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I ran out to the store to get some food. It's dark. I'm on a side road coming up the hill to the house. I get to an intersection and I'm stopped to make a left. Then, I see two headlights coming in the opposite direction. But they are far, far away. So I lift my foot off the brake, and a nano-second later I slammed it back on. Why? Because I remembered Rottenralph getting dual lights off ebay and someone mentioned that they might look like headlights to a cager -- headlights that were far away.

And that's EXACTLY what it was. Scared the crap out of me.

Dual headlights. Not good.

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That is interesting. I'll keep it in mind.

Optical illusions have scared the crap out of me more than one time.

Not kidding, if I hadn't read that "dual headlight" thread I probably wouldn't have thought about it.

Does it really matter what it was with dual headlights? If it was a bus, car, truck, or bike, would you pull out in front of it?...

dual headlights on a motorcyle are smaller I think, and if they are they can look like a cager that is farther away. So you may think you have more time than you have. Its not that would you pull out in front of headlights or not it weather you think you have enough time to make the turn or crossing the intersection in a normal safe manner.

Does it really matter what it was with dual headlights? If it was a bus, car, truck, or bike, would you pull out in front of it?...

Many Americans do! Murder by cage.

I don't want to die but I can see the closeness of the lights and the small shape creating this illusion. I might have to give this some consideration. I am glad you did not choose to kill the poor lad, he only wanter to see better.

Does it really matter what it was with dual headlights? If it was a bus, car, truck, or bike, would you pull out in front of it?...
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Yes, of course I would if I thought that the bus, car, or truck was a half a block away, which is what the close proximity of the dual headlights give the illusion of on a motorcycle -- of course you don't know it's a bike, it looks like a car.

One headlight looks like a bike. Three headlights look like a bike. Two headlights look like a car that's far away. That's all I'm saying.

There's a biker around here that has a single light on top and two lights near the axle of his front wheel. Pretty cool. I would never confuse that configuration with a car either.

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Speed triples have two head lights. I think both of them are on at once on high beam.

Both mine are on in low and high beam. It really lights up the road nicely.

A BMW-riding friend of mine told me that a triangle pattern of lighting is the most effective. From what's been posted in here so far, I can see why. There'd be no mistaking a triangle of lights coming at you as being on a motorcycle, and could judge the closing distance much more accurately.

Both mine are on in low and high beam. It really lights up the road nicely.

Ralph, I'm only seeing 1 headlight on your bike. Have you changed it from the picture?

I have not updated my avatar. Look in the gallery.

I have not updated my avatar. Look in the gallery.

Looks ok. One thing's for sure, It's different. It's hard to do anything on a Harley that's really unique now days. I can't ever remember seeing a Sportster with side by side headlights before. I've seen over under. I bet they put out a lot of light.

I'm starting to warm up to the head lights on my sons Speed Triple.

I'll bet if you looked carefully, you could tell the difference. A car's headlights are separated by a distance that is many multiples of the width of a light (5" lights, separated by maybe 50"). Even a mile away, the gap is evident.

Motorcycle dual headlights are separated by a distance that is a fraction of the the width of a light (4" lights separated by maybe 1").

Of course, most people don't do anything on the road very carefully or stop to think -- they're on autopilot. I run triples full time now, but am switching to a side-by-side double soon. I'll do some testing -- if the result is too confusing for dimwits (present company excluded) to sort out, I'll add some spot lights or fork lights.

One light that I thought seriously about in my chopper conversion was this half-moon light that shines down as well as front. It illuminates the front fork very well and I'll be leaves no doubt about what is coming at you...
http://homepage.mac.com/dagruber/.Pictures/halfmoon.jpg

I'll bet if you looked carefully, you could tell the difference. A car's headlights are separated by a distance that is many multiples of the width of a light (5" lights, separated by maybe 50"). Even a mile away, the gap is evident.

Motorcycle dual headlights are separated by a distance that is a fraction of the the width of a light (4" lights separated by maybe 1").

Of course, most people don't do anything on the road very carefully or stop to think -- they're on autopilot. I run triples full time now, but am switching to a side-by-side double soon. I'll do some testing -- if the result is too confusing for dimwits (present company excluded) to sort out, I'll add some spot lights or fork lights.

One light that I thought seriously about in my chopper conversion was this half-moon light that shines down as well as front. It illuminates the front fork very well and I'll be leaves no doubt about what is coming at you...
http://homepage.mac.com/dagruber/.Pictures/halfmoon.jpg

Hey, that's pretty tastey. Even a knucklehead like me can see that coming.

My Triumph Speed Four has dual headlights, and if anything, I think it makes it safer. My Sportster might have a pair by spring. On the US spec Speed Fours like mine, both lights work on low and high beam. On Euro spec bikes, only one is used on low beam, so I don't know if that is some safety regulation, but many of the Euro guys switch the relay to have them both on. It sure does light up the road better with two, and if you lose a headlight at night for some reason, you wouldn't screwed like you would be with one.

oh.

i thought this was another "real or fake" thread.

On the US spec Speed Fours like mine, both lights work on low and high beam. It sure does light up the road better with two, and if you lose a headlight at night for some reason, you wouldn't screwed like you would be with one.

After double checking my sons Speed Triple, both headlights are on all the time too.

They do put out, but the only thing I don't like about them is they don't turn with the handle bars.

After double checking my sons Speed Triple, both headlights are on all the time too.

They do put out, but the only thing I don't like about them is they don't turn with the handle bars.
Well, that is because on a proper sporting machine, you wouldn't want all of that weight affecting the steering feel and feedback. That is why the gauges and lights mount from the frame. ;)

The Road Glide comes with two headlamps and in a fixed fairing too. I've been fooled more by a car with a headlamp out and thought it was a bike coming than the other way around. Seems like a lot of ricers have dual headlamps. Not sure how big of an issue this really is.

At first I didnt understand what the deal was with the dual headlights,then I relized you meant side by side instead of over under.After reading some of these posts I understand where you could be confused by the headlights side by side especially if it is raing and allready hard to see good.I dont think I will be using any side by side headlights now that I have read this.Very good observation on your part to bring this point up.

I'll bet if you looked carefully, you could tell the difference. A car's headlights are separated by a distance that is many multiples of the width of a light (5" lights, separated by maybe 50"). Even a mile away, the gap is evident.

Motorcycle dual headlights are separated by a distance that is a fraction of the the width of a light (4" lights separated by maybe 1").

Of course, most people don't do anything on the road very carefully or stop to think -- they're on autopilot.

I think the bold is the key.

I like lights. The more the better (to a reasonable extent).

For that reason I always loved my FLH with it's passing lamps!!!!!

But I can really see how at a glance duals might look like a car that was far away. And the distance between the lamps can be near impossible to judge at night. Especially for older riders or drivers who suffer more from night blindness, as they have to look AWAY from the lights to keep from being blinded.

I think the bold is the key.

I like lights. The more the better (to a reasonable extent).

For that reason I always loved my FLH with it's passing lamps!!!!!

But I can really see how at a glance duals might look like a car that was far away. And the distance between the lamps can be near impossible to judge at night. Especially for older riders or drivers who suffer more from night blindness, as they have to look AWAY from the lights to keep from being blinded.
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At night around here it gets misty, giving headlights a certain extra "glow" that radiates out from the headlight, sometimes it makes seeing what is BEHIND the headlights a problem.

It was just the perfect storm of darkness, distance, mist, etc.

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I've avoided duals for this very reason. Cars in the distance have their headlights appear like they're closer together. I'd like someone develop a set of footpegs with built in forward projecting LED's. I'd be all over those if someone made a set.

I've avoided duals for this very reason. Cars in the distance have their headlights appear like they're closer together. I'd like someone develop a set of footpegs with built in forward projecting LED's. I'd be all over those if someone made a set.
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Wait a minute -- I think I've seen those somewhere. If I find them again, I'll post it.

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Here we go:

http://www.customcyclepegs.com/index.htm

Here we go:

http://www.customcyclepegs.com/index.htm
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Oops, they're not forward projecting. Sorry.

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Uh-oh, I think I'm talking to myself now on a message board. Not a good sign. :toungelau

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Sorry, I was busy looking at porn. :laugh Those are pretty cool anyhow. I'd love to get a set of red LED pegs for the rear and the white's for the fronts. Even then, I think the angle of the Sporty's rear pegs won't allow them to face the right direction when they're both up and down.

Oh well, I wish I had the talent and materials to make my own.

dual lights = bad potential

thanks for the heads-up, it isn't hard to imagine and kind of scary. maybe stick a modulator on them.

if dual headlights are dangerous then why does just about every sportbike maker from Buell too Zuzuki use them?

if dual headlights are dangerous then why does just about every sportbike maker from Buell too Zuzuki use them?
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But on Sportbikes, they look different, they're angled and sloping. They're easy to spot. When someone puts two round headlights together, it looks more like a car that's farther away (under certain conditions).

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And at night, it never hurts to have twice the light on the road. All it takes is running over a softball in the street, or a beer bottle lying in the highway, and it's all over................... Mufflers on the freeway - they seem to be everywhere.

Good point. If you want to use dual headlights put them vertical.

I still don't think this is a problem unless you put your headlights on the bars 3 ft apart from each other. Next time you're out for a ride or a drive at night, just look at the cars in the opposing lane of traffic. From miles away, I can see that the car lights are widely separated. Dual lights on a motorcycle are so close together that they appear as one. I don't care if they're round, trapazoidal, angled or not.

The trouble is people equate any light with a car and most cars are roughly the same width with the lights on the edges. That helps our brains perceive distance. A single point or the blob of wider light produced by dual lights or even vertically stacked lights, do not provide enough information for the brain to quickly determine distance. Unless you want to put on a light bar that is 4 ft wide, the best you can hope for is creating an UNUSUAL light pattern that will make their brains say, WTF is that coming toward me?

To me this is nothing more than rider error caused by optical illusion. I'll bet the guy on the bike with the dual lamps loves them.......

Mine certainly look cooler than the single I had plus the light at night is much better. They certainly brighten up the road nicely.

... the best you can hope for is creating an UNUSUAL light pattern that will make their brains say, WTF is that coming toward me?
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Good point.

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if dual headlights are dangerous then why does just about every sportbike maker from Buell too Zuzuki use them?


MOST, obviously not all, but most of those bikes have only one headlight on at a time, and the other light is bright only.

Looks kinda weird that way, I don't like em.

Thing is, maybe a biker can tell when it's a dual-headlight bike that is close vs. a car that is distant, but the idiots in cages that we share the road with, well... I dunno.

As much as I like the dual-headlight look, that might not be a risk I'm willing to take.

Kev

To me this is nothing more than rider error caused by optical illusion. I'll bet the guy on the bike with the dual lamps loves them.......

I will agree (in this case-driver error)...and add that I, too, have been fooled by the illusion. Something inside made me wait to pull out and I was glad I did...the motorcycle flew by a few seconds later. What scared the stew out of me was that I (duh) consider myself to be very motorcycle aware...yet I still almost blew it. If additional lighting is added, I believe it should be in a triangular pattern...my .02...

Kim

I really want to do the dual headlight thing on my RRrrrrrrr... I love the look.

I have seen that the buells run 1 light at a time.

Thats my plan. 1 running light, then a higher wattage bulb in the other can for high beams. maybe also a third setting where both lights blast for deer spotting...

if dual headlights are dangerous then why does just about every sportbike maker from Buell too Zuzuki use them?

That's an easy question.....

To quote George Carlin:

If you nail together two things that have never been nailed together before, some schmuck will buy it from you! (Hey, I'll give you a dollar and a half for that!) :laugh:laugh:laugh:laugh:laugh