Thread: Visibility
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#1 Visibility
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Posts
- 24
06-26-2009, 09:50 AMHi everyone, I ride a RMR125 SM, and was wondering if anyone els has been suffering 'invisible bike syndrome'?.
Basically, I also ride a VFR800, and when I'm on that, people hardly ever pull out on me. But on the RMR, it happens at least twice every ride, and today for the second time I've actually hit a car that pulled out! It was low speed and I'd almost emergency stopped and just nudged her bonnet with my tyre, so no one hurt and nothing damaged.The previous time I swerved around a car and my knee bounced off the front wing.Again, no injury or damage ( I had knee armour on).
Its seems that people who pull out fall in to two camps:
1) They simply don't see me ( the driver this morning claimed this)
2) They see me, and pull out anyway!
I think the problem is that the bike has a narrow frontal area, and also the enduro headlight gives the impression of a small, learner , and therefore slow moving machine.Whilst it is indeed small, I am not a learner and not always going that slow!
To address this I always wear a hi-viz vest and keep the dipped beam on, and also try to position myself in the road for maximum visibility.And I've put a race number and reflective decals on the headlight cowl.I'm also quite a wide bloke, so I'm not sure how I can still seem 'invisible'.But clearly this is not enough!
One idea I have had is to swap the enduro light for a traditional round headlight, as I think this will give the impression of a bigger bike, and thus deter people from pulling out.
Any thoughts?
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- Join Date
- May 2009
- Location
- Ipswich Queensland Australia
- Posts
- 28
06-26-2009, 09:55 AMKick their damned mirrors off bloke ...
Be natural and show a bit of road rage ...lol !
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06-26-2009, 10:32 AM
It's all status, the pricier your bike looks, the less likely they will be to pull out on you!
Without consciousness, space and time are nothing; in reality you can take any time -- whether past or future -− as your new frame of reference. Death is a reboot that leads to all potentialities.
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- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Posts
- 24
06-26-2009, 10:34 AMI've tried the road rage approach and whilst temporarily satisfying, it deosn't prevent the incidents happening in the first place, and the red mist makes my ride more dangerous after the event!Plus, I was starting to get more and more bold in my response to stupid drivers, i.e chasing them down, blocking their path and remonstrating with them. It was getting to the point where I felt it was only a matter of time before I got physical with one. This would be bad because I'm a fairly big bloke and I box, so although not worried about coming off worse, I was worried about possibly being done for assault! I made a promise to myself at New Year to cool down and stop getting so worked up, which I'm managing to keep to so far.So what I'm really looking for is prevention rather than revenge!
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- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Posts
- 24
06-26-2009, 11:45 AMGood point about status - that's why I reckon a round headlamp might be a good idea.I have a new chrome one in my garage that was for an abandoned cafe racer project, so if I put that on, combined with the gold USD forks it should make the front look more classy.The bike is in good condition, generally clean, and I always wear proper good quality riding gear, so I shouldn't give the impression of being an impoverished teeanage learner. I really think its the Enduro that's the root of issue.
Only issue is that I use the bike off road occasionally, so I'll have to fabricate a removable metal mesh cover for dirt riding.
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06-26-2009, 01:07 PM
I think the problem with small bikes (besides the size itself) is it's harder for cage drivers to judge the speed of a tiny object which is more likely to blend into the background.
Two possible solutions are:
1) Get a head-light modulator that automatically pulses your headlight during the daytime. In some countries this may not be legal though so you need to check with local regulations.
2) Wear a blaze orange safety/commuting vest. I got a Joe Rocket mesh jacket with a fold away blaze orange vest section which I wear pretty much all the time in the summer if it's not raining (and even in the rain if it's hot enough outside). Nice thing about it is you're VERY visible day or night (it has reflectors as well) and while car drivers can see you very well, the police think you're invisible.
You can of course get simple plain orange vests for much less. Just my .02.
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#7 Hi Viz
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Posts
- 24
06-26-2009, 02:04 PMGood point Crazy Carl, that is something I always do anyway though.I wear a very bright Respro Yellow and Orange Hi Viz vest over my jacket whenever I'm riding.Its highly visible (not surprisingly!) with refelective sections. So really its only the headlight issue that I can address!
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