Vololights! Warn vehicles behind you that you are slowing down without touching the brakes. I am not a salesman, YET, when I saw this product I felt as these guys had re-invented the wheel. I have been riding for 56 years now and full-time living on the road with my buddy Spirit coming up on eight years with our 1100GS/Sidecar. [340,000 miles!] How many times have you slowed down and the vehicle behind you as your brakes were not on yet did not notice it and came close... a bit too close? In my world, too many times. The Vololights take care of that issue. It is a powered license plate frame with its own set of bright LED's or you can have your own brake lights alert if you want to keep your "Iron Butt" license plate or any customized one that my be dear to you. Using embedded intelligence, it measures the deceleration of your motorcycle regardless of how you are slowing down. Deceleration is also perceptible to the driver behind you. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT VOLOLIGHTS? You might have seen other products on the market that flash the rider's brake lights to draw the eye's attention. Two major deficiencies of these systems are as follows: 1) Current systems are tied to the foot and handbrake signal only. They do not account for slowing from engine braking and downshifting. Even though you may be decelerating, drivers behind you might not realize this until it's too late. Vololights overcomes this by physically measuring any type of deceleration. 2) Today's brake lights are not perceptible. What that means is a driver behind you might see your brakes solid or flashing but they cannot tell whether you are 'tapping' on the brakes or slamming on the brakes. Vololights solves this problem by varying it's rate of flashing with the urgency with which you are slowing. WHAT'S INSIDE? Vololights' patented technology combines a 3 axis accelerometer and microprocessor to measure your deceleration from any means; whether engine braking, downshifting or gripping the brakes. HOW EASY IS IT TO INSTALL? Vololights is designed for simple installation with no special crimping tools required. The license plate frame runs on your motorcycle's 12 VDC power taken from the rear license plate illumination bulb. Not to worry, Vololights has it's own onboard license plate illumination LED so you will still be street legal. Use the included 4 screws to secure your license plate between the front and rear frame. Then take the 2 bolts that secured your license plate to your bike and use these two secure the frame assembly to the motorcycle. Use the included quick connector to secure the two wire power and turn the motorcycle's power on. Finally, calibrate Vololights one time by placing our magnet (included) in front of the lens momentarily while the motorcycle is upright on a flat surface. Vololights will flash letting you know the device is calibrated. Now you're ready to ride! WILL MY PLATE FIT INTO THE VOLOLIGHTS FRAME? We planned for the fact most states have slightly different motorcycle license plate sizes. While we have accounted for 47 of the 50 states, residents of Alaska, New Mexico, and Minnesota should check the "Fit" dimensions. Do yourself a favor and install a set. It is cheap insurance from someone rear ending you. It will also help us put fuel in our tank when you get to their website through our Journal by clicking on their banner and purchasing a set. I am the exclusive vendor of Vololights on this Forum and they will happily answer any questions you might have. Stay well Ara and Spirit
Hoping some day it will come as is from the manufacturers. Let us know how it goes. Stay well. Ara and Spirit
Ive posted a few times about these in various threads, they had a pretty well received kickstarter campaign. Im interested, but the price has to come down a bit to equal out the added flash for downshifting vs tapping the brake.
The version with integrated brake light will work fine with canbus. It works independently of the bikes lighting system.
Hi! The price initially got me also but, small amount to pay considering the added safety it provides. Cheaper than many farkles which are only cosmetic. I will check with them now if we can get an ADV discount. Thanks. Ara and Spirit
Yes, the Vololight [click on their banner to go to their site] does work fine with CANBus. Here is a link that will explain better https://vectolabs.zendesk.com/hc/en...llation-of-Vololights-with-CANbus-Motorcycles If you need to keep your own plate the Volomod will not work yet. It will soon. Stay well. Ara and Spirit
I've been thinking about the Vololights, but I was worried about the effects of vibration on the tri-ax accel and microprocessor, as well as the plastic frame itself. Mostly in terms of durability, but also wondering about false indications when riding off-road in a group. Vibration has caused an early death for front and rear fenders on my bikes, as well as multiple license plates & frames. I would hate to sink the money into this guy, only to bust it apart. Do you know have the designers done any vibration/fatigue testing?
And rightly so. You best best will be to ask them by clicking on our Journal and then on their site. They do not recommend them for bikes which do not have rear suspension for example. What are you riding? Ara and Spirit
Can I get some feedback from the ones that are now using it? That would be great. Thank You. Stay well. Ara and Spirit Click here and on their Logo to order a set of Vololights.
I am using it now but need more time to get some friends to follow me and determine how well it's working. Unless I rig up a mirror so that I can see it. hmmm
If you followed the installation it is working. You could rig a Go Pro! I am going todo that in a wweek or so as soon as we are in Texas again. Thanks for writing. Stay wel. Ara and Spirit
So I went ahead and rigged a gorpro pointing at my tail end and rode around for awhile. Upon reviewing the video I see that it is less sensitive then I anticipated. You truly must be decelerating and not just casually slowing down for the light to activate. It's possible to gently brake without it activating. But when you dump the throttle it lights up bright as christmas. :) I will next experiment with different calibration techniques. I anticipate that calibrating on a uphill will make it more sensitive and calibrating downhill less sensitive. I'll know soon.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, as per the instructions it is a matter of calibrating. Every bike, or sidecar in our case, is going to have a different sensitivity. I might talk them into coming out with two mirrors that can be clamped, one in the rear facing forward and one on the handle bar facing the rear so one can adjust that calibration easily. Of course you can have also a friend ride/drive behind you to check in different modes of deceleration. Stay well. Ara and Spirit
Keep in mind it will work with the CanBus if you get the compete license plate frame. Also: We actually are making an improvement to the existing firmware which will allow three different setting for sensitivity to capture the bigger (and higher geared) motorcycles. Please click on our Journal to get to their site. Thank You. Stay well. Ara and Spirit
I'm looking for a solution like this, and I'm not bothered by the $129 price. But I would like to see some more reviews and footage from people who have tried it. It would also be nice to know if it fits on a r1200gs without fuss. Cheers, Kevin
I opted for the volomod unit for my R1200GS last year. I installed it over the Christmas break. The reason that it took so long was that I have been using a system called SafeRide which worked nicely. This product in no longer available as the company went out of business. I mounted the Volomod under the pillion seat. I have mounted bright LED lights to my top case and power it from the aux power. I also attached a green LED T5 with resistor and mounted it on the dash so that I can monitor when the system is working. I also tapped off of the line to the bikes break light so that the LEDs flash when I operate the breaks. This has come in handy as some times my foot rests on the foot break with out knowing. I calibrated the system by putting the bike on the center stand with the rear week on the ground. This seems to work best for me.
