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Motorcycle Safety: Adding reflective stickers to helmets and bikes

Materials

I purchased a couple packages of 8.5"x11" silver and black reflective vinyl at a local motorcycle shop a couple years ago. It can bend a little but you really have to cut it to the shape you want taking into account the curves of your helmet or motorcycle.  BMW dealers are usually a good place to look.  Harley stores, not so much.

Topcase Reflectors

My Versys has a black Shad 37 top case with black 3m reflective strips on all flat surfaces

You can see the wrap around reflectors on the top case at the top of the picture.







Here we see the back case taken in my dark garage with a flash. This was only from about 3 feet away





Silver Reflectors on a Black Helmet


The helmet is the highest point on your motorcycle and is visible from any direction. Some of my riding buddies like black helmets for reasons I do not understand. 

I customized this one with silver reflective stripes.  These pictures were taken in my kitchen with a flash.

You can see the smiley face on the front and the end of the strip coming off the back.


These stripes are all straight cut.  The curve comes from the shape of the helmet.




Black Reflectors on a Bright Helmet

This is an Arai SignetQ.  Black reflectors strips have been added on any straight black lines or squares. The pictures were taken in my garage at night by the light of a 60 watt bulb.


First the back of the helmet.













Now with a flash 



Here is the front of the helmet. I replaced the Arai log with a silver oval with a black reflective arrow.









The flash reflection pretty much overwhelmed the camera.  This was from about 3 feet away.

Here is a side shot. there are some reflective scraps stuck on the black rear vents top and bottom.












Now a picture with the flash. Note the bright triangles on the right. They are the reflectors on the vents.












Conclusion

Bright colors can help reduce the odds of "I didn't see you" type events.   Even black stickers can dramatically increase visibility at night.
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Comments

  1. jadeAugust 2, 2016 at 8:15 PM

    I really wrestled with how this should be handled. Do I buy a helmet for this one date and choke on the cost of the date? best motorcycle helmet

    ReplyDelete

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