Man, that's a really comprehensive setup (as illustrated in the video). The one I used and recommended (LEDGlow) has some of those features, but not all of them. You've got me considering ripping out everything I've put in and starting over with that kit.

 

I started with a basic 7 colour set up from boogey lights and extended it until i was happy.

 

I understand. I wasn’t a fan until I rode on a very dark road with cars next to me. I suddenly saw the safety aspect of accent lighting. I want to know that cars next to me can see me, not just those in front and behind.

I’m going to add some basic engine bay and underneath lighting. No wheels or anything else. I figure I don’t have to turn them on. But if I find myself riding at night on a dark road again, I’ll be glad I have them ready to flip on.

 

Good call Dan...I'm taking my gas tank off to pull the rocker boxes...changing to black covers an pulling the push rods to change cams...it'd be a good time to put some under the tank.

 

I've been calling them "disco lights".

As for being more visible...they'll see you only when they're not looking at phone, so no.

 

Custom LED accent lighting.
7 Colours with multiple solid, flash, pattern options via remote control.
Made up with Pods, Strips and singles. Under the tank, under the front fender, under the rear fender, in the voltage regulator cover, behind the horn cover, behind the air intake, under the oil tank, under the frame, under the floor boards, behind the swingarm.......all with hidden wiring.

Youtube clip

 

I found this thread looking for tips and thoughts on the LED kits. I currently have the LED Glow kit pretty much identical to the one mentioned earlier, but I just received it and am having doubts about it. Haven't installed yet. Here are the issues I have with it:

1. The wiring is horrendous! Each strip requires it's own wire back to the controller, there is no daisy chaining! If I install this kit I am going to have a birds nest sized ball of wire under the seat, not to mention some wire runs will be 2-4 wires when they could only be one if I could daisy chain.

2. To add to the wiring mess, the connectors that come out of the control box connect into a wire loom that splits into 6 or more leads. I call this an octopus. Its hard to explain, but they only gave me 1 female octopus, but a couple male, so I have to use a 1-2 female to female adapter then a male octopus to wire the second zone. Thus adding more wiring under the seat and points of failure

3. The controller doesn't retain settings when shut off. If you want purple and orange for Halloween, you have to set it every time you turn it on. Not a huge deal when these would be turned on for the night, regardless of if the bike is on, but still - I can see it getting annoying

4. The controller only operates via remote. I can't hardwire a switch to turn them on/off. But then, even if I could, I would still have to use the remote due to #3

5. The remote doesn't seem to work very well. Sometimes the button does something other times it doesn't. and considering that I've been testing just with everything on a table, I don't have high hopes for when the controller is in the bike.



Mostly due to #1 and #2 above, I'm going to return my LED Glow kit. At this point, I'd rather not have the LEDs on the bike than use this kit. I am going to try the XK Glow, as that seems to be much better engineered at least to the point that you can daisy chain the lights. Maybe some of my other complaints are addressed with XK Glow

 

Your points are definitely valid.

Each strip does indeed wire back to the controller, no daisy chaining. (This results in a lot more wiring, but does make it, I think, easier to position .)

Ah, the octopus. Yes, very confusing. I ordered extra strips, connectors (I like overkill, redundancy) and found it to be confusing, and not clearly labeled.

Yes, the LED Glow system does not retain the last active setting. I knew about this ahead of time, as I had emailed them to ask questions. I have found that it's going back to the white I had last picked, but that could be because I'm using the app, not the remote.

I wired the entire system to a switch on the handlebars. But this just kills / activates power , you are right -- you can't turn it on just by activating the power. (It does claim an auto-shutoff, though, when the voltage reaches a certain level, to protect your battery. Haven't tested that.)

The physical remote is a bit goofy. I use the app, though, which has much better options. But it does require an upgraded controller module.

The truth is that I have considered, strongly, ripping it all out and taking the bike to a shop that uses a better kit and will do a better install job than I've done. I'm not super-duper happy with what I've come up with. There a couple spots that I've reinforced adhesion with a cable tie, but the light strip has bent up because it and actually, with some colors, will show TWO colors, one being wrong. The strips I put under the saddlebag rails don't shine like I'd like, with the saddlebags (obviously) occluding much of the light. I have very little lighting near the front wheel, and it feels "missing". And to top it off....where in the hell am I supposed to put all this wire?!?! I don't know how the pro shops do it, but there must be a better way than tying up 1/3 of a saddlebag with it, not to mention the fact I can't take my saddlebags off because where would I put the wiring. (And I also have the wiring for my Innovv K1 camera system in there, too, but that's another story.) I really can't blame the company for my bad placements or install job, but with SO much wiring, it seems like a daisy chained system might result in far less.