Advise on High-Viz Clothing, Helmet ect...

Davey1965

Davey1965

Joined
Apr 22, 2017
Messages
68
Location
Louisburg, Kansas
Bike
2004 ST1300
I usually just wear a yellow construction guys vest...I guess its ok, but the wind puffs it a lot...I have a white helmet...I was thinking about putting some high vis reflective tape. on the front of the bike...maybe on the lower windshield...what do you guys do...and where do you buy it???....thanks
 
Davey1965 said:
I usually just wear a yellow construction guys vest...I guess its ok, but the wind puffs it a lot...I have a white helmet...I was thinking about putting some high vis reflective tape. on the front of the bike...maybe on the lower windshield...what do you guys do...and where do you buy it???....thanks
Click to expand...
That day glow stuff is easily seen, but is a dirt magnet and I think it is just plain ugly.
If you want Hi Vis, go with that obnoxious yellow/lime color you see HI way workers wearing. If you want to go with big bucks, Aerostich and Arai both make products in this color, as well as less pricy brands.
I find that yellow helmets are also easily seen. My buddy will not wear anything else.

What I wear? I am kind of ashamed to say.
I wear a flat black Schulbreth C3 Pro and a black Aerostich. Both come with all sorts of reflective material.
Does not help much in daytime, but my headlight and auxiliary lights do.
 
I used to wear hi viz jacket they get real dirty I think a white helmet stands out more than any other color. The vest works I also run a top box so I don't know that a high viz jacket helps that much. Aux lights help for bike visibility also a head light modulator some don't like them but I ran one for years and it helped me be seen I stopped using it when I switched to LED headlights but now there are LED modulators so I may go back to that.
 
Grizzly said:
I have hi-viz decals on the back side of my saddlebags, they look black until head lights hit them, then they turn bright reflective white. Really lights the backend up in the dark.
Click to expand...

I also have those they are called tail brights they really work well.
 
Having no real evidence to support my beliefs, I still wear high viz jacket and helmet in hopes that I will be more easily noticed. The jackets do get a bit scruffy unless diligently laundered but so be it.

The bike has white reflective decals front and both sides, and the same type of decals Grizzly described on the backs of the cases.

Supplemental lights on the forks are intended to draw attention from oncoming traffic, while extra rear lights below and inside my rear box do the same for following vehicles.

When I get run over it will not be because I was hard to see.
 
Aerostich is good stuff. My Stich Darien jacket is blue and I only wear it in the cold months with the liner or on multiple day tours because it is waterproof. I also have a Olympia Air Glide in Hi Vis. Great Spring, Summer, Fall jacket with a zip out liner that is supposed to be waterproof but I haven't tested it in an all day steady rain. Yes it does get dirty but it is easy to remove the pads and wash it.
 
LED lighting in bright white seems to be very effective for oncoming traffic. The ones I have added I bought from ADVMonster at <http://stores.advmonster.com/>. There are other brands and the sky is the limit for cost. The ADV Monster 20s are very effective for conspicuity without annoying drivers day time or night time. Mounted below the mirrors or on the fork legs you will stand out. The 20s don't add much roadway lighting for night time use but they are great for making you more visible. More powerful lights need dimming devices to run at partial power. In the back a strobehead Whelen Lin3 or TIR3-type flashing brake light adds tremendous contrast against other traffic.

I believe that it doesn't hurt to wear hi-viz and I only wear white helmets. There is an Australian study that concluded bright colors in helmets and jackets reduce motorcycle right-of-way violation accidents around 30% for the sample IIRC. I went to a safety supply store and bought a 4XXL hi-viz mesh work shirt (the biggest one made). It provided ample material to cut out cloth panels I sewed onto the front and back of my silver/black Tourmaster mesh jackets. I highlight my torso and shoulders. In the winter I wear a one-piece yellow Roadcrafter.

The really good SOLAs grade reflective tape in white, red, and fluorescent yellow is expensive and hard to get for small projects. I bought small quantities of it at REI or a bicycle shop to make red/yellow stripes and alternating color lines for the back of top cases and saddle bags.
 
The tail brights are great reflectors at night, and I like the idea of a Wheelan or Sound Off Ghost light for more breaking illumination in the rear.
I have the tail brights on the rear and Clearwater lights up front, but I was surprised by a pic at a recient groupe ride how much my white STP along with my glow bait colored jacket and silver helmet stood out in comparison to the other riders with dark bikes, gear and helmets.
 

Attachments

  • F0FF01B4-EB02-4C16-BD2B-3054308384B8.jpg
    F0FF01B4-EB02-4C16-BD2B-3054308384B8.jpg
    140.5 KB · Views: 52
Last edited:
Some M/C shops carry a sleeveless hi viz vest made by a company called ICON. They zip up in the front and have elastic drawstrings on each side that snug the vest right up to your body, so no wind flapping. They are worn over your regular riding jacket. They also have some handy pocket spaces. Worn this for quite a few years, along with a white helmet.
 
Just bought my second Aerostich Roadcrafter Hi-Viz suit which I wear with a Hi-Viz yellow Schuberth C3 helmet.

I know from the stares that people see me! The kids think I am a Power Ranger!

Clearwater Erikas and LED replacement high beams means that KBiK projects 24,000 lumens on high beam which is enough to light up a black hole. I also have some apparently very annoying Skene rear led lights and Clearwater Billie brake light.

2017_02_0187.JPG
 
I have no idea how effective hi-viz clothing iz but I don't like the awful green-yellow color so I avoid it. My only motorcycle jacket (that fits :rofl1: ) is black but has some reflective trim. It's also mesh so I should get something more appropriate for cold weather.

My WnS liner is bright yellow and I like that very much. My next jacket will also be yellow just not green-yellow.

My helmets are a hi-viz Bilt and a Neotech Brilliant Yellow. LOVE the Neotech. Adding reflective tape to the helmet might be a good idea. Maybe just the placebo effect but my yellow helmets seem a little cooler than the previous black Multi- and Neotechs.

LED lighting is very good and I've upgraded on all levels (except the position lights in front). I'll add more for the sides and rear (especially the bags) at some point.

While effective as is I wish somebody made something similar to Tail-Brights with black/red instead of black/white. I've got the Bike-Quip Honda Wings for the bags but haven't got up the nerve to put something that 'permanent' on them. Yet anyway.
 
My white Shark Evo-3 helmet reflects a lot of heat,,, as would a silver colour. But I am not sure it is as visible in daytime as a brighter colour,,, like red or hi-viz. My Olympia hi-viz jacket is very versatile,,, and can be worn over shirts or jackets. I bought it used for about $40,,, great value. Reflector tapes are invisible in daytime,,, but shine at night,,, so I am looking to add those for this season,,, it all helps increase your survivability,,, Cat'
 
Last edited:
Most effective thing I have done is installed Evitek LED headlights and a Whelen emergency led light that replaces the rear reflector on my ST1100s and flashes when I hit the brakes. It constantly flashes as long as my brakes are on because I am concerned about getting hit from behind by inattentive drivers. Cars usually stop about 10 feet back from me! ;-) They may not be 'legal' in some states, but I have ridden in 49 of them without any trouble so far. And I figure it ain't legal to hit me from behind anyway! :D
 
I have an Olympia Moab yellow hi viz jacket + yellow hi viz HJC helmet + a headlight modulator I use as required & so far so good.

The jacket get washed every once in a while and comes out pretty clean. The top of the helmet is starting to fade a bit.

I have no data to back this up but I think that contrast makes you easier to see. Bright stand out colors and flashing headlights are unusual to the average blind & half asleep cage driver and get you noticed.
 
I sometimes feel that I am trying to cater to people who can't see trains, busses, 18 wheelers, kids in a crosswalk, Hummers....... completely oblivious when their own lives are at risk. Why would they notice yours?
 
retroreflective tape comes in a number of different classes. The solas white tape is particularly weather resistant. 3M is a common name brand. Regular DOT red/white conspicuity tape is in most auto parts places.
To my eye, a high viz jacket with a white helmet sticks out more than a high viz helmet. My add on hyper lights flash then go steady for the rear brake lighting. I figure that's less annoying than a constant flash and I can always cycle them if I need to. Haven't done it yet, but my new white helmet will have a red nj dmv compliant patch on the back and white on the sides. But don't be complacent, it only helps if they bother to look.
 
Although my avatar doesnt show it, 99% of the time I wear a white helmet, and because I have about 7 different motorcycle jackets from mesh to leather to 3/4 touring I wear an Olympia Hi Viz vest over them that switches from jacket to jacket. Rev zilla sells them for about $80 and they are bright.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle...bdBCrhl3E1irIqGlCkjR9svLu4uAQIHhoCOSEQAvD_BwE

I also have the black reflective material on the back of my bags, trunk and helmet.

People still pull out in front of me, but fewer than did it previously so it must help. I also do " the weave" when I see people about to turn left in front of me, or about to pull out in front of me, or about to back out of a driveway. I'm convinced it helps and although some people claim it's illegal to me to's no different than the evasive maneuver I use for pot holes and dead critters laying in the road.

T62r61s.jpg


during day

DQJEMwf.jpg


when light hits at night

P15v3y1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Truck parts stores - at least the one I've been to that caters to semi trailers - sell 3m reflective tape in 2" x 12" pieces for about $1.50/piece. It comes in two flavors - all white and half white half red. This is the Solas 3M product mentioned earlier. Buy as little or as much as you want.

A guy I know wears one of those construction high visibility vests over his leather jacket. When it gets dirty, he can either wash it or throw it away and buy another. These can be as cheap or as expensive as you wish - there are a lot of different price points for these.
 
Uncle Phil said:
Most effective thing I have done is installed Evitek LED headlights and a Whelen emergency led light that replaces the rear reflector on my ST1100s and flashes when I hit the brakes. It constantly flashes as long as my brakes are on because I am concerned about getting hit from behind by inattentive drivers. Cars usually stop about 10 feet back from me! They may not be 'legal' in some states, but I have ridden in 49 of them without any trouble so far. And I figure it ain't legal to hit me from behind anyway!
Click to expand...

+1 on all counts. I've only recently added the Eviteks but I've had a similar strobing brake light reflector substitution for quite awhile now. It's pretty cool to see it reflecting off chrome and paint of a vehicle stopped behind me. Sometimes way behind me. Other vehicles will sometimes creep up a little to get the light out of their eyes. I may revert to an older strobe that cuts the output for night use since it's not authorized and it *is* bright.

I haven't been stopped either though I seldom get out at night. I figure I can talk my way out of it and if not it's only a $10 fine.

My GW buddy constantly raves about how visible my Evitek lights are. He says they're far brighter than my ST buddy's 55/60W H4s that I gave him when they were replaced by the G6s. Now he wants LEDs for his Wing including the lower fog lights.


the Ferret said:
I also do " the weave" when I see people about to turn left in front of me, or about to pull out in front of me, or about to back out of a driveway.
Click to expand...

I've seen that reference a couple of times now and it made me consider an alternative— two white strobes or a modulator connected to a push button that would have to be really close to a thumb like right about the starter switch. Push the button and get wig-wag like flashing white light. While it's highly unlikely The Weave is illegal (when done within reason) wig-wags of any variety almost certainly are. But used sparingly they could be more effective than a horn. Or they could be used in concert with a horn. (npi).

Some kind of strobe effect could be added to various LED aux lights as well. Or get creative and put strobes in a couple of tubes and add a PA with sound effects to approximate twin Vickers. Impersonating the rate of fire of an M134 or M61 might be lost on most people. :grin:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom