Hi 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?