Yellow Lights

[BawdyMonk]

The local dealer called to say the Hella ff550 foglamps I've ordered have arrived... in YELLOW!

In almost 30 years I've driven anything with yellow lights, any advantages/disadvantages with these?

 

[RichieS]

Yeah, yellow is a good thing. Started using yellow headlamp covers a few years ago after my brother in law was following me on his bike and i 'lost' him as he was in direct line with the car behind him headlamps.
PROs are that you can be seen by everyone and if you do have a fateful knock off, it's good in a subsequent court hearing, it will help satisfy the presiding magistrate that you were doing your upmost to be conspiquous
LOWs, dosnt light the road as well....lose 5mph and everything else is fine.

It is also the ONLY other colour that is allowed in law. Trust me, I'm a police traffic motorcyclist!!!!

 

[BawdyMonk]

Thanks RichieS.. On that basis I'll call him and tell him I'll have them, the driving lamps have come in white but fogs in yellow??? Typical case of Cypriot FUBAR!
I'm not sure if the legal thing applies here, but then I'm sure our glorious Police force aren't either

 

[Dave Hall]

I dont know the reason but time was all fog lamps came in yellow.

My understanding is that fog lights on cars are fitted low in order that light reflected off moisture in the fog is`nt reflected in yer face as is the case with normal height headlamps. I wonder if the yellow lens diffuses the light somehow to avoid that reflected light.

Just guessing and thinking out loud here

 

[R Savage]

It is also the ONLY other colour that is allowed in law. Trust me, I'm a police traffic motorcyclist!!!! [/B]

Hi Richie,

Glad to hear that. I was running my GS with a 21W parking bulb and yellow main beam lens until the bulb blew!

But intrigued at the same time. I understood that the only permanently illuminated light permitted at the front of a vehicle had to be white. In fact my MOT tester had this point reinforced by the people giving him his testing licence (I had the conversation with him last December so it may be out of date). They told him to fail any bike who's headlamps were anything but white.

Also the reason it is very difficult to find the yellow headlamp paint that we used to use for trips to France is that they no longer use headlamp colour to differentiate between civilian and military vehicles.


Regards Richard

 

[Jimb]

Yellow is good for two reasons,

1. If used as daylight running lights the yellow will get noticed more.

2. In rain, spray etc your depth perception will improve because the scattered blue light in the white spectrum is filtered out thereby improving contrast.

I use yellow glasses for night driving, the pale type, have done for years, so worry not.

 

[RichieS]

Richard,
I havnt got the legislation to hand (I'm at home!), but there is a difference/imbalance between MOTs and the Law. An example would be that a bike /car would pass an MOT with a small number plate as it has to be able to be clearly read by the tester. The law states (for m/c) that letters and numbers are not to be smaller than 2.5 inches tall. See where I am coming from? Sooooo, as far as I am concerned (and my collegues) stuff a removable tellow headlamp protector on the front, and if ya MOT man moans ...remove it. It is an anomily......but hey, ask the paople that make these daft laws!

Hope this helps!

Richie

 

[R Savage]

Richard,

It is an anomily......but hey, ask the paople that make these daft laws!

Hope this helps!

Richie

Hi Richie,

Quite agree, anomalies help no one!

What about Malky's wide tail lights? I've been quite tempted by them as anything that discourages tail end shunts appeals to me.

Cheers Richard

 

[RichieS]

Richard,
I'll do a bit of research and have an ask around the office and get back to you on that one.

Richie

 

[BawdyMonk]

Well they're on now..

So legal or not, they're staying!

 

[RichieS]

Bawdy,
Gotta say, they look the mutts nutts...hope they do the job for ya.

Richie

 

[Fanum]

2. In rain, spray etc your depth perception will improve because the scattered blue light in the white spectrum is filtered out thereby improving contrast.

Hmm makes sense.....We year yellow or orange tinted glasses in bad visibity skiin and it improves the contrast and depth perception of an otherwise blanket white slope amazingly....

 

[2 wheel humvee]

Bawdy your having a larf....................surely
It's either a doctored photo,or did you really nick em off the front of a scania?
Effective they probably are,subtle they most definately aint

 

[BawdyMonk]

Bawdy your having a larf....................surely
It's either a doctored photo,or did you really nick em off the front of a scania?
Effective they probably are,subtle they most definately aint

Subtle I Ain't! these fcukers will (A) Light up the lousy Cyppo roads I ride on (B) Fry the eyeballs out of the heads of twats that don't heed the myopic and nyctalopic offering that BMW call headlamps!

They'll also make stoppies a doddle but I've not tried yet

 

[RichieS]

wide tail lights

Richard, sorry for the delay in finding out about the tail light issue. I now have some info.

Couldnt be bothered to look up the legislation (far too much and even more complicated!) so i touted around the chaps in the office and the concensous of opinion was that you can have as many brake lights / tail lights as you like (but lets not go mad here chaps!) Lets face it, most new cars have at least 3 brake lights and on newer anbulances and the like the bar lights act as brake, indicator, and tail lights as well. What IS important is that the tail lights/brake lights MUST be red, and indicators amber.

As coincidence would have it, i was following a GS through London the other night and he had the same set up, and I could see nothing wrong with it at all (and I was on the firms bike at the time as well!!)

Hope this helps

Richie

 

[Frank Warner]

On the yellow issue .. see
http://www.advrider.com/forums/show...d=19731&highlight=yellow+And+Fog+And+droplets

 

[R Savage]

Re: wide tail lights

Richard, sorry for the delay in finding out about the tail light issue. I now have some info.


As coincidence would have it, i was following a GS through London the other night and he had the same set up, and I could see nothing wrong with it at all (and I was on the firms bike at the time as well!!)

Hope this helps

Richie

<sigh> Thanks for your research. Now I have no excuse for not buying a widetail setup from Malky. Are you on commission? ;-)

As luck would have it I was out on the weekend with a mate. He observed that he could see the GS fine when I was behind him but when he was following me I was almost invisible.

Now, where's my chequebook??

Thanks Richard