night vs day riding

[leman]

i feel like ive been putting a ton of post on here, but it cant hurt anything right? :snorkel:

when i travel with my jeep i like to travel at night because there are less people on the road, its cooler in the summer, its easier on me, and mainly because there are less people on the road. thats part of the reason i have so much lighting on my jeep. (and im scared of the dark)

so what about on a bike? i feel that with proper lighting and and reflective material it would be a safer time to ride. or is my noobness way off?

 

[Frank]

In a way I agree with your thinking but also consider this. For me, animals roam a lot more during the nighttime hours. If I ********** a deer on my bike, game over. If I ********** a deer in my Jeep...well...I have a massive steel bumper to meet that deer first.


At night, you have to worry more about stoned and drunk people, I think
"People" think riders don't ride at night, therefore not watching as closely

That said, its almost 10pm here and I am about to head to work, on my bike. haha!

 

[leman]

yea growing up on the other side of a state park from town and school ive had my share of close encounters. hit 2 deer in my first year of driving. i still dont think it will keep me from riding mostly at night though. gonna put 2 rigid industries d2 duallys on the xt and thinking about a way to rig one on my helmet so the beam will go where i look

 

[bj70_guy]

Animal strikes are my biggest worry with night riding.
I usually try to be off the road by dusk on a trip. When I'm not, the amount of deer I see take the fun right out of it.

 

[cwsqbm]

I never really liked riding my bike at night. Besides the suicidal deer and the idiots that are tired, drunk, and/or stoned, the lack of light makes it hard to read the pavement.

Also, its hard to see the sites at night - its like driving in a tunnel of your own light, plus I hate the lights from on-coming vehicles.

 

[DarinM]

I prefer driving the Jeep at night for much the same reasons you do.
If it weren't for the lack of visibility for road hazards and animals (and people seeing me), I would also prefer to ride my bike at night. However, in the interest of staying alive, I try to do most of my riding during the day.

 

[sandalscout]

I too drive dominantly during the day, mostly due to animals. I'd seen a few deer strike videos and pictures, and with the very large deer population here, didn't want to chance it. I will occasionally ride at night, especially if I know that the deer are not in rut, but about 2 months after I got my bike I decided to go out one evening since I hadn't ridden in a few weeks. I was going 2 miles from my neighborhood to the grocery store. Not far at all, and in an urban area. I made it about two blocks when I saw a deer in my peripheral and started to slow down. It was about that time that I realized it was running out in front of me and I got on the brakes hard enough to stand the back end up. I'm glad I did. As the first deer run in front of me, a second one I hadn't seen jumped over the front end of the bike, smacking the front fender and the headlight in the process. Scared the crap out of me.

 

[goodtimes]

Night riding has it's problems. Drunks in/around town, fewer drunks but more large animals away from town, harder to see small hazards (rocks in the road, etc) and on the twisty roads it is impossible to see around the corners as well as you can during the day.

Certainly, lights help at night, but use them with caution. Lights that are poorly aimed, have the wrong pattern, or have dirty lenses can blind drivers in the oncoming lanes (which means they are a hazard for you & everyone else on the road) - so don't be 'that guy'.

I love the Warn HIDs on my 800GS, but I have to turn them off when I'm around other vehicles.

 

[Clutch]

Night ride quite a bit...mostly trails though, I avoid the streets even in the day time as much as possible! Rather be taken out by a
deer than some soccer mom in her Cheby Tahoe sipping her cafe mocha vodka xanax whilst texting posting to facebook...

HID lights on the bike and helmet.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

All the lights in the world wont stop bambi from coming out. Early morning are almost as bad for animals but at least you can see them eating on the side of the road. Late evening and night I try to be parked when traveling by moto.

 

[Clutch]

All the lights in the world wont stop bambi from coming out.

Ha ha, same could be said for most people in cars...I have been pulled out in front of more times than I care to remember. Funny I feel safer blasting 100 mph across the desert floor, than I do in town.

In fact, I can count the number of times deer have jumped out in front of me on one hand.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Nothing more enjoyable than a long ride on a dark night, though I seldom go on one due to the risk of animal, mostly deer, but in some locations moose. Even small animals, think raccoons, skunks etc, not to mention debris in the road and broken pavement.

My advice is take the jeep at night and ride the bike during the day.

Jim

 

[grahamfitter]

Dark, Rain, Traffic: Pick any two.

Riding at night is fine until it starts raining and the headlights of incoming vehicles cause a starburst effect on your visor and you can't see a thing! Dark and snow is worse because the visor also fogs up at low speeds.

Its all good character building experience that is going to be forced on you sooner or later so you may as well do it sooner on your own terms than later on a dark and stormy night.

 

[Clutch]

Dark, Rain, Traffic: Pick any two.

Riding at night is fine until it starts raining and the headlights of incoming vehicles cause a starburst effect on your visor and you can't see a thing!

Dark and snow is worse because the visor also fogs up at low speeds.

 

[grahamfitter]

Touche! Actually I do use Rainex and it works well, at least for a short while. The original formula also works way, way, better than their 2-in-1 glass cleaner.

Fogtech looks interesting. They also sell a rainex alternative. Does anybody know if its any good?