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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | ------------------------------------------
TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER V--NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
"Minimum edge to edge separation distance between lamp and tail or stop lamp is 4-inches, when a single stop and taillamp is installed on the vertical centerline and the turn signal lamps are red.."
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Unfortunately, I doubt we will see Victory change their mind and leave the relays out of the circuit.
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Visionary
Posts: 1229
Rancho Cucamonga, CA | But my Vision has TWO stop and taillamps installed to each side of the vertical centerline instead of ON it. |
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | Do the middle brake light mod. Its easy and VERY worth the effort. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | DannyB - 2011-10-14 9:46 AM Do the middle brake light mod. Its easy and VERY worth the effort. Or you could do my mod! See it.
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | Gary,
Your mod is on my list!
But for the time being the brake light mod does increase safety. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| Gee look at your car or truck there closer then 4 inches
Undoing the wires so your middle light is a brake light will only help you |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | Cars and trucks have different standards than motorcycles and trailers have yet another lighting standard. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | It can be difficult to determine exactly what is meant from what is written in the Federal Regulations. Apparently Victory decided they needed to abide by the 4" separation specification even though the taillamp is not on the centerline. Another manufacturer might decipher it differently. OEM's tend to design on the side of caution in regards to the regulations. We have all seen how lawsuits can pile up quickly when human harm is involved and your product is thought to be the cause (Toyota, Firestone, etc.).
From what I have read, it seems the middle brake light mod could possibly be non-compliant to the Federal Regulations, thus the reason the OEM does not do it. The sequential turn mod, however, appears to me to be compliant. This is due to the tail and turn lamps being "optically combined" (as stated in the standards) when the sequential mod is done.
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | The "Gubment" ain't the one sitting at a red light, at mid-day, with only 2 of 6 brake light bulbs lit with a lone turn signal bulb.
My standard is for the idiot in the cage behind me to see my brake lights and not run over me! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | I'm with you Danny B. besides, if I remember correctly, state law supercedes Federal Law. But the bottom line is that this is open to interpretation. A friend got a ticket for not having 2 working brake lights on his car. His right brake light was out. Off to court. The prosecutor showed the law that states a vehicle must have 2 working brake lights. We agreed. And proceeded to illustrate my friends car, which had one working brake light on the left, and one in the middle. (All late mdel cars now have 3) True, the right brake light was out. But the law states 2 working brake lights. It doesn't say were they must be located. The judge dismissed the case. The prosecutor was pissed. We laughed.
And yes, I did the middle brake light mod. It was a no brain-er for me.
Edited by MaddMAx2u 2011-10-14 6:12 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | keep in mind, just like NASCAR, there is someone at Victory making sure they play by the rules, they have no choice in that matter, or the bike doesn't hit the showroom. You, however, can make a mod as long as it passes your state inspection. There was a long drawn out discussion how state rules often differ from federal rules, but unless you go to an extreme, it's not likely if they'll say anything to you on a non-annoyance safety mod and it passes your state inspection if you have one. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1324
So Cal | http://www.vision-riders.com/bb/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=3531&pos... brake light &highlightmode=1
This mod will eliminate that |
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Why does the middle brake light go out when turn lamp is on?