Night Riding

[NancysToy]

If you have ever been a pilot in the military, you had to pass a blind cockpit check. Put a sandbag, or what ever over your head and have someone make you identify and move every control, switch, major cuircuit beaker, handle, etc. It wasn't easy in the days of analog instruments and flight directors, round motors and iron men, I can't imagine how an F-18 or CH53 pilot can do it these days. All the new gadgets, screens, tiny switches, ect are much more numerous than in what we old antiquated guys flew. A few switches like on the Spyder cannot be that big a challenge to memorize. Try it and keep your eyes up and out for the deer and all the hazards in and on the road. I found myself floundering around in a heck of a rain storm a couple weeks ago trying to raise the windshield a little - shame on me!! No matter how many times you blow the horn, the w/s won't move.
:cheers:
Tuck

Same procedure to obtain a competition driver's license. The blind cockpit test is an intergal part of that, too. I pays to become instinctively familair with the controls no matter what kind of vehicle you drive, ride, or fly.

 

[Well Hell]

dark controls

While I agree that having them lit would be wonderful. I have tried to learn the location of the various controls, kind of like fighter pilots do. They can find all of the control buttons on the joy sticks by feel. Soooooo...... pretend your Tom Cruise and feel away.:roflblack: It takes time and pratice and at least it one less thing to be recalled. I can see it now. "SPYDERS RECALLED HAND GRIPS CATCH FIRE":yikes: :cus: And you thought your feet were hot.:banghead:

 

[Bazeel]

Doing blind tests ALWAYS makes you feel like an idiot, no matter what your previous experience with them has been. I used to have to do blind grab and go's with my aid bag, and in our Med Stryker. It works, you just feel silly trying to learn to do it.

 

[Flanker]

Lighting by Lucas:The "Prince of Darkness"! :shocked:

Darn! You beat me to it!

 

[GeoffCee]

...if you didn't ride a Brit bike. In that case one or both of them vibrated enough to fail within the first 50 miles. :roflblack:

So Brit bikes were the testbed for Philips and Osram to design better longer lasting bulbs? :joke:

 

[boborgera]

None of the controls on my Harley's are lit, I do a lot of night riding and i have no problem finding the horn, turn singles, and brights, If you ride enough hitting the right buttons becomes second nature..
Most of my other bikes were lit, But i don't think i ever needed them lit, My thumbs just found the right buttons...:dontknow:

 

[GeoffCee]

None of the controls on my Harley's are lit, I do a lot of night riding and i have no problem finding the horn, turn singles, and brights, If you ride enough hitting the right buttons becomes second nature..
Most of my other bikes were lit, But i don't think i ever needed them lit, My thumbs just found the right buttons...:dontknow:

We changed our car from one which had the light controls on the right and the screen wipers on the left of the steering wheel to one which had them the other way round. Took a long time to get used to this even though we KNEW that the controls were now on opposite sides. You feel really stupid when you signal a left turn by switching on the wipers! This went on for weeks until we adapted to the new layout. pps: I sometimes reach for the (non existent) front brake lever on my RT, a habit from my motorcycling days which ended 5 years ago!

 

[lookerjdc]

I HERE YOU, BUT STILL THINK IT WOULD BE A SAFETY FACTOR IF ALL CONTROLS INCUDING EMERG S/D BUTTON HAD BACKROUND LIGHTING, COULDN'T HURT

:agree:

 

[NancysToy]

We changed our car from one which had the light controls on the right and the screen wipers on the left of the steering wheel to one which had them the other way round. Took a long time to get used to this even though we KNEW that the controls were now on opposite sides. You feel really stupid when you signal a left turn by switching on the wipers! This went on for weeks until we adapted to the new layout. pps: I sometimes reach for the (non existent) front brake lever on my RT, a habit from my motorcycling days which ended 5 years ago!

Wait until you try to switch from a Honda or BMW to an old Triumph or Harley Sprint (Aermacchi) and back again. :roflblack:

The old Indians (throttle on the left handlebar, spark retard on the right) could get you confused too. I usually do OK, but hitting both the rear brake and the shifter at the same time often happens for a few blocks until my brain switches gears. It never bothers me to grab air on the absent right hand lever on the Spyder. When I do it assures me that I will do things right when I switch to the Beemer.

 

[hotglue]

and my old Brit bikes... with gear shift on the right and brake on the left..... It seemed natural back then...nojoke

 

[GeoffCee]

and my old Brit bikes... with gear shift on the right and brake on the left..... It seemed natural back then...nojoke

I can attest to that. I had a break of 18 years from motorcycling while we raised a family. Then I bought a Kawasaki KH250, (a smelly 2-stroke with 3 cylinders), and a couple of times I found myself pressing hard on the gear lever instead of the foot brake, usually when stopping urgently was required! Once your body has learned to do stuff it seems reluctant to let the memory of it go.

 

[PistonBlown]

I can attest to that. I had a break of 18 years from motorcycling while we raised a family. Then I bought a Kawasaki KH250, (a smelly 2-stroke with 3 cylinders), and a couple of times I found myself pressing hard on the gear lever instead of the foot brake, usually when stopping urgently was required! Once your body has learned to do stuff it seems reluctant to let the memory of it go.

Know what you mean. If you've had a Royal Enfield then not only do you occasionally try and change gear with the brake pedal but you also try a put the bike in neutral with your right heel using the (missing) neutral finder lever. The Enfield is the only bike I know of that has one of these and despite mine being stolen in 1991, and having numerous Jap bikes since, I still occasionally try and do this.

 

[NancysToy]

I know what you guys mean. I switch fairly often but it always takes me longer to adapt to the right hand brake than to get used to the Triumph's left hander. I guess what we learn in our youth lasts the longest and takes the strongest hold on our brains.

 

[GeoffCee]

I know what you guys mean. I switch fairly often but it always takes me longer to adapt to the right hand brake than to get used to the Triumph's left hander. I guess what we learn in our youth lasts the longest and takes the strongest hold on our brains.

Your collection of bikes in a usable condition is probably a special case, extremely complicated, but I think you're right, youthful memories are the key, hence the wisdom of the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". If my wife ever overhears me telling a young person how things were "in my day" she has promised to shoot me!

As you know, in the UK we drive on the left but European countries drive on the right. I have taken the ferry across to France hundreds of times but not once have I been confused as to where I was supposed to be on the road. I find that a remarkable adaptation of memory without which I would have undoubtedly been involved in a head-on accident. (Unsurvivable at the speeds the French habitually drive at)! :shocked:

 

[Bob Denman]

You had the little triple? They were a fun little tooter! :thumbup:
I had one of them, and my riding buddy had the 400.
We killed MANY mosquitoes with the clouds of unburnt fuel that got spit out the pipes...

 

[GeoffCee]

Know what you mean. If you've had a Royal Enfield then not only do you occasionally try and change gear with the brake pedal but you also try a put the bike in neutral with your right heel using the (missing) neutral finder lever. The Enfield is the only bike I know of that has one of these and despite mine being stolen in 1991, and having numerous Jap bikes since, I still occasionally try and do this.

I've never experienced riding a Royal Enfield, it sounds like the kind of bike India would continue to manufacture, they seem to have a touching regard for British goods. I'm not sure why that should be, perhaps it has its roots in nostalgia. Was the neutral finder effective in all gears? If so I can only imagine it being used for free-wheeling down hill. Strange concept.:dontknow:

 

[GeoffCee]

You had the little triple? They were a fun little tooter! :thumbup:
I had one of them, and my riding buddy had the 400.
We killed MANY mosquitoes with the clouds of unburnt fuel that got spit out the pipes...

It was the unburnt fuel that caused us to part with it. We had a cupboard where we hung our riding gear and it was no fun opening the cupboard door after a day or two, it STANK of 2-stroke oil! Guess what I traded up to? - Kawasaki's 400 twin with a balancer shaft in the motor to make it vibrate less! After a year or so I traded that for a 4 cylinder Z650 to which I fitted a copy of a Wind Jammer III faring and panniers (bags). Made a great touring bike.

 

[PistonBlown]

I've never experienced riding a Royal Enfield, it sounds like the kind of bike India would continue to manufacture, they seem to have a touching regard for British goods. I'm not sure why that should be, perhaps it has its roots in nostalgia. Was the neutral finder effective in all gears? If so I can only imagine it being used for free-wheeling down hill. Strange concept.:dontknow:

It worked in any gear but first and to honest was by far the easiest way to get the bike into neutral particularly when the clutch started playing up in heavy traffic. Often when coming to a stop at lights etc it was easiest to slow down in 4th or 3rd heel it into neutral then select 1st to pull away again. I used to commute from Norwich to Ipswich and ride down to Oxford at the weekends to see my then girlfriend (now wife) so no wonder it came second nature A mate had an Indian one recently (though he's now got a Spyder) and they are good but looking closely so much has changed, they even have a 5 speed gearbox with lever on left and NO neutral finder. The Indian ones are less of a copy a more a case of gentle evolution .

 

[ThreeWheels]

OMG, this thread has certainly morphed

So let me add my 2 cents, or maybe 4 cents.

As to hand controls, I belong to a couple of riding clubs and you can always tell the guy who just bought a new bike.
He's the one who honks the horn when going around turns.
DAMHIKT.

As to switching bikes, I have a Piaggio BV250 scooter and a Spyder SM5.
While on the scooter, OCCASIONALLY, I will find myself speeding up and then inexplicably stopping myself in the middle of the road.
It seems that, as the bike revs up to the shift point, I instinctively pull in the clutch to start the shift.
Except the scooter has an automatic transmission and the left caliper is the front brake............

Sometimes I think I can make a fortune by charging admission for people to watch me make mistakes.....................................................

 

[ThreeWheels]

It worked in any gear but first and to honest was by far the easiest way to get the bike into neutral particularly when the clutch started playing up in heavy traffic. Often when coming to a stop at lights etc it was easiest to slow down in 4th or 3rd heel it into neutral then select 1st to pull away again. I used to commute from Norwich to Ipswich and ride down to Oxford at the weekends to see my then girlfriend (now wife) so no wonder it came second nature A mate had an Indian one recently (though he's now got a Spyder) and they are good but looking closely so much has changed, they even have a 5 speed gearbox with lever on left and NO neutral finder. The Indian ones are less of a copy a more a case of gentle evolution .

HUH ?? Are you sure you don't live in Connecticut ?

No, No, I'm sure you know where you are.
Same town names. Different country. I just thought it amusing.