Wilsons Sandbox

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 9:06 am**

It's that magical time of year when here in New England the sap is running, it's time to fire up the KLR and my non-biker friends start to admonish me to 'be careful.' I think one of the best defenses is to ensure one is easily seen on the road and I've taken a number of precautions in the arena, among them painting my handguards blaze orange, which is incredibly effective, btw. I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone have any recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly visible in daylight, highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. Thanks. Jonathan Foust Housatonic, MA

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 9:50 am**

Aerostich (and probably E&B marine and similar shops) sells SOLAS reflective tape. This stuff looks almost as bright as the headlight illuminating it. You can't use a flash to photograph your bike if the tape is anywhere in the frame. It's white though, high-viz yellow would be better for daytime use. Devon thehowofnow@... wrote:

>It's that magical time of year when here in New England the sap is running, it's time to >fire up the KLR and my non-biker friends start to admonish me to 'be careful.' I think >one of the best defenses is to ensure one is easily seen on the road and I've taken a >number of precautions in the arena, among them painting my handguards blaze >orange, which is incredibly effective, btw. > >I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone have any >recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly visible in daylight, >highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. > > >Thanks. > >Jonathan Foust >Housatonic, MA > > >

-- Devon Brooklyn, NY A15-Z '01 KLR650 '81 SR500 cafe racer "The truth's not too popular these days....." Arnold Schwarzenneger, in The Running Man

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 10:05 am**

Check out Applied Graphics at [url=http://reflectivedecals.com/http://reflectivedecals.com/> . They have some very cool stuff for your bike, helmet and bags. West Eugene, OR.

----- Original Message ----- From: thehowofnow To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.comDSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 7:06 AM Subject: [DSN_klr650] Best reflective tape? It's that magical time of year when here in New England the sap is running, it's time to fire up the KLR and my non-biker friends start to admonish me to 'be careful.' I think one of the best defenses is to ensure one is easily seen on the road and I've taken a number of precautions in the arena, among them painting my handguards blaze orange, which is incredibly effective, btw. I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone have any recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly visible in daylight, highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. Thanks. Jonathan Foust Housatonic, MA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 10:15 am**

Whoops, try only one of those. [url=http://reflectivedecals.com/http://reflectivedecals.com/>

----- Original Message ----- From: WEST HOVLAND To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.comDSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> ; thehowofnow Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 8:04 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Best reflective tape? Check out Applied Graphics at [url=http://reflectivedecals.com/http://reflectivedecals.com/>> . They have some very cool stuff for your bike, helmet and bags. West Eugene, OR. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 11:40 am**

3M makes a huge line of retroreflective tape products, the trouble is the cost. Whole rolls are well over a hundred bucks. I haven't bought any for the bike but in the past due to EMT work as a volunteer I trimmed my truck back end with tape for when it was parked roadside at accident scenes. My source was the local police supply/emergency vehicle outfitter. They sold it by the foot so I didn't have to buy a full roll. With retroreflective stuff, you don't need a huge mass of it, you want to pay more attention to creating a shape outline that gets attention. It really only does its work when reflecting light at night. It's more of an attention getter so people notice you than something you need to translate a message as in "I'm a motorcycle" or "This is my fender". If that makes any sense. Picture the dinky reflectors on bicycle pedals. How many times have you just barely seen the flash of one of those that alerted you to stay clear. You didn't need an outline of the whole frame and rider's body, that's what I'm getting at. What I've observed is that it is best used at the edges of whatever it is on as it is most effective in almost total darkness. You don't want to have a tiny 'X' of it in the center of a wide dark object leaving the edges as an unknown dimension. Halo bands on helmets are a good example too if you've ever seen one working. Minimal 1" of tape at a highly visible point, gets the job done.

On Sun, Mar 28, 2004 at 03:06:44PM -0000, thehowofnow wrote: > It's that magical time of year when here in New England the sap is running, it's time to > fire up the KLR and my non-biker friends start to admonish me to 'be careful.' I think > one of the best defenses is to ensure one is easily seen on the road and I've taken a > number of precautions in the arena, among them painting my handguards blaze > orange, which is incredibly effective, btw. > > I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone have any > recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly visible in daylight, > highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. > > > Thanks. > > Jonathan Foust > Housatonic, MA > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > -- ___ ______ _____ __ ________ ___ / _ |< < / == / ___/__ / /_ /_ __/ / __ ____ _ ___ /__ \ / __ |/ // / ****/ (_ / _ \/ __/ / / / _ \/ // / ' \/ _ \ /__/ /_/ |_/_//_/ == \___/\___/\__/ /_/ /_//_/\_,_/_/_/_/ .__/ (_) 8600 miles*Russel Lines*Supertrapp Race* /_/ http://www.kingsqueak.org/klr650/

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 3:23 pm**

This guy's a good source for reflective tape and other safety- oriented items: http://www.ridesafer.com/ Jett, A15 AZ --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "thehowofnow" wrote:

> It's that magical time of year when here in New England the sap is

running, it's time to

> fire up the KLR and my non-biker friends start to admonish me

to 'be careful.' I think

> one of the best defenses is to ensure one is easily seen on the

road and I've taken a

> number of precautions in the arena, among them painting my

handguards blaze

> orange, which is incredibly effective, btw. > > I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone

have any

> recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly

visible in daylight,

> highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. > > > Thanks. > > Jonathan Foust > Housatonic, MA

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 4:23 pm**

Hi, I agree, increasing visibility is important while riding the KLR. Another great product, that I swear by for nighttime riding is the Helmet Halo which gives you 360" of protection, and is almost as bright as the 3M solas grade reflective tape that is sold by Aerostitch. Google gave me a link at http://www.motorcycleville.com/Halo_Helmet_Halo_5437.html but most good cycle accessory stores ( including aerostitch ? ) carry it. I highly recommend the helmet halo and the 3M solas grade reflective tape for nighttime visibility. On a side note, hi-viz yellow is "IN" this year, and I, myself am looking for a hi viz yellow jacket similiar to what the Hwy workers wear, if any body knows where to get them. I'm not interested in the Darien or roadcrafter suits though, just a normal hi viz yellow hwy jacket. Conall Amherst, MA --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "thehowofnow" wrote:

> It's that magical time of year when here in New England the sap is

running, it's time to

> fire up the KLR and my non-biker friends start to admonish me

to 'be careful.' I think

> one of the best defenses is to ensure one is easily seen on the

road and I've taken a

> number of precautions in the arena, among them painting my

handguards blaze

> orange, which is incredibly effective, btw. > > I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone

have any

> recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly

visible in daylight,

> highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. > > > Thanks. > > Jonathan Foust > Housatonic, MA

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 7:56 pm**

----- Original Message ----- From: "thehowofnow" > > I know there is a multitude of options out there, but does anyone have any > recommendations on the BEST reflective tape? Ideally it's highly visible in daylight, > highly reflective at night and REALLY sticks, even to my Givi bags. > > Thanks. > > Jonathan Foust The BEST would be labeled SOLAS, which stands for Safety Of Life At Sea. Some 3M tape from West Marine can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6dy2 What I'm using on my helmet & racks meets the new Federal reflectivity standards for tractor-trailers and is available from NAPA. They call it the NAPA Lighting Flexible Reflector Strip Kit. They offer it in Silver (part # 23STD), Amber (part # 23ATD), Red (part # 23TD), or combinations of Silver-Red (part # 24TD), and Silver-Amber (part # 24ATD), each kit contains two each 18" long strips. It is manufactured for NAPA by Signal-Stat lighting Per the packaging: Molded reflector strip - not tape or assembled, plastic reflector Ultra-thin design, only .012 inches think Rated at over 600 candlepower per square foot Microprismatic reflector strips have 160 times the magnification of ordinary glass bead sheeting. Four-times greater reflectivity Wider viewing angles Increased visibility at longer ranges Hermetically sealed and unbreakable Mounts on flat or curved surfaces Industrial-strength adhesive, easy to install I will say that I get a lot of comments from folks about how well the reflector strip shows up on my helmet. I can't find these strips in the http://www.napaonline.com website, but they do list 3M reflective pinstriping in widths from 1/4" to 5" in various colors. There are six pages listed, length of each roll is 50', and the prices range from $13-$205 per roll, based on the width of the tape. I've used the 3M colored reflective tape on motorcycles in the past. The black is almost invisible on a black GIVI bag during the day but shows up pretty good as a white stripe when headlights hit it at night. Likewise, I have used the gold for pinstriping a two-tone Gold Wing. The tape looks like regular gold pinstriping tape during the day but reflected white in headlights at night. The first of six pages of 3M pinstriping tapes (there are quite a few colors available) is at http://tinyurl.com/3bj3t As for sticking, the key to getting good adhesion is cleaning the surface. You can't have any Armor All or similar. Scrub good with dishwashing detergent a couple of times, rinse well & dry, then clean with alcohol wipes and you should get stickers that stay. HTH Greg Roberts

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2004 9:03 pm**

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Chris wrote:

> 3M makes a huge line of retroreflective tape products, the trouble is > the cost. Whole rolls are well over a hundred bucks.

Not only expensive, but hard to get through the usual back door sources. There a lot of 3Mers in my neighborhood who are often able to pick up 3M products at a hefty employee discount. However, the SOLAS tape seems to be hard for them to put their hands on. Paul Streeter, are you listening?

Wilsons Sandbox

noise i dont understand

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?

best reflective tape?