Hidden riders

[rocketman1]

Why do some Riders seem to try and be as camouflaged as they can on NZ roads. I seen a guy on a Harley the other day near Hamilton, no lights on, black gear, black hat and army green camouflaged trousers, he obviously "wanted to be seen" by the $30,000 bike he was riding but would have been very difficult in many NZ road conditions to be clearly visible.
No wonder bikers get into trouble at intersections, most car & van drivers are half blind anyway , why make it worse?
If that rider recognises himself and is reading this at least put your lights on mate,and give yourself half a chance of being seen, & maybe get rid of the black helmet.
Yeah I wear a black leather jacket but I have a bright coloured bike, helmet & always have my lights on... I hope it helps

And too all those cage drivers out there, remember this " take an extra look out for "motorbikes" at intersections and when doing U turns" then, you may also see the cyclist and the car'

[Shadows]

Whatever.

Black gear stands out quite well, actually. Especially against a green background, which is more often than not the case.

Truth be told, one could be dressed in a shocking pink gimp suit with a four foot flashing dildo stuck on one's head and the "didn't see you" brigade would be just as much of a liability - although I guess in that case a lot of them might be just using that as an excuse...

[oldrider]

With all due respect....you saw him, obviously! :doh: John.

[Romeo]

I've almost hit a biker before, black gear and black R6 - Knee down around a blind roundabout. I was just about to pull out into it when he came through, obviously doing 20+ the speed limit.

For this reason I've sworn to never wear anything solid black when I get a bike, sounds pretty gay, but I love those hideous mid-90's leather jackets.


<img src="http://i21.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/aa/e4/6de6_2.JPG" alt="mid 90's nasty leather jacket" /> <img src="http://i17.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/bd/09/abb3_2.JPG" alt="mid 90's nasty leather jacket" /> <img src="http://i23.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/a8/9f/46c2_2.JPG" alt="mid 90's nasty leather jacket" />

[cowboy]

Iv had some close calls since I started riding again
I normally wear black jacket & lid but its when I'm wearing my red Budweiser nascar jacket I have the most problems.
Its almost like its got a target on the dame thing :angry2:

[Drum]

If I understand correctly you are suggesting bikers shouldn't wear black?

Good luck with that!

(I agree with the headlight part though).

[Drum]

... one could be dressed in a shocking pink gimp suit with a four foot flashing dildo stuck on one's head.......

You get some new gear for fathers day mate?

[Shadows]

You get some new gear for fathers day mate?

Nah, just making a point. My gimp suit is black... makes me look slimmer.

[ZeroIndex]

Why do some Riders seem to try and be as camouflaged as they can on NZ roads. I seen a guy on a Harley the other day near Hamilton, no lights on, black gear, black hat and army green camouflaged trousers, he obviously "wanted to be seen" by the $30,000 bike he was riding but would have been very difficult in many NZ road conditions to be clearly visible.
No wonder bikers get into trouble at intersections, most car & van drivers are half blind anyway , why make it worse?
If that rider recognises himself and is reading this at least put your lights mate on and give yourself an chance mate of being seen, & get rid of the black helmet.

And too all those cage drivers out there, remember this " take an extra look out for "motorbikes" at intersections and when doing U turns" then, you may also see the cyclist and the car'
Wait a second... this guy was wearing a black hat? by that do you mean a small black helmet? black gear... to me, as long as he's wearing something to protect his skin, he should be commended! Pity about his headlight though...

[RDJ]

Visordown UK had quite an intelligent series of threads that discussed conspicuity.

In summary, bright colors do not - counterintuitively - make you stand out more in an urban context, and there is also the issue - which I agree with from personal experience - that if you do the extra hi-viz Power Rangers kit to be safe, some cagers will regard you as a pushover target whereas if you stay Menacing in Black, they may not want to risk a confrontation.

Personally I wear a jacket with enough orange to make it harder for the cager to pull a credible SMIDSY with the law or the judge, and focus my visibility efforts on after dark riding with black reflectors on bike and helmet which are not visible in daylight.

[bgd]

I wore a high viz jacket one winter, made absolutely no difference. I didn't feel that more or less drivers saw me. The thing fell apart so I never replaced it.

A guy I knew had done quite a bit of research on the matter and he wore a bright green jacket, something to do with not being mistaken for a street cleaner.

[Waylander]

Why do some Riders seem to try and be as camouflaged as they can on NZ roads. I seen a guy on a Harley the other day near Hamilton, no lights on, black gear, black hat and army green camouflaged trousers, he obviously "wanted to be seen" by the $30,000 bike he was riding but would have been very difficult in many NZ road conditions to be clearly visible.
No wonder bikers get into trouble at intersections, most car & van drivers are half blind anyway , why make it worse?
If that rider recognises himself and is reading this at least put your lights mate on and give yourself an chance mate of being seen, & get rid of the black helmet.

And too all those cage drivers out there, remember this " take an extra look out for "motorbikes" at intersections and when doing U turns" then, you may also see the cyclist and the car'
How about you let him wear what he wants to wear and mind your own business.

Bad enough when the government wants to control every minute detail of our lives without some other do-gooder trying to asw ell.

[NighthawkNZ]

Why do some Riders seem to try and be as camouflaged as they can on NZ roads. I seen a guy on a Harley the other day near Hamilton, no lights on, black gear, black hat and army green camouflaged trousers, he obviously "wanted to be seen" by the $30,000 bike he was riding but would have been very difficult in many NZ road conditions to be clearly visible.
No wonder bikers get into trouble at intersections, most car & van drivers are half blind anyway , why make it worse?
If that rider recognises himself and is reading this at least put your lights mate on and give yourself an chance mate of being seen, & get rid of the black helmet.

And too all those cage drivers out there, remember this " take an extra look out for "motorbikes" at intersections and when doing U turns" then, you may also see the cyclist and the car'

Can't have been that bad... You saw him. Even without his head light on.

In my experience the so called HiVis vests make no difference in being seen in the urban enivironment... there is so much colour an visual things going on in the back ground that things do become a blur and your brain is processing so much info at once even things you don't realise your are processing, your head light will help hence why I am for motorcyclists to have them on 27/7 but against cage drivers having them on during the daylight (unless the day calls for it ie bad weather).

Its like advertising you have to be different, if you are the same as every one else then it gets lost and blends in the background... Take a newspaper... pick any page. Its a constant percentage of black and white through out. Now if you were to put an advert in that was just a white block, or just a black block it would stick out like dogs balls.

The HiVis vests are personal choice, I'm not going to hassle anyone who wishes to wear one, nor any one who wishes not to wear one. If the feel safer wearing it good for them it will help with confidence.

It may be safe for you to ride around faster than normal as a rider and your skills but If you as a motorcyclists aren't being an arse on the road coming road corners at an above rate of knots that may or may not have an intersection on the other side with a cage waiting to pull out then you are less likely to put yourself in danger. It gives the cage driver a bit more time to react to change from the accelator pedal to the brake pedal. At high speed they have less time to react as do you have less time, and have committed themself to pulling out, and then you come barrelling around a corner and blam...

I have faith in my own abilities to ride faster on the open road, heck even around town, but I do not have faith in every other person on the road and there abilities including other riders (even those I have riden with in the past)

You as a rider have to be thinking ahead, you may know the road, and ride it everyday, but did you know that today was the day something was going to be different on that road... that cage is going to pull out from that intersection around that corner, or there has been some shit fallen from the cliff top onto the road right the apex of your corner, or that hawk eating that dead rabbit isn't going to get out of the road in time... or that kid comes out running after his ball, that cyclist makes a dumb move, or or or the list goes on...

[craigs288]

[QUOTE=Romeo;1248681]Knee down around a blind roundabout.

I wonder how it lost it's sight. Perhaps a motorcyclist stuck their knee in it's eye.

[Mikkel]

- Knee down around a blind roundabout.[/CENTER]

Hmm - if there's no line of sight (i.e. blind) why would it matter what colour you're wearing? Or am I reading what your post wrong?

If you want to be seen chuck some red and blue flashing lights on your bike - it works really well I've been told. :whistle:

[Eurodave]

I dunno if its just me or not.....but the bike Im currently doing a lot of k's on, my '76 Dunstall Suzuki GS750 has a BRIGHT yellow 3/4 fairing & body kit, & cagers just seem to be giving way, stopping & generally behaving themselves rather better than Ive been previously used to???
BTW I wear a black leather jacket & have a matt black helmet.....and I only use my headlite at nite or in poor weather......

[shafty]

I have the indicators wired as riding lights on the ST, and for BIG rides, eg the GC, I wear my LIME flouro vest - its the same colour as Police vests, working on the theory that our periphial vision can normally spot a Cop Car pretty easy !! Works for me.

[idb]

My old Chopper Guard flag looks good on the Ducati.

[_intense_]

hehehe... "dildo"

[Toaster]

How about you let him wear what he wants to wear and mind your own business.

Bad enough when the government wants to control every minute detail of our lives without some other do-gooder trying to asw ell.


Well said Waylander. I see Rodney police looking to stop bikers in a local paper article recently. They wanted to recommend they wear safety glow vests and would give praise for those wearing them.

Um, nice idea in principle and yes they certainly do make you more visible, but if we all wanted to wear brightly coloured vests or gay looking helmets and riding gear - we would be on sports bikes - not cruisers.

[Toaster]

Having said that, I see the LE M109R for next year is bright yellow.... WTF!

[Coldrider]

Kawasaki Green does all the work for me, so I can wear Black, Black ...Black.

[Bonez]

I dunno if its just me or not.....but the bike Im currently doing a lot of k's on, my '76 Dunstall Suzuki GS750 has a BRIGHT yellow 3/4 fairing & body kit, & cagers just seem to be giving way, stopping & generally behaving themselves rather better than Ive been previously used to???
They're probably sniggering to themselves. ;)

[Bonez]

I seen a guy on a Harley As pointed out you saw the bike. Lots of chrome ah?

[MacD]

The issue of black gear and visibility is one of those areas which demonstrates that you can't always trust your intuition in these matters.

A number have studies have shown that black gear is actually quite visible in an urban environment due to the solid, and relatively high contrast, silhouette it creates against colourful and patterned backgrounds. Add a headlight to the mix and you have a high brightness contrast target, which exactly what the visual system responds to best.

Solid colour vests, such as fluorescent safety vests, work on a similar principle but add in colour contrast as long as the background is not too similar. Wearing a hi-vis vest over a black jacket is probably the best combination in terms of trying to trigger visual "pop-out".

However, drivers still won't see you, just like they don't see trains on tracks, or cars in the opposite lane when passing.

[Luckylegs]

...Do you know how much this suit cost

:mad:

[RDJ]

...Do you know how much this suit cost

:mad:


Dunno but with those, ah, booties, downshifting must be tough, I hope you have a slipper clutch... :confused:

[Shadows]

...Do you know how much this suit cost

:mad:

I can only imagine. Let alone the four foot flashing dildo!

[Conquiztador]

Whatever.

Black gear stands out quite well, actually. Especially against a green background, which is more often than not the case.

Truth be told, one could be dressed in a shocking pink gimp suit with a four foot flashing dildo stuck on one's head and the "didn't see you" brigade would be just as much of a liability - although I guess in that case a lot of them might be just using that as an excuse...

Lol. As soon as I am allowed to give blings again you are No1 on my list.

[Conquiztador]

...Do you know how much this suit cost

:mad:

Fu..n hilarious. Bling as soon as I am allowed to!!

[Luckylegs]

Dunno but with those, ah, booties, downshifting must be tough, I hope you have a slipper clutch... :confused:

That aint the half of it, you wanna try 'Head Checks' with no neck, oh,,, and dont get me started on finding a helmet that fits me properly. :crybaby:

[Conquiztador]

Have been in black for more years then I want to remember. Never had an issue with others in the traffic. Then again, my bikes have always been of the type that you hear before you see them...

[Luckylegs]

I can only imagine. Let alone the four foot flashing dildo!

Who, me old chum Noel Edmonds... The fookin smarmy wanker !

[RDJ]

That aint the half of it, you wanna try 'Head Checks' with no neck, oh,,, and dont get me started on finding a helmet that fits me properly. :crybaby:

But you beat the Goldwing airbag concept to market!!

[mitchilin]

This is the same arguement with making hunters wear hi viz.I wear full camo in the bush so I won't get accidently shot.I wear black on a bike and don't assume that anyone has seen me.

[peasea]

This is the same arguement with making hunters wear hi viz.I wear full camo in the bush so I won't get accidently shot.I wear black on a bike and don't assume that anyone has seen me.

It pays to believe that everyone is out to kill you. I've only ever worn black leather and I'm still here; sure I might sweat a bit on a summer's day but read the reports, leather is still the best protection,

A leather jacket should be compulsory, not a helmet.

[The Stranger]

It pays to believe that everyone is out to kill you. I've only ever worn black leather and I'm still here; sure I might sweat a bit on a summer's day but read the reports, leather is still the best protection,

A leather jacket should be compulsory, not a helmet.

In my experience, it isn't that cage drivers don't see you mostly.
That is just the excuse offered because they aren't going to admit to the reality, which is, they saw you but were in a hurry and figured you would yield anyway.
My 2 closest calls were cars pulling out on me whilst looking me in the face. They saw alright, perhaps they didn't like what they did see, but they saw.
Being 6'2" and wearing black leather and a black helmet helps "visibility" in these situations. Who is going to be afraid of a gay budgerigar?

As for a leather jacket being compulsory, it should be noted that more injuries happen to the body below the waist that above in motorcycle accidents.

[rocketman1]

Well it seems to me, from all these replies is that for most people it appears they are going to wear what they want,(visible or not), and thats the end of the story.
Hey I can understand that, but to ride without a head light on is plain dumb.
I do know that having a noisy bike, means that cages in front tend to move over for you to pass, only because they hear you , not because they see you.
I wear black as well but have a bright bike and a silver helmet with two headlights on.
You can only do so much.

[BAD DAD]

I understand what you are saying Rocketman1, but I note that people still pull out in front of buses and trucks, ambulances with lights & sirens blaring, and how many have been flattened by locomotives.
The trouble with hi-viz now is that it is everywhere, so a tired or lazy brain just tends to filter out all the background "noise". If you aren't looking you aren't likely to see.
Been bowled a few times in the past myself so now I try to read other road users and not just zone out once my visor goes down. Fingers crossed , headlights on and insurance up to date.

[Max Preload]

treat everyone else as if they haven't seen you or don't give a stuff and you'll be right 99% of the time.