Author |
Message |
4cammer
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 11:05 am: |
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So you have a new motorbike, be it a Buell, Ducati or (gasp) Honda. Whatever. Do you keep the huge, ugly reflectors on or take 'em off? After two years I had to finally take those huge warts off of my 9R's front forks. If anything they will be replaced by what HD uses on the Sportsters. |
Spike
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 12:42 pm: |
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If they come off cleanly I'll pull them off. On my Firebolt I ditched all of them. On my Ulysses I kept the two on the sides of the tail section because the tail has two rectangular sections that stick out and would still look out of place even if the reflectors were removed. |
Old_man
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 12:47 pm: |
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They're on there for safety reasons. I would never remove them. |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 01:18 pm: |
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They don't bother me. I left them on. I could understand why you would take them off. If your gear is reflective, they're probably superfluous. |
Tx05xb12s
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 01:24 pm: |
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I kept them on for the first two years, but as my bike was customized more and more, I finally relented and removed them. I wear reflective gear, plus all the lights have been upgraded. I say if they serve a purpose, keep them as safety is important. However, if you've got a substitute such as mentioned above in my case, get rid of them and your bike will look better. Safety is more important than looks in my book though. |
Jimduncan69
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 01:49 pm: |
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Trash 'em |
Just_ziptab
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 02:22 pm: |
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Ride like you're invisible is the thing I always hear..........so why would you want reflectors spoiling that? |
Teddagreek
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 02:25 pm: |
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I didn't have a choice mine came without.. |
Bombardier
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 04:25 pm: |
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You will wish you left them on when you have to leave the bike on the road at night for any reason. |
Danger_dave
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 05:45 pm: |
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ghey - trash 'em. |
Danger_dave
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 05:46 pm: |
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>>If your gear is reflective,<< Gheyer. |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 06:20 pm: |
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Gheyer. Stealth Reflective. Believe it or not, this jacket is reflective:
See:
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Danger_dave
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 06:27 pm: |
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Oh! Ah beeeeeeeelieves! :-P |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 06:28 pm: |
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Doesn't mean the wearer isn't a little "bent". |
Slaughter
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 07:32 pm: |
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OK - share a little California "whine" with me here: no side reflectors is a ticketable offense in the People's Republic. Only heard of people being written up when they were already pulled over for something else but they HAVE been written up. Check your state laws. |
Danger_dave
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 07:37 pm: |
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I wave my private parts at stupid laws. |
Slaughter
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 07:43 pm: |
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quote:I wave my private parts at stupid laws.
Don't know about your cops, but ours (even in California) wouldn't take kindly to me waving my private parts at them. |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 07:43 pm: |
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I wave my private parts at stupid laws. "Danger Dave's private parts have been known in the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling." |
Danger_dave
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 07:48 pm: |
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It pays to advertise. |
Mtch
| Posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 08:08 pm: |
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apparently the reflectors on buells are illegal in the uk, according to Maz on ukbeg. everyone takes them off anyway, especially the ones on the forks its thought they cause corrosion, like it says. here (Message edited by Mtch on May 04, 2008) |
Mr_grumpy
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 07:49 am: |
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Maz got me the deal on my TT so I dropped in to see him when I picked it up, before riding home, first thing he did was pull the fork reflectors off. Back ones disappeared when I put the dual seat kit on. He's right though, it wouldn't pass an SVA test with them on, bizarre but there you go. |
Ratbuell
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 10:35 am: |
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I leave 'em. Not only that, but on my FLHP I left the 3" blue reflective stripes the cops put on (talk about anti-tailgating decoration!). I put red reflective pinstripes along the bodylines of my red S2 that are invisible in daylight but really pop at night. My Buell Firebolt system helmet has blue pinstripe tape on the lightning bolt decoration, and a reflective 2x3" American flag on the back. I also added some reflective tape to the back of my Uly, on the racks for the top and side cases. Maybe its just me, or the area I ride in (metro DC area), or the other people who "drive" cages around me...but I'll take all the visibility I can get. I don't wear the reflective/flourescent vest though - I save those for the BMW riders and the folks who are riding on base, LOL. To each his/her own, but given the lack of respect and notice we bikers get from cagers, I just don't understand pulling reflectors and turnsignals. Worst case, it gives me the chance to tell the officer at the scene "I had my turn signal on and they pulled in front of me anyway". |
Djkaplan
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 11:35 am: |
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The reflectors on my tuber vibrated off one-by-one years ago. They're still reflecting on the roadsides somewhere. |
No_rice
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 11:41 am: |
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gone the first time they pull into my garage. heck the 1125 didnt even get riden before they came off! |
Freezerburn
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 12:10 pm: |
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Took em off. It adds that 'je ne sais quois' to the look. Then others who have left them on can't quite figure out why my bike looks just a bit cooler than theirs. |
Bobr
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 01:11 pm: |
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"I wave my private parts at stupid laws." Left my reflectors on b/c my private parts are too big to wave. |
Xb9er
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 01:34 pm: |
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can them. The ones on the tail and the forks. |
Cruisin
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 01:59 pm: |
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I didn't intentionally pull them off, but had to shortly after arriving home. I needed an inspection sticker and per the state inspection manual: Affix the sticker to the windscreen or the left front fork of the motorcycle in a space readily visible and located where it will not be damaged. Since there was no way I'm sticking that thing on the outside of my windscreen, we grabbed a heat gun and pulled the reflectors off. In case you're wondering, Vermont doesn't require reflectors, but does LIMIT the number you can have: 1. Reflectors a. None required; two (2) are permitted. b. Must be of approved type; must show red to rear, and amber to front. c. Reflectors cannot be used in lieu of any lights required. |
Gentleman_jon
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 01:59 pm: |
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May I take the liberty of summing up this fascinating and useful thread, my brothers? Shall we just say "Real men don't run no reflectors." And leave it at that?
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Cruisin
| Posted on Monday, May 05, 2008 - 02:39 pm: |
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As for other fun state laws, here's one that technically would fail a stock Firebolt, Lightning, Blast, and 1125R from passing an inspection in Vermont. Reject the vehicle if: Seats designed to carry more than one (1) person are not equipped with handgrips and footrests for passengers. Thankfully the inspection stations don't follow the guidelines to the letter, otherwise a lot of motorcycles would be in trouble... |