Why don't bikes have rear fog lights?

[vRSG60]

Steve
I bought some “very bright” round red LED lights for this very purpose. I never got to fit them they fell apart before I could


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[Snaf MKII]

Why do cars have them? Drive at a speed you can see and stop in and the vehicle in front doesn't need them, I think they give a false perspective as they are often the only thing you can see in front of you everything else around them is invisible.

Cycles, animals, pedestrians etc don't have them, neither do some import vehicles.

[sledgegreen]

I suspect that there are three reasons why bikes were not included when fog lights were made compulsory for most vehicles.

First, I suspect that at that time, a very large proportion of bikes were still using feeble 6v electrical systems, and I wonder how effective a 6v fog light would be in fog/snow.

Secondly, I doubt whether motorcyclists figure prominently in fog accident statistics. I suspect that few bikers ride regularly in fog, and most of those that do probably only do short distances.

Third, it is desirable to have a gap between the fog light and the brake light. If they are too close together, the brake lights are much less obvious. I believe that a 4 inch gap (10cm) is required for lights on trailers. If you look at trailer boards in Halfords, you will see that those which have fog lights put one of the triangular reflectors between the main light cluster and the fog light. I don't know whether that is a requirement for vehicle lights, but most vehicles seem to observe a similar layout. It's difficult to get a 4" gap on a bike.

I used to ride regularly from Worcestershire to London all year round, and the top of the Cotswolds was often foggy in winter. I used to fit fog lights to my bikes, mounting them to the top box/ top box rack to get them as high as possible and to get separation from the brake light. I never thought of the on/off/on switch to change between aux brake light and fog light functions, but if I do this again I will use that idea.

I think that low motorcycle accident rates in fog are probably the most important factor in that, and suspect that fitting a second bulb in the tail light would probably have been a bigger contribution to biker safety than adding a fog light. With a single tail light bulb, you immediately become invisible if that bulb blows, and I suspect that UK bikers ride many more miles after dark with no tail light than they do in fog. That is much lees important now that LED lights are so common.

[Chalky723]

I keep meaning to fit one to my bike - some days I'll be riding to work & the fog is horrendous - that's when I think about it, by the time I've ridden home in the clear, I forget until the next foggy morning!

But it is a concern. On some mornings the difference in distance that I can see a car with them on & one with them off is huge, if I can see someone coming up behind me fast, I gently push on the rear brake enough to engage the light, but not slow the bike.

D

[petecam]

You should never be riding so slow that anyone is behind you

[Nigel]

Had these led indicator/rear light and brake light recently fitted to Tracer 900, r light was ok but these are a vast improvement.

[Nigel]

R light only

20200126_222126.jpg (19.97 KiB) Viewed 3045 times

[Shidosan]

I have additional bright LED's on the bike, the sequence on the video is Standard tail and brake... then "additional" tail lights ... for motorway use, could be used in fog also.
Then what I like to call "urban" brake lights .... they flash a few times then remain constant. I suppose you could call them illegal but as they are switchable by a secret switch if I got pulled I can try to blame it on modern electronics or faulty wiring etc.



Cheers

[Spike941]

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989 ... le/11/made

[catcitrus]

thanks for that--but loosely translated where does that put a rear fog light in relation to a rear light. 4 inches lower is possible on non sports bikes but is that too low? In the US I had one of those rotating multi LED rear lights(LED bulb) which then flashed when braking. Going through the smokies my mate behind said get rid of it asap as it was so distracting when following and negotiating twisties at a brisk pace!. Some top boxes have a built in brake light which could be switched to a fog as has been said--but not everyone runs with them! I now run with a stop/tail LED bulb in which both elements are pretty bright and have enough separation in terms of light emission(the way with new bikes anyway)