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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- Join Date
- Aug 2008
- Posts
- 43
06-26-2009, 05:09 PMWow...you are wearing a hi-vis vest and that is still happening??? I wear a hi-vis yellow helmet and it helps some, but this happens to all of us.
Two things that I do to improve my chances of being seen are both based on the fact that most people key on movement and moving things in traffic. To that end, I loosen up the bolts that hold my headlight so that it vibrates more than normal. It's a little annoying at night but it sure gets noticed more during the day. Also, when I have an oncoming turner or suspect someone entering from the side, I "waggle" the bars slightly to give them some movement to key on.
Still, you'd be wise to practice panic stops. Also, alot of US scooterist and motorcyclist have been adding Stebel air horns to their rides. They're cheap, compact, and put out 130Db. But, you can't rely on a horn unless you see the problem coming. The pipe on my Lambretta is louder than it's horn.
Perhaps you should get one of those really bright yellow police jackets and wear a white helmet...not many folks will pull out in front of a "cop". Have you ever seen the hi-vis riding gear made by Aerostitch? Great stuff
Peej
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- Join Date
- Jun 2008
- Location
- Gijon, Asturias, Northern Spain
- Posts
- 580
06-26-2009, 06:30 PMThose headlights dipped beams are useless for visibility. Try running on full beam instead.
I don't think it's the size of the bike. In fact the other day I caught sight of myself on the back of a very shiny van and thought how agressive and imposing the bike looked.
My first thought was: What's that?. Who's that handsome virile chap?...Jincheng Monkey JC50Q-7
Skyteam Dax replica ST110-6
Zongshen ZS125-43
Qingqi QM200GY-BA Super Motard
Qingqi QM110GY
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06-26-2009, 07:13 PM
Based on the time I've spent admiring myself in the back of cars stopped in front of me, I know the look is exaggerated by the "House of Mirrors" effect you can get off the curved backs...makes everything look wider.
I think what we're talking about here is the car operator's perspective at a distance. Taking an extreme example, if a yellow QingQi200 and a yellow GoldWing were both, let's say, 100m away from a driver, I think there'd be no question which one would be more obvious noticable and imposing. The Gold Wings larger head lights and ample Tupperware area (combined with the color) would make for a more visually prominent object.
Now if the QingQi had modulating headlights, and both bikes were at the limits of a person's visual acuity, then I would actually give it to the flashing headlights simply because the monkey in us all recognizes flashing/shiney things.
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