High beam riding for safety

[CloverHillCrawler]

With the new leds on mine seem to induce road rage in people so I just keep them on low.

I had a dodge power wagon with a trailer destroy his trailer against a tree trying to kick debris off the side of the road to hit me because I was about 10 lengths behind him with my lows and fogs on during a sunny day. I had just come off the highway where I really wanted to be seen and didn't turn them off yet.

I only turn the fogs on when I am by myself now as if I have them on around other people it seems to induce slow speeds and brake checks from the cars in front of me.

 

[RazzleH]

With the new leds on mine seem to induce road rage in people so I just keep them on low.

I had a dodge power wagon with a trailer destroy his trailer against a tree trying to kick debris off the side of the road to hit me because I was about 10 lengths behind him with my lows and fogs on during a sunny day. I had just come off the highway where I really wanted to be seen and didn't turn them off yet.

I only turn the fogs on when I am by myself now as if I have them on around other people it seems to induce slow speeds and brake checks from the cars in front of me.

How do you know that your lights were the cause of the trailer accident? Did you get to talk to the driver?

 

[askitee]

Dead against it. It ticks me off when people come at me with High Beams on day or night. Its a way to alienate those who may not have disliked motorcyclists in the past.

 

[stmike 1800]

I always have my high beams (day time ) on

 

[PistonBlown]

Someone mentioned having their lights on full 'from dawn to dusk'

In the morning or evening if the sun is behind you having your lights on full can have the opposite affect to what you want. Rather than offering a clear silhouette to other drivers they help blend you into the bright background.

It's a form of camouflage called counter illumination.

I suspect modern led lighting may actually be worse for this its not a single beam so gives a more uniform spread of light.

 

[CloverHillCrawler]

How do you know that your lights were the cause of the trailer accident? Did you get to talk to the driver?

Nope never did, nor do I want to. I ended up having to "dodge" tree branches and trailer parts coming off that thing. Plus he just started weaving out of nowhere as I approached.

Alll I have to go by is cause and effect. I turn on highs or fogs = getting brake checked and people start going extremely slow in front of me. I will get brake checked when I am 10-15 car lengths behind a vehicle and not even near it.

 

[SpyderConvert]

When I was on 2 wheels, I always installed a headlight modulator when they were available. That "modulation" saved my bacon on more than one occasion! I first learned about them in a motorcycle magazine article in the early 80's that covered a study that was done somewhere (in the mid-west??). They had 300 people approach an intersection with a stop sign. Participants were instructed to NOT look either left or right, but straight ahead. 2 motorcycles approached the intersection, one from the left and one from the right. Only one of the motorcycles had a headlight modulator. In every incident, the study participant looked in the direction of the motorcycle with the headlight modulator, regardless of the direction from which the motorcycle approached! That sold me!

Yesterday, I went to the Kisan Electronics website to see if they had added a unit for the RT, thinking that I would have to write to them regarding any progress. To my surprise, they now offer a unit for the 2015 and 2016 newer CanAm Spyder with shutter- activated high beam! I will be calling them today to find out if they will work with LEDs, and I'll get back with the info.

Update: Spoke with Andy at Kisan yesterday and he said that the unit for the CanAm will work with LEDs. The unit is "plug and play", but you will have to do some tupperware removal. He told me that he has a video on the installation made by a dealer and said that if he can figure out how to send it, he will. If I get the video, I will post it.

 

[ARtraveler]

:agree: Wot 'e says! :thumbup:

And all of that also applies when it comes to lights &/or hi-vis colors etc. Mention was made earlier of how running your lights on high beam might make a driver think that you're a 'normal vehicle' that's a lot further away than you really are because of how close your left & right headlights are when compared to those other 'normal vehicles', altho I believe that's generally a lot more of an issue at night time/in the dark; but there's a lot of evidence & research out there to support the likelihood that lights &/or bright colors, especially bright lights, are far more effective at making you visible at a distance than they are when they're close up!! The premise is that once you get within about 30 metres of another vehicle, the number & brightness of lights or colors you have on you/your machine MAY NOT HELP YOU BE 'SEEN' in quite the manner you expect!! :lecturef_smilie: . In fact, having a lot of lights or extra bright lights might even make the brain of a viewer at least partially block out that sector of said viewer's vision once you get up close ie, where you are most ast risk of a collision - so that other driver who blindly pulled out in front of you may well have been unable to 'see' you BECAUSE of all your bright lights, rather than 'despite' them!! :shocked:

The technique of weaving a bit in your lane & so continually changing your 'range & bearing' in their field of vision, so that you don't just appear as a 'gradually increasing in size object' that could be mistaken for a car further away than you as a rider actually are has been proven to work in a wide range of conditions/circumstances at increasing how soon & how close other drivers really do get to 'notice' you enough to warrant avoiding; so given the earlier info about lights & how bright they are, even if you do ryde with your lights on high during daylight hours (like me) or if you have extra bright lights/wear hi-vis colors etc, you really might want to include that 'weaving a bit in your lane' thing as you approach other vehicles/intersections etc just to be sure to be sure! :thumbup:

RE: weaving in the lane. I would be afraid that the local police would watch that action and then pull one over to check them for DUI. Seen that happen on a lot of the COP shows. At night, it is harder to tell the police from the general population when looking at cars.

 

[milryder]

milryder, you do not say the year of your RT but my operator's guide gives instructions on adjusting headlights individually, left and right, including a picture of the right side light adjusting knob. FWIW, if you must replace a headlight bulb, or switch to LEDs, you must remove the adjusting cable to get the headlight assembly out and there are two possible holes the cable can be inserted into. Be certain you reinsert it into the correct one (mine are marked with a crayon) because inserting it in the wrong one can affect the headlight adjustment.

I have a '21 RT and looking at the manual it indicates both lights will be corrected simultaneously either vertically or horizontally by removing left mirror (vertical adj) and behind the glove box (horizontal).

 

[bikerbillone]

My practice when slowing down or making a stop is to tap the brake several times, if I have the time, to get attention behind me. Not sure it helps, but it makes me feel better.

 

[ARtraveler]

My practice when slowing down or making a stop is to tap the brake several times, if I have the time, to get attention behind me. Not sure it helps, but it makes me feel better.

:agree: x2

 

[Schreckftw]

On a Spyder they are both always on, shutters down or up, the distance between them is the same. On shutters down they might think one was farther away vs shutters up. I just keep my bobble head looking around.

That is not the way it is on the 2020+ RT. High beams turn on the inside lights on both sides. Low beams are on the outside only.

 

[Snoking1127]

That is not the way it is on the 2020+ RT. High beams turn on the inside lights on both sides. Low beams are on the outside only.

So we can say you are shutterless?

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I have a '21 RT and looking at the manual it indicates both lights will be corrected simultaneously either vertically or horizontally by removing left mirror (vertical adj) and behind the glove box (horizontal).

I think you misread the manual. Both high and low beam will adjust simultaneously, but the adjustment is individually done on left and right headlights. The illustration in the manual is for the LH light but it would be the same on the RH light.

 

[Bfromla]

My practice when slowing down or making a stop is to tap the brake several times, if I have the time, to get attention behind me. Not sure it helps, but it makes me feel better.

:2thumbs::clap:
& more reason for brake light modulation :firstplace https://www.rivcoproducts.com/?s=Soma
Nice addition that will modulate Leds while, oem lights stay solid. Mix the pattern up & hope more visible.

 

[Papa103]

This is what I look like during the day.

 

[safecracker]

Your new Spyder looks good ��. Bruce

 

[K80Shooter]

:2thumbs::clap:
& more reason for brake light modulation :firstplace https://www.rivcoproducts.com/?s=Soma
Nice addition that will modulate Leds while, oem lights stay solid. Mix the pattern up & hope more visible.

I added a modulator for my trunk brake light. I think it makes a lot of difference.

 

[always young]

I'll add my experience to this conversation about using your high beams during the daytime. On my prior bike, a 2012 Concours C14 sport touring bike, I had installed a Kissan headlight modulator (plug and play, no splicing of wires). It saved my butt more than once by being seen and got the thumbs up from more than one cop. I also had DLR lights on all the time as well. The only down side I guess :yikes: was that people kept thinking that I was cop on this bike and would pull off the road (coming and going) and pull over to let me pass on the highway. hyea: When I bought my 2016 F3-LTD I re-installed the same unit on this bike (same bulbs). I ride with the high beams and DRL (LED) on during the day all the time. I get the occasional flash from someone but I just give them a wave of thanks, they saw me. Again, I've gotten the thumbs up from more than one cop for my setup on this bike as well. I still have the stock headlight bulbs as I think the LED's might be too bright for a modulator. Yes, there is the odd twit out there that doesn't understand the purpose of the modulator, but so be it. :chill: When I've ridden with a group they always tell me that they can easily see me behind them. They don't complain about the modulation at all. I'll also let them know if I can see them behind me or not when they are only using their low beams. It wakes them up sometimes. :yikes: They just hate it when I can still keep up with them in the twisties on their C14's. Regular riders, not the hard core ones, even some of the regular guys can't keep up with them. Anyway, use whatever you're comfortable with and enjoy your ride and life.

 

[Bfromla]

I added a modulator for my trunk brake light. I think it makes a lot of difference.

OEM & long led tail/brake , small led are tail & blink with brake.:2thumbs: Couple times leading small group(3-5)had various comments on how was visibly
Different & noticeable. :clap::clap:
did same to two wheeler lic frame led are tail & blinks with brake