugged from the module during the sensor wire installation.  Screwed them all in nice and tight (I suggest doing this before installing as it'll be MUCH easier to do then).

Put everything back together and volia!  I'll have to calibrate when it's daylight.  I tried to do so in the garage, but I got no confirmation flashes (4 or from the high-beam light.  Must be too dark...

--Russ

I've had the Kisan unit for years both on my Silverwing and my current bike.
Its really important to both consider sensor placement and calibrate carefully.
If you live in a city with good street lighting it can fool the sensor into thinking its daytime.
Also when sitting in traffic at night the reflection of your own headlight back at you from a shiny bumper on the car in front of you can make it think its daylight.

I recommend a slightly recessed area facing straight up, so light from other sources coming in at an angle can't hit it.

Dan

This morning on the way to work, I ended up behind an unmarked police car. He flashed his red/blue lights in his rear window and moved to the right lane. As I came up beside him, he pointed at my headlight and made a flashy motion with his hand. I simply nodded and continued on my way. He didn't pull me over or anything. The instructions clearly state it's not illegal. It even stopped flashing when I went under some bridges (for a few seconds). A lot of other cars were moving slower in front of me and one even moved out of my lane (from in front of me). It sure is nice to have more people being safer around me.

In the interest of verifying the law, I found a site (http://americanmotorcyclist.com/Rights/State-Laws-Database/state/co) stating that in CO: "Modulating headlight permitted per Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, 571.108". It had a link to the regulation (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2000-title49-vol5/pdf/CFR-2000-title49-vol5-sec571-108.pdf) and I read most of it too. It states (in section S5.5.10 (b)): "Headlamps and side marker lamps may be wired to flash for signaling purposes;" but also says in subsection (c) that: "A motorcycle headlamp may be wired to allow either its upper beam or its lower beam, but not both, to modulate from a higher intensity to a lower intensity in accordance with section S5.6". Section 5.6 has only one word 'Reserved'.

The Kisan modulates both low and high beams. I can unplug either, but does (c) mean different things when a motorcycle has two lights (one for high and one for low) versus just one light? Am I grasping here?

Thoughts?

--Russ

Bothers other people. Gives false sense of security-----better to work on riding and traffic skills.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I am one of the most defensive drivers you'll find. I always leave a 2-3 second gap in front of me (and try in back too), and just slow down when people shoot into my front gap. Most of my riding is on highways - and I use the toll roads as it's free here in CO plus less traffic.

But people aren't watching - especially as it gets colder and there are less of us around...

I'll use nearly anything to help me be seen more.

In the UK, modulators are forbidden. I have fitted some steady green led running lamps. These are quite legal here and I find they certainly get noticed. Many drivers seem to wonder what they're seeing and just move out of the way. It helps when filtering. When I've followed friends, they always know where I am. Very good at night too.

I put the sensor on the front bezel just in front of the air inlet on my two SWs. That position worked well, the sensor was vertically aligned so on coming traffic at night didn't turn it back on. As soon as I get a few bucks to shake loose I'll be putting one on my GT. I tried once before but Kisan's fitment guide was in error on my bike. I ended up sending the plug and play unit that didn't, back to them. Next time I'll go for the wired in unit.

For now, I've decided to leave it as is and have both headlights modulate.  I'm interpreting the law as that I can't have them modulate when on both switch settings (high beam and low beam).  Currently, they both modulate only when high beams are turned on (and it's NOT dark of course).

russcarver wrote:

For now, I've decided to leave it as is and have both headlights modulate.  I'm interpreting the law as that I can't have them modulate when on both switch settings (high beam and low beam).  Currently, they both modulate only when high beams are turned on (and it's dark of course)

Why on earth would you want a modulating headlight system varying  brightness when you are riding at night? Not only is that dangerous & confusing to on coming traffic but it also sounds personaly suicidal.

Tim

Oops! Left out one key word - NOT [dark]. LOL

The federal law in the subject requires the sensor to prevent modulation after dusk. Depending on how you mount the sensor some times riding under bright street lights at night the system will flash a few times. Mounting the sensor where it's aimed nearly vertical will help prevent that. It will also prevent the system from flashing if a car headlights hit it.
Some states like WA and OR recommend riding with the high beam on during daylight hours. The intent being that low beam doesn't show up as well on motorcycles in daylight.