Thanks for your quick responses, much appreciated. The rumours are right, this is a friendly forum!

I understand the concept that if they�re not looking, they won�t see you, but for my own peace of mind, I want to make sure I�ve done everything possible to let them know I�m there�

After my first crash, a double somersault with half twist over the bonnet of a german 4x4, I went from being the invisible biker on a black bike, black leathers, and black lid to a combination of fluorescent, day-glo colours wherever possible and covered myself and bike with as much reflective tape as I could get my hands on, though the b*ggers still don�t look! I�m hoping a flash and a grunt might garner at least a little more attention!

Sweller, those lights look good, and at �40 cheaper than the others, they may be the best choice for me � thanks for the link.

My biggest beef at the mo isn�t with oncoming traffic, it�s with those that I�m filtering past� I want give them a quick blast of light direct in the mirror as I�m approaching to pass, just to wake them up a bit as opposed to dazzling the oncoming lane. Due to nigh on constant heavy traffic in London I spend much of my time passing (slowly and carefully I might add) single lanes of predominantly standing traffic, or filtering between two lanes on a dual carriageway and it�s the random lane changers / sudden u-turns / spot a gap and go types that most concern me� It�s a fairly rare occurrence that I get screwed by someone in the oncoming lane, though at least a couple of times a week that someone switches lanes right in front of me! You�d think that given the high number of motorbikes, scooters, cyclists and pizza delivery drivers with death wishes on the roads down here, they�d at least give a cursory glance before making a move� And indicators, well, they�re just those weird flashy orange lights on the side of a vehicle, why would they want to use those?? Hmm, ranting again�

The triangle of lights effect is what I�m after, though I�m trying to decide whether to mount the spots under the headlight as most appear to do on the forum, under the mirrors to give a wider presence, or onto the bash guards?

Loud pipes save lives vs making people think you�re a four star censored wotsit� At least if they have got to the point of thinking that you�re a wotsit, they�ve acknowledged that you�re there! I think a loud pipe is something I�m gonna have to try at least for a while, just to get it out of my system if nothing else!

GULG � I�m looking forward to seeing the odd zombie pedestrian wake up sharpish! And the extra bit of torque wouldn�t go a miss � is that with just the exhaust or is kev mod etc required to really make a difference? Any idea about the melting panniers?

Thanks for the suggestion regarding IAM or RoSPA � I have been looking into both though can�t decide which would be the best to opt for � there doesn�t appear to be much in it in all fairness though IAM appears to gain an insurance discount which would come in real handy about now and as far as I can tell, RoPSA doesn�t. My old man was a Motorbike Cop and I get lots of pointers from him though we rarely ride together as he�s up in Yorkshire. I have also been through the IAM and Police Rider�s handbooks a few times and try to implement as much of that into my riding as possible, though a proper course with someone talking me through the why�s and wherefores inside my lid while it�s happening wouldn�t go a miss!

Thanks again guys

SolitaryDread