i dont! my jacket is blue white and black, pants the same, boots white, lids white and red. i also have reflective rim tape on my wheels, and i cit a few pieces and put them on my passanger pegs and lic plate aswell.

 

Wise man there Slim

 

Lol ....
Well, I got T- boned wearing a high Visy vest (fluoro Yellow with reflecting stripes) as I was leaving a construction site.
I don't think a Flashing light on my helmet would have made a difference.

Thinking like - and for the CAGERS, constant alertness and looking out for possible dangers is what I do, as I don't trust anyone on the road to know what they are doing.

 

A guy who wrote a well known motorcycle safety book told me many years ago that black leathers frighten car drivers and create some "social space" around you in traffic. Don't know if it is true or not but it sounded good.

I've got the MS color RR and a yellow Shoei, but I'm still wearing all black leathers. 30+ years. Recently got a new set of Aerostich Transits.

 

I've been riding 45 years and I know what you mean. In this area of Fla, we have thousands of Q-Tips that come spend the winter here. I have bright colored bikes and wear bright colored jackets & helmets. I know there is a bull's-eye painted somewhere on me or the bike, but I can't seem to find it! My senses are heightened during "snow bird season", that's for sure.

 

You make a good point, 'Bird. I do wear colorful, conspicuous gear (lots of red, white, and silver with some 3M tape thrown in), but I'm not giving up my black bike! The black clothing may be a trend from the Harley/cruiser side of the sport. Walk into any HD dealership and you'll think the entire world wears nothing but black leather. It does look good, though! We shouldn't forget that part of street motorcycling is about appearance--looking cool, if you must--and I rather enjoy seeing the stylish gear of street motorcycling. The same can be said about other individual sports--skiing, snowboarding, and tennis all have a style of clothing that conveys something about the participant.

My instincts tell me being more visible to drivers can't be a bad thing, can it? Is there any study that correlates motorcycle conspicuity to accident rates? "Loud Clothes Save Lives?"

 

My instincts tell me being more visible to drivers can't be a bad thing, can it? Is there any study that correlates motorcycle conspicuity to accident rates? "Loud Clothes Save Lives?"

Yeah I don't know about this. When I had my ZRX it was the Eddie Lawson edition (green/white/purple) and on my TLR (which is mostly white), I had a blue/white/black Joe rocket jacket, a white/blue/black Shoei RF1000 or my all white HJC, a really loud Ti Muzzey full system on the ZRX and Yoshi RS3 on the TLR, there was no way you would not see or hear me coming and I still had way more near misses than I have had on my S1K (touch wood!).

My leathers are Grey/silver/black and the reason why I like them is that they don't scream LOOK AT ME. This is also why I got the Thunder Grey.

Maybe the reason why I almost got hit so many times on the other bikes is because people would be looking at me, you know they say look where you want to go and you will go there. ;-) Like R1HOOLIGAN said there seems to be a bulls-eye painted on him. Maybe people get all mesmerized by all the colours they don't know what to do.......

Nah, for the most part people have no idea how to drive properly and are just not aware of what is around them, too caught up in their own world, cell phone, I am late, putting on make up, drinking coffee, etc, etc, etc.

 

fluro arai for me xenon lights n a loud exhaust......

everything i wear is black leather alpinestars tho sometimes a hi viz over the top...

and mine is also motorsports.........

what about exhausts....

LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES........

 

Xenon lights do not make you safer. There are studies have shown that due to the brightness of the lights it actually makes it more difficult to judge distance and speed of the vehicle/bike making it more likely that a cager will pull out on you.

 

Anything you can do to make yourself more conspicuous is a good idea, but you're probably only slightly tilting your odds, and each person makes their own safety/style tradeoff. (If you were REALLY concerned about safety, you wouldn't ride the damn bike to begin with.)

Being conspicuous starts with the helmet and moves down to the jacket, pants, and bike. As you move down, each makes a smaller difference and except for yellow (or another very bright/garish color), I doubt color differences in the bike matter a whole lot and for all we know, the motorsports scheme might be worse because the tri-color acts as a natural camouflage. Wearning a yellow helmet and jacket probably gets you 90% of the benefit. Armchair analysis without good data can only go so far.

- Mark

 

Mark,

I agree a lot w, what you said.

Especially about being conspicuous, starts from the head down and a yellow Helmet and Jacket would be a big ( I don't know that I'll go 90% ) part of the benefit.

I'm still thinking a moving or stopped bike w, white and red on it is going to catch more attention than dark solid colors... that just seem to disappear against a darker back drop of traffic specifically.

 

no xenon light do make me safer because i can see better........fact......

if an idiot is going to pull out on u its gna happen, even if u had slipknot playing on your back.............

thats why when we ride bikes we have to be a bit brighter than the rest of road users..........

LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES

 

Maybe we should all eat at a buffet 3 times a day so we can gain weight to the size of a car so that we can be seen. People don't look in their mirror or out their window for a motorcycle... they expect a large vehicle. I think this is the basis behind the safety campaign showing people that their are bikes on the road and to look for them. I've had a person make eye contact with me and 2 secs later pull over into my lane. Cagers minds go blank when it comes to a motorcycle. If people will pull out in front of a bright yellow school bus, what is gonna make them look twice at a small yellow helmet. Just my opinion

 

War-Eagle, you make a good point.

We must all ride like we are invisible ...like the CAGER is GOING to make that left turn across the lane in front of us at an intersection.

Like there is GOING to be a CAGER pulling out of the hidden driveway just ahead .

Like there WILL be a Policeman JUST over the rise .

ANYTIME you think a CAGER might not see you they WON'T .

Like that pickup truck that is making a left hand tun in front of you WILL STOP partly through the turn so wait until they have completed their turn before passing them...this one I have 1st hand knowledge of.

ANYTIME a CAGER pulls up on a road to the right , they WILL go ahead and PULL OUT in front of you.

NEVER trust a CAGER to do the right thing.

YOU as a motorcycle rider MUST always DO the right thing if you plan on surviving in the world of CAGERS and other dangerous things for motorcyclists.

It's a BIG resonsibility we are tasked w, ...but one w, great pleasure if we do it w, the right thoughts in our heads..

Good luck and keep your focus always straight ahead ...don't for an instant think you can look around and lose that focus on the road.

Especially if you are like me and like to ride fast.

I am focused constantly on the road in front of me and my peripheral vision is taking in the panorama of what's going on to my sides.

I learned a valuable lesson the hard way...I looked away from the road once ...just for a second at about 70 mph on a curvy, country, 2 lane, ...when I looked back and regained my focus , I was headed straight for a 90 degree corner just over a little rise, going down hill, w, too much speed and a ditch staring at me.

That's right, I slammed right into it.

Lots of broken bones , torn ligaments, sprains, and soft tissue damage..and that's wearing the best protective gear at the time.

I was younger and less experienced and didn't know about target fixation or counter steering ..or I might have pulled it off no problem.

Ever since then, I know ...never to take my eyes from the road unless I'm on the 4 lane crusing ...and then still not comfortable 'cause there might be an object in the road that could 'cause a crash ..so I would need all the time possibe to avoid it.

 

that entire statement pretty much sumed up the mentality that you must have when riding. Thats what I try to tell newer riders, act as if everyone on the road is going to make a bad decision. Even getting out on a country road doesn't eliminate your risk. Stay safe and have fun.

 

Well, all points have been valid and there is merit in everything that has been said.
However looking like a canary on steroids is not my preference just to accommodate ignorant Cagers, Road safety has to start with educating car drivers to be bike aware.
Here in OZ they run awareness footage on television.
Car drivers underestimate the speed of motorcycles and the lack of agility whilst in motion.
Part of obtaining a car license should be motorcycle awareness.
As I said I got cleaned up wearing fluoro colours.
I drive a big 4x4 to tow my bikes to places, never had I had a car pulling in front of me or not leaving enough space for me.
Having driven my woman's little Honda civic, the attitude of other road users is hugely different. No respect, no room and cocky overtaking moves.
The smaller you are (real estate taken on the road) the less respect ... full stop. Canary coloured, all black or otherwise.
Moral of this story, if you hit a 2500kg 4x4 hurts a lot more then a 130kg little bike. Attitude just doesnt change with colour of the bike or leathers.

 

Having driven my woman's little Honda civic, the attitude of other road users is hugely different. No respect, no room and cocky overtaking moves.
The smaller you are (real estate taken on the road) the less respect ... full stop. Canary coloured, all black or otherwise.
Moral of this story, if you hit a 2500kg 4x4 hurts a lot more then a 130kg little bike. Attitude just doesnt change with colour of the bike or leathers.

+1 You are spot on. Thinking about what you said - I have Land Cruiser and people just seem to move out of your way, no problems getting cut off etc. Driving the girlfriends Yaris is horrible, no one gives you a gap, people cut you off and others don't even seem to see you.