Had My First One

[0okami]

what did the lady have to say? Just curious.
a) "i didnt see you"
b) "i didnt hear you"
c) "its biker fault! you speed demon"
d) all the above.

[mrblanche]

Actual research says a white helmet will help you more than loud pipes. Add in a headlight modulator and a yellow jacket, and you're about twice as safe and a lot less obnoxious.

[48Rob]

I have a white helmet, yellow jacket, and headlight modulator.

I constantly see people in cars who were ready to pull out (in front of me) do a double take and wait for me to pass.

The modulator has saved me from MANY potential accidents.
The white helmet and yellow jacket just make me stand out against the landscape that much more.

Most car/motorcycle accidents hapen or are caused by cars in front of a motorcycle.

Loud pipes inform the people you've already passed that you have a loud motorcycle, and or tell everyone in the neighborhhod for a mile around that you're in town, but don't do much to wake up the person 1/2 mile in front of you that's talking on the cellphone with the stereo on and children trying for attention...

[snoke]

Thanks for the advice guys. I see extra lights and louder in horns in my future as well. I would hate to put one on every time but I see a bright green vest in my future as well.
Incidentally, I had a friend and my brother pick up my wrecked bike a couple days ago. From the neck forward the bike is shot. I do not know if the frame is bent or not. Other than a few scratches, scratched tailpipes, dented gas tank, broken footrest, and messed up saddlebag, the rest of the bike looks to be in fair shape. Do you guys have an opinion on a rebuilt bike? I bought the bike new and it only had 473 miles on it at the time of the wreck. I want the bike replaced with another new one just like it by the ladies insurance, but if this doesn't work out, what do you all think of a rebuild? I know this is not something I would want to tackle by myself although I would love to learn how to do it.

[snoke]

By the way Ookami, she said that she didn't see me. I believe her. I was following in a line of traffic. I watched her for approximatley 5 seconds before she pulled out in front of me. As she started pulling out in front of me, I could see that she was looking across my lane to her destination. She said that after her air bags went off, she still didn't know what had happened until she saw me trying to get out of the roadway. I felt sorry for her as well because she was is worse shape emotionally than I was physically when they put me into the ambulance. I know the lady didm't do it on purpose.
It proves to me that there are not enough things that we can do as motorcyclist to make others aware when we are around.

[Bogey]

Glad to hear you're ok after that one.

I installed a headlight modulator on my Mean Streak, and I definitely think it helps people to notice you approaching. I haven't done the loud pipes thing mostly because A) it's illegal and B) my neighbor's like how quiet my bike is !

But, I suppose if you want to do all you can do, and err on the side of safety, then I'd suggest doing the loud pipes AND a modulator. And maybe keep a paintball gun mounted on the bars. ha ha. But again, glad you're ok.

[bretsk2500]

Originally Posted by Hacker

Number one (and you've seen it here).....RIDE LIKE EVERYONE IS TRYING TO KILL YOU!! I am constantly checking the rearviews.....when going down a road and I see a vehicle approaching from a side road/street, the first thing I do is SLOW DOWN. Better to do it before, rather than when it's too late. When you get your next bike, swap out that anemic horn for a PIAMM Freeway Blaster ($14 at AutoZone) or the equivalent. 132 decibels can make a difference.

I want a freaking TRAIN horn on mine, but the damn things are nearly as long as my bike

Everyone IS trying to kill you!!

[Sabre2007/900]

Glad your not seriously hurt Snoke. Yes, they are all trying to kill us. My stupid son in law rides a 10 speed in the traffic lanes of major streets and says that cars just need to share the road, lol. I can't wait for that dumb arse to get wacked.
I found my self in your position just a couple of weeks ago in the early morning on the way to work. Came as close to doing a "Stoppy" as possible with a 900 Classic (Saddle bags and all). Dang near stood it up on its nose. Until that happened I didn't think it was possible with anything but a sport bike. Fortunately for me I got it stopped and when it all settled back down I was about six feet from the ladies drivers side door. Funny thing was, she saw me, and stopped right dead in front of me. She had no excuse for her actions just a lame arse "Sorry about that", My response was no socially acceptable and she drove off PO'd. So they really are trying to kill all of us, not through malevolence, just their total stupidity and inept driving skills. Don't get me started on the Cell Phone controversy.
Again, glad you came out of this in reasonably good condition. Please remember its mostly your attention and concentration on your surrounding drivers that keep you safe, because they all have better things to do than pay attention to their surroundings. Ride Safe when you get back in the saddle. Heal quickly.

[rcoolbaugh]

I had an older gentleman who had ridden for many years give me the loud pipes save lives line a couple of weeks ago. I politely told him I would rathar have a loud horn than loud pipes. His response : you can't ride around blowing your horn all the time! My response : That's exactly what you do when you have loud pipes. The sound levels of loud pipes and many horns are similar.

Before you get those loud pipes ask yourself if you would ride holding the horn button all the time.

[snoke]

Good point rcoolbaugh but I don't think my mind has changed. As mentioned by several of the forum members, safe driving habits on my part and an expectation that all cage drivers are out to get the motorcycle riders will be my best defense. I still want the advantage of everything I can reasonably do to make others aware of my presence. I already have a headlight modulator on on order so I can use it whenever I get back up on two wheels. I can't wait!

[VindianaJones]

I'm confused.... I hear alot of guys say that you can't hear loud pipes unless your beside or behind a bike. I ride with about 20 to 50 pplz and we coffee at a local place in town. We coffee outside in the summertime and i'm here to tell you that we all can hear bikes with loud pipes from about 2 blocks away. Including mine. Its rather funny because alot of the time, we can even tell who that person is by the sound of they're pipes. Its the running joke that one of us will comment on it ( oh... here comes kevin on his Street Bob. ) So honestly, they're must be something to the Loud Pipes Save Lives theory. For all you guys who don't hear the bikes....Are you wearing ear plugs? Or are our pipes around here just that much louder? Perhaps our air in this neck of the woods is thinner? And my daughter ( who has better hearing than me will hear a bike behind us when we are in the car from 2 to 3 blocks away with loud pipes. With my windows up, i can usually hear them from at least a block away coming behind us..... Again.... I just don't understand the statement that you can't hear them unless your behind them or beside them.

[rcoolbaugh]

Oh yeah, I can hear them coming down the road - in the middle of the night - when I'm trying to sleep. Yep, I can hear them coming from a long way off, and even longer when they have gone past.

But, the loud noise does not necessarily alert a driver that the lane change they are making may hit someone. A well placed _LOUD_ horn blast is pretty universally accepted as a warning signal. What is more likely to get your attention, a steady droning rumble or a single sharp blast from a horn? Which one is a better indication that caution is needed?

[bloodbarber]

glad to hear that you are alright. that is the main thing. sorry to hear about your bike. i do agree with you on pipes and full riding gear.
heal fast

[Jerrysea]

You can outrun the sound your pipes are making. jut asked leo when they are moving fast. People dont hear you that are in front of you until you are on top of them. What you hear when you are sitting out having coffee etc., is the sound as it reaches your ears. If you are behind on to the side of the sound. I am not a sound expert but was a leo(retired) for 21 years and when we went to training the part that was about emergency driving they would explain the above information in more detail.

[barry5k]

Originally Posted by cjp91068

One thing one of the instructors emphasised when I took the MSF course was you can't be visible enough. Try adding some lights to the front of your bike maybe. Personally I've found that those yellow fog lights are very visible to me. Also, maybe some modulated headlights?

+1. Why not a light bar? Every little bit helps, even though many drivers are so conditioned that if they don't see a car or truck, there is nothing there. Almost any idiot can get a driver's license! I remember a test question years ago on my driver's test.

If you see an oncoming car with its high beams on at night you should
a. look into the lights
b. close your eyes
c. look to the right side of the road.

And how many people drive without a license? There are many reasons for that. It was suspended because they got a DUI, an illegal immigrant won't get a license, etc.

It's a minefield out there. Last month I was on the freeway and some idiot way in front of me lost an oil drum off the back of his pick-up. So guess what was rolling around the freeway? It's hard not to get ****ed off sometimes!!!

[CTRider]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Actual research says a white helmet will help you more than loud pipes. Add in a headlight modulator and a yellow jacket, and you're about twice as safe and a lot less obnoxious.

White tends to actually become less visible in bright sunshine (it resembles normal environmental glare, rather than being more visible) and is only really visible at night if it's reflective.

You'd be better off with a yellow or orange helmet if safety is your only goal. Millions of school busses, fire trucks and construction workers can't be wrong. Of course, you won't win any fashion contests, but it's all about assuming risk.

Least visible color: no, it's not black: it's grey. When you're the same color as the road, no one is going to see you. Black, on the other hand, draws your eye to it by it's lack of brightness. It's an empy hole in your path of vision. However, it's still very easy to look through by virtue of it's lack of standing out.

However, black can actually add visibility by adding contrast to bright colors, the way warning stripes on a road barricade do. The key is to be careful of the pattern. A well placed stripe or two can draw the eye to an object while a complicated pattern can actually make you less visible (such as with a tiger or zebra's stripes).

[92NinjaZX6]

Has anyone seen the news about this man that hates bikers and intentionally cuts in front of you and slams on the brakes awaiting for you to crash into him? I hope i never run into a demented sick azz like that in my lifetime. There was something on the news about it, they also showed a picture of a back of a car with a huge hole in the back window where the rider got shot right through. They also said that this guy had a previous record of similar incidents and they were considering it intentionally done.

[Greg in ND]

Glad your ok, thats what really counts

[08Concours14]

Glad you are ok? Defensive driving on your part and assuming that everyone is going to pull out in front of you will do more for your personal safety than pipes and horns. I offer this advise as a rider of 23 years! On sport bikes too!