BMW motorbike multifunction indicators are not good! | How to change them to be safer on the road
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- Опубликовано: 11 мар 2023
- Have you got a BMW 1250 GS or GSA with the new multifunction indicators? Are you having issues with following traffic not seeing them when you are braking and indicating and want to change them? Watch this video!
Your bike was programmed with the features you selected when it was built and to change the awful multifunctional indicators to the older (much better) style, you will need to speak to your local BMW dealer and they will speak to Steve Bellars who will reprogram your bike to allow for the older style indicators to be fitted.
Contact Ocean BMW (Falmouth) if you need any guidance.
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Totally agree. The rear AND front indicators on the R1250 GS/A are awful. I swapped mine out for the Weiser Technik front and rear LED indicators. Solved the issue completely. Very bright, easy to tell if indicating, and fitted them myself. Their customer support is excellent in case you run into any problems.
Good evening, ex-pat living in Spain (lucky me) I am now riding the 1250 Rallie which had the new lights. I disliked them a lot. So did the other riders. Then I found through the you tube chap ", Just the way it is", and he had the same problem. He found a Company called "WEISER TECHNIC from the U. K /U. S. A. A bit expensive but, worth in my mind every penny. Even after import duties to Spain. Their system is fantastic. And the company were extremely helpful with all my inquiries. Ride Safe and Keep your Knees in the Breeze. James R B Langton
cool, thanks for the info :) Ride Safe
I've followed a couple of BMW,s with the combined running/indicator lights, at first I thought there was something wrong with the lights! I don't blame you at all for changing them for something that you can actually see👍.
I spoke to Weiser tech and they said they are supplying their light directly to some BMW garages, so much brighter.
Good information, I bought my 2022 GSA second hand last September & didn't realise what was going on at the back, only after riding with my wife following she said how bad they were! I've watched the Weiser video & I'm convinced that's the way to go BUT I've just emailed BMW with my complaint & I'm waiting for their response.
Will be interesting to see what they say
I completely agree about the rear indicators, it's a terrible design and IMO not safe. I also think having the front ones on all the time as running lights is just as bad as when approaching junctions cars think you are turning and pull out. I have read numerous reports on forums about this happening and I believe you can get bmw to also turn them off and act only as indicators.
Same on my Africa Twin AS. Indicator front running lights can easily be confused with a quick glance. Manufacturers, stop pursuing novelty just for novelty's sake.
Darren you are correct BMW can disable the front amber running lights, I had it done to mine at it's running in service. A bit of a faf and involves a full software update specially written for the bike. I also had to sign a disclaimer that confirmed they were being switched off at my request.
Have a look at the Wieser indicator set, yes expensive but appear very good and plug n play, a bike thing do them. Keep up the good work chaps
Weiss conversion the way to go. Brilliant bit of kit. And it's British!
Well done lads nice video and you have got it spot on they are dangerous, but just one small point 18:44 isn't a short video you could have done it all in 5 minutes just as good.
Thanks for highlighting this; I've had my 1250GS for 18+ months and have never thought about the indicators and how inadequate and misleading they are to other road users. Whilst your solution works for the rear, I was still not happy with the front indicators. Who thought having orange lights at the front was a good idea. I decided to fit the Weiser Technik Extreme EVO indicators. Wow these are amazing. OK they cost £400 but what price safety. If you watch the Just the way it is RUclips video you can request a 10% discount, hence £400. Easy to fit if you have reasonable DIY skills and basic tools. I'm delighted with the new indicators, shame BMW haven't issued a recall, it would cost them a fortune.
Hi, when you did this update did you get the central rear light, above the license plate, working as a standard rear light? I do noy like the combined indicators and want to change for the separate ones, but I'm keen that the rear light works as it should (I had an R1200GS before this, so that set up is what I'm after). Cheers, Mike.
@topter1849 no I didn't get the centre light working but there is a new module from Weisertechnik which restores the centre light function, its called EXT-RUN-ON module.
Same with orange on front cars might think ur indicating when not at quick glance
You should have bought the RT with Huge rear lights instead since you barely go off roading 😀. To be honest, the new lights look so much better since I had both on my previous GSs and GSAs. I don't remember having an issue that someone was going to rear end me, but better be safe than sorry.
With you on the indicators. I have a 22 plate S1000XR with the same lights and I've had the odd joyful conversation and gesticulation from our four wheeled colleagues who share the same space. Didn't realise why at first and began to question my riding but looking closely I realised they are lethal.
I first saw these new style indicators here in Australia while following a fellow rider on a new Triple Black and did comment to the rider that I really didnt like following him. Then in September 2022 I purchased a new 1250 gsa here in South Australia. I dont know why but I constantly have car drivers pull over to the roadside to let me ride around when its not legal to overtake and the worst one was when a car driver pulled out of an intersection in front of me thinking I was turning away. No Its just the amber indicator on all the time. Yes very dangerous and I hate them. Thanks for your video and research.
You have to wonder if some bikes locked to manufacturers and main dealers by software will become more unsafe as they age, and the value of them goes down. It's not unreasonable to assume that owners years down the line have bought lower value bikes because they haven't got *BMW main dealer cash to splash. (*other manufacturers are available as Toby often says)
Rather than changing lights and loom and then programming, I would have thought it was easier and less expensive to just program the existing lights to only have the Amber light flashing when indicating, then if not indicating have the red light on.
This reminds me of the late 70's when Kawasaki started fitting indicator bleepers that were the same tone as Pelican crossing. After discussions with the RN Institute for the Blind, they were quickly dropped after a few unfortunate incidents.
Interesting, but irrelevant.
It's the one thing I don't like about mine, really bad idea... BMW should offer a free software upgrade, I didn't buy brand new, mine was twelve months old so as a buyer, I didn't have the choice to spec it any different
Have you seen A Bike Thing you tube videos with the new indicators
yes have seen :)
Very interesting and agree these combo brake light/indicators are hard to differentiate. Would have thought that BMW could change the function of the new ones by reprogramming the canbus.🤔
you would have thought so, but alas it seems that they could only reprogram the way we needed it
One of the reasons I didn’t chop in my 2019 GSA for a newer one. Rally don’t like the new lights and it is so dangerous.
Hi,
Check the weiser led lights from the UK (and the USA). I installed them in a R1200GSA 2018 and the difference is great.
Best regards.
Awesome video. Totally agree about the rear ones being a potential hazard, however I am more concerned with the front ones being on amber all the time. Almost got taken out 3 times in one week as driver’s thought I was indicating when I wasn’t
Yeah they are not good at all. I’ve had the same. Bad move from Bmw I think to have these indicators on a bike
I ha same bike as you dude and i am wishing i hadnt clicked the multi function indicators
I’ve got those lights on my s1XR and my old man always says that I never indicate wonder if this is why.
Give 'a bike thing' a shout, I'm sure they will have a solution
he is very good indeed, but we wanted to change it with BMW as they had to reprogrammed the bike, rather than spending more money on extra kit, but thanks for the tip :)
I have just bought a new 23 triple black , apparently you can programe you bike to stop this and cancel the brake light part ! A idea would be make the whole of the indicator pulsate the red and orange at the same time ! ?
Or swap the awful BMW indicators for Weiser Technik units. More expensive but terrific upgrade. Have done my 1250GS and colleagues applaud the change. They also sell plug and play modules which allow the amber and red lights to alternate, removing the ambiguity. Recommended. Ps I paid full price for mine and have no connection with Weiser.
They are great as you say. The Weiser Technik system is far superior indeed. We did a video on them too
Not being funny but if your braking regardless of indicating at same time , the person behind should be slowing down anyway , should they not??
Luckily in the US the older version, not the combination version, is still on the 2023 GS.
I am having exactly the same problem, and totally agree with what you’re saying, so I would like to order some rear indicator lights for my 2023 BMW GSA 1250. I did order some, but they got back to me telling me that they thought they wouldn’t fit so if you could clarify by telling me exactly what year Bike indicators would fit my bike. Thank you.
I bought a set of led indicators off eBay. They were genuine lights and I think they came off a 19/20 plate. The ones I have now are pretty standard and have been on a host of BMWs for years so most years will fit. They have 2 pins on the connectors and the multifunction ones have 4 pins but what they don’t tell you is that under the pollina seat plastics there is a small wiring loom added in between the multifunction indicators and the bike loom so removing that reverts it back to fit the old indicators. Hope that helps
I have witnessed a GS rider nearly being rear ended by a car driver who didn't see him indicating to turn right into premises off a main road. The lights are terrible from behind both in daylight and darkness. I see the same vague indicators on many modern vehicles unfortunately. Multi function lighting seems to be getting smaller and less visible. What happened to the solid separate lighting set ups on vehicles?? Bring back BSI standards for lighting.
Purely fashion over common sense!!
These are banned in USA. US bikes have normal type. Great video on this and a fix posted by Just the way it is
Incorrect. States have varying and different laws on led lights in general. They are allowed in certain stats, and which is why when you go on to the us motorrad site they not only feature them but they can be optioned. Look through US vids on GSs.
Hi Toby and Mark, On top of the useless brake lights you have a constant orange glow from both front indicators. They should be banned. Swapped mine out from day 1 to the Weiser technik ones.
was it a direct swap out for new lights, or did you have to get anything reprogrammed?
@@RiderCamTV they plug into the same bmw connections, there is a further wire which connects to all four of indicators and a switched live and a wire which connects to the brake light with a posi-tap connector. It all sounds complicated but there is a really good video which explains it all here: ruclips.net/video/3zN7DgycEwY/видео.html
I don't understand why they cannot program the rear lights to only indicate orange and permanently deactive the red light during braking... and thus retain the original lights....
You have a main light !
Why did you not get ride of the dangerous front ones as well a friend of mine had a car pull out on him from a side road my friends got a damaged bike which could have been worse the driver said he had looked up the road and saw the left indicator on so assumed he was cafe to turn right
wanted to sort the rear ones first, perhaps we will do the front soon ;)
Good video, thank you. Did you enquire if the multifunction indicators could be programmed to not be multifunction? Ie just indicators. Strikes me that would be simpler to getting close to what you have achieved.
will try to find out
I have them on my bike..but I would of thought they can see you breaking anyway..but I do agree not the greatest design.
Totally agree that the multi function indicator is not good. Why don’t they just do a program to cancel the brake light ion the side that the indicator is switched on 🤔. I would also like the large rear tail light back on.
very true, not sure why, but hey ho.... managed to sort them out though ;)
Great video what are the old indicators called? I what did you put into search for them Avenue, 1250 and feel the same way
we just searched BMW 1250 GSA indicators on eBay and stumbled across a guy selling a pair...
@@RiderCamTV yet once I sent it I thought that sorry for wasting you time great channel
Toby!!! Quick question. Where does one get a reflective vest like yours??
Urban glow :)
I take the point about safety but I like the idea of three rear running/brake lights. I wonder it if would be possible to add two of the older style rear indicators so that there was in effect 4 rear indicators - two operated as BMW intended with the red/amber combo, and the other two operating as the older style indicator, ie illuminating only when the indicator switch operates. This would seem to enhance the amber indication signal and also retain the brighter rear running and brake light. The bike wouldn't look out of place with two indicator fittings on each side, after all many people add supplementary lights to their bikes
there is no point being made here about safety - just a statement that once you start braking the indicators get washed out - but nobody has explained why its a safety issue. To the contrary, as you point out, we now have a super bright set of brake lights that help prevent rear enders. Monody seems to be thinking this through or challenging lazy statements.
Just fit the Weiser Technik Extreme EVO indicators; problem solved.
Would have been better to have the v part as indicators and the small indicators as brake light !
Very true. Or better still just let the indicators do the job of indicating
I have the same issues with my 2022 GSA, my riding buddies have made the same comments, The kit supplied by Bike thing is very expensive, any one had quotes from BMW for what has been suggested here ?
we bought the incidators from eBay for £58 the pair (brand new and genuine) and then paid for the reprogramming which was just the time, rather than expensive charges.....
I have couple of mates with GSA REALLY dislike these indicators not just the rear either it would stop me buying a bike with them fitted Just dangerous
The reason these new indicators are fitted is for the US market where they have cruise lights. Simple as that. They are downright dangerous. I must comment though, yiu repeated yourself at leas four times, explaining why you can’t just swap them out. The video could have been a quarter the length!
Too many light clusters are poorly designed when it comes to sunny conditions which is when people struggle to see what is happening clearly. Now you have yours sorted Toby you can claim to be "the only straight forward indicator in the village" !!
They could possibly work better if the red also flashed along with the indicator.
very true
Check out A Bike Thing, Steve Abel, he's a wizard with BMWs...
he is very good indeed, but we wanted to change it with BMW as they had to reprogrammed the bike, rather than spending more money on extra kit, but thanks for the tip :)
Cannot believe that there not illegal, obviously the design team didn't step back and take a look at them in action. Plus as I do, anybody that wears glasses it adds to the difficulty of seeing them especially through a rainy windscreen. It's also the same with lots of cars now, there are that many bright led lamps on the rear that the indicators are swamped by them. Nearly rear ended a Passat I think a few weeks ago due to this. Style over substance. I can see safety recalls on the horizon as the accident investigating road teams start to see a common thread.
BMW Please stop putting these on.
Guys
Just got a quote from my BMW dealership
Of interest, how much did it cost you?
I bought the indicators online and it cost about £100 for the reprogram
Once there's a serious incident I can see BMW having a mandatory safety recall 🤔
Not going to happen, as nobody can even explain why drivers and riders can't help rear-ending you when you have a row of 3 brake lights on rather than one brake light..
Maybe car drivers are more observant than ROSPA riders? 😱
No good if you ride a S1000XR ..no centre light
A lot of bikers in the BMW Club have changed them over because they think there unsafe.
are they in the UK, have they had the bikes reprogrammed as BMW said that this was a first in the UK, wondering how they changed them without programming.... would be interested to know Mike.
@@RiderCamTV This is just word of mouth from other owners on the forum (s) that said they are or have had it done. I personally have yet to see a conversion in the real world
I have a really simple answer.....costs absolutely nothing....use a hand signal like they did on bikes in the 1950's 🤪....The design engineer probably got a promotion for that 'not so brilliant' idea.
Great :) But can you be more direct. How to make a 5 minuet description last 18 minutes 😅
Same as most modern car multifunction clusters. Please explain what would be the difference in the behaviour of the driver or rider behind, between a vehicle that is signalling braking and indicating, and one that is just braking. And as the very good rider that you are, you'd be indicating long before you applied the brakes.
Nobody has found it a safety issue, but plenty are saying that - there is a difference. And if the Muppet behind you isn't looking at you, then no lights make sense, let alone the brightest set of combined lights on this bike of all bikes on the market - now that IS a safety feature. This is a chattering fad that has little substance, and in cases designed to sell products.
I suggest you read some of the bmw forums ....several cases of people been virtually rear ended, and in the case of the front indicators, idiot car drivers not releasing they are running lights and not indicators. A guy from the UK posted only last week that he had to drop his bike to avoid someone pulling out and when the driver got out he said "sorry mate but you were indicating". Its clear that not all these posts can be incorrect and to me its obvious that it's design / looks over safety. Ultimately no one is suggesting the previous design had problems so why on earth change it 🤔
@@darren4220 I'm on the forums. First of all, this vid was largely about the rear indicators, for which there is not one documented or explained reason why they are an issue. I have seen no posts about being rear-ended, and I don't believe it, as there is not the slightest bit of logic here. Nobody can explain it because they cant explain why having a bank of lights saying I'm braking or have stopped should make a driver or rider simply continue to drive into you. But if you could explain, I'm all ears. It's scaremongering to call it a safety issue, and yet not explain why it is an issue, on bikes or cars.
On the fronts, I haven't seen that one post, but I'll take your word that somebody has posted an unverified comment. Honda riders, which also include myself, have been using them for years without issue. Lots and lots of chatter, very, very little substance or even reasoning.
I agree with you, a case of "group think" but the front indicators can be improved to DRL standards by getting Weisertechnik units.
@@nikoscosmos Yes, at least there is a basis of logic and argument around the fronts, unlike the complete absence of logic being applied around the rears, which if anything are now safer through the set of braking lights. And I would concede that, ironically, if they were brighter like on Hondas they be less of a possible issue. Best course of defence has always been defensive riding, and making yourself seen when approaching junctions
@@OnlyToolsAndBoxes I don't disagree that that it can be annoying on cars that have multifunction's on the fronts. But equally annoying is having these called out as a safety issue, when nobody can provide a scenario in which it is a safety issue.
Typical overdesigned form over function. Same with foreign cars ,typically french, you cant see the front indicators with the day running lights on. So at roundabouts especially, you have to wait till they commit before pulling out. But then few people know how to use roundabouts in the UK anyway.
You can mitigate this somewhat and could be considered good riding practice. Don't brake coming to a junction, use the bikes natural slowing speed/gearbox to slow right down until you get to the junction and just brake to come to a complete halt. This way you just have the indicator flashing and the lower intensity red rear for most of your manoeuvre.
Im a big fan of your VLOGs but this video sadly repeats the same content. Cheers anyway guys.
Dude…hold the camera and shut up…or get behind the mic.
Rude 🤣
Why go over everything twice could of been 6 mins long . Also so many Gs bikes sold yet your the first ever one to change indicators 🤔. How many accidents are from people not seeing these indicators? That’s the question.