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Post by scrap on Jun 20, 2012 22:10:15 GMT 10
Riding at Night - How to be seen (with acknowledgements to my mate Scara) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riding after the sun goes down can be a very enjoyable experience and equally safe as an alternative to day time riding. There are a few factors that may negatively affect this safety equilibrium but luckily most of them are in your control, so read ahead. There are riders who try to avoid riding in the dark because of the extra steps required to see in the dark and also to be seen by other motorists on the road. Depending on where you are during the night you may notice a greater number of insects which means more mess on your visor/bike and the more hazardous being nocturnal animals. You definitely want to avoid riding your bike through country roads during/close to dark as kangaroo's are known for being very active around this time. The most important motorcycle feature keeping you out of trouble are your headlights. Headlights have a few different modes as most are aware, normal low-beam offering the rider a shorter range but wider beam pattern positioned so not to blind other motorists. And finally high-beams which will offer the rider longer and typically more narrow-angled beam pattern used to beam as much light ahead of you as possible. Some motorcycles have fog-lights these are essentially the same as low-beam designed not to reflect back at you during thick fog. Use the above appropriately and as you see the need for, typically you should always be riding with your headlights on day in and day out if your motorcycle has fog-lights use these in combination with the low-beams for improved visibility and also importantly helping you stay seen. There are many different types of after-market HID/LED lighting options available to dramatically improve visibility with much brighter bulbs. Alternatively you can change the existing stock bulb with a better one; But make sure you know what you are doing as you do not want to melt wiring or over-strain your alternator - this is however beyond the scope of this article. Take an Objective lookTake an objective look at how visible your motorcycle is during the night. To do this simple stop in a car park during the night or on the side of the road and stand away from the front/back/side and ask your self if wearing; black helmet, black jacket, black gloves, black pants on a black bike is a good idea during the night or weather removing the reflector was a good idea etc. Be SeenSome very common after market modifications done to motorcycles actually reduce your safety during the night. Fender Eliminators are probably the first that come to mind, most Fender Eliminators remove the stock (ugly fender) with a more compact one - being so compact they neglect to have spot for a reflector (which is legally required in most states by the way). Another common modification is to stream-line the look of your bike by replacing indicators with smaller indicator lights. This is probably the worst thing you can do - a good rule of thumb when messing with indicators is if it doesn't flash brighter or more visible than your stock indicators DON'T DO IT. Don't undercut your safety for the sake of making your bike look more race like. Reflective tape comes in a lot of different colours, looks good and gives the bike a nice touch when correctly matched with the overall bike colour scheme but best of all it makes you visible. The best reflective RIM Tape and other reflective devices are ones that meet specifications set by International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). Be Aware & Don't AssumeAs with any riding always ride defensively and out of drivers blind spots. Don't assume the car driver ahead waiting to merge has seen you prepare for the car to pull out in-front of you - a great 'game' which helps you develop a live saving habit. Feel free to post your night time riding tips.
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Post by grasshopper on Jun 21, 2012 6:24:29 GMT 10
While I don't mind riding at night the absolutely abysmall quality of shadow headlights does't really make it any fun at all discovered this one morning at about 4.30am when I decided to ride the bike to work .I Know I could put a light bar on it but really don't do enough miles in the dark to warrant it
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2012 19:08:58 GMT 10
your right about the lights Grasshopper .I adjusted mine up a bit and made it a lot better. Was thinking of going for some small driving light on the side of the forks . They seem to be quite bright even in the daytime. Good article there Scrap and spot on. The vests that Rusty sells are worth it . Went in front of Trish in the car one night and all she could see was this white light. Even the rear bike light wasn,t visible. She was a fair way behind at the time. Cheers Ray
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2012 19:44:15 GMT 10
2004 headlight is crap, changed the bulb made slight difference. best thing for night time is drive your car ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2012 19:58:37 GMT 10
Great post Scrap (as usual ;D) Yeah the headlight is crap, but I firmly believe you are right when you mention black jacket, black helmet and black bike being hard to see at night .... gave me a great excuse to go out and buy a more gurly jacket with white reflective inserts
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Post by saddo on Jun 22, 2012 20:08:54 GMT 10
Yes I'm with you annastasia. Riding home last night dark, heavy rain. Two bikes pass me but can't see back of them. just small tail light. Next purchase for me may be the visy vest Rusty has got in the store.
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Post by scrap on Jun 22, 2012 22:20:12 GMT 10
Yep, noticed the headlights on the Shadow was pretty poor,nut I've fitted a set of these tomy current bike. Take care - they're really bright and will burn rhe fur off passing wildlife! They are fitted to the front guard mounts, so as the bike travels along the road, the axel tramp causes the lights to bounce and act like a strobe light like those used by push cyclists. .... an I'd just turned mine off before the accident - might have mae a difference if I'd had them on. www.creativecycleconcepts.com/index.cfm?carttoken=963W5AA051712040715&action=ViewDetails&ItemID=538815&Category=1975
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2012 18:42:08 GMT 10
Mate tis what i,m looking at thanks
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Post by SPINAL on Jun 24, 2012 11:55:17 GMT 10
i fitted a H.I.D 6000k light and when we came back from Kilcoy last SRA ride and it got dark found that i didn't have to use high beam could see really well on low on country roads, high beam lite's the road up for miles. plus the light is a lot whiter, brighter can be seen by others better in the day, all for a bout $40 POSTED HONG KONG good money spent. www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170492679790&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:AU:1123cheer's. spinal.
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Post by scrap on Jun 24, 2012 12:05:02 GMT 10
@spinal - retrofitting HID headlights is illegal unless they are self levelling - not that it has stopped many riders fitting them. Just make sure they're well adjusted.
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Post by SPINAL on Jun 24, 2012 12:21:22 GMT 10
@spinal - retrofitting HID headlights is illegal unless they are self levelling - not that it has stopped many riders fitting them. Just make sure they're well adjusted. Hi scrap, have had them on for over a year now and have no prob's with on coming traff or the law. cheer's. spinal
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2012 18:43:05 GMT 10
@spinal - retrofitting HID headlights is illegal unless they are self levelling - not that it has stopped many riders fitting them. Just make sure they're well adjusted. Hi scrap, have had them on for over a year now and have no prob's with on coming traff or the law. cheer's. spinal Was it easy to fit mate. Cant remember your post on it . Did the ballast fit ok in the headlight. Cheers Ray
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Post by SPINAL on Jun 25, 2012 9:23:01 GMT 10
Hi scrap, have had them on for over a year now and have no prob's with on coming traff or the law. cheer's. spinal Was it easy to fit mate. Cant remember your post on it . Did the ballast fit ok in the headlight. Cheers Ray Hi ray, yes easy to fit just plug and play set up, as for the ballast i zipped tied it to the frame under the plastic cover above the radiator will not fit inside headlight. you can buy a 35w or 55w was told that the 55w may give off to much heat and melt wires so went for the 35w they also draw less amps of the battery than standard bulbs. cheer's, spinal.
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