WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

A column dedicated to your riding survival

A few weeks back we recovered an email from Rob Roth, a reader from Pennsylvania. He sent a news clipping that he wanted to share… His query being how can we stop being rear-ended, clipped, or simply run over?

‘A Schuylkill Haven man was seriously injured when his motorcycle was rear-ended by a car last week on Route 61 near Hamburg, state police said Tuesday. The crash happened on Aug. 31 at about 10:30 a.m. at Pottsville Pike, which is Route 61, and Schappell Road in Windsor Township. Troopers at the Hamburg station provided this account: Jody Christman, 50, was stopped on his motorcycle in the left, southbound lane of Route 61 with his left turn signal on, waiting for traf c to clear to turn onto Schappell when his bike was struck in the rear by a southbound car. The driver of the car, Jean M. Rauscher, 69, of Hamburg, told investigators she was in the midst of adjusting the air conditioner just before the crash. When her attention returned to the road, she noticed the stopped motorcycle and tried to swerve around it. Upon impact, Christman was thrown 50 to 75 feet but was able to get up and walk to the shoulder on his own power before laying down on the pavement. Christman was taken to Reading Hospital by Hamburg EMS for what appeared to be a serious head injury. Information on his medical condition was unavailable Tuesday. Rauscher was cited for following too closely.’

Really – Driving too closely? Ya think?

Just a few weeks later a friend of mine was taken out by a young cell phone-obsessed woman during our Backroads Fall Fiesta. Dale, a riding instructor, was simply sitting at a light waiting for the green. The woman came to a stop sign and began to turn and continued turning – right into his lane and just ran Dale over. Punting him down the road with a busted shoulder and a wrecked bike – the girl didn’t even get her hands slapped. Sadly, the police report tried to heap the blame on a motionless rider. You wonder who this kid’s dad knew?

So, the question is, how do we at least give ourselves a better chance of survival on the mean streets? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just “Raise Shields” like the Enterprise? A protective layer of energetic distortion throwing a ‘shield’ of gravitons around the bike and rider. FM. Friggin’ Magic. (Yes, that is how shields work – I’m a geek, don’t argue)

But, alas, that magic is not going to happen any time soon – so we need another plan, right?

At the BMW MOA National Rally this last summer in Missouri I sat in on a very illuminating seminar given by Erik Stephens, owner of Twisted Throttle. If anyone knows how lights and lighting really works it is Erik.

It was a great talk and there was a lot to learn, especially how some lights are better at long-range illumination and others at conspicuity.

Conspicwahtaty?

Conspicuity is being clearly discernible. The state or quality of being clear or bright; brightness; conspicuousness.

You want to be seen.

We have all seen highway workers, and they are always wearing some brightly colored vest or jacket, and the reasons are obvious.

Still, they get hit and killed by distracted and inattentive drivers. Work zone fatalities reached a 16-year high in 2020. Between 2013 and 2020, work zone fatalities increased by 45%.

Cellphones are the most likely culprit here, but without the use of bright safety vests highway work would be the most dangerous occupation in the nation.

So, as riders, we have many choices to make and the rst is gear that stands out. Black leather and solid dark riding gear doesn’t help in any way and become almost invisible in some circumstances. There is plenty of well-made, protective and brightly toned riding gear to be found on the market these days. Something for everybody.

For years I have been wearing a two-piece Aerostich Roadcrafter suit. The Stark Industry option for motorcyclists. Waterproof, armored, and my riding companion for years.

Light grey with bright yellow ballistics -okay- maybe not so bright after a half-dozen years – but still stands out in a big way, and more than once I have walked into a place of business to see the staff think I was a First Responder and something was wrong.

Dale’s incident happened in the rain when visibility diminishes, and there are a number of great rain suits – Nelson Rigg’s SSJ Solo Storm Rain Suit is new on the market and offers superb rain protection and is very bright, conspicuous, and comfortable.

So, with more noticeable gear making us stand out we must move on to other tactics to be noticed while on the road.

During Erik’s presentation, it was shown that some of their Denali Lights are better at some tasks than others.

With a bit more knowledge about this, I tted my BMW R1250GS with four additional Denali Lights up front and an additional brake light in the rear.

Mounted just below the stock LED headlight, the Denali D4 lights throw an enormous amount of candle power down the road – literally turning night into day and making riding in the darkest of night far easier and more pleasurable. Down low, by the brake calipers, I have two Denali D2 LEDs – tted with their optional

Page 40 bright yellow lenses. Research has shown that this particular color is noticed far more often than just white light.

Having these ve lights – the four Denali Lights and the stock BMW LED headlamp creates a pyramid of conspicuity and makes this bike far more likely to been seen even by the dimmest of drivers.

Even during the day – with just the stock lamp and the two yellow beacons on the lower part of the machine – it really stands out.

The Denali System, available from Twisted Throttle, was one of the easiest installations we have ever done; made that much easier by their CANsmart System that allows an easy plug & play of multiple lights, brake and horn units.

With the CANsmart you can also adjust the lights to operate in a wide swath of variations. For my set-up, the big D4 lights work when I run the stock high beam. This allows me to turn down the lights when I have approaching vehicles and need to be a bit courteous. The bright B6 Brake Light adds a bunch more kick to the rear when stopping and with the CANsmart I have them pulsating before the LEDs burn a solid red. Can you hear me now? That is the question, right? In addition to the stock horn, which is better than most, I have the Denali Sound Bomb and when I hit the horn they can hear it in Europe.

This point was brought home to us on a return trip and a stop in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, a busy little Potomac River town that was bustling this Sunday afternoon.

We had found a prime spot for three bikes this day and after lunch, we mounted up, just as a deluge came pouring in from the west with darkening skies and loud fanfare.

Just as I got on the bike and was settling into the saddle the SUV to our right pulled out of the spot next to us and another SUV began to back in … but not with much talent.

In fact, she was back right into me - as if I were invisible.

I saw my imminent Police Report ash before my eyes, so I laid into the horns!

The way I set up my CANsmart System, the two horns blared and all the Denali lights ashed at once like a First Responder’s lights would ash.

The driver – awakened to reality by a wave of bright ashing lights and sound – stopped frozen. She then timidly waved sorry and we rode away – unhit.

The question that started this was “how not to get hit.”

This time it all worked, but if I were not on the bike at the time I would have come back to a very bruised BMW. So, it is still all about that word – conspicuity.

I recently installed yet another layer of light.

Weiser Technik has been making LED Replacement Kits for many bikes for years. We had run a story on them a few years back and recently they have added another system to their arsenal of lighting solutions.

For some reason, BMW had been shipping machines to the USA with old-style lament bulbs. Weiser’s LEDs are 10X brighter.

The newest Weiser Technik System, which is shipped with a sticker that states “Don’t Be Dim!,” allows the signal lights to act as both running lights and brake lights in the rear as well. A magical combination.

Like most things after-market it is best to listen and watch their installation videos and this particular system necessitated my taking off the rear section of the bike to access the proper brake lead – but this also allowed me to ‘clean up’ some of the other accessories as well.

All in all, it took a long hour to install it all – but was well worth it.

My signal up front burns bright white and does double duty hurling light down the road and making me very, very noticeable.

The back signals run bright red and double in intensity when the brakes are applied.

Both the front and rear of this machine are very well lit indeed… and at night, compared to the stock set-up, is as bright as the Phare du Créac’h.

So now I think my GS has everything covered conspicuity-wise.

That does not mean I have the De ector Shields I long for – and we all have to remember to be ever-vigilant in our minute-to-minute situational awareness.

We hope they see us- but sometimes we have to see them rst.

Mirrors are not just the things on the side of the bike – like the throttle, brakes, and your brain – they are tools to be used – so use them!

Have them set up correctly.

I was once following a rider and I watched as each time he went to look in his mirrors he had to shift and drop his head. These mirrors might have looked nice aesthetically, but they were not all that useful.

You should not have to move your body to glance in the mirrors; a quick shift of the eyes is all that is needed.

Ride safe, ride far, ride the backroads! ,