Which LED brake light is right for my '05 12GS?

I went to Morton's today to get some supplies and they said they only had the LED brake lights for the 1200GS's that had not been "updated". Clerk said that most bikes that had had any warranty work done on them would have also had a firmware update done, which would have made the LED brake lights Morton's had no good. He said they're waiting for the newer ones to be delivered from Canada. I know some of you guys with '05's must have LED brake lights that flash and all that. Where to get the right one?

It's not the year of the bike, it's the version of firmware that's on the bike which is important. Those who had thier firmware updated with some newer version have had their previously working blinking LED tail light stop working.

If your bike has the newer firmware then none of the currently available flashing LED tail lights will work (I think). I suspect that the light vendors will change this sometime in the future, but who knows when, or if BMW will change their firmware so the future lights stop working, too.

I have an '05 GS with the Brake! tail light. It works great. To keep it working great I'm sure to tell my dealer whenever the bike is in for something that the firmware is working just fine so LEAVE IT ALONE! My dealer agress that this is a smart thing to do.

// marc

Hi,

I use the BRAKE brand LED module made by Gizmo Mill.
It is the model for the 650GS and 1200GS.
Mines an 05 too,it doesn't have the absolute latest software,but it's only a version or two old.
Absolutely no problems with the BRAKE unit.


JR356

+1 on the LED module made by Gizmo Mill. I have one on my 05 1200GS and wife has one on her F650...... Nice units with several blinking options....

I went through two of the Brake / Gizmo Mill LED tail lights. Both were poorly made and both failed. The first one after about 6 months, the second after about a year. Gizmo Mill's customer service was even worse, I tried calling and emailing them multiple times until I finally sent an email saying I was going to file complaints with the US DOT and my state's Attorney General's office over the merchantability of the product, failure to honor a warranty and the fact that the failure of the product resulted in an unsafe vehicle. Not surprisingly, I got a very fast reply claiming they "never received" my earlier communications. I sent the defective units back and never heard from them. Lesson learned, this company and its products are useless.

I bought one of the Motorrad Elektrik LED panels and it was 100% better. The circuit board is much thicker, the LEDs are much bigger and the whole assembly is encased in a thick potting to prevent vibration damage or water entry. No such protection on the Brake unit, the LEDs are small and fragile and exposed. If water gets inside the taillight housing it can get on them. The wiring is also much more substantial on the Motorrad piece too (ME uses high quality metal casing for the connector, Brake uses plastic). I also like that the Motorrad unit has a much greater contrast change in brightness from taillight to brake light, so it seems like it will do a better job of getting driver's attention.

The Motorrad light does not have the flash feature, so I imagine that will make it more compatible with the CAN-BUS circuitry. It also doesn't appear to have resistors, so I assume it is pulling the same electrical draw as a normal bulb, meaning it "looks" the same to the CAN-BUS.

http://www.motoelekt.com/

Buyer beware on the Brake LED, get the one from Motorrad Elektrik, it is about the same money and much better made.

Enjoy.

FWIW I bought an LED tail light for my '05 from these folks: http://www.eurotechmotorsports.com/forms/Query.cfm?do=detail&q_part=10105%2D01

I *thought* it was the same item as the Moto-Electrik one, however it seems that they have a different supplier/brand now.

If the version I have is the Moto-Electrik one my experience has been it was plug&play. Absolutely *no* problems with the tail light and the ABS.

Bigger question is... Has your bike been flashed to the latest firmware version?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I heard that the GKL MOTO-LED might work as well as the Moto-Elektic but have not actually seen either one installed in an updated firmware bike.
Auto

How can I find out which firmware version my bike has? Can I just call a dealer, read off the VIN and are they then able to look it up?

I put the HYPER-LITES on my 12 GS about 30,000 miles ago,,no problems,,recently installed a set on a buddy's F650GS, although he's had them only a few months,,also no problems.

I'm interested in the HYPER-LITES. Which kit to get?

I'm not *positive* but I think the answer is yes. I just had a 24K service done prior to a long trip. The service manager (same dealer where I bought the bike used) did the recall/update lookup on the bike and didn't turn anything up; that's what makes me say yes.

At the 12K mile service there were a couple "fixes", i.e I remember they did the banjo bolt. I suppose I should call them about the firmware flash.

they offer an array of 8 or 16 LED's per pod. I went with the 16, the whole idea is to be seen, right? here's a pic of one of the clusters. They are about 2" long, and will mount where ever your imagination wants to put them.

I don't care much for anything outside of the brake light. I just want the best and correct LED brake light, preferably one that flashes before going solid.

Has anyone had contact with the people at Gizmo Mill lately?
I sent them the Brake! LED taillight from my R1150GSA for a warranty repair. I called them 3-4 weeks ago to check on the status and was told that it should be sent out in a couple of days. I have not received the light and no one answers either the toll free number or the regular phone number. I can't leave a message because the voice mailbox on the regular phone is full. No response to my emails either. I have had contact with them a couple of times previously and they were great to deal with. What has happened to them?
I sure would like to get my light back!
Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Charlie

Congratulations! You have now experienced what many of us already have. Crappy customer service from Gizmo Mill.

I waited 3 months for mine.

Good luck to you.

Jim

Theres a BMW Euro spec LED tail light that was going to be tested by one of the ADV riders. He was getting it through Calmoto BMW. I think it is back ordered. You may want to call Calmoto- I think Paul was the guy who helped me with my Euro LED turn signals which are awesome.

Just had the flasher fail on my Hyperlites unit 13 months after purchase. Emailed support they sent one out the next morning - under warranty!! They said this is pretty rare and asked me to check for bare spots / rub shorts - they didn't wait for an answer (I couldn't find any) they just sent me the unit.

Great service from these folks - highly reccomended .

I have brake & signal/brake LEDS from Nippy Normans they are great but the Hyperlites are what get the attention!

http://www.hyperlites.com/

Dave