Riding at Night

[Jenny]

I went on my first ride after dark last night. It was a short one; I took the motorcycle to a meeting about a mile frmo my house. Here's what I learned.

1. Park near a light. I couldn’t see the bike enough to get my key in the key hole. There was a street light along the other end of the parking lot. Next time, I’ll park there!

2. Don’t park near a sprinkler system. I thought the seat was super cold (I sat down in pitch blackness). I got home to realize that the passenger seat was soaked, as was my seat where I hadn’t already wiped it dry with my jeans! This also falls under “another reason to park near a light.â€

[Jer]

I'm a noob too. Havent been above 35 mph and out in traffic yet.

The idea of riding at night scares the crap out of me. (Hey Alan, I guess I'm a pussy too! :tongue: ) Not being able to see the defects in the pavement before you are right on them seems like a big problem..... O_o

[Jenny]

Originally Posted by Jer

I'm a noob too. Havent been above 35 mph and out in traffic yet.

The idea of riding at night scares the crap out of me. (Hey Alan, I guess I'm a pussy too! :tongue: ) Not being able to see the defects in the pavement before you are right on them seems like a big problem..... O_o

It did me, too. That's why I rode the roads that I ride regularly, and on my way there, I verified that there would be enough street lights that with my headlight I thought I would be fine. I also took note to see if there were any new potholes and made sure of manhole locations. Sure, that wouldn't cover the "new" conditions (someone has an accident and glass gets left in large quantities on the road, someone dropped something on the road, an oil spill, etc., but that's what I was using my headlights and street lights for. If I'd felt that I wouldn't be able to see enough to drive, I'd have skipped it. I'm taking my time about getting out even if I really want to go and do all these great motorcycle things.

If I had stuck to the main drag of town, the entire way would have been exceedingly well lit - so well lit that it would have been better than if I'd been riding at dusk or sunset since the sun gets wonky and makes visibility rougher then. But on the way there, I realized that I could handle those back roads (not all back roads, those roads specifically!) after dark.

[Dupo]

Hmm, i loved riding at night ever since i got my first bike. Scary first ride but after that ... i was tearing up the roads after dark. I still prefer riding at night over the day time.

[Jer]

I would think it'd be awesome.

But what about the road debris/visibility issue?

[patrick_777]

I've never had a problem with it. As long as your headlight is adjusted right and you have good visibility, you should be fine. Deer suck though.

I too, love riding at night when there's no traffic. The only thing that creeps into my mind is wondering how long I would be lying on the side of the road until someone drove by and saw me if I went down hard.

[Dupo]

The GZ has great night time visibility in my book. VERY bright light that shows a wide view of the road.

My shadow headlight ... sucks. And note the pic in my sig .. no shocks! If anyone is worried about visibility at night with pot holes its me lol. I get by just fine ... i dont speed so fast that if something comes into view i dont have time to react. I always cruise it slower at night because of that. If i ride at night like an idiot and hit a pot hole/bump etc and put my nuts in my throat ... its my own fault.

+1 for patrick's comment. I too think of that OR if someone would just run over me lying in the road not seeing me in time. ugh.

[alanmcorcoran]

...but I think riding the GZ at night is way better than riding my bicycle at night. Visibility is pretty good, it's easier to see other traffic, and there's way less of it. My non-powered two wheeler has two smaller lights that light up about ten inches of road. Even so, I've built up years of experience riding at night with it.

I also run at night, around a reservoir with no lights at all. It's easier on full or partial moon nights, but I've done it in just by the "glow" of Anaheim. Even though I wear trifocals, I can see pretty good at night once I acclimate. I occasionally think there's a mountain lion around the next bend, but the dark itself doesn't bother me.

I did all of my basic practicing at night in a local school parking lot - it was the only time there wasn't anybody parked in it.

Too bad I found out two weeks in I'm not allowed to ride at night with a permit. I moved up my MSF and test just to get back out at night. I'm sort of a night person all around and I guess the bike is no exception.

[fg1234567892000]

Riding at night for me is uncomfortable; perhaps I'm not used to it. It also doesn't help that the first time I rode my bike out at night I got nailed by a deer. It throughly wrecked my first motorcycle. Now I'm much more cautious about going out at night; I only do it in the city where I know there are street lights.

Overall, I just ground myself at night; there are too many critters running out there at night that can cause me trouble!

[Water Warrior 2]

You can increase your measure of safety by installing a SilverStar bulb in the GZ. Some bikes do tend to vibrate a SilverStar to death but the rewards are better visiblity and always having a spare just in case you need one is a very good idea. Always carry a small flashlight at night. Part of your knowledge base should be knowing how to change a bulb.