Riding in the dark.

[MCW]

Last night I rode to to a pub about 5 miles away. I parked on a car-park that made the north face of the Eiger look like a tennis court, and dismounted without toppling over. At the end of the evening, I managed to ride off at the without making a complete tit of myself, so all in all, hurrah! (Anyone who read my first posts on this forum will realise what an achievement this is!).

I then rode back in the dark. It was HORRIBLE. The worst of it was that I kept riding in pockets of fog and thinking that my visor had suddenly steamed up. (Yes, not the sharpest tool in the box, I know). I hated not being able to see as far as I can in the daylight, and was quite shaken by the time I got home. Have changed from being a fair-weather rider to being a fair-weather and only in the day-light rider.

Is this normal, or am I just a big wuss??

[doggone]

With practice riding at night is a doddle if your lights are half decent.
I actually sometimes think there are advantages like less traffic and being able to see oncoming vehicles even when hidden by hedges etc.

Fog at night is bad news though especially if it goes on for miles you can really get tensed up from concentrating so hard and worrying about coming up on sharp bends.
Even when you know a road you are going slower and it can be hard to be 100% certain where you are.

Keep headlights on dip, but I do find it's sometimes advantageous to also hold on the full beam flash button, this works better than full or dip on their own, but probably unwise to do it more than a few seconds e.g. approaching a tricky bend.

[_Iain_]

The latter.

You'll get used to it pretty quick
____________________
Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[Rogue_Shadow]

My YBR headlight is pathetic! Even full beam just seems to lighten up the sides of the bike not the road ahead.
I don't think the electrics allow for a decent headlight output, in other words, the YBR's headlight will always be pretty crap compared to larger bikes

So I've stopped riding at night until I upgrade my bike. However this may not be a option for you if you NEED to be riding in the hours of darkness.
Maybe try a newer headlight bulb?
I wont lie, riding at night was worrying at first. But like everything else, practice makes perfect

Completely normal, clear this hurdle and keep going

[Flamzypants]

First time I rode in the dark I was hit in the arse by a car -.-
____________________
CBT - 30/06/11. RIP Sinnis Stealth 18/07/11. Theory passed! CBR125R 16/08/12. Mod 1 Booked.

[MCW]

[_Iain_]

[Rogue_Shadow]

[Ayrton]

I love riding at night. Its just much more peacefull and quiet.
Dont bother putting your full beam on unless there arnt any lights around.

[MCW]

[DreadHead]

[Benno]

[Derivative]

My CG125 headlight was shit.
My CB500 headlight is perfect, I couldn't really ask for much more other than a portable fusion reactor.

[DreadHead]

Get one of those, feed it banana skins and you can go anywhere Marty (Once you hit 88 that is)
____________________
CBT √ Passed, Theory √ Passed, Mod 1 √ Passed, Mod 2 √ Passed
Riding - '87 Kawasaki GPX750R (Rolling Restoration) and '06 YBR125.
Want - Triumph Speed Four or Street Triple

[Flamzypants]

[Kradmelder]

I have an amber filter on which makes me very visible in daytime but reduces the efficiency of the mainbeam at night when not in town. In fact it gives hardly any penetration at all. So what I do at night is follow the fastest cage on the road by 50 m. His brake lights and swerves are ample warning of potholes or obstructions.
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2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS

[snikks]

[U_W v2.0]

you'l get used to it.

i do a fair few short night rides up to tesco at the "local" industrial estate. its about 20 minute ride away. usually between 12am and 4am.

the last time i went up purely just for milk. didnt NEED it though. why? because it was foggy as hell and i know my headlamp is crap. i hadnt ridden in fog before so i went up there and "let loose" testing myself working on the theory that if i pushed it too far in the fog and binned it i wasnt going to run the risk of injuring someone else.

went without incident.
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BCF's biggest cunt list: Cansa, Pits, Rob

[mysterious_rider]

I hated night riding but I realised it was my bad headlight making me a terrible rider. Are they a bit naff? Considered swapping out for a HID bulb? It makes the world of difference.

[totalllama82]

I ride in the pitch black in Winter on the ZX9. I upgraded my headlight to a 100W bulb. Granted this is on a bigger bike with bigger electronics. It done the job for me.

It sounds like you need to either look at a light upgrade or HID's. Also have a look at the lights alignment, is it maybe pointing too low/high when you're sitting on the bike?
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Gone: Haotian HT125-8 / Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat / Kawasaki ZX9R C2
Current: Kawasaki ZZR 1400 A7F

[janner_10]

Easily said but avoid fog - its the worst thing on a bike, aside ice!

I used to hate riding at night, but it didn't help that my lights on my Fazer were utter shit. I mean seriously bad.

Since I've brought the CBR, its a non-issue, the headlights are brilliant in compassion.

I would check your alignment, make sure they are clean with a decent lamp and perhaps look at the possibility of a HID kit.
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Yamaha FZS600 (Now gone to heaven) > CBR600F4i (SOLD) > '99 YZF-R1

[hedgehugger]

One time. my daughter asked for a lift to a party.
I took her there on the bike just before it's getting dark, no problems.
On the way back I couldn't see buggary. A little better if I opened the visor a bit. Wasn't 'til I got home that I realised I had a tinted visor on
oops

[Rogerborg]

Do not like fog.

Definitely consider a bulb swap though:

Before
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/__DYtEEjm5wE/SdPeCERUCgI/AAAAAAAAACY/Hi0Y4oAPCyA/s320/dim_lights.jpg

After
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/__DYtEEjm5wE/SdPeFoQbyVI/AAAAAAAAACg/jF32MofLYcU/s320/bright_lights.jpg
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Kradmelder]

[MCW]

[quote="janner_10"]the headlights are brilliant in compassion./quote]

I just don't think my headlights are that caring...