Dark Road + Tinted Visor + Too much speed =?

[Brett]

Binning it.

Got the bike out of the garage this morning, first nice day in yonks, thought "hey, finally get a bit of a ride in". I only meant to head through Whitford, to Clevedon and then home again, however I met up with two other bikers, and sorta ended up out at Kaiaua.
Normally I would have a clear visor on, and this would not prove to be any problem, however it was nearly 5pm by the time we headed back, and it was getting dark by the time we headed up through twilight rd.
I went into one corner and got a bit of a surprise in that i hadn't quite seen the depth of the corner because my tinted visor cut out too much light, thought to myself that as soon as i get a chance i should lift up the visor up so that i can see properly.
Was going to do this on the next bit of straight rd, however it was the very next corner that caught me out.
Went in , thought i had the corner lined up, realised that it was tighter than i had originally thought...and therefore was holding more speed than i could carry.
At first it was ok, i held my vision through the corner where i wanted to go, then i did the wrong thing and looked where i was presently headed, at a ditch/ mud wall. And sure enough, the hands went straight to the brakes even though my head was saying to get off the brakes and focus on cornering. My hands were still on the brakes as i hit gravel and the front went out from under me.
The bike must have hit in a sweet point, (the front wheel) and must have scrubbed off a lot of speed because only two fairings were cracked and scratched. I low sided and went tumbling across the road head, then shoulder and then hip.
Got back up, had a cackle at my stupidity, picked it back up and rode home.
Thanks to the two guys I was riding with for stopping and waiting with me! Can't remember your names, but no doubt will catch you on the road sometime!

[skidMark]

thats a bugger mate...but the question is have ya learnt not to use a tinted in the dark?

[Gremlin]

bah, I have ridden in the pitch black with a tinted, and nothing has happened... ooooo errrrr, touch wood

You have to realise the problems associated with it, and adjust accordingly, like with any conditions.

[Edbear]

Sorry to hear that, glad you're okay! I use sunnies and a clear visor, easier to whip off the sunnies if it gets dark. You proved the rule, "You go where you look!", eh?

[Leong]

Sorry to hear about that... but seems like you got away relatively unscathed. I had a little incident on that road when I started riding, can be tricky at the best of times but in winter, with some sunstrike, then shaded areas, and a dark visor.....

One thing I've been trying to do is find a ride route in this area, that you can ride in the evening without getting too much sunstrike on the way home!!

[Maha]

I got caught a while back on the Northland ride, had a coffee at Whangarei on the way back, i had a tinted visor but its was about 5.30pm and we still had about 100km to wipe off, and it started to rain, i swapped lids with my partner, she had a clear visor. Was the first time at night in the rain and on the Triumph and two up. Ride to the conditions some would say......
If i had no choice i would have done the ride home visor up, bugs n' all

[pritch]

Having had bad experiences with dark visors and/or frozen eyeballs I was attracted to the following item. I've posted this link on KB before but it appears relevant here:

http://www.helmetsunblocker.com/#SUNBLOCKER

[MD]

Sorry to hear you came off.
getting caught out after dark with a dark visor is a problem. I've seen the ads for the new Nolan 102 helmet that has a flip up dark visor that covers the top half of the clear visor- if you follow my drift. I haven't seen one in a shop yet but would be interested. Apparently with the dark piece up it doesn't make any wind noise- so the ads claim. Anyone tried one?
That sunblocker mentioned above can't be removed in a split second like the new Nolan. I had a Nolan flip top years ago with a tinted insert behind the clear sheet But that involved taking off the helmet, removing the clear visor then unclipping the insert. A 'do it at home job' not on the run.

[Smokin]

I have a clear visor and a very dark tint reusable vinyl film. If i get cought out in failing light i just peal it off and put it in it's protective tube to use next time. Bloody handy it is.

[Brett]

I have a clear visor and a very dark tint reusable vinyl film. If i get cought out in failing light i just peal it off and put it in it's protective tube to use next time. Bloody handy it is.

I like that idea quite a bit...where did you get the vinyl tint?
The only bugger is not I have two bikes to get resprayed...not one!
Does anyone know of a good sign writer who can do decals cheap?

[scumdog]

I just take my sunnies off!

[Smokin]

I like that idea quite a bit...where did you get the vinyl tint?
The only bugger is not I have two bikes to get resprayed...not one!
Does anyone know of a good sign writer who can do decals cheap?

I bought my one off TradeMe about 6 months ago. Its called "QuikStik Visor"
but it's only static cling vinyl so i cant see any reason why you couldnt get a piece from a sign writer and cut it to suit.

[Zapf]

sorry to hear that... I haven't had incident on that road, but that road is not very good at best (I hate tight corners). I tend to avoide it if possible.

[BarBender]

Sorry to hear about the bin.

I know a lot of people dont - but I ride with a tank bag... especially in the winter...
I usually keep my clear visor (amongst other things) in there in case I stay late at work or if weekend rides spill into sunset.

[Dafe]

Cut your losses, stop at a petrol station and buy some sunnies and ride visor up.

Most stations will sell a pair of glasses that have clear lenses (i.e. minimal tint) usually 15-20 bucks.

It's still a prick if you're on a motorway riding into rain, as I found recently.
But it's better to be safe than sorry.