New Pants Please

[fizzwheel]

Had a nasty moment last night, was approaching a bend and a car coming in the opposite direction with headlights on main beam and fog lights on totally dazzled me and then the next minute I was looking at the hedge approaching at a rapid rate of knots. I had one of those of Sh*t I'm not going to make it moments.

I just couldnt see the road and missed the apex of the corner and ran very very wide.

TBH I totally sh*t myself and then proceeded to ride the rest of my journey at a very ( for me ) sedate pace.

I only saved it by extensive use of the rear brake and some throttle and managed to pull the bike round.

I think that the car driver didnt see my lights above the hedge as they are quite frankly pants and therefore didnt dip his / her headlights in time.

I noticed that this happened a fair few times through the rest of my journey to the point that I think 1 out of 3 cars didnt dip their headlights in time so I got dazzled.

I'm definately getting some new headlight bulbs now, anybody else had any similar experiences ?

[hall13uk]

oh yes mr fizzwheel i have had that on many occasion :roll: . i got me some phillips higher power lights seem to work at least 20% better than the standard crap. i know it's not very practical but if you open your visor then u should find the dazzle from oncoming traffic not so bad.

[mattSV]

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Would recommend phillips GT150 bulbs - I have had a few cars flash me thinking they are on main beam - so I then show them what main beam is really like :twisted:

[hall13uk]

- so I then show them what main beam is really like :twisted:


:twisted: :lol:

[rwoodcock01]

Your not alone Fizz, same thing happens to me every morning and everning down the A509 heading to or from the M1.

I am note sure if its the not seeing your lights, or just that some drivers are just plain lazy/ don't care at times! :evil:

I am going to go for new bulbs myself this weekend, and I am going to buy some of those bright phililps bulbs.

I know its bad, but those drivers that keep there full beams/fogs on I tend to blaszt them back with my full beams. I don't do it on bends, but just on strights where it won't cause an accident.

I guess we just have to put up with them.

Cheers

Rich

[fizzwheel]

Opening the Visor isnt really an option for me, I wear glasses so with the weather like it is, if I shut the visor again I'l have cr*p on the lenses of my glasses and the visor as well.

I dont have this problem anywhere near as bad when I am in the car, they tend to see me coming alot soone so always dip their headlights, if they dont they get a blast of them on main beam and that soon gets the message across, my car has PIAA bulbs in and they are very very good and thats what I am going to get for the bike I think

[thor]

In this weather I have noticed that the oncoming beams are an issue if you have all the road salt on the visor. I try not to wipe the visor to avoid smearing. I got a great bottle of visor wash with an attached sponge and squeegy for washing the crap off when it gets too bad. This helps with the dazzling.

[Grinch]

You should try it on the A3... mad!.. I swear some of the road just vanishes....
The best thing I can recomend is a V-Wipe.. great for shifting that extra road crap...

[Iain51]

:shock:

Shoulda taken the train! :wink:

[Spiderman]

I know how you feel mate, a lot of peeps near where i live (on the side roads mainly) drive with full beams on and in the straddling the white lines in the middle of the road.

i tend to flash my full beams with the pass button a fair few times when i see their lights and they dont see mine.

Not suprising really since the single round headlight on the naked isnt exactly good at focus the beam. the flashin, ime, does help the notice you approaching tho.

[Blue Flame]

This is a b*gger.

The 'rabbit caught in headlights' scenario applies here. Their is a natural tendency to stare blindly at the headlights approaching you.

Another tip to that already provided is to make a conscious effort to look at the left hand verge of the road and ease off the throttle until the vehicle has passed you. This helps you to maintain your position on the road and not get temporarily blinded by the lights.

[valleyboy]

People driving around with their fog lights on, just 'cos its cool, annoy the tits off me... Im going to take a hammer to someones lights one day!

Ive had several 'sh!t, cant see crap' moments... always when Im doing about 60 though :? and always near a bend! :x

Im sure its illegal to have fog lights on unless its foggy..... sadly.. as theres hardly a police car to be seen around here, they get away with that... though it lets my have some fun on the dual carriageways :twisted:

[Stig]

I have the same issues.

What I tend to do is when I see the lights approaching I flash main beam a few times and then keep main beam on until I can actually see the lights of the car approaching. I then turn main beam off. If they don't immediatly switch main beam off, I turn mine back on again. This will at the least give you a fighting chance to locate the edge of the road and give you some guide as to where the road is going.

Also I will pull close to the kerb/verge and as the car passes, start drifting towards the middle of the road. This way, if you do find yourself unsighted and suddenly find a corner, you will at least be in the best position to attack it.

I also always back off when I see car lone car ahead of me, just incase of that exact situation.

[haggis]

I always leave mine on full until I'm sure they have dipped.

You are far more vulnerable in bad lighting conditions than them, and a bike's beam pattern is less spread over the approaching carriagway so let them suffer! :twisted:

Suspension loads, steering, braking and lean angle all make your beam direction change and your field of vision diminish at night.


It's good practice to go back onto full beam the moment they've passed (or even alongside you) to help your eyes re-adjust as soon as poss.

[Trojan Horse]

Opening the Visor isnt really an option for me, I wear glasses so with the weather like it is, if I shut the visor again I'l have cr*p on the lenses of my glasses and the visor as well.

I ride a lot of country lanes - no lights at all - there just isn't any other way other than raising the visor, even without glasses when an oncoming car blinds.. I'd say it's as bad without glasses - a lot of flying gunk with no visual protection. The visor adds another refractive layer to the glasses - add a Fogcity visor and by the time the eye accommodates to the dark after being blinded, it's so easy to go hedge-wards.

It really demands high concentration - I find that tracking the white line on the nearside is the hardest thing to do.....if all else fails, slow right down... .