Motorcycle high beams

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  • Bikers not dimming their lights


    • Total voters
      0

    Nightwalker65

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jun 19, 2011
    1,330
    36
    Seymour
    Maybe I'm just getting more irritable the older I get....but I find it extremely annoying when oncoming motorcycle riders don't dim their lights the ways cars have to.........I have nothing against motorcycles,and I understand the desire for more visibility(to see and be seen),but DANG! some of those lights are blinding..........anyone else find this as annoying as I do?
     

    phrozen5100

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Feb 1, 2009
    263
    16
    IN
    I find far more annoying the jacked up trucks and SUVs whose drivers pay absolutely no attention to the vertical adjustment of the headlights. In second place are the guys who throw HID kits into their Honda Civic or (insert other economy car whose stock reflector isn't designed for HIDs here).
     

    Tripp11

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jan 3, 2010
    1,180
    48
    Fishers, IN
    When I rode, my high beams would always be on during the daytime to increase my visibility; however, at night, the same rules of the road would apply, dim them when approaching oncoming traffic and coming up behind other vehicles in your lane.
     

    hornadylnl

    Shooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Nov 19, 2008
    21,505
    63
    My stock bulbs are 60w high beam and 55w low beam. I replaced it with a 100/90. I get hit with brights every so often and did before I changed the bulb. I hit em with my brights and they back off.
     

    Stubbleducker

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Aug 19, 2009
    214
    18
    Indy
    When I rode, my high beams would always be on during the daytime to increase my visibility; however, at night, the same rules of the road would apply, dim them when approaching oncoming traffic and coming up behind other vehicles in your lane.

    X2

    during the day, anything at all I can do to get the people staring directly at me to actually see me is a good investment. If it annoys you, all the better, at least you know I'm here.
    At night, rules of the road apply.
     

    ATOMonkey

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 15, 2010
    7,635
    48
    Plainfield
    I think it's dumb. I never turn on my brights.

    What happens when people look at you? They drive towards what they're looking at.

    No thanks. I ride like I'm invisible, it's better than loud pipes and bright lights combined.
     

    Ronald

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 8, 2011
    199
    18
    I think it's dumb. I never turn on my brights.

    What happens when people look at you? They drive towards what they're looking at.

    No thanks. I ride like I'm invisible, it's better than loud pipes and bright lights combined.

    That may apply to oncoming traffic but what about cars getting ready to pull out into your lane? Many motorcycle accidents involving other vehicles happen because the driver didn't see the motorcyclists.
     

    ATOMonkey

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 15, 2010
    7,635
    48
    Plainfield
    If someone is going to pull out in front of you, a bright light isn't going to help.

    If you don't see a motorcycle that already has their light on, you're not going to notice if the light is a little brighter.

    Most people pull out in front of motorcycles (which happens very very seldom, most motorcycle accidents only involve the motorcycle), because they're trained to see cars not motorcycles, so it just doesn't register in their head.
     

    schafe

    Master
    Rating - 66.7%
    2   1   0
    Oct 15, 2009
    1,785
    38
    Monroe Co.
    Maybe I'm just getting more irritable the older I get....but I find it extremely annoying when oncoming motorcycle riders don't dim their lights the ways cars have to.........I have nothing against motorcycles,and I understand the desire for more visibility(to see and be seen),but DANG! some of those lights are blinding..........anyone else find this as annoying as I do?
    This phenomenon is certainly not limited to motorcycles. Beyond the fact that very few vehicle owners ever check their headlight alignment, there are many low quality headlight assemblies on vehicles which have poorly defined cutoff patterns, and many times what we percieve on the receiving end of a low beam, appears as a high beam. That having been said, I do use my high beams anytime oncoming traffic will not be blinded. I've had enough close calls nearly hitting deer while riding,(one of my worst fears as a rider) that I need all the forewarning I can get. What's just a fender bender deer collision for a cager can be deadly for a motorcyclist.
     

    Tripp11

    Expert
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    1   0   0
    Jan 3, 2010
    1,180
    48
    Fishers, IN
    I think it's dumb. I never turn on my brights.

    What happens when people look at you? They drive towards what they're looking at.

    No thanks. I ride like I'm invisible, it's better than loud pipes and bright lights combined.

    I honestly have never heard another motorcycle rider say, "I ride like I'm invisible." All of my fellow riders want to be as visible to other motorists as possible, and we do so by using high beams during the day, wearing high vis gear, and riding in pairs as much as possible. We also ride smart and defensively.

    One of the most common sayings in a car/motorcycle crash by the car driver is, "I never saw them."

    Plus, I look at all sorts of potential hazards all around me while driving every single day, and I don't drive towards any of them. Why do you drive directly at things you look at? I guess I'm confused by that statement.
     

    Ronald

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 8, 2011
    199
    18
    If someone is going to pull out in front of you, a bright light isn't going to help.

    If you don't see a motorcycle that already has their light on, you're not going to notice if the light is a little brighter.

    Most people pull out in front of motorcycles(which happens very very seldom, most motorcycle accidents only involve the motorcycle), because they're trained to see cars not motorcycles, so it just doesn't register in their head.

    What? That happens all the time around here. Whether they didn't see the light or bike itself the point is they weren't seen. I'm not sure why you want to be even more "invisible" when you yourself admit that people don't see motorcycles in the first place. Brights may not help, but then again they might, so that's enough reason for me.
     

    451_Detonics

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Mar 28, 2010
    8,085
    63
    North Central Indiana
    When I ride I do so knowing every single driver want to hit me...and so I ride very defensively.

    As for people who don't dim their brights I will flash my brights once to remind them, that doesn't work I turn my brights on along with my 55 watt halogen driving lights and turn the road into daytime...that usually does the job.
     

    686 Shooter

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    29   0   0
    Feb 20, 2010
    838
    18
    Huntington County
    When I rode I always had my driving lights on (Road King or Electra Glide), people would always flash their brights at me, driving lights are not "brights", so if you see a motorcycle with three lights on, usually, they are not "brights". Harleys are designed that if the brights are on, the driving lights won't function. Also Road Glides have 2 headlights, those aren't "brights" either. As an added note, I Never tried to ride "invisible", I have this strong desire to live.
     

    hornadylnl

    Shooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Nov 19, 2008
    21,505
    63
    When I rode I always had my driving lights on (Road King or Electra Glide), people would always flash their brights at me, driving lights are not "brights", so if you see a motorcycle with three lights on, usually, they are not "brights". Harleys are designed that if the brights are on, the driving lights won't function. Also Road Glides have 2 headlights, those aren't "brights" either. As an added note, I Never tried to ride "invisible", I have this strong desire to live.

    Iwired around it. My driving lights stay on all the time.
     

    686 Shooter

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    29   0   0
    Feb 20, 2010
    838
    18
    Huntington County
    When I rode I always had my driving lights on (Road King or Electra Glide), people would always flash their brights at me, driving lights are not "brights", so if you see a motorcycle with three lights on, usually, they are not "brights". Harleys are designed that if the brights are on, the driving lights won't function. Also Road Glides have 2 headlights, those aren't "brights" either. As an added note, I Never tried to ride "invisible", I have this strong desire to live.

    Iwired around it. My driving lights stay on all the time.

    usually, they are not "brights".
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 91.7%
    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
    63
    Bedford, IN
    When I rode, my high beams would always be on during the daytime to increase my visibility; however, at night, the same rules of the road would apply, dim them when approaching oncoming traffic and coming up behind other vehicles in your lane.
    You may not realize it because it's bright out and you're behind the light, but even in the daytime a bright light on a motorcycle is blinding, almost to the point that it could increase danger. :twocents:
     

    $mooth

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Mar 27, 2010
    662
    16
    Texas
    I find far more annoying the jacked up trucks and SUVs whose drivers pay absolutely no attention to the vertical adjustment of the headlights. In second place are the guys who throw HID kits into their Honda Civic or (insert other economy car whose stock reflector isn't designed for HIDs here).

    The HID retrofit kits aren't terrible if people would re-align their lights. If you don't lower them, they'll blind the **** out of everyone around you.
    Generally, even stock HIDs bother me. BMWs are the worse offenders for some reason. they make my eyes hurt.
     

    Hoosierdood

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Nov 2, 2010
    5,360
    149
    North of you
    2 rules for motorcycle riding:

    1. Nobody sees you. They may look right at you, but they won't see you.
    2. Everyone is out to kill you. They will cut you off, pull in front of you and try to run you over.

    With these rules in mind, I understand why some riders drive with their brights on. They want to increase visibility. I was annoyed by it until I started riding myself. Now, as a rider I completely understand.

    That being said, I dont use my high beam unless there is no traffic. My bike is almost as big as the compact cars on the road (I ride a Goldwing). Not only that, but I have it lit up like a Christmas tree. Eight amber lights on the front, 24 additional running lights on the back, neon underglows, and a pair of 55w halogen driving lights. I also have 2 flags that are 9"X18" on the back - American flag and Gadsden flag. Even with all that, there are still knuckleheads who cut me off and pull in front of me. That's why I also have 2 horns that are 34db each.

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