Turning OFF Daytime Running Headlight

[Motorcycle Mike]

This is just a bad idea.

I used to ride with my high beams on all the time and people still pull out in front of me.

I put a modulator on and they still pull out in front of. Not as often but they still do.

Why take off something that makes you more visible.

Legal or not. Bad, BAD idea.

 

[JTJersey]

NJ most definitely requires motorcycles to maintain a lit headlight while in operation- only the states of Road Island, Maryland, and Hawaii have no such restriction. Included here are a link and image for your edification and amusement- https://www.motorcyclelegalfoundation.com/state-by-state-guide-to-motorcycle-laws/#daytimeheadlights View attachment 106727

All it says is that "modulating head lights are permitted". There is nothing there that says "required". I've lived in NJ for 70 years and have ridden since I was 16 and have disabled the headlights on every motorcycle I've ever owned. Both my triumphs had an add on connector that would allow me to turn on the headlight when I wanted it on. My '78 Lowrider was a simple snip of a crossover wire on the light switch.

 

[Mavigogun]

I've lived in NJ for 70 years and have ridden since I was 16 and have disabled the headlights on every motorcycle I've ever owned. Both my triumphs had an add on connector that would allow me to turn on the headlight when I wanted it on. My '78 Lowrider was a simple snip of a crossover wire on the light switch.

My understanding is the NJ motorcycle headlight code has been amended several times since you were 16. I don’t doubt that you’ve done as you’ve said, or the features of the cycles you’ve owned.

The American Motorcycle Association and several other sources concur with you that day time use is not required (citing 2012 code- https://americanmotorcyclist.com/state-laws-database-temp-page ) while there are several sources, such as the Motorcycle Legal Foundation (on closer inspection, just a front for a lawyer referral service) contesting that notion.

 

[paws]

Just to add to the conversation, albeit not specific to running straight daytime headlights or running lights….

As to modulating headlights on a motorcycle… I found this on Signaldynamics.com (they sell modulator equipment and I have purchased from them several times for different bikes) website, printed it out, and took it to the Texas motorcycle inspector at the dealership who said they were illegal and would not pass the inspection…. He recanted his position after reading it and passed the inspection. That was several years ago. I just looked out on Signal Dynamics website and it is still there. Copied and attached below.

Are flashing headlight(s) legal?

Yes they are! There is a federal law supersedes all state laws and makes motorcycle headlight modulators legal in all 50 states. FMVSS 108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) (49 CFR Part 571.108 S7.9.4) allows motorcycle headlight modulation systems in all 50 states provided they comply with the standards set forth in this section:

A headlamp on a motorcycle may be wired to modulate either the upper beam or the lower beam from its maximum intensity to a lesser intensity provided that:

(a) The rate of modulation shall be 240 plus-or-minus 40 cycles per minute.

(b) The headlamp shall be operated at maximum power for 50 to 70 percent of each cycle.

(c) The lowest intensity at any test point shall not be less than 17 percent of the maximum intensity measured at the same point.

For other countries, such as Canada, please consult with your local departmant of motor vehicles.

 

[JTJersey]

The reason this is such a contentious subject is because the Internet is one giant copy and paste response to everything. Very few people actually consider the response before replying. It's just based on what everybody else "feels" the proper response is. Several of you have responded that people pull out in front of you even with daytime lights, driving lights or flashing lights, so clearly there's more involved here. I’ve experienced this as well with and without daytime lights on.

One glaringly obvious problem motorcycles have to overcome are all the cars, trucks and buses behind them with their headlights on. A motorcycle will typically “become” one of the rearward vehicles headlights and other drivers have a very difficult time determining your speed and distance because of it. Picture any hot summer day going down the road with the sun at your back, a driver at an intersection waiting to pull out and here you come with your headlight on and that tractor trailer behind you at a normal safe distance with his headlights on.

Which one of you do you suppose that waiting driver is going to see? That’s one of the reasons why people still pull out in front of motorcycles. They literally “didn’t see” the biker. In “An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Motorcycle Daytime Headlight Laws” by Andreas Muller PHD he summarizes that “...no statistically significant differences in the proportion of daytime multi-vehicle motorcycle fatalities could be found between states with and without such laws.

The findings of this study are consistent with the conclusion that current daytime headlight use laws are either ineffective or of marginal effectiveness.” (I can provide the 6 page study in PDF format if anyone is so inclined.) In another European paper titled “Review of the evidence for motorcycle and motorcar daytime lights” by Antonio Periot and Stephen Prower they dismantle the notion of the effectiveness of motorcycle daytime headlights entirely. (It’s a 95 page PDF) What “seems” to be a good idea can actually lead to complacency by riders with deadly consequences. Do whatever you feel is best for you, but all I asked was, is there a way to disable the darn thing?

 

[Sidecarbill]

Old road dogs idea seems good, easy, cheap and quick. What more do you need.:Shrug:

 

[paws]

Down and dirty:at the headlamp harness there are 3 wires black, yellow( low)and white( high). You could use a posi tap on the yellow,run the wire back out the bucket to a switch mounted either side of the handlebar cover- plastic bungs are aleasy there. But you already know most states require lights on for motorcycles right?

Do you think this method might work for you? Keep us informed.

 

[JTJersey]

Thinking of the OldRoadDog approach, I've been looking for an appropriate switch. The most commonly available I've found are these two.

 

[Mavigogun]

The reason this is such a contentious subject is because the Internet is one giant copy and paste response to everything. Very few people actually consider the response before replying. It's just based on what everybody else "feels" the proper response is.

Ain’t that the truth. I suspected as much of myself; faced with your certainty, I read the 2021 NJ Motorcycle Handbook- while it lauds the use of headlights during the day, nowhere does it claim doing so is required. You’d already replied before I had tested my own research to failure.

The other thing illustrated by this is our inclination to turn off critical faculties when a figure presenting as an authority confirms our reckoning.

 

[Jack Klarich]

JT, Old Road Dog said 1 way to do it in his post,

That is 1 way we did it in the day, there is a way of doing it with the ignition switch also, how ever it has been years since I did one like that

Good luck in your choice, keep in mind there are 2 plastic caps on the handle bar clamp cover, when you are seated on your trike look just ahead of the fuel tank and look down

That is where the Roadkings and the FLHS Electra Glide Sport had a toggle switch for the passing lamps

Now if it were me that is where I would wire in a lighted toggle switch for the headlight

You would not have to see any ugly wiring this way

# 11 in the diagram

 

[JTJersey]

JT, Old Road Dog said 1 way to do it in his post, That is where the Roadkings and the FLHS Electra Glide Sport had a toggle switch for the passing lamps Now if it were me that is where I would wire in a lighted toggle switch for the headlight You would not have to see any ugly wiring this way

# 11 in the diagram

Yep, there are two black plastic caps there on my '21 FLRT. Perfect. Doesn't Harley sell a switch that fits that hole? All I found were entire wiring harnesses for specific things.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Yep, there are two black plastic caps there on my '21 FLRT. Perfect. Doesn't Harley sell a switch that fits that hole? All I found were entire wiring harnesses for specific things.

#2106-0217 Drag Specialties, HD part number is 71522-96

Both come with a wire harness, so you can source just a toggle switch from any Auto parts jobber, that is the route I would check first

 

[vwbug72501]

We’re dealing with semantics here look up headlight not daylight running lights on a motorcycle…

No semantics in my research. I did search for "headlight" specifically. I just used the more generic term "DRLs" in my post when stating my feelings about the subject.

 

[vwbug72501]

What “seems” to be a good idea can actually lead to complacency by riders with deadly consequences.

Amen. Have you ever noticed that there's no old complacent riders? I learned a long time ago:

1. You don't exist if you're smaller than them.

2. They're all out to get you.

I learned this long before cellphones too.

 

[JTJersey]

Amen. Have you ever noticed that there's no old complacent riders?

Well, um, not entirely true. I've come across several old/older people at rallies and events who've either never ridden or hadn't ridden since they were young men and now that they're retired they decide to jump back into it.

Full face helmet? Check.

Lights on? Check.

Stereo blasting? Check.

Cell phone hooked up? Check.

Cool, off we go, what could go wrong? Just because your old doesn't necessarily make you smart. Sometimes just lucky.

 

[rhino 2]

Well, um, not entirely true. I've come across several old/older people at rallies and events who've either never ridden or hadn't ridden since they were young men and now that they're retired they decide to jump back into it.

Full face helmet? Check.

Lights on? Check.

Stereo blasting? Check.

Cell phone hooked up? Check.

Cool, off we go, what could go wrong? Just because your old doesn't necessarily make you smart. Sometimes just lucky.

1965/66/67 Made me smart..Old age makes me Cautious....

 

[vwbug72501]

Well, um, not entirely true. I've come across several old/older people at rallies and events who've either never ridden or hadn't ridden since they were young men and now that they're retired they decide to jump back into it.

Agreed. I was talking about those who started riding "young" (1965 in my case) and have continued to ride pretty consistently through their lives. I was talking bout the "credit card bikers", who are more prevalent on 2 wheels IMHO, that never rode when young and think that a motorcycle will recapture their youth. My experience has shown that the vast majority of those on 3 wheels have the common sense to accept their limitations but the burning desire to keep riding to the end. I'm with Bob about smart and cautious.

 

[priell3]

Kim and I like it bright.

 

[ultrafxr]

To each his / her own. Live and let live. It's your ride and your hide. Whatever. But as for me and my ride I'll light it up as much as possible. Nothing and I mean nothing can guarantee that oncoming traffic will see you but I still think the odds are better with lights on. And there is no way studies can account for crashes that did not happen or can determine they would or would not have happened if the headlight was on or off. As for the headlight modulators yes they do grab attention and yes there is a Federal law that they are legal but I got stopped several times by highway patrol officers years ago when I had one. Never got a ticket as I told them I could turn it off. I didn't want to get into an argument about legality there on the side of the road and risk a ticket which I would win but only at the expense of time and effort as each time I was 000s of miles from home. Just not worth the hassle, imo.

 

[rhino 2]

Kim and I like it bright.

That’s the way I ride day Or night..Even when I have the hi-beams on the spots stay on..With 3 forward facing lights it breaks up the motorcycle 🏍 looks so oncoming traffic gives you a little more room..