Mods to increase visibility, any input?

[Doug B.]

I make no assumptions that anyone will see me, or look for me, but if every once in a while a driver sees me a little sooner, my journeys will benefit from what is really a pretty minor investment in some good lighting. The stock stuff is there and intact, but it's not as eye catching as super bright LEDs can be.

I like the bullet bikevis lights linked by bwringer, and the lights I talked about are available without the sweeping light, I just used that name because it comes up easy in google http://www.customdynamics.com/knight..._led_video.htm <- this is the specific one I was considering using.

I think they are small enough and have a low enough power requirement that I can probably add a pair of strips above and below the license plate, and a set of 4 bikevis pods, white in front, red in back. I am curious about the modulator for those, I'll read that review in a minute.

I was taught to always assume the other driver will do the absolute worst possible thing at the worst possible time and to always leave myself a way out.. I was lucky and had my own personal motorcycle safety instructor for many years, before there was such a thing available to everyone.. 27 mostly safe years and looking forward to many more

I hadn't thought about upgrading the horns, but thats a good idea too..

[Steve]

People claim not to have heard train horns!
(You can get a train horn, but they are kinda big for a bike).

I guess that depends on the bike.







.

[tkent02]

Cars pull out in front of trucks, bright orange busses with lights all over them and even trains. Best just to stay invisible and ride accordingly.

[Doug B.]

Wow, those are some serious horns, wonder how much they affect mileage? lol.

I understand the decision to stay stealth, but I think a few lights are worthwhile.. I'll still operate on the assumption no one sees me.

[GelandeStrasse]

+lots on the ride like everyone else is blind.
FWIW i did read about a study done somewhere that a key factor is the single front light on most bikes. It showed that ignoramarses were more likely to pick up on twin headlights than single. Something to do with two lights being easier gauge its distance away from the observer. Makes sense.

[1_v8_merc]

The best defense is to STAY AWAY from them.
Never ride with cars.

I ride at my own pace, if there's a cluster of cars in my way... I'm going around them, too bad!
I'm NOT going to sit around and hang with the freak shows.
(i call clusters of cars "freak shows", because that's what they are.)

[gsgeezer]

I LOVE those train horns, but I gotta get a Wing to put 'em on!

(Or maybe a Boss Hoss.) It looks like you hit a car with one and do some damage. This guy at least has an orange one, probably for visibility.

[shakeybone]

I have Motolights mounted on my calipers and have had a lot of comments that I am more visible. After riding with me a few friends got them for there bikes. They also light up the road down low at night which helps allot in the woods where I live.
Go with the LED bulbs for our amp challenged GS charging systems.

[gsgeezer]

I really would like to put some LED driving lights on the GS.
Especially with deer season. The added visibility would be nice feature, as well.

Also my jacket and pants have built in "reflectivity" so do my tank and saddle bags.
LED tail light bulb is something I keep forgetting to install....

[Doug B.]

I went ahead and ordered the bikevis lights and pod mod(ulator) as well as a PIAA night tech headlight bulb and xtreme white taillamp bulb. I haven't picked up a headlamp modulator yet, or done anything about additional tail lighting.

I also bought a good light colored helmet and a nice jacket with reflective piping and panels (and armor)

[simon kuether]

In the old days they used a bloke with a red flag and that seemed to work really well.

Max , I kept running over him .
I was going to tie him to a stick and poke him out in front , but the stick broke .
Back to the design shed (rum included) .........

Cheers , Simon .

[Roy]

I think anything that causes other drivers to make note of you and put you on their mental map of the traffic situation is going to make you safer. I did a bunch of reading on this one day, Doug, and I learned a couple things that weren't all that obvious or intuitive. All of this is in the "for what it's worth" category.

Statistically most accidents are from an oncoming driver turning in front of you. (By you, I mean, the motorcycle rider.)

A modulating headlight in the frequency range of about 6 per second is something that is very hard for another driver to ignore--having something to do with human perception or something.

The other thing was that objects with more width get more attention from oncoming drivers, or there is increased awareness of them. So, I think more lights spread out horizontally would be preferable. Or, the worst front configuration would be a single light with a small dimension, no matter how bright or not it is. My son has an '09 Bonneville, with only one headlight, but it's quite large in diameter, and when I see him coming toward me at night, it has a good presence--it is something that you notice easily.

Good luck.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Roy,

I use Sylvania Silver Star H4 bulbs in my headlight. I use superbright LEDs in my brake and turn signals. Other than that I haven't done much to the bike. I do wear a Hi-Viz vest.



Most of the time I'm seen.

Sorry I'm late with this, but here's some S.W.A.G. for you.

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Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please Click Here For Your Mega-Welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Dutch-Martin]

I stumble upon this thread, because i just recently had the same question; how to get seen better, after i almost kissed pavement for about 4 times in a month...

I hope this picture gets loaded:

(added a picture Attachment)


I added 2 LED-bars to my front-Fork... I do get seen now! Its just tie-wrapt, for testing... Dont know how the police likes it here... Its not beautiful, but its better than the hospital...

Greetings

[1980GS1000E]

I would bet the sequential KnightRider things are illegal, anyway. One out of fourteen drivers has alcohol in their system and those that are impaired tend to "home in" on lights and wind up hitting you. I just try and stay away from everybody. Oncoming traffic and left turners. Those are my major concerns.