Kingfish
100 MW
I have been on the hunt for a tail light. Actually I want an integrated L/R Turn Signal Indicators with the running lights and brake lights; don’t need the license plate lights – but whatever. It turns out that this hunt is very difficult.
Sure, there are plenty of tail lights out there, however the gating factors are:
Ahh, the last one is the clincher! I came across a really odd write-up on Washington-State DOT regs concerning LED lighting. Here’s a snippet:
Bottom-line is this complicates my search. The elusive integrated solution is looking pretty grim. Perhaps it is better to entertain a Red-Green taillight for forward or stopping motion, and yellow for turn-indication. I presume that coasting forward would still be a green color. Does this mean that when sitting at a stoplight with no motion whatsoever that the rear light is off? What if I am braking and turning? Sounds like an unfriendly regulation for a desperate source of income. :?
Give me liberty not give me a ticket.
Confuzzled, KF
Sure, there are plenty of tail lights out there, however the gating factors are:
- Size: Will it fit my bike (not greater than 5 inches wide)?
- Delivery: Is it stateside (meaning will I need to wait 3 days or 3 weeks for it)?
- Extra fees: Is the handling fee modest, or is it 50% of the cost (such as Kapsco-Moto on Amazon)?
- Workmanship: Does it look cool, and not some skanky-POS you wouldn’t wish upon your enemies?
- Warrantee: Is it reasonably understandable and not written in cryptic pigeon-English?
- DOT: Is it street legal?
Ahh, the last one is the clincher! I came across a really odd write-up on Washington-State DOT regs concerning LED lighting. Here’s a snippet:
That’s the primary gist of the article. What is strange is that there’s a link to Florida DOT laws concerning Blue taillights which evidently is legal (or rather not illegal yet); many states are moving to band blue/purple lighting on vehicles as being the exclusive reserved color for emergency lighting.WA-DOL said:“Light-Emitting Diode (LED) kits are very popular among motorcyclists who wish to augment the look of their motorcyclists with colored lights. However, the state of Washington has very specific rules on auxiliary lighting systems.
According to Washington statute RCW 46.37.210, only one color in an auxiliary lighting system may be illuminated at one time. The reason for this is that at night there are specific colors that correspond with the actions of the vehicle.
Green or amber lights can only be illuminated when the stop lamps are not illuminated but the vehicle is in motion. Green and amber lights indicate to a motorist behind the vehicle that the vehicle is moving forward. If the accelerator is depressed, the only acceptable color is one green light. If the accelerator is not depressed, but the motorcycle remains in motion, then only two white or amber lights may be used. If the brakes are being applied, the color of the auxiliary lighting system must be red.â€Â
Bottom-line is this complicates my search. The elusive integrated solution is looking pretty grim. Perhaps it is better to entertain a Red-Green taillight for forward or stopping motion, and yellow for turn-indication. I presume that coasting forward would still be a green color. Does this mean that when sitting at a stoplight with no motion whatsoever that the rear light is off? What if I am braking and turning? Sounds like an unfriendly regulation for a desperate source of income. :?
Give me liberty not give me a ticket.
Confuzzled, KF