Practical
Conspicuity for the Concours Rider
By: Larry Buck
Copyright 2003, all
rights reserved
I've been asked by some
riders to publish my views on making us more visible to
automobiles while riding. This is by no means the
last word on the subject, it's just my thoughts about
being seen better. The usual disclaimers
apply.
LED lights. LED's
do not/cannot use the reflector that is a part of our
tail light and marker light housings (turn signals
too) because their light is directed straight out (spot)
or only at a 20-30 degree angle. Asking a six LED cluster
to do the work of two 1197 bulbs can't happen. LED
license plate frames and those little 6 or 8 LED modules
that go on with the brakes are barely visible in daylight
from any distance behind the motorcycle. But, there
ARE excellent LED lights available from
Whelen, the company that makes police and fire
vehicle lighting. One of their LED units is about 4" wide
x 3" high, with the entire area filled with red or amber
LED's. One model can be programmed to flash the LED's
several times before going on solid or other light
patterns. If you have a Givi top case, this unit may be
what you are looking for, it is BRIGHT. Cost is about
$80.00.
Priority Lights.
If you want maximum, active conspicuity from the rear,
day or night, this simple accessory is THE answer. By
turning your turn signals into running lights and brake
lights, you now have 3 light locations shining at all
times and going brightly on when applying your brakes
or using your turn signals. There is even a
model that will flash the brake lights several times
before going on solid (Priority Plus). It is
much better than a brake light only flasher. Some
will say that using the rear turn signals for running
lights is illegal in some areas. Most enforcement
agencies would think that a rider was increasing his
visibility to other vehicles and would likely pass on
enforcing the letter of the law.
Tailbrights.
This is obviously a shameless plug, but I, and my
customers believe them to be the simplest and least
expensive way to maximize your nighttime presence to
motorists behind you and from the sides. My own
experience, and that of my customers, is that cars tend
to slow down sooner when coming up to you at
intersections and they move into the passing lane sooner
when overtaking you too. A single taillight does
not give a car driver any spacial depth of field,
Tailbrights do...........and use no power.
Real
Driving Lights.
Whether you use my mount or not, do yourself a favor, and
get some real driving lights for your Concours or
whatever motorcycle you ride. Being an '80's
design, we only have a single headlight, not the
multi-halogen, bat-wing shaped units found on newer sport
tourers. The same concept applies to the front of the
bike as the rear; a single headlight does not give an
approaching driver any spacial, depth of field to judge
distance. I do not think the placing of small,
rectangular lights under the headlight (over the front
fender) has much value, because they just present a
bigger "splotch" of light. They also reduce fender
clearance significantly. What is needed are 3, spaced
sources of light so the oncoming driver has more
information to react to. The small, rectangular
lights are too small to improving your "down the road"
lighting. Real driving lights must have a decent sized
reflector to truly put out more light in a larger area to
see better, and react to wildlife and other situations. I
can also tell you that using the driving lights during
the day (DRL's = daytime running lights) is of even more
value, because they are the best way to prevent oncoming
cars from turning in front of you at intersections. You
are that visible. Also, using them during the day
when riding in the left lane in urban or interstate
traffic, really fills up a drivers’ rearview mirror
with light to let them know you are there. If you are in
the right lane, they won't cut you off very often because
they will see you. If you've ever had a problem
getting an in-attentive driver to move over so you could
pass them, give them a couple of courtesy flashes with
your high beam. If that doesn't work, turn on your
driving lights. Trust me, they WILL move over.
Be aware that it is
illegal in most states to have the driving lights higher
than the horizontal centerline of the headlight(s).
The brackets that mount the lights either above or below
the side mirrors of the Concours, gain very little in
“down the road” coverage at the expense of
rarely being able to use the lights because they
aggravate everybody coming your way. The lights will have
a significant amount of shake too, because of the
structure of the Concours fairing.
On the subject of
wattage, it is of little value to upgrade the headlight
bulb to the 100 or 130 watt rated bulb, and I do not
recommend them. By increasing the wattage, we only put
more light into the area the bike's headlight reflector
will allow. We don't get a bigger pattern or
meaningful increase in longer distance lighting. What we
need is MORE light, supplied by ........you guessed it,
MORE lights. I use a true, xenon headlight bulb
(55/65 watts) and have also used a 80/100 bulb in my
Concours. I notice very little difference in the amount
of light between the two of them, but the side pattern is
much better with the xenon bulb. There is very little
additional light provided by the high beam when my
driving lights are on. If you do put a 80/100 or 100/130
watt bulb (or even stock wattage) in your Concours,
please use dielectric grease on the contacts. Oh,
and that NAPA socket number for the Honda that's supposed
to be ceramic? It's really bakelite, just like the
stock one. If you really want the ceramic one, go to a
junk yard and get the real deal off a wrecked Honda
Accord. And if you just have to have that 100/130
watt bulb, use the ceramic socket, larger wiring and a
relay to do it right. Guy Young's web pages have
the wiring diagram for such a setup.
In summary, here's my
take on conspicuity. Tailbrights, Priority Plus safety
module, and real driving Iights. You saved anywhere from
$5,000 to $10,000 when you bought your Concours. A
few hundred spent on conspicuity will be cheap
insurance. Now back to your regularly scheduled
“oil” and
“tire” threads.
Thanks for the bandwidth.
Larry
Buck
