My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer • Hacker News Board

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#91

Post by 0_____0 » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:06 PM UTC

K0balt wrote: post #58

0_____0 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a second concern re: posi-tap as a connection method. Personally, I would not use a insulation displacement connector like that in a high-vibration environment, at least not without many many hours of accelerated lifetime testing under high vibration load. It's possible they're fine, but at the end of the day you're driving a couple of knives partway through a wire in a way that's non-inspectable. For field in…

Genie soldering is not preferred for high vibration environments. Crimping is considered more reliable. Proper strain relief and anti corrosion treatment is key.

It's not preferred for inline connections, but context is important. In a field installation, you can do up a solder-type butt splice with a lighter if you really need to, whereas crimping requires specialized tools.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#92

Post by yial » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:06 PM UTC

bell-cot wrote: post #37

cosmicgadget wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess those situations where you are engine braking and a non-tailgating driver doesn't realize he's closing to an unsafe distance. Then one of a couple of things could cause a collision from this preventably-dangerous situation. Def not a daily event but not unheard of.

If you drive a manual in a hilly area, or a city with poorly-coordinated traffic lights, it can be an extremely frequent event. Not that trying to shed tailgaters or trigger-happy brake lights are foolproof. A couple decades ago, my car was totaled by a rear-end collision. I was stopped and stuck in the traffic at a red light. The at-fault driver popped over a little hill with her nose stuck in a map - failing to not…

I drove a manual with a 4.6l v8 as my daily driver for 8-10 years.

After taking a motorcycle safety course (in which they teach applying the brake to trigger the lights when engine braking to alert cars behind you )

I did some anecdotal testing / started triggering the brake lights when engine braking in the car. While not effective for everyone behind me, triggering the brake lights did seem to increase the distance people began to slow at, and also their following distance increased.

I was once rear ended, while I was completely stopped, with a train going by in front of me. Since it was a flat level surface I had let me foot off the brake.

I do wonder if I had still had the brake applied if the person would have noticed. (However, this is a poor example as the driver who rear ended me was an unlicensed 16 year old driving illegally ).

While on my motorcycle, I try to always trigger my brake lights. I will trigger them rapidly in scenarios where I have sufficient stopping distance but I would be doing a more aggressive stop in a car as the flashing does seem to get more attention.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#93

Post by subscribed » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:08 PM UTC

cj wrote: post #25

HPsquared wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd only see it on newer bikes with ABS, they seem likely to have more sensors and "electronics" in the brake system. In that kind of system the deceleration could be inferred from existing speed signals. I wouldn't be surprised if ABS systems already estimate the engine braking torque directly.

What is the general consensus on ABS braking in motorcycles? Really curious to hear from anyone who has rode a bike equipped with it. For some reason the idea of a bike interfering with brake controls seems like it could feel unsafe if the system isn't designed really well. Extremely low margin for error when it comes to braking on a 2 wheel vehicle especially in suboptimal conditions. I could see ABS braking being f…

I'm very happy with my ABS (2023 F850 GS), especially since its "aggressiveness" depends on the riding mode.

Obviously it's tilt- and acceleration-aware, so I'm confide it's safe.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#94

Post by mschuster91 » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:09 PM UTC

Muromec wrote: post #88

wolrah wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my US mazda cx5 center brake light flashes when you press the brakes. That is not a factory feature, it's almost certainly a dealer-installed piece of junk like this ( https://pulseprotects.com/product-info/ ) which the dealer almost certainly charged a stupid amount of money for, and as noted it's not actually legal in the US. Around me the local Hyundai/Kia chain loves to install those, and I hate them.

Doesn't seem to be illegal enough if dealers are installing them

No one cares, not all states have mandatory inspections, and many inspectors just check if the brake light comes on when they press the brake pedal which would not reveal such an aftermarket device.

The only way to catch something like this would be a road driving test by the inspector, and even here in Europe this is not required.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#95

Post by yial » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:09 PM UTC

throwaway290 wrote: post #67

Workaccount2 wrote: post #13

The author did a great job actually building the project, doing a layout and custom design rather than just stitching together off the shelf modules. Good work. That being said, in 20 years of riding motorcycles and being an ATGATT (all the gear, all the time) kind of rider, I'm mixed on the need for this. It's something I have thought about doing with a direct hardwire to the throttle, but I can't come up with a sit…

I like a brake you can choose to tap without engaging proper brakes just to flash your lights backwards, instead of worrying about more smarts in the vehicle that can stop working or whatever. In best cases this brake gives a bit of feedback when it engages the light but not yet engage the actual brake. You are free to use this technique to signal "back off" whenever you're engine braking or before you brake or even…

I’ve found this to be true of most cars- where you can very lightly touch the brake where the light will turn on before the actual brakes engage / engage in a noticeable way. It’s a great tool.

Especially important when engine braking down large hills, as I notice people don’t always seem to realize how rapidly they are approaching you if they don’t receive a braking signal.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#96

Post by subscribed » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:10 PM UTC

sidewndr46 wrote: post #66

Reason077 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is mandatory in many countries, not just Australia. Europe, Japan, Brazil, etc, all require ABS on new motorcyles.

"Europe" is not and never has been a country to my knowledge.

...but it has mostly harmonized road rules, eg in relation to the ABS on the bigger bikes.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#97

Post by teqsun » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:12 PM UTC

Muromec wrote: post #88

wolrah wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my US mazda cx5 center brake light flashes when you press the brakes. That is not a factory feature, it's almost certainly a dealer-installed piece of junk like this ( https://pulseprotects.com/product-info/ ) which the dealer almost certainly charged a stupid amount of money for, and as noted it's not actually legal in the US. Around me the local Hyundai/Kia chain loves to install those, and I hate them.

Doesn't seem to be illegal enough if dealers are installing them

IIRC in the USA there are features allowed to be installed aftermarket that aren't legal to be installed as a dealer option (like front side-window tinting)

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#98

Post by 0_____0 » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:13 PM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #42

0_____0 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a second concern re: posi-tap as a connection method. Personally, I would not use a insulation displacement connector like that in a high-vibration environment, at least not without many many hours of accelerated lifetime testing under high vibration load. It's possible they're fine, but at the end of the day you're driving a couple of knives partway through a wire in a way that's non-inspectable. For field in…

I think the ideal here would be what good trailer brake adapters do in cars that are not factory equipped with a trailer light connector: they have an adapter for each car model that plugs directly in to the stock wiring harness at the taillight. No soldering, no stripping wires, no piercing insulation. However, this complicates the product because you need an adapter for each bike manufacturer and possibly each bike…

You have to run the business case (at the end of the day all the work you do has to support this).

What's the NRE/tooling and marginal cost to produce a harness variant, and how many units with that variant will you sell? Will people buy the device without the harness adapter?

OE connectors are hard to get, they're typically not some stock Molex or Deutsch dealy-o. I've worked on projects where we 3D printed whole connector blocks to try to do get mating to OE ECUs. It kinda sucks, and you need a whole lot of volume to support that kind of engineering.

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#99

Post by mithametacs » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:13 PM UTC

beloch wrote: post #90

braunshedd wrote: post #71

When I was commuting daily in the SF fog, I discovered that putting on of these [1] on my helmet did wonders to keep cars further off my tail. It moves the brake light up to eye level for people in SUVs and also triggers on engine braking. Wish it were cheaper, but was a worthwhile investment for me. Also, consider looking into airbag vests if you ride regularly. Also expensive but (supposedly) make a huge difference…

Motorcycle fatality rates have been trending upwards, not downwards[1]. Brake lights on helmets may illuminate one of the culprits: An ever increasing number of American trucks with poor visibility. Sitting on a bike, you're even shorter than a pedestrian and more likely to be completely out of sight. Perhaps its time to start regulating for better visibility, as Europe has done. [1] https://www.iii.org/fact-statisti…

[flagged]

Re: My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

#100

Post by tiew9Vii » Wed, May 07, 2025, 4:13 PM UTC

cj wrote: post #25

HPsquared wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd only see it on newer bikes with ABS, they seem likely to have more sensors and "electronics" in the brake system. In that kind of system the deceleration could be inferred from existing speed signals. I wouldn't be surprised if ABS systems already estimate the engine braking torque directly.

What is the general consensus on ABS braking in motorcycles? Really curious to hear from anyone who has rode a bike equipped with it. For some reason the idea of a bike interfering with brake controls seems like it could feel unsafe if the system isn't designed really well. Extremely low margin for error when it comes to braking on a 2 wheel vehicle especially in suboptimal conditions. I could see ABS braking being f…

It works very well.

It’s not automatic braking. It’s automatically letting off the brakes for a fraction of a second to prevent locking up, aka anti-lock braking system

If it does kick in you get a slight pulsing on the leaver which means unless you are emergency braking, back off.

As far as the front goes, you never want the front to lock as you are almost certainly going down.

For off-road abs modes normally they turn rear off completely so you can deliberately lock it and decrease the sensitivity on the front but still keep the abs on for the front.