[Snobrd]

One item I am considering is a headlight pulser.  It causes the headlight (during daylight) to pulse bright to dim and back with uniform frequency.  I've seen a few of them on the road on other bikes and noted how well  they attracted my attention.  Anything that makes you more visible on the road has to be considered worthwhile.

On my cruiser I wear an Aerostich Darien Jacket in Hi Vis Yellow and a yellow full face helmet.  On the Bullet Classic I tend to wear a brown leather jacket and a black pudding pot helmet.  Perhaps not smart but it looks appropriate.  I do add a Hi Vis yellow reflective vest over the brown leather.  The Darien Jacket is fantastic.  100% waterproof and breathable with great venting.  I'm considering giving up the brown leather for Darien Light in Hi Vis yellow for the REB.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/aerostich/darien-jacket.htm

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Darien-Motorcycle-Jacket-p-16376.html

Ride safe all.

[geoffbaker]

Since I've had the RE my ratio of pull-out-in-front-of-me is running 2 to 1 for lights on.
I've turned my light off but when I feel there is a chance of someone not seeing me, I use the flasher. I feel like I have better results with that approach.

Since the law of "lights on" (to be imported or sold) ((it's my choice how I run my bike)) I feel that the general public is becoming accustomed to lights on, cars and bikes, resulting in going blind while talking on the cell phone. Without my light on I feel like I'm more of an odd ball (no jokes here) and am more easily seen.

Just MO YMMV.

Couldn't agree more. Most testing is done in a "pristine" environment... ie sure,  in an artificial test someone will react more quickly to something coming that has a headlamp on.
But in the real world, people quickly get used to headlights during the day and "tune them out".. just like we now tune out third brake lights, reflective paint,... the more you add, eventually the more people tune out.
Of course, it would help if they banned LCD monitors and cell phones in cars and got rid of street advertising.. then things would improve. The less items your brain has to process the better. Someone driving while  talking on the phone, watching the election results on his dashboard monitor, and reading the giant jumbotron casino ad across the street  is going to have no time to process you whether you have your headlight on or not... just kiss your heinie goodbye!

[stw]

Pulser light sounds good, but I wonder if it makes it harder for drivers to gauge our distance and speed?

[Bath Bullet]

Black wolf, it is now illegal for a driver of a vehicle use a hand held mobile phone in the U.K., you will get a fine and points, plus the police can confiscate the phone!
It is now illegal to smoke in any 'works' vehicle, even your own car if its on company business, on your own or passengers.
This covers Council vehicles, company reps cars, goods vehicles, any vehicle that is being used for any perpose of or in connection with work.
Health and safety & all that..............

[DRWATSON]

     I've been riding with my headlight on since the 60's, never been sorry for it. Best thing I bought for my Kawasaki in 2004 was the modulating headlight from Kriss motorcycle products. It really works. Cars notice especially when you pull in behind them off a side road, the first thought that comes to their mind is "cop". some people have actually pulled off the road letting me just ride on by. When I start riding the RE more as a daily bike That will definitely be one of the first goodies to buy.
Mike in NE Tennessee

[geoffbaker]

     I've been riding with my headlight on since the 60's, never been sorry for it. Best thing I bought for my Kawasaki in 2004 was the modulating headlight from Kriss motorcycle products. It really works. Cars notice especially when you pull in behind them off a side road, the first thought that comes to their mind is "cop". some people have actually pulled off the road letting me just ride on by. When I start riding the RE more as a daily bike That will definitely be one of the first goodies to buy.
Mike in NE Tennessee

Does anyone know the legality of these? Are they legal in all states?

[The Garbone]

I see them often here in FLA,  mostly on PowerRanger bikes.  I guess they are legal, of course Florida tends to be the wild west for vehicles.

[1Blackwolf1]

Black wolf, it is now illegal for a driver of a vehicle use a hand held mobile phone in the U.K., you will get a fine and points, plus the police can confiscate the phone!
It is now illegal to smoke in any 'works' vehicle, even your own car if its on company business, on your own or passengers.
This covers Council vehicles, company reps cars, goods vehicles, any vehicle that is being used for any perpose of or in connection with work.
Health and safety & all that..............

Wish we had that here, some metropolitan areas have the law, but it isn't universal here.  To many loopholes or it would take years in the courts to iron out.  Has to be a relative of someone in power getting smacked by an inattentive driver before this will change.

I guess the smoking law is really tough there, so basically you can only smoke if commuting by yourself or in private then?  It's getting harder to light up over here but it will be years before we get that strict on laws.  My brother lives in Chicago and says you can't go clubbing and smoke inside anymore, you have to go out back to the parking area at most bars/pubs.  Will.

[Bath Bullet]

Smoking is banned in any vehicle but private, with or without passengers.
It is also banned in any public building or workplace, pubs, clubs ,restaurants, offices, factory floor, its effectively banned from any where but your own home or out side place.
Here in Scotland they are considering banning smoking related items from being on display for sale in the shops, you would have to know what you want and ask for it.
If it works up here it will probably go U.K. wide too.
Cigarette advertising has been banned for a few years in the U.K. and across Europe, no F1 cars with Marlboro on the wings etc.
BTW, none of this makes any difference to me,I dont smoke or drink, just makes for a cleaner atmosphere, if not sometimes bad tempered!
So, with riding with my lights on, no smoking, no drink, I should see 100yrs or more, thats if I dont get wiped out by a bad tempered road rager on the way to a pub gasping for a smoke!

[1Blackwolf1]

Smoking is banned in any vehicle but private, with or without passengers.
It is also banned in any public building or workplace, pubs, clubs ,restaurants, offices, factory floor, its effectively banned from any where but your own home or out side place.
Here in Scotland they are considering banning smoking related items from being on display for sale in the shops, you would have to know what you want and ask for it.
If it works up here it will probably go U.K. wide too.
Cigarette advertising has been banned for a few years in the U.K. and across Europe, no F1 cars with Marlboro on the wings etc.
BTW, none of this makes any difference to me,I dont smoke or drink, just makes for a cleaner atmosphere, if not sometimes bad tempered!
So, with riding with my lights on, no smoking, no drink, I should see 100yrs or more, thats if I dont get wiped out by a bad tempered road rager on the way to a pub gasping for a smoke!

And may it be a happy 100 years.  Just stay away form the road cagers/ragers.  Will.

[Snobrd]

Re: Headlight Modulator Legality.  The following is taken from the http://www.kriss.com/  website and refers to a DOT standard.... should include all states.

The law and the headlight modulator

Our headlight modulator does not have a feature allowing you to operate the horn or some other button to initiate the modulator for a few seconds, or a burst, because this feature is not legal... especially at night.
We don't offer different modulations rates. 240 cycles per minute are all that is legal. Faster/slower is ILLEGAL.

If we did offer you this as an added feature the modulators would not be in compliance with the d.o.t. regulations which means you wouldn't have a defense should you get stopped or receive a citation from your local trooper. Don't just take our word or anyone else's on this issue. You should check with the d.o.t.

Hope this helps.

Howard

[Nevadan]

I know this is a little old but I could pass this up.

Then you have the freeway tailgaters who are texting/talking and they pull up close enough that their peripheral vision is all they use to gauge the distance to you ahead. Hard enough to track a car in front of you with peripheral vision only, much less a bike.

It isn't just cage drivers

http://www.flixya.com/video/1406462/Crazy_Cell_Phone_Guy_on_a_Motorbike_()

[geoffbaker]

I read on a site selling the modulators that they are now legal in all 50 states.. but only for daytime lights, they must be switched off at night.

[Sam Simons]

Do you ride much/any after dark? If not,then another possibility(since you mentioned
visibility) would be to use an amber H4 bulb, which reduces night illumination by 15-20%,but definately is an attention getter. I've used these bulbs for over 20 years,never
been cited or stopped by the po-leece because of them......a few puzzled looks,but....
There are several variations of this bulb,but it's basically a standard H4 with a amber
'hood'.......Here in Indiana,there are no rules/vehicle laws against using such.....