Filthy Phil’s lights

Hopefully it is a bullseye and create some more racing. 

I do like the idea of having a flashing light for the lcq transfer spot rider.

Maybe they can move the lights to the rear of the bike to keep it away from the riders eyesight.

I could see a glowing light on your triple clamp to be a little distracting. 

I thought the lights were gimicky during the race but thinking some more I kind of like it.

Not that it matters.  I saw Philthy leading laps and almost win a triple crown main. Not going to bother watching the rest of the series, there's no way it tops that.

Because Jmart is a title contender.

Dude....your post worked....

Interesting concept, seems like it might be easier to see if intergraded somehow on helmets.

Brilliant!

This^^

It's not a feature for the barca-lounger dude with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other. In person, at the stadium, it's often hard to pick up the leaders again after you've taken your eyes off of them for a few seconds. Especially for newbies.  Anything to help the attending audience follow along better is a plus in my book.

Crazy that you recieved even 1 downvote for this.

The lights, pointers, and the superimposed graphics are beyond ridiculous. 

The "new fan" topic has been beaten to death. 

These gimmicks aren't going to bring in tens of thousands of people to the sport.

About the only thing these computer graphics are good for is, covering up all of the empty seats at nascar races, etc... that are a result of fickle "new fans".

Here today, gone tomorrow,  leaving a sport forever stuck in a grade school level broadcast style.

Honestly during the race I thought it was a Blue Buffalo / Slater skins thing. 

I think it’s fine. Nothing wrong with trying new ideas, it’s part of progress

Not surprising the salty old codgers don't like anything new, interesting, and beneficial added to the sport.

I love when people get lumped into convenient little "groups".... it really highlights ignorance. 

"Old guys" aren't against everything new....just the stupid new ideas. 

Spot on.           Moto isn't ever going to grow to be mainstream, it hasn't after 50 years.      Which to be honest, I'm glad it's mostly "core" fans.   I would be sick to see it turn into NASCAR, NFL, NBA, MLB....etc etc.

As for downvotes....completely irrelevant.  

As one of those "salty old codgers" that's been around long enough that I was racing the Florida Winter-Ams when Jeff Ward was there still racing mini's-----  I actually like the light idea. Even the dude that suggested that the top 3 should use different colors was a pretty good idea.  The ridiculous pace of the top guys versus the bottom 10 is to the point where they are into lappers quicker than ever. I think the lights are very helpful--even to us "salty old dogs" that have a lot of knowledge and experience.  So there's that.......

It's a great idea for the fans at an SX.   It's easy to lose sight of the leaders if you look away for a minute.  Agree there should be lights on the top 3 with different colors.  Maybe Green (1st), Yellow (2nd), and Red (3rd), just like a traffic light.

You guys were lucky to be there for the major technological changes to dirtbikes and a few waves of American domination.

Taking steps to cater to fans that buy a ticket and show up at the stadium is not a bad thing. Leader light, extended breaks to use the bathroom and get concessions without missing racing may not be ideal when you are sitting in front of your TV having the whole experience curated for you, but when you drop a few hundred dollars to take a family of 4 to the races its nice that Feld tries to make that experience enjoyable for mom dad and the kids. In a dome stadium with 22 bikes on the track it's impossible to hear the announcers and you have to yell to talk to each other which is annoying for everyone around you. Adding leader lights and other features that make live viewing more enjoyable is important to maintaining this sport as a viable commercial venture so we can all be a slaty old codger some day.

A few things... as I am currently developing something similar for the RC racing industry.

- I would prob mount it on the rear fender so it doesnt affect the riders direct vision.

- It would cost less than $20 bucks to make and would weight about ~30-40 grams.

- It could help lappers and flag men in a mudder to find the leaders easier.

and last... it would be pretty funny to watch it flash all over on the gate drop when the lead is changing fast.... haha.

The first thing I thought when I saw the lights on Phils bike was " that's wierd...Phil doesn't seem like the kind of guy to put dorky lights on his bike".   ...and they do look dorky.    Then I heard what he said about being a guinea pig and knew he hated it.

We already have the "leader" corner lights which is good enough for all those "new to the sport" non-existent people. 

IMSA has been doing this since 2014.

I think it's a great idea for races that have a lot of lapping. 

Along the same lines, how about a blue light on the handlebars for when lead lap riders are within 3 or 5 seconds of a lapper.

Dumb.  The only reason I’ve heard here is to find the leaders.  Just look for the guys going faster.  It’s going to take the same amount of time to find the light.

I had posted about some kind of lights that could be integrated like this a little while back . Just the rough concept of lights not how to do it or where on the bike.  I've been following racing for many years, it is my life. And when AT a race in PERSON , after scanning back through to find my favorite local privateer racer or top guy that crashed, etc. It is hard   to pick the leader back out. On TV no problem. You can not watch anything but what they are showing anyway.   But in person and for the racers on the track the lights could do so many things. I feel like if You are only watching the leaders at a live race then you are not really into the sport. Otherwise you would be scanning back through the pack.  Most of the best racing seems to be back in the pack very often. 

Run a small strip on the underside of the visor for the rider. Flash it when approaching a downed racer , Solid red for a stopped race, etc.   And then the lights on the bike for the crowd. Leader and top 3 would be good. and then lapper lights too that come on as you get lapped. That could help racers on the track too with passing and not fighting a racer who is lapping you. And then also have a light on the last rider who is in qualifying position  in heats and Mains. 

The under visor or crossbar pad  LED for the rider would help as far as safety goes. That could be a GPS based system and might cost more to do. But then they could also have crazy accurate segmented lap times . And show those splits on TV. Break down whos faster through the whoops , corners, etc.  The lights  on the triple clamps could all come on RED for a red flag  .  I would say that the lights are for in persone viewers not TV viewers . Watching on TV its super easy to know whos doing what and where. I think the lights could be built into the front # plates or someplace so they are integrated and look cool . Light up number plates are also possible to make . They could make it so the white parts of the number plates would light up so 250 guys numbers, and  450 backgrounds. For the front plates only. It would be much more work. But its something I could do already as a graphics guy with a little bit of knowledge of different lighting elements. So it wouldn't super   hard for most graphics guys to make a front plate background that lights up.  After somebody sees it done and knows what you use. 

SuperMotocross season year 2030

e-bikes and lighting....  I can't wait.

Start at 14:11

I'm not saying to go crazy like that. But something like the triple clamp lights or maybe toned down a little. And some type of LED lighting on the crossbar pad or in an area the rider can see , that wouldn't really be noticeable to anybody else but the rider could be very helpful in outdoor races too. I think it might be harder to get to work outdoors. But in SX it could help make blind landings safer.  Something similar to how the GET  launch control system lights up .

I saw one thread on here when Chad Reed ran one years ago. People asking about the lights. Much less doom and gloom over them back then though. The Evil Ebikes  where not around yet back then and nobody was screaming about how it was going to destroy the sport. 

This is what I see in my head when I read some of the posts in this thread...

Great post.  I have also experienced losing the leader during the race while attending a race in person. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned but at Tampa Dean WIlson's bike had triple clamp LEDs and a mechanic said "they" are having some teams help with the development.  

You are looking ahead on your visor LED concept but to date the FIM forbids anything being attached to the helmet but I spoke with someone at the MXoN last fall and learned MotoGP is pushing for cameras in the front of the helmet.   For MX I hope the FIM will allow visor mounted LEDs like you suggested or the crossbar pad solution will have to be developed.   

Too bad we are still relying on flaggers at professional events when there are electronic solutions out for automated marshalling available today.

EDIT I missed CraigCrashes post about Weege tweet about the LEDs being experimental.