Dark nights and extra lights

[pessimal]

if and when i do end up riding into work this winter, i want to stick some extra lights on my tiger to try and make myself a little more visable to those drivers who havent driven for months at a time this year!

Can anyone recommend some decent lights that are sensible money.

on a previous bike i stuck some ebay specials on which didnt impress me, and alot of lights seem to go from £30-£50 ebay special straight into £200-£200 premium stuff, and i'd like something better than the standard ebay stuff which seems to die in 3 month, but without the £300 price tag.

And being really picky, does anyone know of any lights that actually have a beam pattern, rather than just being spot/flood lights.

Thanks!

[black-k1]

Being seen is much more about you positioning and your approach than it is about extra lights. I'm not saying don't add extra lights (although, please do so in a way that doesn't dazzle and confuse other road users) just that if being seen is your top priority, make sure you're already doing all you can with your positioning and approach as it's a much better investment.

[pessimal]

I try to make myself as obvious as possible generally, but i do ride on unlit dual carriageway, and i'd like to have the road in front of me a little better.

The reason i asked about lights with a beam pattern rather than spot or flood lights, is that i dont want to dazzle people, I have enough issues with my headlight dazzling people even though it's not had any issues through MOT's

I'd like something that is DRL/light in one, but if i have too i will add in separate DRL'S and a aux light

[Pica-Pica]

I have not been out driving much lately, but in the past i was constantly amazed that some motorcyclists think that riding with main beam on makes them more visible! As for those bikes with twin headlights, they are totally confusing. As said, positioning is as much a contribution as anything. All road users should think, ‘how do I appear to others?’ ‘Aggressive?, nervous?’ or ‘in control, visible, and my intentions are clear’.

[Iminquarantine]

black-k1 said:

Being seen is much more about you positioning and your approach than it is about extra lights. I'm not saying don't add extra lights (although, please do so in a way that doesn't dazzle and confuse other road users) just that if being seen is your top priority, make sure you're already doing all you can with your positioning and approach as it's a much better investment.

Positioning is very important. That said, I don't feel comfortable riding at night with a bike with a single headlight. A single headlight works against you in two ways:
1. It is more difficult for other drivers to judge distance to you
2. Your single light can be lost among other lights when you are filtering

Having had bikes with a single light and bikes with multiple lights, IMHO multi lights are much more visible.

OP to answer your question:
I'd spend the £300 once rather than buy something an eBay super-special or even a £100 mid range light which won't really be there in quality, longevity or weather resistance. An expensive set should last a good few years so you can move them over if you change bikes. That said, I still do not think aux lights are as good as a bike with two headlights. I have a set of £300 Denali aux lights and they still spray light around. They are not useable in traffic at full power and so I have a dimmer system. They are very bright on full power though, if you can find somewhere where you would be using high beam. Looking at some of the aux lights on sale, I haven't yet seen one which will have a light cut off light a low beam headlight does. The Denalis will perform your function of DRLs when dimmed and be brighter than your headlight when not dimmed, but you will not be able to use them undimmed with any traffic in front of you.

If you have a halogen headlight bulb, you can change the bulb out for an LED bulb. Again there are various levels of quality and you can get a good quality bulb for about £75. But if you start off with a single headlight, you will still only have a single headlight, just a brighter one. Some also do not seem to have as good a cut off on the light, so you risk blinding other drivers. You could consider DRLs and changing your headlight for an LED, provided the LED has a good light cut off or you will blind drivers and also fail MOT.

Edited by Iminquarantine on Thursday 5th November 17:32

[tvrolet]

There are 4 lights!

Actually, I do have 4 lights on the Chief - headlamp, 2 x 'driving' lamps either side, and the wee lighty-up Cheif's heid on the mudguard (fender).

[Speedy23]

Try Bike Vis of Bournemouth....got some of their LED DRLs about 18 months ago, still working well, very pleased with them. And they are great at night as well. Recommended.