BMW Motorrad’s new dynamic brake light further improves rider safety

Braking and being seen by the traffic behind is of essential importance for motorcycle riders. BMW Motorrad has announced the development of a dynamic brake light which warns drivers of following vehicles even better about when the motorcycle in front of them is braking.

This additional brake light function, which is still limited to the EU / ECE area, warns following traffic in two stages when the motorcycle in front brakes hard or makes an emergency braking manoeuvre. Stage one is activated when the motorcycle decelerates from speeds above 50kph. In this case, the brake light flashes with a frequency of 5 Hz. As the motorcycle approaches standstill (< 14kph), the hazard warning flashers are also turned on in the second stage. These remain turned on until the motorcycle accelerates again to a minimum speed of 20kph.

The dynamic brake light is available as an option ex works in conjunction with ABS Pro (in conjunction with the option ‘Ride Modes Pro’) from model year 2016 for the R 1200 GS, R 1200 GS Adventure and S 1000 XR models. The K 1600 GT, GTL and GTL Exclusive luxury tourers will feature this safety feature as standard from model year 2016.

Compared to conventional ABS, ABS Pro goes a step further offering increased safety when braking in bends by allowing ABS-supported braking when banking. Here, ABS Pro prevents the wheels from locking even when the brakes are applied quickly; this reduces abrupt changes in steering force on shock-braking manoeuvres and stops the motorcycle from rearing up unintentionally. The benefits of ABS Pro to the rider are a sensitive response and a high level of brake and ride stability together with the best possible deceleration on bends.