Night vision...

[fish]

Some portion of my ride is in the dark, every time I go out.
On pitch black rural roads my night vision is probably bothered more by reflective road signs - than the occasional car.
Some of the large yellow square signs are the worst because they are right near my line of travel - especially if there are a couple in a row.
These 'curve' signs aren't much trouble....unless a car joins them.

Dipping to low beam when I see them coming helps.
(Reflective deer & varmint eyes are always appreciated!)

Fish

[Old Grinner]

With the noticeable increase in traffic in my area over the past several years my night vision is definitely being effected by the onslaught of more numerous oncoming headlights.

Previously when I saw an occasional car/truck coming my eyes would have time to adjust back to the "darkness" as I continued to ride/drive. But with repeated exposures in much shorter duration to headlights now my eyes don't have as much time to fully adjust. I have really great night vision too . . ..

In the shadows or darkness those reflective eyes of the critters are Nature's way of saying "Hey . . . ". Also any kind of movement is suspect. A lot of the time deer are just grazing by the side of the road but when they are on the run they just keep right on going. Same thing with coyotes/coywolves . . . they will just run right out in front of you.

Road debris is another story. It could be anything. Generally if you are riding along with the "high beam" on you have a pretty good chance of spotting something well enough in advance if you are traveling at a reasonable speed, speed limit. Pot holes are a hole different thing (no pun intended).

Bottom line is ATGATT (or most of it) and ride to conditions relevant to the speed limits.

I find that tailgaters are a nuisance and it's best to just turn off onto a different road or find some place to slow or pull over to let them go by. Their headlights reflecting in your mirrors significantly reduce your night vision capability.

[WhiteNoise]

I see the light. Oh yeah, it's Bright!
Riding/bicycling/driving at night - Less comes to sight. With New to me: Cataracts.
I'm still able to "drive" safely at night but the other(s)? too Risky. Pretty close to "Done" with night riding

[Mel46]

I don't ride at night if I can help it, but when I do the Kawell lights I added to the front forks are really great. I have them aimed down toward the road, but they will really light up the sides as well.

When I purchased them I purchased one spot light and one flood light. Now they sell them in pairs, either spot or flood. I put my flood light on the right so that I could pick up the activity on the side of the road, while the spot light is aimed ahead but down, so that I can see the road itself.

Also running them in the daytime increases my visibility to other drivers. I found that anything that gets me noticed while riding is good. My helmet and jacket are yellow. My bike is red. Just in case, I also have a dashcam though.

[Old Grinner]

I don't ride at night if I can help it, but when I do the Kawell lights I added to the front forks are really great. I have them aimed down toward the road, but they will really light up the sides as well.

When I used to travel on the Interstate Highways throughout New England and upstate NY regularly on my Suzuki Bandit I added some Saeng Night Cutter auxiliary lights. I don't think Saeng sells lights anymore but they do sell a limited amount of accessories.

https://saeng.com/product-category/saeng/

I installed them back in the early 2000's. They fit nicely on my front turn signal stalks.

It made a huge difference in night visibility and I wondered how I got along without them.

As you mentioned . . . I too had them aimed to light up the road surface far enough out in front of me so it gave me a chance to react to debris etc . . . traveling up to 65 MPH. Talk about making a quick decision.

I don't usually use them during the day unless traffic is really intense. Some day when I sell or trade the bike they will go with it to enhance safety for the next rider.

You can see them installed on the Bandit in this pic I took up at Orleans on Cape Cod.

P1010026a.jpg

[Mel46]

I really think everyone with a bike needs extra lights for night riding. We need every advantage we can get, and I found out when I first started to ride that even the best riders can't see very far ahead on the open road when there are absolutely no road or street lights.

When I was younger I was riding in west Texas, where we use to say that it was "Miles and miles of miles and miles". If you ever rode the freeways out there you would know what that meant. In some areas your chance of seeing another vehicle are slim...nothing but open road and not much else...except armadillos, rattlesnakes, sagebrush, sand, jackrabbits, and other creatures of the night. How would you like it if you did not see one of those until you were on top of them??

By the way, rattlesnakes there can be 6 feet long, and hitting an armadillo on a bike could ruin your ride, just fyi. Oh, one more thing. Jack rabbits out there are huge.

[fish]

I really think everyone with a bike needs extra lights for night riding. We need every advantage we can get, and I found out when I first started to ride that even the best riders can't see very far ahead on the open road when there are absolutely no road or street lights.

When I was younger I was riding in west Texas, where we use to say that it was "Miles and miles of miles and miles". If you ever rode the freeways out there you would know what that meant. In some areas your chance of seeing another vehicle are slim...nothing but open road and not much else...except armadillos, rattlesnakes, sagebrush, sand, jackrabbits, and other creatures of the night. How would you like it if you did not see one of those until you were on top of them??

By the way, rattlesnakes there can be 6 feet long, and hitting an armadillo on a bike could ruin your ride, just fyi. Oh, one more thing. Jack rabbits out there are huge.

My beef with owner added lighting is just that....
- it is owner added.
It may or may not be for actual road/headlight use and certainly is not a 'road headlight', encased in a proper & aimable housing. See (HD or Honda) CHP additional lights.

I guess if you ride at speed it is worth purchasing proper accessory lighting - if any scooter or motorcycle company makes such a thing....except maybe HD or big Hondas for police use.

Flooding forward of the scoot is one way to go, I guess. A proper headlight & bulb is usually sufficient for road use - though many scoots are not so equipped.
Fish