I know black is a common color for motorcycles. But I wouldn't want a black bike (er.. ignore that I have two black motorcycles) because black is a less visible color. If safety comes partly from your visibility it seems folly to have a black motorcycle because you'll be less visible and hence less safe.
One time I spent an hour or so watching the cars going by and noticed which colors were more visible. The least visible was the metallicy silver and gold .. hey, those shiny silver gold colors look nice in some ways, but they're essentially invisible. Black does seem to be fairly visible during the day but turns invisible at night. White seems very visible all the time (??unless you're on snow??). Orange, the brighter the better, is the number one most visible which, BTW, is why fire trucks are often orange.
Also, I understand that U.S. pilots noticed that when flying over a French open air market, some years ago, the most predominant colour came from the oranges on the stalls!
As a result, all flight jackets now have a reversible orange liner for easier recognition in the sea, etc.
I think the point that colour brightness = security is quite decent, the thing is that we should care about polluting.... Yes visual pollution. In a city, if we all had flourescent orange, yellow, fucsia or green colour bikes, i think we would be spoiling the city view and hurting many eyes. All the colours like silver , beige-gold , white , black and others have a better equilibrium with the landscape.
Off course this is a very personal point of view.
There speaks a non biker! I'm afraid visual pollution is what the rest of us call self preservation. I've been knocked over on a wide range of coloured bike, EXCEPT bright yellow and white (my current Vectrix). Until motorists become more bike aware, I'd suggest we ALL have orange/green flourescent machines, as it's the only way to ensure you'll still be here in a weeks of city riding..
I personally like white or light beige colours on scooters. I've thought about ordering body panels for the XB-600, XM3k and XM3.5kLi and having them repainted to whatever my customer wanted. White, Black, Pearl, Metallic Candy Apple Red, Glow-in-the-Dark colours...
But, as of yet, I've never receives a request for custom colours.
Buzby, actually i might have done a mistake in not pointing out that motorbikes dont have the same wieght in terms of lifestyle and usability in countries in the north of Europa, as they have in the South of Europe.
I suppose in Scotland and the U.K. and other northern European countries, not only there is not such a high percentage of bikes per head, but also car drivers are not Bike-concious. In Spain car drivers are more used to bikes going all over the place, so actually have bikes in mind when they drive. Here in Spain its like that and i go very often to Italy and have observed it is so ,over there too.So i also guess it is like that in Portugal,a part of France, Greece and so.
It is not very common to have very bright colours here. But as i mentioned before i understand that if its a security issue, it is best to have them.
By the way my choice for the Vectrix is the Mettalic Grey if it cant be Black. Does anyone owe one in this colour.
Like the one Bob Lutz drives in that test drive.
When I went for my test drive at Canary Wharf they had it an black as well. I liked the idea but when I saw it face to face it DID look cheap!
It may not be "shown" on their website but it is in stock for Europe. Just ask for it.
good question could be cause black heats up in the sun faster and thats not good for the batteries...
It's racism. :-)
I know black is a common color for motorcycles. But I wouldn't want a black bike (er.. ignore that I have two black motorcycles) because black is a less visible color. If safety comes partly from your visibility it seems folly to have a black motorcycle because you'll be less visible and hence less safe.
One time I spent an hour or so watching the cars going by and noticed which colors were more visible. The least visible was the metallicy silver and gold .. hey, those shiny silver gold colors look nice in some ways, but they're essentially invisible. Black does seem to be fairly visible during the day but turns invisible at night. White seems very visible all the time (??unless you're on snow??). Orange, the brighter the better, is the number one most visible which, BTW, is why fire trucks are often orange.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
OTOH, to ride a motorcycle IS folly, isn't it? ;)
Also, I understand that U.S. pilots noticed that when flying over a French open air market, some years ago, the most predominant colour came from the oranges on the stalls!
As a result, all flight jackets now have a reversible orange liner for easier recognition in the sea, etc.
rooster
You can buy it in black in UK...
But it does look cheap in the flesh!
There is no black in the official website of the UK.
I think the point that colour brightness = security is quite decent, the thing is that we should care about polluting.... Yes visual pollution. In a city, if we all had flourescent orange, yellow, fucsia or green colour bikes, i think we would be spoiling the city view and hurting many eyes. All the colours like silver , beige-gold , white , black and others have a better equilibrium with the landscape.
Off course this is a very personal point of view.
There speaks a non biker! I'm afraid visual pollution is what the rest of us call self preservation. I've been knocked over on a wide range of coloured bike, EXCEPT bright yellow and white (my current Vectrix). Until motorists become more bike aware, I'd suggest we ALL have orange/green flourescent machines, as it's the only way to ensure you'll still be here in a weeks of city riding..
- Raymond
I personally like white or light beige colours on scooters. I've thought about ordering body panels for the XB-600, XM3k and XM3.5kLi and having them repainted to whatever my customer wanted. White, Black, Pearl, Metallic Candy Apple Red, Glow-in-the-Dark colours...
But, as of yet, I've never receives a request for custom colours.
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Buzby, actually i might have done a mistake in not pointing out that motorbikes dont have the same wieght in terms of lifestyle and usability in countries in the north of Europa, as they have in the South of Europe.
I suppose in Scotland and the U.K. and other northern European countries, not only there is not such a high percentage of bikes per head, but also car drivers are not Bike-concious. In Spain car drivers are more used to bikes going all over the place, so actually have bikes in mind when they drive. Here in Spain its like that and i go very often to Italy and have observed it is so ,over there too.So i also guess it is like that in Portugal,a part of France, Greece and so.
It is not very common to have very bright colours here. But as i mentioned before i understand that if its a security issue, it is best to have them.
By the way my choice for the Vectrix is the Mettalic Grey if it cant be Black. Does anyone owe one in this colour.
Like the one Bob Lutz drives in that test drive.
When I went for my test drive at Canary Wharf they had it an black as well. I liked the idea but when I saw it face to face it DID look cheap!
It may not be "shown" on their website but it is in stock for Europe. Just ask for it.
From Google....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1216/963073461_c12e5e84cb.jpg?v=0
Thanks Hermes, at least with this pic i can proove to the Dealer that it exists in Black , although i would request to see one before buying it.