make my Monster BRIGHTER!

[Xanthoria]

I was on my way to work today on my Monster 695 and almost got taken out by someone turning left from a side road into my lane. At a light she said "I just didn't see you all in black!" 

OK well she may have a point:



It's pretty blacked out. And my helmet and jacket are black.

What can I do to make it more visible? I am not keen on fluorescent colors (jacket, helmet etc) but was thinking more like running lights on the handlebar ends? Additional lights (fog lights?) above the twin headlight (where there's a funky gap between them and the odo/speedo)?  Just spray paint the whole thing with reflective paint?

I already have a brake light modulator. And I'm planning to change my indicators to round, bullet shape so prefer something that works with that ideally.

thanks.

[Dirty Duc]

"Almost taken out?"

If she didn't see you and pulled out... in all likelihood you could have been covered head to toe in retroreflective flourescent safety gear with a flashing light on top of your helmet and had the same result.

Crash Course - The SMIDSY

IMO, if people pull out in front of a bright red 3/4 ton pickup, nothing you can do to color will make you more visible.

[SpikeC]

 I once watched a fellow rea read a city bus. Your only real defense is to see them first.

[thorn14]

I threw some black retroreflective tape on my trellis (but only really helps at night).


Similar to this except the color comes out more tan than white when light hits it.

[rufus1138]

I once watched a fellow rea read a city bus. Your only real defense is to see them first.

+1 to this a million times, you have to see them first, however being flashy obnoxious, noisy and learning to ride cautiously aggressive are never a bad thing.

[Triple J]

What were the conditions when you were riding? Dark outside, raining, foggy, etc?

If it was a nice sunny morning, then I agree with the rest...doesn't matter what you do.

If it was dark out then I think brighter gear can make a difference. I ride at night (and rain), and wear bright colors. I figure it can't hurt. When in my truck I've noticed that motorcyclists in all black are definitely harder to see at night. Our lights are generally small and not bright enough.

Couple easy things:

- Get a white helmet. They're easier to see.
- Put a strip of reflective tape on the back of the helmet...not noticeable during the day, but lights up super bright when taillights hit it (I know, not the problem you had, but getting hit from behind is still a concern).
- Add some small accessory lights to the middle or bottom of your forks. It will give 3 points of light when people see you from the front, which catches the eye a little easier.

Like others have said though...none of this is fool proof. Anticipation is your best tool. Making yourself a bit easier to see never hurts though.

[Xanthoria]

Thanks folks. Yeah, it was a bright clear morning so I guess the driver was to blame, but also I was relentlessly checking my rearview mirror to make sure my husband wasn't left at the previous light on his bike, so I wasn't being as pessimistic about drivers as usual.

I'll get some extra lights anyway. My helmet and jacket have reflectors on the back. I quite like the wheel reflectors too.

[1.21GW]

Ambulance siren constantly screaming would help in the day.  Would probably make your ride experience more miserable, though.

[MotoPsycho]

I remember seeing a long time ago on TOB this guy that had an axe handle mounted on his frame to use as an attention getter if people were cutting him off. Something to think about.

[Grampa]

Paint it MrFry pink

[kopfjäger]

They're 'all' invisible. Drive accordingly. 

[ducatiz]

PathBlazer and TailBlazer

[d3vi@nt]

I've been contemplating this option to add running lights functionality to the signals. Seems like it should help increase the visibility profile.

http://www.customled.com/products/blinker-genie

[ducatiz]

I ride with the PathBlazer -- cars get out of the way.

[S21FOLGORE]

OK, I’ll make this post a little bit serious. (Because “Sorry I didn’t see you” kind of incident is getting more and more common, it seems. And you may not get so lucky next time it happens ...)

Here are some good stuff to read.

“Rolling blind spot”
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=927856

“Inattentional Blindness”
http://www.motolight.com/page/481485610

“Triangle of light”
http://www.motolight.com/page/481477660
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24184322

“Hurt study”
http://www.motolight.com/page/481485612

Daytime running lights article by Daniel Stern
http://mbz.org/articles/lighting/drl/

Placement of the auxiliary lights matters. (Basically, the set up that works best as daytime conspicuity lights does not work really well for illuminating the night road and vice versa. So you have to find the compromise that works best for “your” need.)
Also, the color (amber get you noticed better), beam pattern make difference.
My set up. (they are primarily for night time illumination. But also do decent job as conspicuity lights.)
Cyclops LED

Good example (product) for what you’re describing.
http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/PB_Features.shtml

About the color of the gear / bike.
If you like black, that’s what you want to ride / wear. Add some reflective material / auxiliary lights is a good idea.
Solid black is actually better than the gear with too busy graphics. Ever heard of “dazzle camouflage” ? During WW1 and 2, they painted the ships with complex geometric patterns with contrasting colors. Dazzle camouflage is not about making ships invisible. It’s about disruption, confusion. It makes it difficult to judge the size and the shape of the target (ship), makes it difficult to judge the speed and the direction of the target, as well as the distance to the target.
http://io9.com/an-illustrated-history-of-unbelievably-camouflaged-ship-676257937

You can create the same effect with some motorcycle gear with “dazzling” graphics.

I switched my riding gear to Hi-Viz yellow this year.