| Author | Message | ||
     Fresnobuell |
Bottom line is people are basically selfish a-holes--especially those compensating with lifted trucks. File aiming headlights with things like using turn signals, obeying speed limits in residential areas, pulling out in front of you when there are no cars behind you, etc. Personally, I have a big problem with the ridiculously loud exhausts of some vehicles, both 2 and 4 wheels. Those people are the real a-holes. When you assault people in their homes for a City block, that's pure BS. Cops need to do their jobs and stop this abuse, but 1/2 of the violators are cops. Go figure. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Went on a short ride yesterday and today. Same route. Both times as I rounded a corner, had a lifted truck with 1/3 of his truck in my lane. Today I had to straighten up to avoid a seriously close call. Thank God it was cold and I dialed the speed down a bit. Could have been ugly. F'ing guys think they own the road with those monstrocities. I won't say all of 'em are total d-bags, but 90% isn't a stretch. | ||
| Torquehd |
90% is a stretch. That may vary by location; but out of the 10 or so guys I know who drive lifted trucks, none of us run stupid bright lights on the road, or think that our lift elevates us above the law. BMW drivers, on the other hand. Or Mitsubishi evo drivers. I still wouldn't say 90%, but i would say more than 10%. | ||
| Pwnzor |
The size of the truck makes the problem more pronounced, certainly. My estimation of people coming across the line is around 20%. Literally every fifth vehicle is over the line to some extent. At least that's how it is down here in Georgia. It's crazy to me that I see people with their phone up in the air, staring straight at it, clearly not looking at the road and the vehicle manufacturer's emblem is directly over the double yellow line. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Somewhere along the line, it became ok to do about everything behind the wheel EXCEPT drive. And just for the record, there were also 2-3 smaller vehicles that were on my side of the road during the 2 rides. And all this lane departure warning/correcting, self-stopping cars, etc. is only going to give these idiots more license to ignore the road. I am actually rather terrified I'm going to round a corner on my bike and have some a-hole's grill in my face. One of those unavoidable collisions that will probably be really bad for me. | ||
| Sparky |
The solution is to have a switchable horn that sounds like a police or fire truck siren - that'll get their attention back to the road instantly, I'll betcha!  | ||
| Torquehd |
A couple years ago I downloaded a pdf with schematics for an EMP gun. Then I sadly realized it was beyond my ability to create. | ||
| Sifo |
It dawned on me, early this morning, that some of the problems with lifted truck lights in your eyes may have to do more with a load in the bed, than headlights not aimed properly. OK, the result is the same, but it's not like you are going to adjust your headlights every time to put a load in the bed. | ||
| Crusty |
Why not? It's the drivers responsibility to make sure headlights are properly aimed. Just because you want to carry half a ton of political promises, which lowers your ass end, it doesn't absolve you from making sure your equipment isn't set up properly. | ||
| Torquehd |
Sifo, that's the trend these days. People (mostly "kids") think it's cool to lift the front 6" and the rear 2", or 4" if you're lucky. The 6" lift on my truck only had 4" blocks for the rear; I had to get creative to fix the orientation (but I fixed it, and got rid of the blocks!) | ||
| Sifo |
I see you are on the West coast. I've heard they like the "pre-runner" look out there. I can't say I see much of it in the mid-west. I'm glad of that. Lots of lifted trucks where I'm at now. Haven't noticed any with the back end sitting low. You should consider moving to a "sane" part of the country. | ||
| Sifo |
Why not? It's the drivers responsibility to make sure headlights are properly aimed. Just because you want to carry half a ton of political promises, which lowers your ass end, it doesn't absolve you from making sure your equipment isn't set up properly. So... It's safe to assume you do this every time you pack a load on the back of your bike, right? | ||
| Crusty |
My headlight is aimed so that it doesn't blind oncoming drivers, whether or not I'm carrying a load or a passenger. If you set your vehicle up so that it's blinding somebody when you throw something in the back, then you should have to readjust your headlights. I know that common sense isn't common; I guess common courtesy is going the same way. People who drive around blinding other drivers are in the same category as those jackasses who run around with the "Loudest pipes I can find" Hey; maybe someone can start a new campaign, Blinding Lights Save Lives!" (Message edited by Crusty on December 07, 2016) | ||
| Pwnzor |
If you set your vehicle up so that it's blinding somebody when you throw something in the back, then you should have to readjust your headlights. If this happens, the vehicle is overloaded. All too common. | ||
| Sifo |
If this happens, the vehicle is overloaded. Not necessarily. My Sonoma for example, is known for having kind of soft springs in the back. Load it near it's capacity, and you get noticeable squat. Very similar to the lift kit described above. So Crusty, you suggest that people just start cranking on the adjusters, even when they are not in an area where they can see what they are doing? That's certainly going to end well. I'm curious why you think the lights on your bike can be fine regardless of load, but not a truck. | ||
| Crusty |
I'm curious why you think the lights on your bike can be fine regardless of load, but not a truck. Because I set them up with the bike loaded. Theyre a little bit low when I'm riding with no load but they sure as hell don't blind oncoming cars. Wouldn't it be cool if people started shooting out blinding headlights like in the movie Crocodile Dundee? | ||
| Sifo |
But your implication is that the guy with the truck has to adjust them all the time based on load. Did the manufacturer not set them up correctly for carrying a load? Does the owners manual tell the owner to adjust the lights based on the load? | ||
| Reepicheep |
My mini cooper S and Saab 9-3 Aero both have xenon HID's with a very sharp cutoff, and both have a sensor on the suspension that uses a servo to automatically re-aim the lights based on how the car is sitting at the moment. (My Uly's both have HID's, and I just adjust them to be just barely OK with a heavy load on the bike, so unloaded it is even less objectionable. I did it in the dark in a parking lot on a trip once because I saw I was blinding oncoming drivers, and I have the little bulb, not the bright one). | ||
| Ratbuell |
The mfr sets them up to work with a RATED load capacity, on a STOCK suspension. How many people pay attention to their payload capacity? Some...but they're the minority. How many are running stock suspension? Again, some... And these days, how many are running stock lights? | ||
| Sifo |
How many are just running around with their brights on? | ||
| Pwnzor |
I drive with my brights on a lot, but mine are not conventional. My lowbeam projectors are normal for what they are, but my high beams are separate reflectors and aimed lower than standard with PIAA plasma yellow bulbs. They pick out deer eyeballs hiding by the side of the road from really far away, and I drive to work in the pitch blackness with very little opposing traffic. | ||
| U4euh |
I finally found my home!!! This has been bothering me for about two months now, and ive bitten my tongue. Nice to know im not alone!!! I drive two hours to work on a major us hwy, and the number of rednecks with lifted trucks and no bother to readjust the headlights is crazy, then ontop of that they feel the need to have a light bar and two sets of driving lights on, in bumper to bumper traffic, on a 20 mile stretch of very uncurvy roads. Really!!!??? What the hell is it that you cant see? there are 6002 car taillights in front of us, looks like a landing strip for Santa Claus, and you have to illuminate the air between the back of my car and the front of your truck so much that a vacuum is created where no life can remain!!! When I slow down to 40mph, it is a hint, pass me douchehead!!! | ||
| Njloco |
Sitting home with a broken wrist, two broken ribs, soar ribs on the other side, screwed up right knee, screwed up left wrist, shriveling up due to age and not being able to workout because, some ••••••• said she never saw me coming down the straight road from the opposite direction she was facing while she waited to make a left turn into the WaWa and then did so when I was 15-20 feet from her, my headlight was on low beam, I'm wearing a bright yellow helmet, bright yellow, white and black leather jacket, riding a bright red motorcycle, this all happened on a sunny day @ 3:00PM while heading east, she was heading west! I'll be installing strobe lights ( against the law ) the brightest headlights I can get, and I'll be trying to figure out how to install lasers on my helmet ! (Message edited by njloco on December 16, 2016) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Strobes and lasers still require active participation from the "other guy". Sorry to say. That said, aux lights DO make sense to me, especially if they are physically distant from the headlight (i.e. bottom of the fork legs, or out by the hand grips). Lights further apart make the motorcycle appear "bigger" by giving it a bigger "face" (and this is why I will never have one of those integrated-signal taillights on one of my motorcycles). Hope for your sake her insurance company has deep pockets. Rest up, and do what the docs say. If you're a "workout guy" as indicated by your post, definitely get yourself a prescription for physical therapy - not only will they "let" you exercise, but they'll make sure you do it correctly, accommodating your new "features" so you don't cause any more damage. | ||
| Njloco |
Yes on the physical therapy, though it will be an uphill battle at 67, I will do my best. Your right about the separation of lights, I'm wondering if it would have happened on my Triumph explorer xc, it has the fog lights which stand out. | ||
| Ourdee |
Talk to your doctor about steroids for the recovery. | ||
| Torquehd |
Sorry to hear you got busted up, but I'm glad it wasn't worse. All of the physical therapists I've worked with have been top notch and have done wonders for me; I hope you have the same experience. Godspeed and good luck on your recovery. | ||
| Njloco |
Thanks for all the well wishes. Everyone have a merry and a happy, and a healthy. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Sorry you got hurt. I got a cracked pelvis from a left turner that couldn't see if it was clear or not, so she decided she should just go really quickly. It wasn't clear.  Strobes or whatever is fine. But reconsider the blinding headlights. At night they will just blind and target fixate oncoming drivers, so you are just trading one rare hazard for a perpetual zone of stressed and drivers around you. As drivers get older, the lights become more blinding as well, so with the uber-lights your biggest threat is now even more disabled. | ||
| Torquehd |
It seems like depth perception is reduced when I'm looking at blinding lights as well. I have a harder time telling how far away the vehicle is from me. |
