Riding at night

[Idaho]

Granted, the weather is generally better at night, cooler, calmer, less traffic, but I thought that it would be good to discuss the practice here before we venture into the darkness. Sorry if this has been done before but reading about others riding at night and my own recent trip motivates me to do so.

First of all the stock head light sux. I replaced mine with a 1210/H4 from Wagner. Those bulbs are listed for off road use only but as long as they are properly adjusted they will give you unparalleled visibility and will not blind oncoming traffic. My bike puts out as much light as my Bronco now and that is a good thing.

Second is speed. We really need to slow down at night because of the limited sight distance. Next time you ride your bike at night count the seconds from the time that you recognize an object in the light until you reach it and then honestly ask yourself if you could avoid an object in that amount of time. At interstate highway speeds the answer is probably "NO".

Third is visibility. When I drive at night I try to find someone in a cage traveling at the rate of speed that I want to maintain and I shadow them in the opposite lane about 6 to 8 car lengths back. Then I concentrate on watching the road in their headlights to pick out obstacles, like truck tire recaps or boards, so that I can effectively extend my field of vision by another hundred or so feet. I also watch for eyeballs beside the road (deer in the headlights). This is very intense driving and I only do it if I have too to get home.

Fourth is the most important, avoid it if at all possible. Jumping on a bike and riding all night blindly crashing through the dark on nothing more than faith is tempting fate as only a bad gambler would.

Please think about night riding and be very careful. It really takes a tremendous amount of concentration to stay out of trouble. No time to relax at all which is very exhausting.

Be safe,
Idaho (Bud)