Adding a Larson Scanner to a Vintage Honda Elite Scooter

The 1980s were an interesting era, full of 8-bit home computers, delightful and questionable fashion choices, and a bit of an obsession with futuristic aesthetics. When it came to vehicle design, “futuristic” mostly meant angular — a direct response to the swooping, curvy lines common in previous decades. Those design choices even carried over to scooters like the magnificent Honda Elite. It had a relatively large 150 cc engine (beginning in 1985), an innovative continuously-variable transmission, and styling that wouldn’t have been out of place on the set of Escape from New York. As a project designed to teach her boyfriend how to solder, Becky Stern helped him add a Larson scanner to his Honda Elite scooter.

You’ve almost certainly seen a Larson scanner before when watching Knight Rider or Battlestar Galactica. It’s named for Glen A. Larson, who produced both of those shows, and it looked very futuristic at the time. This is the sweeping light effect seen on KITT’s grill and on the Cylon helmets. It seems quaint in retrospect — it’s just a bunch of lights illuminated in sequence — but was iconic and a trademark of both series. It also fits perfectly with the styling of the Honda Elite. Most importantly, this was a fairly easy project that worked very well for Stern’s boyfriend, Smokey, to learn some basic maker skills.

In this case, the lights are a strip of Adafruit NeoPixel RGB LEDs. The densest strip was chosen to ensure that the sweeping effect was as smooth as possible. It probably wasn’t necessary to use RGB LEDs, as the effect is traditionally done in a single color. But NeoPixels are very easy to control and this let them tweak the color. The NeoPixels are controlled by an Adafruit Trinket board, which is powered by the Elite’s battery. Because only a couple of LEDs are lit at any given time, the NeoPixels could be powered directly through the Trinket. The Trinket was programmed in the Arduino IDE using Phil Burgess’s existing Larson scanner code. After programming, they cut the LED strip to length and then attached it to the scooter’s grill using silicone adhesive. The silicone also protects the LEDs from the weather. Smokey got to learn the basics of soldering and now has a neat lighting effect perfect for the Honda Elite’s aesthetic.