Motorcycle gear - Who wears all black? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Motorcycle gear - Who wears all black?

stickman88

Well-known member
Just wondering whose motorcycle gear is all black or is going for the murdered out look. How do you feel when all your gear is black and you are literally a blind spot on the road. We all know it looks cool but self consciously do you feel you are more in danger?
 
Does not look cool. Probably is not cool.
 
All black here. Not an aggressive rider and I rarely ride at night. Don't feel like I'm any less visible than the average hi-viz dork.

Hi-viz seems counterproductive in broad daylight.
 
Here's a study that shows that there is no one right choice - black can be more visible than white or colours depending on the surroundings.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22062342

RESULTS: In experiment 1 the detection of a PTW depended on the interaction between its distance from the viewer, the driving scenario and PTW rider's outfit. For an un-alerted viewer when the PTW was distant the different outfit conditions affected its' attention conspicuity. In urban roads, where the background surrounding the PTW was more complex and multi-colored, the reflective and white outfits increased its attention conspicuity compared to the black outfit condition. In contrast, in inter-urban roads, where the background was solely a bright sky, the black outfit provided an advantage for the PTW detectability. In experiment 2, the average PTW detection rate of the alerted viewers was very high and the average reaction time to identify the presence of a PTW was the shortest in the inter-urban environment. Similar to the results of experiment 1, in urban environments the reflective and white clothing provided an advantage to the detection of the PTW, while in the inter-urban environment the black outfit presented an advantage. Comparing the results of the two experiments revealed that at the farthest distance, the increased awareness in the search conspicuity detection rates were three times higher than in the attention conspicuity.
 
All black here. Not an aggressive rider and I rarely ride at night. Don't feel like I'm any less visible than the average hi-viz dork.

Hi-viz seems counterproductive in broad daylight.

There's a reason cops, road construction crews, tow truck operators, airport workers etc use hi-viz: It works. In fact, OSHA requires the use of hi-viz clothing for "flaggers, workers exposed to vehicle traffic near excavations, and to other workers in highway/construction zones who are exposed to traffic."

Of course you can't rely solely on the stuff as a defense against inattentive drivers. You still need to ride like you're invisible but having the gear on increases your probability of being noticed by other drivers and that, as they say, is a start.
 
Here's a study that shows that there is no one right choice - black can be more visible than white or colours depending on the surroundings.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22062342

RESULTS: In experiment 1 the detection of a PTW depended on the interaction between its distance from the viewer, the driving scenario and PTW rider's outfit. For an un-alerted viewer when the PTW was distant the different outfit conditions affected its' attention conspicuity. In urban roads, where the background surrounding the PTW was more complex and multi-colored, the reflective and white outfits increased its attention conspicuity compared to the black outfit condition. In contrast, in inter-urban roads, where the background was solely a bright sky, the black outfit provided an advantage for the PTW detectability. In experiment 2, the average PTW detection rate of the alerted viewers was very high and the average reaction time to identify the presence of a PTW was the shortest in the inter-urban environment. Similar to the results of experiment 1, in urban environments the reflective and white clothing provided an advantage to the detection of the PTW, while in the inter-urban environment the black outfit presented an advantage. Comparing the results of the two experiments revealed that at the farthest distance, the increased awareness in the search conspicuity detection rates were three times higher than in the attention conspicuity.

And where do the majority of motorcycle accidents occur?
 
My gear is dark grey and black but I have stock turn signals on the front and bright Rizoma LED's on the rear. At night I wear a reflective vest.
 
I was thinking of painting Hi-vis stripes on my car so people would stop running into me at night...

Does your bike not have a set of working head and tail lights?

Only downside to wearing all black leathers is it gets ****ing hot as hell, small price to pay to look cool so whatever.
 
Perfed A* jacket is fine as long as I'm moving. Pants (A* A10 something something) are a mix of leather and textile, also well vented.
 
I wear an amalgam of dark shades, some perfed, and solid white helmet. Not pirate, not power ranger or city slicker, more Chuck Norris meets Tonto.
 
I'm all black, my bikes usually throw chain lube, leak oily puddles and truck tires throw crap and the dead bugs pile up. Always looks good.
 
My black gear has super reflective designs built in.
 
Been riding 19 years, always wore black. It is not to look like a badass or anything like that, just hate the flashy colours. Never had an accident on the road in all that time. I make sure I am not in peoples blind spots, my lights, well you cannot miss them, I ride defensively. I do not think me wearing high viz gear would change anything or improve anything.
 
My Bike is Black and Chrome, I ride in the sun, you will see the flash! So, I wear whatever I want..
 
My once black gear is more of a dusty grey or brown depending on the colour of the last gravel road I ran.

I wonder... is it possible that hi-viz gear could be more dangerous in certain situations? Example: What if you are riding down a dark country road and the drunk driver coming towards you is fixated on this bright alien looking thing riding towards him and runs into it? Lots of accidents happen due to target fixation... plowing into parked cars on the side of the road, for example.
 
Used to have black gear but then I didn't like the feeling of slowly being baked in the sun when stopped. Have grey stuff now which is a lot better on hot days.
 
All my gear is black. Except my helmet. Which was black, but I got a white one with my new bike. People not only see me because my bike is bright as hell, but I am also louder than stock, so they can surely hear me as well. Its best to use more than one sense of perception.
 
I think all cars and trucks should be hi-viz, then that will reduce accidents, right? Why all vehicles dull earth tones? SO dangerous!!!
 
My once black gear is more of a dusty grey or brown depending on the colour of the last gravel road I ran.

I wonder... is it possible that hi-viz gear could be more dangerous in certain situations? Example: What if you are riding down a dark country road and the drunk driver coming towards you is fixated on this bright alien looking thing riding towards him and runs into it? Lots of accidents happen due to target fixation... plowing into parked cars on the side of the road, for example.

Pretty sure if you are coming down a dark country rode and a drunk driver is coming towards you, he will not notice the high viz over your head lights.
 

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