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night riding

opinion on night riding on long trips highway or byways
It's real nice to have extra lighting on your bike. The new lighting is effective and a lot more compact-LED. If you are in the heat of the day 90+, the night drop to 70 doesn't sound like much but it can be. Have a light coat or flannel shirt. Be careful and watch for the glowing eyes.
 
In one of my motorcycle books - I think it is "Ride Hard, Ride Smart" - there is a chapter on riding at night. Allow me to quote the entire chapter:

"Don't ride at night."

There are tricks like using other vehicle's headlights, etc. but no matter how careful you are, your odds of a crash go up exponentially after dark. Animals, tires, ladders, mattresses, stalled cars... often cannot be seen at a far enough distance for evasive action.

One of the most knowledgeable and respected safety instructors on the planet - Larry Grodsky(sp?) was killed when he hit a deer (or a deer hit him) when he was riding at night on his way to celebrate his mom's birthday.

Some people I know were driving in New Mexico one night. They saw something dark on the road just an instant before they felt a hard impact and their car went airborne. They had hit a bear. The bear and their car were totaled. If they had been on a motorcycle, they may not have survived.

I was driving - in my car - on I-20 in East Texas (deer country) doing about 70 one night and a couple on a Gold Wing passed me doing at least 80. I hope they made it home.
 
i often ride at "night"... well, oh-dark-thirty in the morning, getting an early start is how i like to tour.

you get 5-8 hours of cool temps and can really lay down some miles before the sun beats down and madding crowd is out and about. and you get to turn-in early, so that you don't have to ride at night. :D

of course, a sharp eye is kept out for critters, road gators and sleepy truck drivers, and a good set of lights aimed correctly is critical.

i also use some galls reflective tape on my jesse boxes, same stuff they use on emergency vehicles. It positively glows when headlights hit it, even from a long distance away. yet it's very inconspicuous during the day. (i am not a neon fan)

at some point in time you have to ride at night, you can manage the risks, however you have to realize that they're much higher in the dark.

ian

caveat: NEVER ride at night in Mexico or many other foreign countries. people drive without headlights there.
 
There's something alright about night riding that I enjoy. It has sucked at times, much less after the HID upgrade.

I've covered a lot of distance with no sun all over this land of ours.

The SW desert is wicked cool at dusk-night, riding on the moon.

If not stuck in the rain, it will be the night. Just got to go with it at times.
 
Up early and in early, safest bet. Watching for critters is OK in theory, but deer are known to pop out quickly, and even run into the side of a moving vehicle, good brakes will not help that scenario.
 
i also use some galls reflective tape on my jesse boxes, same stuff they use on emergency vehicles. It positively glows when headlights hit it, even from a long distance away. yet it's very inconspicuous during the day. (i am not a neon fan)


and put some on the bottom of your boxes just in case that's what is currently being exposed to headlights:whistle
 
thanks for all opinions in the end I guess it's how much more risk to take. but cooler night weather is a plus

again thanks
 
Beware of tunnel vision. Without the long-distance scenery to encourage you to move your eyes around, it's easy to focus too narrowly on the asphalt ahead and oncoming headlights.

Oncoming headlights contribute to eye fatigue - your pupils are wide open for the night, they close down when another vehicle approaches, and it takes 15 to 20 minutes for them to resettle back to "open" again. Constant shifting of light levels (even when riding through dense foilage) contributes to eyestrain.

Unless your body clock is already accustomed to "second shift" or "third shift" life, beware of fatigue. The mind can drift off and you may not realize it.
 
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What is night? Around here we have summer = light... ride at all times; or, winter = dark....pout...no riding.
 
A nice theory, it works when you enter a long tunnel, but -
That totally destroys your depth perception. You need that to be a safe driver, especially at night.
We see in three dimensions because of the placement of our eyes. (Note that most predators have their eyes in one grouping, while most prey have their eyes far apart, in many cases on opposite sides of their head; birds of prey are an exception to this but they have other skills to compensate with.) This allows the brain to judge the rate of change of motion of perceived threats, a very necessary skill on a bike.
And trying to close one eye while cars are constantly oncoming (or passing) will add to the strain. Try it.
 
Beware of tunnel vision. Without the long-distance scenery to encourage you to move your eyes around, it's easy to focus too narrowly on the asphalt ahead and oncoming headlights.

Oncoming headlights contribute to eye fatigue - your pupils are wide open for the night, they close down when another vehicle approaches, and it takes 15 to 20 minutes to have them resettle back to "open" again. Constant shifting of light levels (even when riding through dense foilage) contributes to eyestrain.

Unless your body clock is already accustomed to "second shift" or "third shift" life, beware of fatigue. The mind can drift off and you may not realize it.

Great post!
 
didn't ya ever see the original movie The Time Machine? There's stuff out there in the dark..... Honestly, I really prefer not to ride when it's dark...... 30 years ago I could live forever but as closing time is out there in the mist I prefer to stand back whenever I can and take the Bright Side of the Road. However, on the inevitable flip side: isn't it beautiful to ride on a moonlit night on some lonesome backroad.... maybe along a river or lake....or, in our case- the ocean. Ha, remember the days when you could just turn off the lights for short periods..... and ride? I can't be the only one. - Bob
 
Yeah Bob...used to do that in my youth...rode many nights on the beach under moonlight...might have killed a few fiddler crabs:dunno Found a kids huge sandcastle and foxhole one night...that didn't end well...broken chain and smashed cookies:banghead



Another one of those risk/reward activities...we don't unless we get caught out trying to get to a final destination...My bike is set up for those times...and it does happen on occasion. Helen falls in behind me at a safe distance and hopes I scare the critters away...skunks and armadillos are negotiable usually...deer/elk/bears are not!
Big diff from riding in Urban Jungles under High Pressure Sodium streetlighting than out in the "country". Too each his own, but we park after dark most of the time. Back in my Houston years, one could ride anywhere at night.
 
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