What are your best ways to improve visibility?

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
HiViz clothing is all the rage. I probably should buy some.

But here's a poignant question: Why are there no HiViz helemts? Not the standard bright yellow ones (I already own one of them), I mean the safety pukey green/yellow most often found on other HiViz gear.

C'mon helmet makers... you are making safety gear to begin with.

I have to think with all the HiViz gear being sold these days that matching helmets would sell like hotcakes!!

 
HiViz clothing is all the rage. I probably should buy some.
But here's a poignant question: Why are there no HiViz helemts? Not the standard bright yellow ones (I already own one of them), I mean the safety pukey green/yellow most often found on other HiViz gear.

C'mon helmet makers... you are making safety gear to begin with.

I have to think with all the HiViz gear being sold these days that matching helmets would sell like hotcakes!!
Good thought.

I'm using a white helmet that I put strips of reflective red tape from the hardware store on. Don't know if it helps or not.

 
HiViz clothing is all the rage. I probably should buy some.
But here's a poignant question: Why are there no HiViz helemts? Not the standard bright yellow ones (I already own one of them), I mean the safety pukey green/yellow most often found on other HiViz gear.

C'mon helmet makers... you are making safety gear to begin with.

I have to think with all the HiViz gear being sold these days that matching helmets would sell like hotcakes!!
exo700-neon.jpg


I've seen a hi-viz orange one out in the wild as well...

 
Headlight modulators are the thing! Mine are from comagination--www.comagination.com.

Installation took about 30 minutes. Its clear to me, by the looks I get from cars coming at me from the front or side, that I am noticeable.

 
Headlight modulators are the thing! Mine are from comagination--www.comagination.com.
Installation took about 30 minutes. Its clear to me, by the looks I get from cars coming at me from the front or side, that I am noticeable.
Yup, I was driving my truck on a dark rural two lane road and got fixated by the set of flashing lights coming at me, and almost wiped out the poor motorcyclist. First ones I had seen -- some 6 years ago. I was trying to figure out what the hell it was. But that was the moment I thought, "not for me". YMMV.

 
I know I can throw TONS of reflective decals on the rear of the FJR, and maybe a LED license plate or something (very low voltage). I have a 1st Gen and so I wanna save my "spare" watts for warming gear.
What can be done for front end visibility? I'm leary of using a modulator as in my limited experience, a flashing headlight means, "Go ahead and pull in front of me....I'm being nice" and I don't want others to think I'm letting them in all the time. Anyone have success with reflectors or reflective tape on forks, or somewhere on the front fairing/bottom of the windshield?

Alexi
Hi Alexi

I'm on my way home from North Carolina (in the rain and 40+degree temps :( ). In addition to my own HiViz gear both Mark and I have these on our bikes and they're GREAT. Plus, Glenn provides unparalleled service. They make it super easy for the lead rider to ID the other in highway traffic. A couple of times on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I pulled over to wait for Mark in the fog - EASY to ID his bike coming through the fog!

BTW, a note about my BMW gear (Belice suit and boots) in response to a thread started a couple of days ago, my gear IS waterproof - right down to my gauntlet-style gloves - as long as they're TUCKED into my sleeves; not so much with water dripping down the sleeves INto the gloves. Expecting two more days of this misery. Guess we had to pay the piper sometime for the GREAT riding we had in the NC mountains !

ME

 
Hi Viz works. My daughter sent me a text message the other day, "dad, i saw you and your jacket was really working!"

DSC03985Standarde-mailview.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
You can't do much better than a set of Moto-Lights (or equivalent) on the forks and a screaming day-glo jacket, preferably with a bright helmet. As mentioned in a similar thread, I've been riding with a day-glo Olympia this season and there is truly a difference in oncoming cagers, as well as less changing lanes into me. Same me, same bike, same everything else.

 
See GunMD post. Everytime I ride people talk about the jacket. Even just riding down the road at times people slow down, I guess they think Im a cop or safety crew of some sort. The Olympia Hi Viz can be seen for a long way. Just ask the people that were on the big bear ride this last weekend.

 
As good as Hi-Viz gear is, I think that the amount of surface area visible from the front (especially at a distance) is somewhat limited. If you do not want a headlight modulator I think that fork-mounted LED lights, in amber, may be your best bet. Fork leg mounting will provide the triangle of light that seems to make it easier for the eye to notice and recognize. Locomotives for several years have supplemented their bright-as-hell headlights with a pair of lower-mounted lights that help folks notice that something is coming at them.

I know that you don't want to sacrifice any extra electrons to lighting, but Whelen's TIR 3 and LIN 3 lightheads only draw approximately 400 milliamps each, or less than one ampere total. The TIR 3 heads are directional, while the LIN 3 heads have much better off-axis visability. The TIR heads are somewhat brighter, at least to my eyes, as the output is more directed.

I would set them to steady burn. A flashing pattern would be eye-catching, but would not be legal here in Montana (and probably many/most other states, too). I tend to agree with other posters that amber seems to stand out better against the visual background clutter.

You would have to fabricate mounting brackets. 1.5" aluminum angle is readily available at hardware stores and home supply stores. It is pretty cheap and easy to work with, even with simple hand tools (hacksaw, handheld drill, and files). A TIR 3/LIN 3 light head is 1.25" high. It will fit either on the outside or the inside of the 1.5" aluminum angle. The TIR 3 lighthead is made in a vertical format as well as a horizontal format. The vertical format would give a narrower profile, and not be as prone to get bashed against things. It may be harder to find a supplier who stocks the vertical format TIR 3 lighthead, however; if you find them somewhere, they may be more expensive than the commonly available horizontal format lighthead. The bracket fabrication will be a lot easier with a vertical head, since you can just use the one leg of the angle stock to bolt to existing mounting tabs on the fork. (A brake caliper mounting bolt is the most common example, and the solution used by folks such as MotoLights.) Don't try mounting a horizontal lighthead in a vertical orientation; the optics distribute the light all wrong for being seen by other motorists.

If forward conspicuity (being seen by on-coming traffic) is the issue, I personally would go with the TIR 3 version of the light. The TIR 3 is less likely to cast light into the eyes of adjacent motorists (same direction), and will not glare as on-coming traffic passes you. I use the LIN 3 heads as hazard flashers on my airhead BMW, where I want a wide-angle light, but use a TIR 3 as the auxilary brake to keep the light more focused directly behind me.

Please note that there are several other brands of similar "Gen 3" LED warning grade lights available in the marketplace. Fred W has noted (in another thread on LED brake lights) a brand that has a high intensity/low intensity setting, which may be a good option if you ride at night more than occasionally.

 
Very interesting idea, using the Whelen LED lights facing forward! I don't recall hearing or seeing anyone doing this yet, but it makes all kinds of sense, both from an added safety standpoint (they are very bright), and the low power consumption. Also from a financial preservation aspect as the Whelen lights only run ~$50 a pop. ;)

I wonder what would happen if you constantly strobed the LED lights very quickly, like several times per second, if that wouldn't make them stand out from the rest of traffic a lot more. It would certainly also eliminate any possible confusion that the rider is signaling any cars to "go ahead". You can't do that with incandescent or HID headlights.

By varying the duty cycle of the strobing you would also have a built in dimmer of sorts. Hmmm...

I'm sure there would be huge legal issues. Anything new always does. But it might be kind of interesting to test out.

You mention it being illegal to flash forward facing lights, and yet it is definitely legal in all 50 states to modulate headlights. If they were white and you called them modulated headlights, well... :unsure:

 
I looked at those TIR 3's a while back and wasn't sure if they could do what I wanted them to do. Also, seeing as they seem to be used for rescue vehicles, emergency vehicles, and the light, I worried about issues glaring other drivers.

Could I wire them into my blinkers in order to have them turn on/off with the blinkers? If not, just how "moisture resistant" are they (is this term used just to keep people from submerging them in water, or would they not hold up in a rainstorm if I got caught in one?)

It sure would be nice to have lights that could flash and have different patterns. In case I needed to pull over on a dark night or in fog or rain. I can set it to flash and make sure everyone knows that there is a vehicle pulled over there.

Really for me, I think it's between the hyperlites and TIR 3s. Not sure if I want them to flash with the blinkers or not. I think it'd be alright if they did, but I don't feel it's a necessity. But I think all in all, I think I'm gonna stick with some sort of lights mounted to the forks, and, being in the army, bright reflective vest and bright jackets are a must already. I still am very unsure of a headlight modulator.

Alexi

 
+1 on Hi-Viz. A vest or jacket, and helmet if possible. In 2006 NZ did a study and the most important factor to accident avoidance ( way better than any crash ) was Hi-Viz equipment.

 
The Whelen lights have a lot of options. If they are set to "steady burn" mode, they will switch on and off with any power source. Thus, if you wire them in to a circuit that contains a flasher, the Whelen light will flash. I don't know if the FJR "hazard" switch is somehow separate from "both sides" of the turn signals; my concern is that you might get one side flashing with normal turn signal operation. (I'm new to FJR ownership, and haven't studied the wiring diagrams very hard.)

The Whelen lights cycle through their flash patterns with a momentary application of 12 volts. If you wired a momentary switch into the circuit you could cycle the lights from steady to a flash pattern (and back) as needed. I think I'd try that before I wired into the hazard circuit.

Headlight modulators are authorized via a provision in federal law which pretty narrowly defines what is allowed as a modulated motorcycle headlight. I know that Montana (and a few other states where I have looked at the state laws) use language that tracks very closely to the federal law to define when a modulated headlight is allowed. Modulating [flashing] a light that is not a motorcycle headlight probably will not meet the letter of the law, as I read those statutes. (I have not reviewed the laws of all the states, and do intend to not offer a legal opinion as to what is or is not legal in the various states.) I'm pretty comfortable in saying that under Montana law, modulating auxiliary lights is likely to draw a ticket. Flashing and alternating headlights for vehicles that are not covered under the specific modulator statute are expressly prohibited in Montana. It is my understanding that other states have similar laws - I've read some of them, so it is more than mere supposition. I carry a photocopy of the Montana statutes governing/authorizing the use of flashing amber lights on my BMW, just in case I have that discussion with a LEO somewhere.

That said, I'd be interested in hearing what somebody's actual experience is with flashing/modulating auxilary forward-facing lighting.

 
+1 on Hi-Viz. A vest or jacket, and helmet if possible. In 2006 NZ did a study and the most important factor to accident avoidance ( way better than any crash ) was Hi-Viz equipment.
I have it from a friend in the insurance industry that, statistically -- in the U.S., passive safety (at least for motorcycles) doesn't have a great track-record.

Having said that..., the Germans did a study on visible colors a long time ago and 2 colors really stood out -- 1st was chrome yellow (like hi-viz) followed closely by white.

 
Everyone says my 6k xenon HIDs are very noticeable. Granted, they don't make the best nighttime lighting (better than stock, IMO), but they can be seen 4-EVA.

-BD

 
+1 on Hi-Viz. A vest or jacket, and helmet if possible. In 2006 NZ did a study and the most important factor to accident avoidance ( way better than any crash ) was Hi-Viz equipment.
I have it from a friend in the insurance industry that, statistically -- in the U.S., passive safety (at least for motorcycles) doesn't have a great track-record.

Having said that..., the Germans did a study on visible colors a long time ago and 2 colors really stood out -- 1st was chrome yellow (like hi-viz) followed closely by white.
I think the Insurance industry is the one with the questionable track record, especially when it comes to use of statistics.

Jus' saying...

 
+1 on the HiViz. (See my avatar!)
Now, understand that you 'mericans generally drive pretty courteously (enforcement will do that) compared to the dickwads up here. I didn't expect to notice any difference. Well guess what. I now ride with it ALL THE TIME. The local ********* pirates make fun of it, but by and large, nobody really. But I DO see people noticing it in traffic. In fact, I've actually noticed people giving me more space behind me and it seems like fewer people driving in my blindspot (Pet peeve of mine.. up here, people will accelerate up behind you, then cruise DIRECTLY in your blindspot = WTF!)
Couldn't agree more with what you said about Canadian drivers and I'm putting Vancouver drivers up as the worst of the worst. Last year I spent the month of September touring through the western US and I did not have one single incident in that whole time with any type of vehicle. The day I came back across the border, I had to take evasive action twice in the 50 km between the border and my home. This experience has been repeated over and over again. And like you say, the reason is no enforcement.

 
Top