[rickbert]

I'm sure that most of you are like me in that when you are driving your car you are probably twice as careful as other car drivers in that you take extra care to look out for motorcycles since you are a rider yourself.



Well this morning I was coming home from the bank (in the car) and I'm about to turn right onto the main drag here in town and I stopped and looked left and right several times as always. As I pull out onto the main drag from the stop sign I look again to the left (as I always do) and THEN see a bike coming down the main drag.....wasn't anywhere near being close to an accident, the bike was a ways still from where I was turning onto the main drag. I thought to myself "dang that's a huge 1100 VStar, why didn't I see it the first time I looked to my left"???



Well, it ends up that this nice, newer VStar for some reason did NOT have it's headlight on. The fact that when I was looking left I was also looking into the sun did not help matters. I wonder if this guy KNEW his light was not working ??



I think as car drivers are getting used to looking for bikes that they/we are also USED TO seeing that HEADLIGHT when we see a bike !



MAKE SURE YOURS WORKS !

 

[Trickster]

Here in the Great White North, daytime running lights (DRL) are mandatory. Makes a difference for sure. BUT........what it



also does not do, until recently, on most vehicles is, turn on your tail-lights, which in turn some people forget to do.



DRL are also a reduced output, so what you get at times at night, is people with dim headliights and no rear markers.

For the latest in headlight technology check this link out. Adaptive Headlights

 

[nolavox]

I have been considering putting a switch in line so I can turn off the lights when starting. I figure it's an uneeded drain on the battery... my fear is that I will forget to turn it back on when taking off.



I'd say yes to having as much light on a bike as possible, day and night. I like LED markers because of their specular brightness when looking at them... been meaning to get a pair of LED plate bolts and hook em up to the brake light circuit. Maybe a couple white ones up front on the brake circuit as well.

 

[Trickster]

I have numerous LED's on my rides, and found the prices and selection at this shop excellent. Creativelightings



As well as this one overseas, very tidy and bright, not much bigger than a pen cap. Bikevis

 

[achille]

I have been considering putting a switch in line so I can turn off the lights when starting. I figure it's an uneeded drain on the battery... my fear is that I will forget to turn it back on when taking off.

I believe power to the headlight is interuppted while the starter button is depressed.





NO?

 

[nolavox]

Hmmm, I'll have to check that. Regardless if you figure a 50w headlight and another 120w on a 12.7 v battery the current draw will be at 13.33 amps aprox. Kick in 13.7 from the stator/generator and it is still drawing 12+ not an insignificant figure. Hit the brakes, signal or brights and this # just goes up. I used all LEDs except for the headlight on My last cb750... Doggone CXs use a side facing 1156/57 socket in their marker lights.

 

[marshallf3]

I have been considering putting a switch in line so I can turn off the lights when starting. I figure it's an uneeded drain on the battery... my fear is that I will forget to turn it back on when taking off.



I'd say yes to having as much light on a bike as possible, day and night. I like LED markers because of their specular brightness when looking at them... been meaning to get a pair of LED plate bolts and hook em up to the brake light circuit. Maybe a couple white ones up front on the brake circuit as well.

Your starter switch already automatically kills the headlight when it's pushed, if it doesn't you have a problem in your switch or wiring.



I'm definitely adding LEDs to mine but I'm going to try and "stealth" them into areas where they're not visible as being mounted on the bike unless they're running. You can buy discrete LEDs in some pretty small sizes that put out tons of light nowadays in all sorts of sizes and shapes, they're also sealed so it would just be a matter of using tiny two conductor ribbon cable to them with a glob of silicone seal over the solder connections. (solder oxidizes over time when exposed)



Anything over 10,000 mcd with an angle of 30* or less is going to be fairly visible from a decent distance at night, the brighter and the narrower the beam output the better. I'm thinking you'd want at least 35,000 mcd @ 17* to be fairly visible in daylight.



I plan on adding at least two rather bright white ones up front spaced apart as far as practical with the mounting conditions at hand, some ambers on the side and I'm unsure on the rear because there's still a debate over whether you can run red in the rear when it's not a brake light. I also like the "modulated" front scheme that has been approved but the rules on that are somewhat difficult to decode.



Discrete LEDs are available from places like:



http://www.mouser.com

http://www.digikey.com

 

[Blindstitch]

I don't think a headlight is important during the day. It makes sense to have one but during the day I don't even think I notice them. When it gets closer to dark it is needed. I think the only thing that would catch peoples attention is a flashing red and blue light.



I'm all for being seen so I wish there was a motorcycle only alternative so people knew when we were coming.

 

[Shep]

99% of cagers won't see you,headlight on or not.The other 1% are behind you.

 

[marshallf3]

As normally a car driver I can attest to the fact that having the headlight on is a huge plus in seeing an oncoming motorcycle, especially if it's one that has dual lights or a couple of auxilliary ones off to the sides.



Just found these, too bad they will only offer the sale price if you just buy one but if they're up to the specs they say they are they're worth it even at full price:



http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16642

 

[Shep]

As normally a car driver I can attest to the fact that having the headlight on is a huge plus in seeing an oncoming motorcycle, especially if it's one that has dual lights or a couple of auxilliary ones off to the sides.



Just found these, too bad they will only offer the sale price if you just buy one but if they're up to the specs they say they are they're worth it even at full price:



http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16642

But you are a ,"Biker" and will tend to notice motorcycles.Most drivers couldn't care less about Motorcycle riders.No matter what you put on a Motorcycle or wear you will remain invisible to most drivers.

It is the rider's responsibility to take account of the ignorance and stupidity of other road users.I wish this weren't the case,but it is.Giving oneself a false sense of visibility can be dangerous IMHO.

 

[Spring Brook Rider]

Anything we can do to increase our being seen is a plus. It's still best to assume [ass you and me] that cagers just don't see us and won't even if they're looking up our nostrils. I don't know how many times a driver has seemingly looked right at me and then pulled out to my near detriment. The best policy is to plan on them doing something that could take you down. I call it assertive defensiveness.

 

[Trickster]

I drive for a living and can say it does not matter what you are driving, the road is full of inattentive drivers.



Now the chances of being seen or noticed improves usually with the size of vehicle you are operating. When I am operating



the Cat 964 front-end loader down the street, people see me, when riding my bicycle, not so much.



That is why it is very important to be noticed on a motorcycle, because you are a smaller target, I mean object.

So wear bright clothing if you choose, add lights, avoid blindspots, and be aware of every side of you.



But to say people care less about motorcyclists than vehicle drivers, I will disagree.

 

[Allan]

I think that the headlight does make a difference, it has been proven to make cars more visible in daylight so I can't see why it would not help on a bike.



As for bike drivers being more aware of bikes on the road than cagers I don't know about that,,I had a Harley pull out in front of me on my bike the other day, I don't know if he did not see me or if he thought that I would be able to give him enough room that he would be able to make it, which I did, but it gave me a scare.

 

[Allan]

Speaking of no respect for bikers,,,,



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSdAvGtsGpw&feature=related

 

[lucky]

wow that video is crazy i kinda liked how the cop was running after the wrong person......thank god the cop didnt shoot them.....but i am having a problem with my head light right now that i cant figure out it comes on when i turn on the bike when i start the bike its on but when i am going down the road it goes off for a few seconds (maybe 5 to 10 seconds) all the plugs are nice and tight so i dont know

 

[steve in reno]

While on a ride the other day I spotted a gwing or bmw that had a pulsing pair of lights on the outer fairing. Approx bar ht.

They were likely hid's from the color.

Very noticeable.

I didn't think that bikes came without the hlight/tliight on while running. No switch to control on/off of lights.

I believe that the gov't made that change, but I don't remember the year

steve

 

[Harry]

I agree that anything you can do to be seen could save your life.

I don't know about the US, but here in Oz, all modern bikes sold only have a high/low beam switch. You don't get an on/off switch, the headlight is on all the time.

There is also a campaign for bikers to wear high visibility vests. One of my friends' son is always telling me how safe he rides. The thing is he rides a black bike, has black leathers and a black helmet. He might look super cool, but he's making it hard to be seen, headlight on or not.

 

[marshallf3]

Motorcycle headlamp modulator



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_headlamp_modulator



http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...fai=CYkbVzju6TKuJEojKgwTX-9WEBwAAAKoEBU_QNAO0

 

[DavidfromWisconsin]

I was out riding today and an HID is very visible ... as it was lighting up the signs at the side of the road ... in the daylight.



The other thing that is often discounted is a reflective vest ... as people will think you are a cop until after you go by.