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Why do I see so many sport bikes with 1 headlight?


KZ900

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My FZ1 has two low beams, and two high beams, and thus it is the best bike I have ever ridden at night. It has literally twice the light of most other bikes.

I was really let down with the fz1 headlights coming off my triumph sprint. I had to switch the fz bulbs to silver star ultras and put auxiliary lights on the forks, and its still not as well lit as my sprint was!

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r hi-beam on, it’s true that a brighter light makes you more visible in many situations, but not all situations. A misaligned hi-beam that is too bright during the day can actually reduce your visibility in certain driving scenarios.

A hi-beam helps when the driver looking at the motorcycle has a darker background, such as when there is a building or trees behind the bike. When a motorcycle has a lighter background, such as the sky when coming over a hill, the hi-beam can actually cause the motorcycle to blend in with that brighter background.

It’s also true that if a hi-beam is misaligned and shining upwards towards a driver’s eyes, the extra light can make it harder for a driver to judge the distance and speed of the motorcycle coming at them

Exactly what I was saying. It's happened to me while in the cage, especially with the frickin' Harley's with the 50 lights up front.

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Low beams untill I come to an intersection or when I see a car looking like they are getting ready to pull out in front of me. I think the lights switching from low to high does more to get their attention. Plus I want to be able to go to high beams when there are slow movers in the left lane.

And yes I have considered that flashing on my hi beams to a car waiting to pull out of a parking lot may make the cager think I'm signalling them that they can pull out, but so far nobody has.... Been riding accident free since a lot of you guys were born.... LOL

And YES sport bikes with single side low beams looks like crap, My FJR has symmetrical headlights.

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Soooo, most motorcycles have an odd number of headlight(s) because: It distinguishes them from cars. Two headlights might look like a car that is far away. I always assume that the cage is trying to kill me, and is just waiting like a predator to jump out when it thinks I can't recover, so I'll keep my two lights.

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Cop pulled me over tried to give me a ticket for it once. I had to pull uut my manual to prove it to him

wow. i got stopped for the exact same thing. apparently i'm not the only one to have a run-in with Officer Retard.

MCs are only required to have ONE headlight by law in ohio.

4513.04 Headlights.

(A) Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, and every trackless trolley shall be equipped with at least two headlights with at least one near each side of the front of the motor vehicle or trackless trolley.

Every motorcycle shall be equipped with at least one and not more than two headlights.

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Car with one headlight is known in some circles as a Bosnian Motorcycle.

"An oncoming car driving at night with only one working headlight.

Said car can be dangerous if your riding a motorcycle towards it

on a narrow road or lane without realising. I nearly ended up in a

hedge last night when I thought I was about to pass another bike

only to realise at the last minute it was a f**king Bosnian Motorcycle."

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does anyone use high beams in a cage or bike on a divided highway like 70 or 77 with high beams on at night with oncoming traffic?

I always do. I ride with my high beams on almost 100% of the time at night and very very rarely get flashed to shut them off. They suck that bad. Usually i try to hook on to a car and use its lights to actually see what's ahead.

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Hi-viz gear is bullshit. Someone conducted a study (ill have to Google around for it later) wherein the same person rode the same route several times on a black bike with black gear, a brightly colored bike with hi-viz gear and a police bike in police gear. He recorded the same numbers of near misses and driver ignorance in black vs hi-viz. Drivers however, do pay attention to cops.

I draw the conclusion that its not that they don't see you, its that they don't care.

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I ride with my high and low on all the time its about being visible to people exp at night. people dont notice just one light as well you can call me what ever you want for it but its my ass on the bike and I dont like having people pull out infront of me when im riding. Plus all the better to see them dam dear at night grrr.

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msf instructor in my class said not to do it.

Then be a good boy and don't do it. :nono:

I'm not going to stop doing what I've been doing and no doubt has saved my ass on numerous occasions since 1987.

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Then be a good boy and don't do it. :nono:

I'm not going to stop doing what I've been doing and no doubt has saved my ass on numerous occasions since 1987.

You sure are a feisty young guy. Nobody's going to make you change.

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I'm also in the 'hi beams during the day' crowd, when its bright out your pupils contract so you let in less light, ergo brights during the day don't blind you. At night your pupils dialate to let in more light, so brights have a more pronounced effect.

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I don't normally buzz around with my brights on but if there's a car

wanting to pull out of a side street or a parking lot, I'll flip them on

long enough to know that they see me coming.

I've been very annoyed by bikes with brights on when I've been

driving down the road. I don't think it makes you any more

visible to cars than low beams. It just pisses people off when

they are blinded by brights that don't need to be on.

.

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I'm also in the 'hi beams during the day' crowd, when its bright out your pupils contract so you let in less light, ergo brights during the day don't blind you. At night your pupils dialate to let in more light, so brights have a more pronounced effect.

so you're going to try and convince all of us you cannot be temporarily blinded in daylight huh?

ever stare at snow before? a mirror ever blind you before? someone's watch or phone reflect into your eye before?

ohio code says it's illegal to run with your brights on anyway. so there's that. and brights aren't actually "brighter" than a low beam. it's just angled up more. so what does that do? shines right about eye level for most people in a car.

most people take what the msf course guides say as gospel so why not this? I don't really care as I drive a truck and your lights will never be in mine unless you're doing a wheelie. but by doing it you are being a nuisance to most motorists.

their recommendations were to wear brightly colored riding gear. my recommendation is for the states to require people to take a drivers ed class every time they renew their licenses.

Edited by serpentracer
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