[Noobacycle]

Being that my shift ends in the morning, I have to ride home in the dark. From my experiences, I don’t see many bikers dim their headlights for oncoming cars. Currently, when I’m riding along, I dim my headlights for oncoming vehicles and that reduces my sight distance which causes me to roll back on some throttle until I can use the high beams again.

Do you dim your lights? Should you dim your lights?

[Matt]

Yes to both your questions.
Your high beam is aimed pretty squarely at their eyes, and blinding (or even just forcing them to conciously avert their eyes) on coming traffic is never a good thing.

Besides, if you wait just a bit longer to dim your beams than you would in a car, the noticible change in the headlight should get the attention of the other driver (same principle as a headlight modulator).

—
“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.”

[Candice]

When I leave for work in the morning I drive in the dark and I don’t turn my highbeams on, I only turn them on in the day. But then I think there is too much traffic on my morning route and everyone would be pissed at me if I use my highbeams. I might start doing that on the side roads though, they are usually pretty dead, I hope I don’t forget to them off though when I get on the main road.

[sarc]

I also work the night shift at times, and my commute takes me through some fun twisty roads. Unfortunately, there are no lights, one lane each way, and lots of thick tree growth on either side, so night time riding in not fun, esp with all the deer unnaturally attracted to my bike.

The best thing I can suggest is to slow down and hope a car catches up behind you. Pull over for a sec or wave him forward. That way, you can use his much better lights as your own and keep the low-beam on for your bike.

Other than that, keep the speed way down to match your sight distance.

Sarc

[Rab]

You might want to check and adjust as necessary, your headlight aim, as they’re often not aimed well from the factory.

Could be that the throw of your dipped headlight could be improved.

[slipknot61]

I drive to work during daylight and I use my highbeam all the time. When I drive home from work at night, I only use my low beam but if I see a car coming out of a strip mall, gas station, etc. I will flash my high beam for a second or two to make sure they see me. FYI – I have a yamaha R6s “crotch rocket” so my right side lamps are for low beams and left side is high beams, so some people have mentioned it is funky looking with that set-up and sometimes hard to see me at night.

[Clay Dowling]

I don’t do a huge amount of night riding, but when I do I use the high beams just like I do in my car. It’s pretty much essential on rural roads, since we have massive deer overpopulation where I live and you want the extra warning. But I dim them when other cars approach. I’m working more on the principal that as the smallest guy on the road, I need to be extra polite.

[Rab]

I’d question your use of flashing the headlights on seeing a car exit from a strip mall, gas station, etc.

I’ve been riding for a few years now and in my experience, flashing your lights is often mistaken for “please pull out in front of me”, regardless of the obvious impracticality of said move.

I had a daylight headlight modulator on my last bike (on full beam only) and while it was great for lane splitting (most of ’em thought I was a cop and moved aside sharpish), I eventually stopped using it at other times as now and then, cagers mistook the (constant and very rapid I might add) flashing to mean I was giving them permission to pull out in front of me.

It’s like me “flashing the headlight” was going to suspend the laws of physics for a moment or two, regardless of how fast I was going and how close I was to them.

Be careful, there are some severely incompetent drivers out there…

[Author]

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