Darkness, cooler nights, and fewer other drivers on the road all contribute to a more exhilarating journey. While this happens, as the day becomes shorter and darker, visibility decreases, temperatures drop, and fog and frost form. Even if you don’t plan to ride at night during the fall and winter, it’s preferable to be ready if you haven’t put your bike away yet. We’ve compiled a list of pointers and recommendations for riding safely at night to assist you.
How To Ride Your Motorcycle At Night?
Follow the important steps to ride your motorcycle at night to ride well.
1. Make Your Bike More Visible
Rider visibility is the most critical motorcycle safety precaution when riding at night. Although there are fewer motorcycle accidents at night, when they do happen, drivers’ lack of visibility is the primary factor. What you can do to improve your visibility is listed below.
-
Wear Perfectly Reflective Bike Clothing
The rider is mostly what cars see, so it’s critical to consider your visibility while riding a bike at night. For roadworkers, wearing clothes with luminous panels or clothing marked “3M,” which is also present on the exterior of most modern motorcycle apparel, is the best way to increase visibility. It’s a common myth that wearing high-visibility yellow or orange makes you more visible at night. While these colors certainly catch other road users’ attention, they don’t reflect light. This will make you just as visible in low light as in any other color.
The silver cross weave used in retroreflective 3M panels on clothing like coats, vests, and neckwear is intended to reflect light to its source. It is also intended to light up when exposed to roadside headlights.
-
Bring In Reflective Tape
Applying luminous tape to your bike is an additional step to increase rider visibility. Reflective tape works with your backlights to help other drivers locate you at night. This is even though it is a permanent fixture that won’t do much during the day. Applying tape to the front of your forks, the edges of your panniers, and any other part of your bike that sticks out from the rest of the traffic, as most other road users will either be in front or behind you, is advised. Moreover, you can add reflective tape to your bike wheels to improve side-by-side visibility.
-
Make Yourself Heard By Exhausting Loudly
There are other things you can do besides being heard and seen. Your motorcycle’s exhaust is a fantastic way to let traffic know if you are nearby, approaching, or up ahead. The magnificent sound of your bike will draw attention from other road users, making them more cautious in their activities. However, your neighbors might not appreciate it on Sunday evening.
2. Improve Your Vision
It is obvious without saying that your vision is just as crucial as whether or not other drivers can see you. Here are some preparation ideas for you.
-
Clean Up Your Lights
When riding at night, your headlights are your main source of visibility. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure they don’t break down.
If you ride frequently, change the headlight bulbs before they dull and break on you. This is because they last between 400 and 600 hours at maximum power. Other elements might also affect bulbs, including bike vibrations, the environment, temperature, and age, so check them frequently.
When you are outside, bring extra bulbs with you. Your headlight lenses wear out over time. Your headlight lenses can become clouded, yellow, and damaged from exposure to sunlight, dirt, and everyday filth. Even a tiny layer of dust can reduce the light your bike emits; however, this can be remedied by quickly wiping your lenses with a cloth and water. Motorcycle helmets and visors should be cleaned as a last resort when traveling.
-
A Clean Or New Visor
A dirty visor reduces your vision range, just like a dirty headlight reduces light. Give it a spray and wipe it down to remove debris, including rain-induced dirt, bugs, and other particles. While on the road, a good visor cleaner and a microfiber cloth work wonders. You can increase your visibility on your bike by cleaning your visor of dirt, mud, and insects.
-
Avoid Using The Dark-Tinted Visor
Likewise, consider putting your nighttime dark-tinted visor away; the risk isn’t worth it. While it may seem stylish, you need all the light you can get on a race track, so a dark visor helps block the sun. For riders who don’t want to switch their visor from day to night, a photochromic visor that adapts to light levels throughout the day is an option. Like other tinted visors, a yellow visor can help during low-light riding at sunset.
-
A Pinlock Or Anti-Fog Visor Upgrade Is An Effective Idea
When the temperature drops, it rains, or you breathe heavily, your visor will inevitably fog up; this is annoying at times but can be quite dangerous. Using an anti-fog insert or visor, you can keep your vision clear and pay attention to your surroundings.
Other Factors To Consider While Riding Your Motorcycle At Night
3. Utilize Other Drivers’ Lights Equally
In addition to making the most of your bike’s lights, you can also rely on the lights of other drivers and riders out on the road. This rule is especially useful when you ride behind them and need proper illumination on both sides. Yet at the same time, watch out for other road users and maintain a safe distance from them. This is so as not to interfere with their ability to ride.
4. Ride Defensively And Gently
Remember that nighttime is not the time to get pumped up for racing and ride like there’s no tomorrow. Riding aggressively during daytime hours may be advisable, but at night is not advised. To let other motorcyclists know you are there, use your motorcycle’s lights, including the blinkers, the pass flasher, and even the horn.
5. On The Road, Allow A Lot Of Space For Yourself
Always ensure enough space around you when riding a motorcycle at night. This is so you can be aware of other cars as they approach you. This advice comes in particularly handy while cornering or doing a U-turn. Doing this gives other riders ample time to react to your actions safely.
6. Choose The Safest Route You Can
This implies that you should never ride in another rider’s blind spot. Especially if you follow a truck or bus substantially taller than your car; as a result, the car in front of you will unintentionally overlook you since you won’t be seen in its rearview mirror. It is therefore recommended to ride on the sides of each lane present on the surface. But watch out for their edges, which could have potholes, mirrors, and other obstructive elements.
7. Keep Your Speed Under Control
When riding at night, knowing yourself and the law is imperative. No matter how strong your eyesight is, riding at night drastically reduces your ability to see what’s ahead of you. If so, be mindful of the posted speed limits on the road you are traveling on since other riders might not be as cautious as you are. Also, it will lessen the likelihood of being pulled over by police and given a ticket.
8. Keep An Eye Out For Any Living Things On The Road
And by it, we refer to both living things and people. You must know that wild animals, including leopards and deer, may be seen on roads at night. This is if you ride through a dense forest or restricted area. Also, due to the low population density, robbers and dacoits fully use these hours. So, avoid cycling through such unsafe locations even if it significantly cuts your ride time. Look closely for stray animals and anyone who could slow down your ride.
9. Dress Appropriately, And In The Correct Size
This is meant to imply that you should dress comfortably and, more importantly, that your clothing should be appropriate for the conditions in which you are riding. This issue is particularly pressing in winter when you need to pack extra clothing to keep warm in case the weather turns frigid and unfavorable for riding.
10. Get Enough Rest
Motorcycle riding gets boring after a while, regardless of the time of day. And this happens more throughout the night when you intend to rest to erase exhaustion. Hence, it is advised that instead of constantly riding for hours, rest briefly to keep your focus on the motorcycle road trip consistent. Sometimes the long highway stretches grow too monotonous, and you might sleep. If so, you should take a break at a suitable location during your travels. Avoid alcohol and coffee because they make you drowsy.
11. Planned Effectively
Make sure you are adequately prepared for the travel by keeping these two crucial points in mind before starting your nighttime ride:
12. Get Everything Ready
Have all your essential items with you and on the bike so your ride appears well-prepared. This includes having a well-maintained bike and riding equipment. Before hitting the tarmac, clean your bike thoroughly.
13. For The Trip, Calculate Your Riding Speed And Distance
Roadside assistance decreases when riding at night. So, prepare your road map before beginning the journey. Keep an eye on your bike’s speed and how long it will take you to get there. If you intend to stop halfway through your trip, plan your stay.
