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Night Riding

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  • #31
    Re: Night Riding

    Any tips on how to handle oncoming vehicles attempting to blind you by flashing the lights?

    Btw, I've done the tailing a car thing for the scarier night rides and it definitely feels safer but I have ended up riding over potholes and other random stuff on the ground due to the lack of vision.

    Comment

    • #32
      Re: Night Riding

      My two cents on Night Riding :

      1. Upgrade your stock headlamps :
      Not kidding!! If you are a night-rider, invest some money on the electricals and upgrade the weak stock headlamps that are supplied with majority of the Indian motorcycles. You can also add additional auxilary LED lamps, which mix well with the yellow light of stock bulbs and provide good visibility. Been there done that. The process would not always be straight forward or cheap, but definitely worth it for people who like munching miles in the dark.

      2. Adjust you stock beams :
      The major mistake of people is they forget that the headlamps can be adjusted to point to the road. A wrongly adjusted headlamp can give you a feeling that the intensity is too less. Remember that the LOW beam is supposed to only light up 10 - 15 meters of road in front of you and not 100 meters. The HIGH beam "hotspot" should run parallel and just touch the ground at around 25 meters from the vehicle.

      3. Carry shampoo solution and tissue papers :
      Even a bottle of Colin works fine. Clean the helmet visor and headlamp & auxiliary-lamp visors from time to time. You will not believe how much visibility is gained just by cleaning the headlamps and helmet visors.

      4. Save your eyes :
      This is my personal experience that your eyes see better in the darkness if they have not been exposed to bright light (Sun light) all through the day. Wear sunglasses, use Sunvisors and save them for the night. This is more applicable for people who tour, riding all day long and then need to ride in the darkness for few hours.

      5. Prevent fatigue/sleep attacks :
      People who have ridden all night must be quite aware of what happens after riding for hours in the darkness. Our bodies are designed to rest in the dark and work in the day, but we try doing it the other way. Although there is no way one can fight fatigue without taking rest / power nap, one handy way to avoid sleep attack is to maintain a high "heart rate". How to do it? Simple. Stop your vehicle beside the road, try sprinting for few meters for couple of times. You can also perform skipping without a rope. You will start panting within a minute and your heart rate will suddenly increase. This works. But ONLY do it when its impossible to stop and take rest. For any other instance, do not fight with body fatigue. take some rest, an hour of power nap and continue your journey.

      6. Be Visible :
      Stick enough reflecting stickers around the bike, wear reflective gears etc. Your visibility matters a lot. Also play with the beams and horn. Make sure you mark your presence at all point of time. You never know which driver inside which truck/bus/car has been hit by sleep attack. Your actions might wake him up and possibly avoid an accident.

      7. Play with the switch :
      Keep shifting between HIGH & LOW beam even if you are the only traffic on the road. This makes sure that you are in your consciousness and the eyes also do not get used to the intensity or pattern of a particular beam.

      8. Carry Munchies :
      Its always a good idea to carry something to munch (snacks) and energy drinks like Getorade or RedBull as majority of the shops remain closed during the night. Munching also keeps one active, aiding in a safer ride.

      R      est of the points like maintaining a lower speed and being cautious around villages have already been mentioned in previous posts by people.

      Happy Riding
      Exploring South India
      Ride to Dandeli
      Kuntala waterfalls at its best
      Father & Son ride to Nasik
      Exploring South India -2
      Hyderabad-Goa-Maharashtra

      Comment

      • #33
        Re: Night Riding

        Originally posted by chiron View Post
        Any tips on how to handle oncoming vehicles attempting to blind you by flashing the lights?

        Btw, I've done the tailing a car thing for the scarier night rides and it definitely feels safer but I have ended up riding over potholes and other random stuff on the ground due to the lack of vision.
        Don't look at it. It sounds simple. Look down on the road past it. If it's a narrow lane, try and look at the White line, slow down and let em pass.

        Re trailing a car, try riding exactly behind the driver's rear tyre. The driver probably would always try and avoid potholes on his side. Keep some distance though as you would be in his blind sight.

        Comment

        • #34
          Re: Night Riding

          Is there any eye-wear for night driving? It should be colorless and polarized to reduce the glare of vehicle lights - everyone drives around with high beams & even fog lights these days.

          Comment

          • #35
            Re: Night Riding

            Originally posted by Zapps View Post
            Is there any eye-wear for night driving? It should be colorless and polarized to reduce the glare of vehicle lights - everyone drives around with high beams & even fog lights these days.
            I have had the same search for a few months now. Have not been able to find anything which has good genuine reviews. If you end up finding anything good, do let me know too.

            Thanks
            Rachit
            Rachit K Dogra

            Comment

            • #36
              Re: Night Riding

              Originally posted by rachitkdogra View Post
              I have had the same search for a few months now. Have not been able to find anything which has good genuine reviews. If you end up finding anything good, do let me know too.

              Thanks
              Rachit
              will do bro - all I can find is that yellow colored glasses which are actually never to be used - we need something colorless & polarized.

              Another thing we can find is a polarized sheet which is transparent - it can be pasted onto a transparent safety glass (3m/ honeywell) easily available from amazon/flipkart. But, even that sheet is not available.

              Do let me know if you find something too.

              Comment

              • #37
                Re: Night Riding

                Originally posted by Zapps View Post
                will do bro - all I can find is that yellow colored glasses which are actually never to be used - we need something colorless & polarized.

                Another thing we can find is a polarized sheet which is transparent - it can be pasted onto a transparent safety glass (3m/ honeywell) easily available from amazon/flipkart. But, even that sheet is not available.

                Do let me know if you find something too.
                Is there a reason to not use the yellow tinted glasses? I've used them a few times during the night and it makes a huge difference.

                Comment

                • #38
                  Re: Night Riding

                  Originally posted by Vicky_New_Guy View Post
                  Is there a reason to not use the yellow tinted glasses? I've used them a few times during the night and it makes a huge difference.
                  It seems like they make a huge difference, but they are actually not to be used. Adding tint to night riding isn't ever a good option.

                  Comment

                  • #39
                    Re: Night Riding

                    Originally posted by Zapps View Post
                    It seems like they make a huge difference, but they are actually not to be used. Adding tint to night riding isn't ever a good option.
                    I'm still wondering why though? What's the harm?

                    Comment

                    • #40
                      Night Riding

                      Originally posted by Vicky_New_Guy View Post
                      Is there a reason to not use the yellow tinted glasses? I've used them a few times during the night and it makes a huge difference.
                      Yellow tinted film has less visibility as compared to transparent film. Though it may help in reducing the glare from the oncoming traffic but imo it will be bit difficult at conditions where you are riding in dark alleyways with no streetlights.
                      You won’t get actual lumens from your headlight and difficult to judge potholes and kerbs.
                      You can add 3m/v-cool films ie which are used on the windshield of cars. They are transparent and does there job well. I have applied 3m film on my front windshield in my swift dzire. Which helps me alot during night drives at single lane roads as well.
                      Last edited by Rohit3235; 11-11-2018, 01:56 PM.

                      Comment

                      • #41
                        Re: Night Riding

                        Originally posted by Vicky_New_Guy View Post
                        I'm still wondering why though? What's the harm?
                        Because any tint, of any color, still reduces the total amount of light reaching your eyes. Yellow lenses filter out blue wavelengths, which can improve contrast in hazy or flat-light conditions, but all those blue-colored photons are now not hitting your retinas because they're being absorbed by the lens, so only yellow and red get through. Depending on how deeply the lenses are tinted, you could be losing as much as 20-30% of available light.
                        ATGATT: All The Gear, All The Time!

                        Current bike: Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere

                        Put the phone away, put your helmet on, and ride!

                        Scooters are like fat girls: fun to ride, but embarrassing if your friends see you with one.

                        Comment

                        • #42
                          Re: Night Riding

                          Originally posted by The Mountain View Post
                          Because any tint, of any color, still reduces the total amount of light reaching your eyes. Yellow lenses filter out blue wavelengths, which can improve contrast in hazy or flat-light conditions, but all those blue-colored photons are now not hitting your retinas because they're being absorbed by the lens, so only yellow and red get through. Depending on how deeply the lenses are tinted, you could be losing as much as 20-30% of available light.
                          What eye wear do you suggest for night driving/riding? Yellow tint improves contrast but leads to loss of available light.

                          Night eyewear should reduce the glare from headlights of incoming traffic. People are idiots and use high beam all the time, and then there are those who believe it's their job to light up the whole city with their aux lights and headlight LED mods.

                          My idea is to have some polarized glasses with a very very slight yellow tint. Would that work?

                          Comment

                          • #43
                            Re: Night Riding

                            Is it just me or those damn honda activas lit up everyone's face?
                            Yamaha SZ16R: 2011 - Present.
                            Tvs Fiero FX: 2009 - 2011.

                            Comment

                            • #44
                              Re: Night Riding

                              Originally posted by sayanchakraborty89 View Post
                              Is it just me or those damn honda activas lit up everyone's face?
                              They also cause lots of (accident causing) glare on the oncoming traffic. And since this is India, people drive around the town with their hi beam on.

                              Comment

                              • #45
                                Re: Night Riding

                                Originally posted by Zapps View Post
                                They also cause lots of (accident causing) glare on the oncoming traffic. And since this is India, people drive around the town with their hi beam on.
                                I don't understand the headlight positioning of those scooters. Why don't they all have headlight setup like Ray/ Burgman/ Dio. They have much better headlight positioning.
                                Yamaha SZ16R: 2011 - Present.
                                Tvs Fiero FX: 2009 - 2011.

                                Comment

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