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A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

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Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#31

Post by lstodd »

On a bike you have the front brake lever at the throttle on the right hand.

You always, always have to have at least two fingers on the brake lever and control the throttle with the thumb and palm.

It is completely irresponsible to ride not doing that because sudden obstacle will not give you enough time to put them back on it. Then you lose 60-80% of braking power for a second or two.

If you are doing it right then when you drop throttle you almost automatically slightly pull the brake lever. If the lever and brake light switch on it are adjusted properly like they should be, you have the brake lights on.

Nice project, but..

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#32

Post by euroderf »

lstodd wrote: post #31

On a bike you have the front brake lever at the throttle on the right hand. You always, always have to have at least two fingers on the brake lever and control the throttle with the thumb and palm. It is completely irresponsible to ride not doing that because sudden obstacle will not give you enough time to put them back on it. Then you lose 60-80% of braking power for a second or two. If you are doing it right then…

On a motorcycle it is essential to have the mindset that they're out to kill you.

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#33

Post by maikhoepfel »

lstodd wrote: post #31

On a bike you have the front brake lever at the throttle on the right hand. You always, always have to have at least two fingers on the brake lever and control the throttle with the thumb and palm. It is completely irresponsible to ride not doing that because sudden obstacle will not give you enough time to put them back on it. Then you lose 60-80% of braking power for a second or two. If you are doing it right then…

I know a few bikers do something similar as you describe. I want to point out it is not generally accepted truth, e.g. the German ADAC explixitly teaches to keep fingers off the brake until needed. The idea being that if you're surprised by something, you're much more likely to slam the brake, introducing instability or locking up the front. You don't hover over the brake in a car either.

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#34

Post by martin_a »

gpm wrote: post #7

Mildly related: "Evan and Katelyn" is the name of a youtube channel where (amongst other less mature things) they make a bunch of small things with concrete and epoxy, like a concrete keyboard. Both materials (especially concrete) need some assistance in flowing into small spaces and getting bubbles out. For the size of project they often work on... a personal vibrator seems to work damn well. Concrete keyboard video…

Came here to comment that. I'm using a vibrator for exactly that purpose, too. Really helps with better surfaces on the parts I make for friends (and etsy).

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#35

Post by gnfargbl »

From the original article, linked from this article:

> Moreover, during intense braking scenarios, it flashes proportionately to the braking intensity.

Is it just me who finds this behaviour to be a regression? If I see a brake light on a motorbike, I know that the bike is slowing, and I respond accordingly. An urgent flashing brake light doesn't make me react faster, but it does serve to confuse and distract my brain.

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#36

Post by potato3732842 »

maikhoepfel wrote: post #33
lstodd wrote: post #31

On a bike you have the front brake lever at the throttle on the right hand. You always, always have to have at least two fingers on the brake lever and control the throttle with the thumb and palm. It is completely irresponsible to ride not doing that because sudden obstacle will not give you enough time to put them back on it. Then you lose 60-80% of braking power for a second or two. If you are doing it right then…

I know a few bikers do something similar as you describe. I want to point out it is not generally accepted truth, e.g. the German ADAC explixitly teaches to keep fingers off the brake until needed. The idea being that if you're surprised by something, you're much more likely to slam the brake, introducing instability or locking up the front. You don't hover over the brake in a car either.

[flagged]

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#37

Post by onethought »

lstodd wrote: post #31

On a bike you have the front brake lever at the throttle on the right hand. You always, always have to have at least two fingers on the brake lever and control the throttle with the thumb and palm. It is completely irresponsible to ride not doing that because sudden obstacle will not give you enough time to put them back on it. Then you lose 60-80% of braking power for a second or two. If you are doing it right then…

This technique is explicitly frowned upon in a number of licensing tests. Hand is required to be completely on throttle, or all four fingers completely on brake. So I'm not sure "completely irresponsible" is the right term, as it's actually taught that way.

If you drop the throttle, you will already begin to decelerate from the engine your fingers are A LOT faster than "a second or two" in clasping the brake... easily sub one second.

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#38

Post by onethought »

potato3732842 wrote: post #36
maikhoepfel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a few bikers do something similar as you describe. I want to point out it is not generally accepted truth, e.g. the German ADAC explixitly teaches to keep fingers off the brake until needed. The idea being that if you're surprised by something, you're much more likely to slam the brake, introducing instability or locking up the front. You don't hover over the brake in a car either.

[flagged]

> I don't know much about motorcycle riding, but it seems my heuristic works well.

If you don't know much about motorcycle riding, then maybe STFU. Also how could you judge if your heuristic works well, if you don't understand the topic?

GP is actually correct.

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#39

Post by amelius »

mh- wrote: post #8
doodlebugging wrote: post #6

I too have repurposed a similar machine to try to help me solve a nagging problem. One of my vehicles uses a hydraulic clutch. By design, air bubbles can be trapped in the master cylinder due to factory bends in the lines and the orientation of the master cylinder when it is properly installed. If this happens it will be impossible to shift the gears (manual transmission) until the air is bled from the lines. I tried…

I'm given to understand there are multiple companies manufacturing those back massagers in different shapes and colors these days, if you need one that can reach into those tight places under the hood without relying on the PVC pipe to help it along.

You can buy vibration motors on AliExpress for $1.

Re: A vibrator helped me debug a motorcycle brake light system

#40

Post by randlet »

onethought wrote: post #37
lstodd wrote: post #31

On a bike you have the front brake lever at the throttle on the right hand. You always, always have to have at least two fingers on the brake lever and control the throttle with the thumb and palm. It is completely irresponsible to ride not doing that because sudden obstacle will not give you enough time to put them back on it. Then you lose 60-80% of braking power for a second or two. If you are doing it right then…

This technique is explicitly frowned upon in a number of licensing tests. Hand is required to be completely on throttle, or all four fingers completely on brake. So I'm not sure "completely irresponsible" is the right term, as it's actually taught that way. If you drop the throttle, you will already begin to decelerate from the engine your fingers are A LOT faster than "a second or two" in clasping the brake... easil…

Not to mention that the rear brake comes into play as applying the rear brake will transfer weight to the front allowing you to apply your front brakes harder.
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