Motorcycle Safety and Headlights

A motorcyclist often depends on the durability and longevity of his bike’s headlight bulb more so than a car owner or truck driver would depend on their vehicles’ headlights. Many bikes have single-headlight displays, and though many do have dual-headlights nowadays, their close proximity to one another makes their on-road light coverage quite a bit less widespread than that of a car, truck, or SUV. A burned out headlight bulb on a bike can seriously endanger its driver, and for more than one reason. Not only will the driver’s vision be impaired, his visibility on the road itself comes into question. If a car’s headlights went out on the road, oncoming traffic headlights would be likely to still catch the large vehicle’s exterior as light reflects off of it because it hangs so close to the lines on both sides. On a bike without headlights, oncoming traffic lighting may still miss it, and the bike itself becomes as good as invisible.

Most motorcycles are equipped with standard halogen headlights, which are certainly sufficient for most situations. Though they didn’t take off as quickly on bikes as they did on cars, HIDs, or High Intensity Discharge headlights, have become a popular upgrade option for bike owners. Thanks to being 10x longer-lasting and up to 3x as bright as halogens, HID headlights pack a lot of punch for a small replacement. A bike rider depending on HIDs won’t have to worry about them dying out so quickly, and can expand his bike’s road coverage with dramatically brighter light output.

If you’re not good with repairs and replacements, then the safer and easier choice is to stick with halogens. Improperly installed HIDs won’t do much good as you can’t rely on them. At least with a replacement halogen bulb, all you have to do is a little bit of unscrewing and you’ll have that old part out in no-time. If you’re fairly mechanically savvy, however, the benefits of using HIDs on your bike can be quite significant. HID bulbs produce light that appears to eyes to be much more similar to natural light, causing less strain on the eyes. There’s also sharper color contrast, and a wider field of view for increased peripheral vision. All of these advantages help to build a buffer zone for motorcyclists, as they always need to be extra engaged with their environment to avoid potential road obstacles and hazards.

Headlights may not be thought of popularly as safety features, but that’s what they are. On a motorcycle, without the walls of cars and many of the other standard safety features other drivers depend on, the weight put on headlights to perform is only that much more potent. Whether you go with HIDs or halogen replacements, making sure your bike’s headlights work, and work well, is vital to your safety whenever you get on your motorcycle.