Do you ride at night? is it safe?

[Easy Rider]

I don't know what a two legged animal is

YOU are one.

But you might not be a live one for long if you insist riding when there is frost on things.

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[limitedbyfourkawiby2]

so i ride at night, but it is not safe. that's my final answer.

[Y2K]

Wow - this forum seems to grow some really long-legged discussions - this one's going on 3 years old now. I'm sure the OP has had plenty of time to make his decision on riding at night.

Notwithstanding.......Drunks out at night are a bad enough threat, but if you live in an area that's infested with deer as I do, it's downright foolhardy to ride a bike after dark. I own a 2012 Harley with upgraded LED headlights and an 04 Goldwing which also has quite effective headlights, but none of that matters, given that a deer can dart from the darkness into the roadway in a fraction of a second from the cover of trees or bushes on the side of the road, and there's simply not time to avoid it. I've already hit 2 - one on a bike, and one in my truck, and my wife's hit one in her car. That's enough for a lifetime. No night riding for me - I'm not immortal anymore like I was in my 20s.

Sounds like my area,where do you live?....I've hit two on bikes myself,one with a Sportster and one on an Electraglide.
This guy hangs out in my back yard a lot.

[limitedbyfourkawiby2]

do thay like to stand in the road and look at led headlights more or halogen?

[Ralphlong]

I did not read all the posts in this thread, so don't know if this was already mentioned, but upgrading your bikes lights to HID really helps. We need all the lighting we can get!

[JBMotorcycle]

I try not to ride at night, unless it's in town. We have lots of critters that come out at night around here. I've known more than one person to hit an animal at night time in this area, unfortunetly one of them hit a moose whlie riding the Kancamagus Highway (very popular for motorcyclists) and he is no longer with us

[limitedbyfourkawiby2]

animals are a danger and if they run over a motorcyclist while intoxicated they will be tried to the full extent of the law. I find there is a lot less traffic at night.
Although it wasn't an emergency I telephoned 911 when i almost ran over a broken quart of oil spilled on the road after leaving the freeway late last December right around midnight. It was spilled on the road and it was slippery anyways good thing I didn't hit it.
Tthe first thing I let them know right away that it wasn't an emergency and I think I over did it by calling them.

[matty032]

Deer, deer, deer, dogs, dogs, dogs, etc.....I live in the country, so we have every four legged, and two legged critters to look out for. I will ride at night, but not often.....
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[limitedbyfourkawiby2]

I agree that animals can be a hazard and a biker could get killed but with as few hours in the day as there are it is hard not to go out at night.

[QZephyr]

My wife isn't an early bird so some of our daytrips become night returns. My favorite helmet is a 3/4 GMax with a flip up smoke shield. On the interstate I can't keep the shield from dropping and nearly blinding me. The worst part is my wife doesn't like riding the interstates because of semi's. Even though I've explained the dangers of country roads at night and the night I watched a coyote stop quick to avoid getting hit, she still insists on the country road.

[limitedbyfourkawiby2]

I have to admit the freeway doesn't bother me, but alot of times the traffic is a pain. Semi's do kick up a lot of debris but the country roads are best left alone if you have a noisy muffler, night time is best on the freeway for cruising. hard to see a downed bike in the dark and if something goes wrong it could be a while before you can get help.

[Amsdragonfly]

I feel kind of conflicted about this. I like that there are less cars on the road, but I am incredibly TERRIFIED about hitting/being hit by an animal (especially a deer). I live kind of in the country, and my commute to work is totally in the country. I feel like at night it is harder for me to be aware of animals near the side of the road. I have also found I get hit by more bugs while riding at night, but this doesn't bother me.

[limitedbyfourkawiby2]

I have this stop light by the retirement home down the way some that seems to turn red without really turning orange. I think there is an old retired gentlemen with a remote for the light that sees me riding down the way. like to go around the backway and ride the turns on the back road, one time there was an old man riding up the road in the wrong lane on his rascal, it was almost dark and I nearly hit him head on with my ford.
If I could find some back country roads that were miles long(120 miles to a tank be real) i would do it, but who knows if I run out of gas or break down it wouldn't be long before the animals get me. I am going to venture out more so during the summer when there is longer hours of daylight