Night rideing...

[mr.z]

A friend of mine has a 125, has had it for a year or so...

Asked if he wanted to go ride somewhere, we'd not leave there till dark "nooo dont ride at night" he said... WTF? said i..


Is this a common thing? anyone here who really avoids or downright refuses to ride after dark?




Also was wondering how much time pepople spend rideing after dark?

In summer probably 50/50 overall, but in winter most of my rideing will be in darkness/dusk.

Has anyone made any mods to their bike to improve night vision, how do you rate your bikes headlights? anyone think theirs is really bad? had auxiluary fogs on my last bike (much of my rideing is country lanes) want some spot lights to mount on the forks asap...


One last thought, 1st generation nvg/light intensifying devices are getting cheaper, they are available easyly for less than £100, will they ever be commerically viable, or even usefull for bikeing? thinking monocular types, one eye nvg one normal vision... maybe with a gps overlay or something on a screen... sure it could be done now, at enormous expense but technology allways is at first before being widely used...

Seen them used by armed forces landrover driveing e.t.c. dont know how practical they would be on the road with oncomeing lights e.t.c. or if they would damage them in any way?

Just a thought... £200 or so to see in the dark while rideing would be well worth it.. allthough xeon headlights can be got for that...

hmmm...
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[BikerBen]

Generally harder to be seen at night therefore increasing your chances of having an accident if you are not careful. Maybe that is why he doesn't like night riding.
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[jayluvmito]

i love night riding...used to be the only calm part of the day on my 50cc.

[headlamp]

There is nothing worse than filtering along the North Circular Road, on a late November evening at around 6.15pm, with constant rain and blowing a gale. But needs must and you just take it easy
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[dransy]

i like night riding i think my rs lights are quite bright and when full beam is on its absaloutly blinding very good
and my bike performs better at night with the cool air keeps bike at a nice temperature
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[Hennessy]

I enjoy a bit of a night ride myself, less cars on the road as well... and It's all just particulary calming... I spoke to an old friend who said she'd had her bike for some time now and she said she would never go riding at night, more risk!! I were like "WTF?" but thats just the way people are, its one of those superstitious sorta things?

-Hennessy
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[mr.z]

[matt123]

I occasionally go out at night. Its not the fact I dont like it, i think its quite fun. The other week me and my mate, both on 125 went out all night, left at 11 and got back at 6 in the morning. The main reason I dont ride at night, is that i dont have a need to.

I had a DT 50 and the lights on that wouldnt be able to spot a road sign that was right in front of you that was pretty nerve racking. But the lights on this 6 volt 2 stroke are so much better well until everything goes black.

Matt

[gsxrboy]

But the roads aint hot and sticky.....?
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[DynaMight]

It doesnt bother me at all, I would try to ride fastish on a road I didnt know or didnt know very well in the dark though and I dont like filtering much, It's hard to see a gap to cut into and cars probably wont see you coming up behind/beside them.
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[stinkwheel]

You can go a lot faster at night providing the road markings are good, easy to see if something is coming. If you have a long distance to go, hitting the motorway in the wee small hours is the way forwards, you can just crack on down there without any holdups.

I do think a lot of bike headlamps leave a lot to be desired though. That's why I put a set of Cibie spots on my MZ, 185w of conical beam on full, turns night into day .
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[Flip]

Night rides rock. Not done one for a while though (maybe tomorrow). You pretty much have the roads to yourself apart from the odd boy racer and taxi etc.

Gives you that sense of freedom that biking should be about.

As long as you're wide awake when you do it, it rocks.

[Pat172]

yeah i love night rides, just got back form an errand, my dad was locked out i got from Ealing, to hammermsith then back home to Greenford in 25mins flat

and i think every biker loves the North circ, when its choc-a-block, dark, rainy and slippy
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[MarJay]

Night riding in town = win

Day riding on country roads = win

any other combination thereof = lose.


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[Craggles]

I ride at night quite a bit.

No real problems with it - A34 becomes a little interesting as I tend to loose the road markings. Also I'm generally tired when I ride at night (as I'm going home, from what has usually been quite a busy day).

Craig
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[kath600]

i like night rides at home on the roads i know.

not too keen on night rides on the mainland unless with people, i find my eyes can play tricks on me with all the different lights.

road kill doesn't help either
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[Silver]

I don't ride at night much - only if I'm on my way back from somewhere. It's boring enough driving a car at night, but at least you have a stereo! Riding at night's fine if you know the roads - ride on a twisty road you don't know at night and it's a pain in the arse.

The worst ride I ever had was when I picked up my GSXR750 and rode back from Bristol down some A and B roads that I don't know very well. It was raining, so I had that crappy misty water shite on my visor and I couldn't go fast enough to clear it. I ended up finding a car and sitting behind it so I could see where I was going better

[tony532]

dont like it for the simple fact of some ignorant car drivers leaving thier lights on full beam constantly.

[TheShaggyDA]

I don't mind it at all. The only annoying thing I find is that there's a "black hole" switching between dipped and main beam on the Bullet, so you get plunged into darkness for a second. It's normal, and down to the fact they switched to AC lighting from DC (the filament doesn't heat up as quick under AC) a few years ago. When I get around to it, I'll put a couple of spotlights on the crashbars.
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[i:6e3bfc7581]But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman...[/i:6e3bfc7581]

[Bendy]

My night vision's not very good, so I do actively try and avoid being down dark country roads at night. Not even that fond in the car if I'm brutally honest.

Towns are different though, I quite like riding around London at night, it looks better than it does in the daytime.

[colin1]

i agree with marjay except i dont mind riding in town in the day
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[scottiel]

Riding at night doen't bother my, I just ride a bit slower

[Fruit'n'nut]

I've happily ridden at dusk/early evening in town, when going to or from somewhere, but most of my riding is for pleasure really, on minor A- and B-roads in the middle of the countryside. They're not well-lit and some have dodgy surfaces ... potholes, patches of gravel, farming detritus etc etc, and my headlight is relatively poor too.

I wouldn't enjoy that in the dark, so I don't ride those sort of roads in the dark
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[Fruit'n'nut]

[bish777]

The ride from Bridgwater to Minehead down the A39 is quite challenging and in parts breathtakingly beautiful. Coming out past Carhampton and seeing Minehead all lit up in the distance is lovely.

Perhaps Im biased as its my home town but it is a nice ride id recommend to anyone.
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