Night Riding (...that sounds ominous!).

Just wonder what some of you guys think about riding at night. Last night, as I was coming home from a little late afternoon jaunt...it kind of dawned on me...I getting where I really don't care for riding that much at night. It's not so much the anemic stock lights that are prevalant with a lot of bikes. It's rather the opposing headlights...seem like they rob me a lot of focusing moreso nowadays (I hope I'm putting it into words correctly)....when I was a youngster, I favored night trips over day...but I think father time is catching up with me. Any opinions?

An anti-reflection coating on your bifocals helps, dude.

And some major photon emitters........

mully

May have to look into that...because this old man does wear the bifocals!

I still like the night rides. I pick my moments, full moon, no moon, etc. I like to travel at night during trips. I don't like the dusk time of day, deer races

How about the BMWRA rally?

Hey Pops!

Night riding is fun!

I would like that kind...just don't care for the opposing beams!

I know this sounds obvious, but - don't look at oncoming headlamps. Although the eyes' natural reaction is to look at bright lights in a dark environment, doing so (fairly obviously) loses you any night vision you've developed.

Practice looking as far down the nearside (right side to you, left to me ) kerb as you can, when you detect a vehicle approaching. Looking any further towards the oncoming lights will not gain you any view, as well as risking dazzling yourself.

Mike

i ride every night to work and agreed with you, major PIA. if the cagers and their lights aren't bad enough what about all the reflectorized crap out there; line markers, guard rail markers, signs every 30 feet, and my favorite is driveways; must be a contest to see how many markers the next guy can put up! not long ago i even saw one idiot had used two smv triangles at his drive. isn't there laws for these type?
when you're riding out there just once in a while that's o.k., but hell i know the deer by first name over here.
and yes your eyes change as you get older.
something for you fledglings to look forward to.

Central OH! Welcome.

thanks for the welcome.
been here a while.
don't post much, but try to keep up.

Tictock raises a good point. I have plenty of illumination on the front of my GS in the form of 520s, 1200s and hot-rodded bulbs, but on my latest trip I had a very bad experience at night.

I was pushing the edges of dark, fatigue, and weather to get to Kenora, Ontario for the night (should have stopped in Winnipeg). I had failed to realize that it was Sunday night, and all the cagers are coming back from the cottage. So, into a steady stream of headlights I went in the pouring rain, with nearly 500 watts of useless lighting on the front of my scooter. Whenever I did get a break in the traffic, the fucking reflectorized everything killed any chance I had of seeing a deer or moose anyway.

End rant.

I try to avoid riding at night on longer trips or in traffic but I have found a type of night riding I really enjoy.

If I am in the need for some relaxation or just in the mood for some "wind" I will hop on the bike after dark and try to get myself lost on local dirt roads. I almost never see another car and I am usually going slow enough that I hope I can avoid most animals running into my path or at least cause minimal damage if I do hit something. The trip usually ends up taking an hour or two and covers around 50 miles or so.

Since I do this alone, with no cell phone, and totally spontaneously I am sure it will bite me one night but so be it.

Jim

Rode home in the dark and rain last night. Like you, komet, I found the oncoming headlights to be the biggest problem. I know to focus on my lane and not stare at the lights, but between the rain, bug guts, and scratches on my shield, the glare was considerable. Out on my own on a unlit, sparsely signed rural highway, I could see reasonably well, but not so well that I was completely comfortable.

I love night riding. Dangerous, but very meditative.

Maybe Mully was just pulling your chain, but if you are one
(like me) who's vision requires corrective lenses, there ARE a lot of things that can be done to improve night vision.

I find my night vision with contacts is MUCH better than with eyeglasses. Perhaps because they stay cleaner, and unscratched. Also, I can wear cheap sunglasses during the day, which helps preserve my night vision. The only problem they cause with riding is I have to manage airflow inside the visor so my eyes don't dry out too much. Every year, contacts improve and get easier to wear. If you tried them a long time ago, and they didn't work out, it may be worth another look.

AR coatings can buy you about 10% more light transmission on high-index plastic lenses. The caveat is that they need to be spotless to work. A fingerprint negates the AR function. There is less reflection off lower index materials, so AR coatings don't do as much good there.

Many of the high index-of-refraction plastics will result in nasty aberations that are especially noticeable at night....and worse with strong perscriptions (where they tend to be promoted due to the weight advantage) Blinding lights are bad enough without
large rainbows around them.

Edge polishing can cause trouble at night too (prisms at the edges) so forget fashion and stick with matt ground edges.

As far as bifocals go, if you are getting rainbows off the edge of the lower lens, gradient lenses might help. If you just barely need bifocals, you may find contacts allow enough accomidation range that you don't really need the bifocals.

kevo, not to criticize your good info. on contact lenses but will that help the lazy DOT crew that won't remove the shipping label from the back of signs? a label made out of scrap reflective material from the sign co..

ever wonder what that little rectangle glaring back at you is?

I too rode home the other night in the rain - even with hopeless lights and...well hopeless everything I had no problems - even when I turned the ign off by mistake and it all went black and quiet.But on that urban fringe with no street lights but more cars it was getting dangerous.These city fringe dwellers in their SUVs just love to have everything on...and to dip your lights for only a motorcycle is a waste of wattage.

I find this gets their attention...

This is all I had to hit em with.