Late night country riding

[actungbaby]

Yes i used to really dislike riding at night on open road as used to city riding i was just going say that
reflective road marking signs , somone told me years ago you can tell the speed of the upcoming corner
By thwe spacing of the markers even since then game me alot more cofidence to plan ahead
As for the cattle you just likey to wreak you vechile even in a car i had 2 freinds write of there cars hitting cows
Never heard Motorcylist hoting one till the previous post mind you mainy had car drivers as friends

Another tip, the reflective markers along the side of the road are different on each side. Learning which is which makes life a lot easier.....

[actungbaby]

Yes they say its just a much the metal reflector shape at the back of the light makes you wonder why some bikes with same
Wattage bulbs some are great some are crap esp on low beam

Depends on the spread, some lights offer remarkably improved beam pattern and light intensity over stock units. I still have an HID unit to go in mine

[Fast Eddie]

Research done. Road markers explained & markings explained. The writer is very dry, no sex, violence or humour in the road marking world...... It all becomes clear at fig 3.8 here

figure 3.7 is a good table as well, sweet for digging up that info, I was far too lazy. Gonna try some memorising and see if it helps at night on the open road.

[BMWST?]

if you have your headlight on high you illuminate the markers for bloody miles....white to the left,yellow to the right.If the whites diapear and the yellows go of the the left you are approaching a left hander,if the yellows disapear and the whites go of th the right you are approaching a right.If bothe disapear "downwards " you are approaching a dip,if they go up then disapear you are approaching a blind crest.?if you can see several reflective markers delineating a bend it shows the first part of the corner is not so sharp.

[Berries]

Research done. Road markers explained & markings explained. The writer is very dry, no sex, violence or humour in the road marking world...... It all becomes clear at fig 3.8 here

If only RTS 5 was actually followed. All you can rely on is that if it is a left hander the reflectors on the right should be yellow. And that's it. Even NZTA don't follow their own guidelines on state highways when it comes to spacing, particularly on vertical curves. Have a look here if you want to see the standard (which RTS 5 has used) click on Section 5 then go to page 16.

On a dark night well spaced and, more importantly clean, edge marker posts are great, but is rare to see them set out in accordance with any of the guidelines. Still, better than nothing, and probably lead to an increase in night time speeds. One day they will take them away.

[TOTO]

It's dark at night?

You should have more lights

thats what I say too.

[caspernz]

To me it's the inconsistency of the various road marking and sign posting methods that'll trip you up if you rely heavily on them.

Some things crack me up, like head north out of Hawera from the big roundabout and the line markings on the ground would have you almost do a slalom to circumvent the flush median and the turning bay.

In other areas the marker posts are either dirty, missing, or mowed flat.

Nothing beats good lights so you can see the black stuff you wanna ride on....

[george formby]

If only RTS 5 was actually followed. All you can rely on is that if it is a left hander the reflectors on the right should be yellow. And that's it. Even NZTA don't follow their own guidelines on state highways when it comes to spacing, particularly on vertical curves. Have a look here if you want to see the standard (which RTS 5 has used) click on Section 5 then go to page 16.

On a dark night well spaced and, more importantly clean, edge marker posts are great, but is rare to see them set out in accordance with any of the guidelines. Still, better than nothing, and probably lead to an increase in night time speeds. One day they will take them away.

I view the road markers as just another piece of information to increase my safety margin. The lights on my bike are mediocre at best so every little helps.

I worry more about the OP's beasts & vermin on the road or dew which I cannot see. Is the road shiny coz it's damp.... Paranoia!

[unstuck]

I worry more about the OP's beasts & vermin on the road or dew which I cannot see. Is the road shiny coz it's damp.... Paranoia!

Black ice is really good fun too.

[george formby]

Black ice is really good fun too.

Oh yes, feckin hilarious. Scotland is great, black ice, badgers, deer & highland cattle loitering on every corner. Winter is even worse.

[unstuck]

Oh yes, feckin hilarious. Scotland is great, black ice, badgers, deer & highland cattle loitering on every corner. Winter is even worse.

Sounds like southland.

[Shadowjack]

Sounds like southland.

When living in Invercargill, I once talked to a recent Scottish migrant to that fair province, and his comment was "I travelled around NZ, and decided to live in Southland because it reminds me so much of home".

[Macontour]

Years back when I had my GS550 I used to regularly leave Auckland on a Friday night and ride to Palmy. I upgraded my headlight bulb to a 130/100("for off road use only")!! and also fitted two 55 wattt Hella spotlights to my crashbars, run through a relay.

Fantastic on high beam and even better for a quick angry flash at a car driver who didn't dip quick enough but the problem was that I would end up riding at speed allowed by the main and spots and if I suddenly had to dip, it was like turning the lights off altogether.

It made the Alternator work hard too.

I still say you can never have too much light at night and have always upgraded car and bike lights.

[FJRider]

It's more flavoursome riding at night. The merths are the worst, can't see jack when the buggers stick to your visor like a bat signal.

A few years ago I noticed that the reflective posts at the road side are illuminated way beyond the head light throw & started using them as a secondary vanishing point. My road position is a lot better, far fewer suprises with tightening corners etc & more time for spotting hazards like bears, drunks, gravel & cow pats.

Dip's in the (straight/flat) roads can hide short left and/or right handers ... NO guarantee's is what you think you see is true in this regard. Late at night and being tired ... even on (familiar ???) roads you can trust the eye's too much.

[FJRider]

Oh bugger the helpful advice! Where in this country can I play chicken with buffalo?

No need to ask ... they will find you ... you just dont know when ...