This is STILL a problem          

As I see it only Aerostich and Olympia are the ones making it.

I wish more would listen to us.....

Yuma,

ZG-1000 Kawasaki Concours 2006

http://community.webshots.com/user/Lateck

In daylight, the best conspicuity might be with an construction orange or hi-viz yellow helmet. Those two colors are highly visible in traffic from a long way off. White is common and seems to work ok. Black and multi-graphic colors just disappear in traffic.

After dark, most reflective material above the shoulders disappears as traffic headlites are not aimed that high. Many vehicles have lights with sharp cutoffs at 4' off the pavement. If a biker was to fall after dark, reflective material on the helmet might be very nice to have when laying on the pavement. My own bike light will not pickup my budds' reflective helmet tape if he is upright. It will pickup his reflective vest quite nicely.

Prior to getting my stich, I used to pack a construction-type reflective vest to wear after dark. I sewed a few patches on it to skew its geek factor toward 'specialized' gear. Its a coin toss to determine if that works or if it makes me look more like I need special ed. It does work well after dark. As posted elsewhere, my budd's glass bead reflective vest works so impressively after dark that I often think of buying one and packing it with my elec. vest so that I have it for extrordinary conditions. The best part of a vest is that a biker can put it on over the rainsuit and get real visibility when needed most.

In all cases, whatever is tried, a biker ought to get some pics of himself while wearing the stuff on the bike. Thus, he will have a better idea just how poorly he appears to traffic in his best efforts. The gear really does help most of the time. Unfortunately it does not ward off evil like the talisman that we would like to have. Nothing beats an alert, skilled biker to start with.  Edit: Seriously. Take a few pics from the cager's eye heights. A biker may find that his tailpack or fairing hides most of his personal reflective gear. Lower stuff may be obscured by saddlebags or cases. And nothing may be vizible from either side. end edit.

After dark, lights are a bikers best option. A couple of small extra running lights for and aft give the bike some needed 'bulk'. Adding a light bar at the rear makes a big difference. That lone taillight now becomes part of an array. Following traffic has a much better chance of recognizing that they are gaining on a bike when the array grows larger. That lone taillight doesnt help cagers make good judgements. The reflective vest really helps at this point. Its not enough that the cager sees the biker. The cager has to be able to make good decisions about what is seen.

edit: I noted during my sunday biker b'fast ride that very few bikers had hi-viz garments. Even the guy that usually has his reflective vest over his leather biker jacket wasnt wearing it today. Another biker has an Icon hi-viz reflective vest laced over his biker jacket all the time. It looked good with a hi-viz yellow square surrounded by black areas. Good contrast and not likely to get lost in background colors. It had a couple of diagonal reflective stripes on it to help after dark. Side view was not all that impressive.

Yet another edit: 3M makes reflective tape in a wide variety of colors. Some of this stuff doesnt seem to show up in sunlight making the bike appear stock. But after dark, the stuff is just amazing. The whole bike can gleem with reflected light. The effect is so pronounced that at first it is difficult to get used to it. Definately a consideration for bikers who spend a lot of time on the bike after dark. Not for the faint of heart. 

nobody rides half as well as they know how.

As the nights draw in you don’t want to be caught out in the dark without being seen and there is no better way of being seen than with a Glow Safety Wear Waistcoat. GSWUK^TM is the UK’s sole importer of the famous BeaconWear^TM safety waistcoats.

Glow Safety Wear waistcoats incorporate a revolutionary Electroluminescent (EL) active lighting technology, essentially EL is a low energy lighting system that once charged using a low level electric current will glow. This active lighting system  makes the wearer conspicuous and provides unequalled 360 degree personal visibility, visible through the most challenging viewing conditions, rain, snow, smoke, fog and of course at night.

The EL panels do not interfere with night vision as they emit no glare as do bulbs our EL panels are wafer thin, lightweight, flexible and washable. Using the tried and tested Scotchlite^TM reflector strips they are highly visible during daylight hours too, but at night offering the patented “active lighting system” they can c glow or flash at the flick of a switch.

Powered by 2xAA batteries provides up to 40 hours of illumination. They are fully adjustable using Velcro side laps even fitting over your rucksacks, they have a chunky front zip they stops they flapping around in the wind and conform to very high safety standards to.

Features:

·         Six Electroluminescent light panels

·         Batter pack

·         Unequalled 360⁰ personal visibility

·         Visible through the most challenging conditions

·         No interference with night vision

·         Lightweight, flexible and washable

·         Fully adjustable

·         Chunky zip up front

·         Conforms to high safety standards

·         Complete with special carry case.

These waistcoats are worn by US State Police and are now available here in the UK for British bikers across the country through GSWUK, as featured in MCN and Ride magazines.

Visit our web site at www.gswuk.com and order your life jacket now.

As the nights draw in you don’t want to be caught out in the dark without being seen and there is no better way of being seen than with a Glow Safety Wear Waistcoat.

GSWUKTM is the UK’s sole importer of the famous BeaconWearTM safety waistcoats.Glow Safety Wear waistcoats incorporate a revolutionary Electroluminescent (EL) active lighting technology, essentially EL is a low energy lighting system that once charged using a low level electric current will glow.

This active lighting system makes the wearer conspicuous and provides unequalled 360 degree personal visibility, visible through the most challenging viewing conditions, rain, snow, smoke, fog and of course at night.

The EL panels do not interfere with night vision as they emit no glare as do bulbs our EL panels are wafer thin, lightweight, flexible and washable. Using the tried and tested ScotchliteTM reflector strips they are highly visible during daylight hours too, but at night offering the patented “active lighting system” they can c glow or flash at the flick of a switch.

Powered by 2xAA batteries provides up to 40 hours of illumination. They are fully adjustable using Velcro side laps even fitting over your rucksacks, they have a chunky front zip they stops they flapping around in the wind and conform to very high safety standards to.

Features:
• Six Electroluminescent light panels
• Batter pack
• Unequalled 3600 personal visibility
• Visible through the most challenging conditions
• No interference with night vision
• Lightweight, flexible and washable
• Fully adjustable
• Chunky zip up front
• Conforms to high safety standards
• Complete with special carry case.

These waistcoats are worn by US State Police and are now available here in the UK for British bikers across the country through GSWUK, as featured in MCN and Ride magazines.

Visit the web site at www.gswuk.com and order your life jacket now.