Riding in the dark is not something every motorcycle rider can easily do. That’s the reason some motorcycle riders avoid riding at night. There is a difference between riding during the day and riding at night. In the daylight, we can see all the vehicles and obstacles clearly; however, at night we are restricted to a tunnel of a headlight-lit road.
Plus, riding when it’s dark is quite dangerous for beginners and he/she should try to avoid it. If you are a skilled motorcycle rider and rode your motorcycle several times at night, then you should go out after dark to renew your skills but if you are a novice, then riding at night could be dangerous for you.
But, don’t worry! In fact, that’s the reason why we are here. We can explain a few techniques that can help you to ride in the dark. These techniques and tips will also help you to protect yourself.
So, take a look.
Top Tips for Riding Better at Night
Vision
You understand the consequences of a motorcycle crash. And you also know that most of these crashes happen because of high speed or distractions. So, when you ride in the dark, make sure your visor is clear. In the night, things seem blurry and blinding when a car’s headlights hit it. So, to see clearly at night, wipe off your windshield and dim your motorcycle lights. It can help you to see further and clearer.
Yellow Glasses
Many people believe that yellow glasses help you to see clearly at night. It restores your vision and provides an anti-glare feature.
That’s sounds good. But, remember, if you are already wearing any prescribed glasses or have a full-face helmet with a dark visor, then you don’t need any extra tint to see clearly in the dark. Although, you can ask for anti-glare or anti-reflective coating on your glasses. It will help you to reduce glare and give you depth perception.
Lights
If your standard headlight is not up to the task, then you must think about changing it for a more powerful one like halogen, LED, and Xenon, etc. However, these modern, white lights look fancy and are much brighter than the standard ones, they won’t improve your depth perception for night riding. Plus, in many states, there are different laws about auxiliary lights.
Lights while Cornering
While cornering your motorcycle at night, you need light at the apex as much as you do for the outside of the corner. But, when we corner the motorcycle, light illuminates at the outside but not the apex. So, if you don’t have lights on your bike that turn into the corners, then you can buy aftermarket lights to use on your motorcycle to illuminate the inside of a corner.
Speed Limit
When riding at night, it becomes very difficult to see the road surface for gravel, water, sewer covers, oil, potholes, bumps, etc. So, you should slow down to a speed where you can stop within the reach of your headlights.
Be Seen
Whenever you ride, it is important to be seen by other vehicles. Don’t ever run in their blind spot or don’t follow too close to the front vehicle. To be seen on the road, make sure you wear bright colored riding gear, instead of a pitch-black leather jacket.
Trust me, “A leather jacket may look good on you, but it won’t be much help when night riding.”
Moving around a bit in your lane safely will also help you to attract the attention of surrounding vehicles.
Riding in Rural areas of Eastern Washington and many other areas, don’t go hunting wildlife with a Bike, SCAN SCAN SCAN ahead & off to the side of you!!!! And do your hunting with a Gun during daylight hours… Slow Down is also a BIG helping factor-DUH??? I pick up ALOT of Motorcyclist after hitting a animal, and the common phrase ” I just didn’t see it!” ALL the lights in the world don’t stop those animals from running out in front of us…
The Harley aftrr market LED is expensive $300 PLUS , worth every penny hrre in Washington . The light spreads will off to the sides and the high beam reaches out so at 70 mph I still not out driving my lights.
I have worn both yellow & brown lens at night and prefer the yellow. Xenon lights light up the night. I actually had cars remain behind me on Eastern WA state highways.