Headlights on Hi or Low?

Buy a second fender for cheap on eBay and go crazy with the fiberglass

 

That's the plan. Need to find lights that I like also and there are clearance and wiring issues. Also, waiting for LED lighting to come down in price since those will be easier on the bike's electrical system.

 

If it doesn't bother you great, but my whole point in starting this thread was that, IMO and in my own personal experience having your brights on during the day is worse than having your low beam on. Low beam still is pretty obvious and much better than no light at all but it still allows you to figure out where and how fast that motorcycle is going. High beam (to my eyes at least) just tells me there's a bike somewhere coming toward me but it doesn't let me pin point it. To me that's more dangerous than the alternatives.

Pugga's flashing tail light is a GREAT idea, I haven't done it yet but I try to manually do it when I'm stopping. I've read too many stories and seen too many youtube vids where a bike gets rear ended by an idiot.

 

LOW! If you want to be more visible; a headlight flasher, fog lamp, or high-vis reflective gear can all help. General high beam use is illegal and distracting. It is worse for safety because it makes it harder for other drivers to determine your speed and distance from them. As for those with the opinion of "I'd rather annoy a cager than be hit by one", annoying one is a good way to find yourself on the ground. The more things we do as riders to get respect instead of hatred from cagers and cops the better off we all are. Every little bit of negative publicity we generate goes against us all. Smart riding is what keeps you safe, whether a hooligan or a tourer, there is no safety gear more important than the squishy thing between your ears. I've enjoyed putting on a hog and pinning speedos on sportbikes, each has it's dangers and fun. Ride smart, stay alive, and try to be mindful so we can continue to enjoy our sport with minimal legislation against us.

 

X2 and helmets should be mandatory, in all states!

 

Donzi's post made a lot of sense so I hope you aren't trying to say it doesn't?

 

Only if you're not a fan of personal responsibility and individual freedom. I wear full gear most of the time because I want to. I don't believe anyone should be mandated to protect themselves from themselves.

 

I agree with Donzi, that's why I quoted & X2. I also agree with the personal responsibility statement. That said, unfortunately there are people out there that are to stupid to protect themselves and the rest of us have to pay higher auto & health insurance rates.

 

The statistics on this are all over the place and hard to nail down. Yes, helmets reduce the likelihood of major head trauma which is expensive, but they also save lives and there's no cost to our medical insurance for DOA so some of the would be injuries are cancelled out by no medical treatment needed. I think most crashes that would land a person in the hospital for head trauma will likely land them there anyway for roadrash and broken bones if they weren't wearing full gear. Wearing good full gear is well proven to eliminate hospital trips in all but the gnarliest of crashes. I've witnessed a few crashes on group rides. For comparisons; a 120+MPH wheelie loop that resulted in a very totaled ZX14, but no injuries (full gear)----a 60ish MPH low side that messed up a 'busa and landed the guy in the hospital (helmet only). His helmet was seriously F'd up, hard to say if he woulda lived without it. He actually showed up for the ride with no helmet and we told him he wasn't allowed to ride with us lidless so he borrowed one. I somehow knew that F'ing squid was going to be the one to crash and I didn't want our trip ruined by spilled brains; exploded skulls tend to suck the fun out of a good time. Guy 1 was about 40 years old, guy 2 was 18 and I find it typical that younger guys are less likely to gear up. We older dudes have figured out that we're not invincible and many of us now suffer with the injuries of our 'bullet proof' past.

Back on headlights; the high beam thing seemed to be a growing trend a few years back and I think enough people did it that it became enough of a discussion point that the word spread and they were re-educated. I don't see nearly as many high beams as I did a year+ back and I'm glad. On the surface it seems the smart thing to do, but it just isn't and that's been well substantiated.

 

i have no credible input on this. but mine are on low during the day, and thats usually how they stay

 

High beam during the day.
After sunset, same rules as for the cage... except I use the high beam a lot more often at night on the bike than in the cage.

High beam during the day is not confusing and doesn't make it harder for the cagers to judge where and what you are... it gets you seen. The low beam just blends in with the millions of DRLs on the road.
Better still is a headlight modulator. I can't run one with my HID headlight, but they work, and are 50-state legal so long as they have a photocell that automatically kills the modulation at night.

Full-time headlight on a motorcycle has been a Federal requirement for all motorcycles manufactured from 1978 and on.

 

Unless something has changed since my wife took her MSF class in 2006, it is recommended that the high beams be used at all times during daylight hours.
This is not illegal.

 

That's odd. My brother was a motorcycle safety trainer and they specifically instructed against the practice of high beam use for the reasons already given. The law states that you must use low beam within 500ft of an oncoming vehicle and 300ft behind. This might be a nighttime only requirement, I don't recall if they stipulate day/night on that statute. Motorcycle cops don't run on high beam and it's not in any of the recommendations in the DMV motorcycle safety handbook. I asked a cop once and he did say it was illegal, but I didn't have him quote the statute so no guarantee he was right.
I think it depends a lot on the headlight some aren't all that bright, some are blinding. Most cruisers and any of the old type round lights are usually not that bright, some modern lights are.
For me, I do find that it makes it harder to judge the distance and speed of an oncoming vehicle when the lights are too bright and I've heard the same from others. Maybe some people don't have this problem. If you're one that doesn't have that problem I could see you thinking it's not a bad idea, but be aware that other people do have this problem and we're driving amongst you every day. I'm betting if an accident happened and it was shown that the high beam may have been a distraction (contributing factor) you could find yourself on the loosing side of a court decision, especially if it is illegal.

 

Absolutely the case at night, but during the day it is legal.

The use of headlight modulators has been tested in court and ruled 50-state legal, so long as the modulator is configured in a way that shuts off at night. The modulator does not flick between high and low beam (which would quickly age the filaments), but rather runs the high beam on a variable voltage so as to ramp the wattage between approximately 60w and 40w.

If use of the high beam were illegal during the day, then headlight modulators would likewise be illegal.