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    How To Install LED Brake And Tail Lights On A Harley (2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide)

    May 13, 2017 by Ride It Wrench It Leave a Comment

    This video covers the process of upgrading your motorcycle's traditional bulb lighting to LED. You may have to take varying processes if you ride a Harley earlier than 2014 to deal with voltage regulation that can cause the ECM to throw codes. There are signal stabilizer modules, load equalizers, controllers, and turn signal conversion kits that allow your turn signals to flash properly when replacing incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs.

    Do Your Research

    Many LED headlights will come with a flux capacitor or load equalizer. You will install it between the headlight wire harness and the headlight. This regulates the voltage return signal to the ECM module. You’ll need to do research to determine if your motorcycle will need any of these devices before purchasing your LEDs. I do not have the answers to every make, model, and year of the bike, so please do the research for your specific motorcycle on your own.

    The Three Senses

    Motorcycle safety has to be on the top of the priority list for riding. The three senses, sight, sound, and smell, are the basis of what riders can try to enhance to be more readily noticed while on their motorcycles.

    Smell

    Enhancing the smell aspect of the senses can probably be left out unless you don’t shower for a month, have an oil leak and are spewing smoke from your bike, or smoking a cigar while riding.

    Sound

    Sound is easily enhanced through full exhaust change-outs or slip-ons, greatly enhancing a rider's presence. Hence the saying “Loud Pipes Save Lives.” Motorists that don’t ride will often curl their lips into a snarl of disgust when talking about the obnoxiously invasive sound of a loud bike. They don't have the slightest understanding that whatever bike inconvenienced their ear for that few seconds did exactly as it was intended to do. The noise made them aware that a motorcycle was present.

    Visibility

    Another effective way to become noticed through one of the 3 senses is through lighting. Visibility is the most important aspect you can enhance for safety. LED lighting can be as much as 10x brighter than traditional incandescent bulbs. LED headlights can throw light over 150 yards ahead, giving you more visibility on dark roads and helping to increase safety at night. When a driver is about to change lanes and glances in their mirrors, additional brightness can be lifesaving. That is, if the cager even bothers to glance in a mirror before changing lanes.

    Cager stupidity is, unfortunately, a trait that cannot be repaired. The brighter brake lights of LED’s can be of extreme value when the sun is shining from behind you. Sunlight can sometimes drown out the visibility of bulb lights. LED brake lights will often shine through sun blindness allowing a driver to see that you have applied your brakes. The same applies to turn signals and headlights when riding into the sun.

    Ride Strong Wrench Proud

    « How To Adjust The Headlight (2015 Harley Davidson Street Glide Special)
    How To Replace Brake Pads On A Harley With ABS (2015 Harley Davidson Street Glide Special) »

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