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I've been riding 48 years now, and had too many motorcycles to count. One thing I am keenly aware of is being seen by cars on the road, because I know that 2/3's of all serious accidents are frontal with the people in the car not seeing the motorcycle (Hurt Report - 1981) and the only thing you can do as a cyclist is to improve your visibility:
I make it a point to get lighting on all my street motorcycles and the most effective is to have some kind of triangulation in the lighting, so the traffic coming towards you sees at least three points of lights. With that goal in mind, here's what I have on my 2017 Road Glide Special.
* A pair of Custom Dynamic LED turn signal inserts that have built in running lamps .
* A pair of Cirius engine bar lights that I installed.
It's difficult to photo the front of a bike being lit-up due to glare, but this is the end result to share:
The other thing I do is wear only white or hi-viz helmets. No black or dark lids for me. Why? The helmet is the highest point on the your ride and black blends in with the road, white and hi-viz stand out. Just one more advantage you are trying to gain to keep from getting hit.
Couldn't agree more. I was looking at these lights from Custom Dynamics for the RGS for the windshield thinking that they may help with visibility from the front/side.
I've installed extra rear lighting on my bike but always wanted to 'light up' the front. Not a real easy task as I don't have a fairing to mount light to. One day I was sitting at a RR crossing waiting for the train and noticed that most trains have a triangular light pattern on them. It got me thinking and this is what I came up with. I've had quite a few positive comments on it.
I had one headlight bulb go out, both filaments, and these saved me. I've since installed an LED bulb.
They are pricey but well worth it.... buy a pair of Clearwater LED auxiliary lights. I got a set of the Darla models and used the front fork mount setup. You can see me coming from the Moon!!!
Agreed. I have the Clearwater Darla's mounted on the upper crashbar on my BMW GS, with the yellow lens cover. They're tops - and expensive. Decided I didn't need them on the Road Glide as I had the dual LED headlamps already
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Visibility : Lighting
