Almost got killed, but got an idea...
 

About two weeks ago I was almost run over by some asshat that decided 10mph over the limit in the carpool lane was too slow on a Sunday. They came up on us (my wife and I riding two-up) so fast that even though I'd been checking my mirrors frequently, they still took me by surprise. They tailgated momentarily and then passed me while still in my lane, honking, gesturing and yelling. I was so shaken by the experience I thought very seriously about giving up the bike.

After calming down for about a week I decided I just need a way to monitor what's behind me in real time without having to shift around out of the way of my mirrors. A camera with a little LCD screen, like a backup camera, would be perfect! Then I found this: http://www.handsfreedirect.com/dsr100.html Not only can it be a real-time rear-view camera, but it can do video and stills (although not the greatest quality). My primary use will be the rear-view camera.

Has anybody done something similar? I know there are a lot of complaints about our mirrors being pretty useless. Maybe this will be our solution!

Much cheaper and easier to use spacers or install other mirrors that work better. I use GenMar spacers and my mirrors work perfectly. Trust me, you need them riding around Montreal!

I've got a pretty wide chest/shoulder area and I'm fairly tall. I haven't seen anything that would give me enough width/height to the mirrors. Anything wide/tall enough would probably vibrate so much (little weight on a long stick) it would be unusable.

First, of all... that driver sucked. Makes me mad that someone would endanger you & your wife so willfully. That said, the rear-view video cam sounds great. Don't give up riding; but maybe avoid the freeways.

Sounds like a good idea. I had a similar experience last summer.

It was @ 5AM and I was on my morning commute. I was in the fast lane going @ 80 passing a long line of trucks doing 70-75. I pulled into the fast lane when a small truck was 500' or so behind me in the fast lane. I was not going to risk going over 80 because the local p-trol is HOT in that area. He came up behind me and I held my speed. I was wondering if he was a cop because he got so close. Anyway, he passed me on the left shoulder of the road!!

I almost swerved over into the trucks. I did not see him passing me until he was beside me. I would have given $3K for a good pistol right then.

Some of the scariest times I've ever had on a bike have been in Phoenix during rush hour, I don't know how you do it. Kudos to you for not following the guy to his destination and rectifying the situation! ;) I take it your not selling the VTR anymore? Next time we get a ride together up here, you should come on up. Traffic is usually pretty light.

Yeah, it was tempting, but I think we'll be keeping the bike now.

No way would I ride in rush hour around here. I don't even really drive in rush hour here if I can avoid it at all. I live six miles from work and still take a car because I don't feel safe enough on a bicycle or motorcycle. The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon when traffic was really light. It was on US-60 heading back from TTF. In the area it happened, there's about 5-6 lanes in addition to the carpool lane. It wouldn't have even slowed them down to change lanes well behind me and pass at whatever speed they were going.

You're in Prescott, right? Shoot me a PM or e-mail when you're riding. I'll see what I can do. I like the road going from Wickenburg to Prescott. We did that a few months ago for the first time. We made the mistake of going back on I-17. That was horrible. Way too fast for way too long and with far too much traffic.

Some people are just absolute _______________ (fill in your most dispariging remark)

This morning I was taking my son to school. We were behind a school bus that was slowing to stop before crossing RR tracks as we were leaving our neighborhood.
Some douche bag in a Miata comes up behind me and decides to double-pass - both us and the school bus - as the bus slows to a stop at the RR tracks.

Honestly, If I was a cop and saw that, I'd write him up for EVERY POSSIBLE infraction I could come up with, then call the judge and tell him to rip the guy a new one.

What a buttcake.

The roads are full of morons! I'm looking at mounting a 50 cal...:gatlin::boom:

Since it's NOT a helmet mounted monitor, I don't see how this would be any better than low-tech mirrors as you'll still need to monitor (pun intended) the screen by looking down at it.

I think what you want is a HUD system with a rear facing camera.

Ya, drivers around here are nutz it's why I don't commute on my bike.

I often think that motorcycle riders aught to be able to shoot cagers in self defense on occasion.

I've thought about that too. I'm sure I'd run out of ammo before I got home and reloading would be a pain.

I have been thinking that since the camera system I'm getting has a video option I might just become a rolling traffic camera.

Actually today I rode with Hotbrakes, about +200 miles, and on the way down to his house I had two people riding my tailpipe. They only backed off when I turned around and gave them a long stare.

Because of this situation today, I plan on developing a BB dispensing unit that can be operated from the clip-ons. It would be easier and stealthier than tossing a spark plug or similar item through the clueless driver.

The idea is simple, a container would hold a pre-determined quantity of BB's and a petcock would dispense the said quantity of BB's through a plastic tube down to either the swing-arm in front of the rear tire, insuring the BB's fire back at the vehicle at an incredible speed, or dispense above the chain guard. Both ways would use gravity and motion to dump the load.

The encroaching vehicle will never know what hit them.

[quote=Yardstick;154410]I've thought about that too. I'm sure I'd run out of ammo before I got home and reloading would be a pain. quote]

It would also be too slow. :crackup:

Reaper, I think deployment would be better out of back of the shoulder armor. Buckshot size. Coming out high gives a good bounce for those a little farther back and a serious bite to the plastic for those that you can touch.
:gatlin:

I don't have "one more good wreck" in me before I hang it up. Cagers that don't respect us are a life-threat and should be dealt with accordingly.

I like the HUD idea. I don't know if a dash mount LCD would get washed out in sunlight or not. I have a hard enough time reading my trip meter to see how long I have before gassing up.

Wish I'd been off too, Reaper. Actually got out Sunday for about 8 hours.

Made a little vid. It's kind of fuzzy, but you'll get the idea.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...48846040504194

For tailgaters, I just keep the throttle on and quickly apply a little pressure to the front brake lever. Just enough to make the brake light come on but not enough to slow you down. That always makes em' back off. Then I follow it with a quick hand gesture telling them that they are #1 using my middle finger. Or I pull up to a slower vehicle in the lane next to me and keep pace for a few miles, preventing a legal pass.

A thought is to mount a windshield washer pump under the seat with a small bottle of water as a reservoir. Then hook it up to a 1/4" hose with a tip to make it project about 30ft back and 4ft high. Just about windshield height on a car. Have the hose come out under the brake light and trigger it with a dirt-bike type kill switch mounted on the handlebars.

replace the water with some oil and that would be the ticket. Oil on the windshield and wind shield washer fluid would make for a nasty mess....

I personally haven't done this to my bike...but have seen many outfitted with a camera.
This past weekend I went down to South Carolina. While at the "hang out" gas station a CBR900 pulled up. He had a 7" screen mounted to his tank and a camera installed into his rear fender. He let me ride his bike and try it out. I've seen many but this was by far they best I've ever seen. It was crystal clear! It also had a zoom function...a split view, that i swear you could see to each side of you where there would normally be a blind spot...and was easy to control with gloves on. I forget the manufacturer name but I've been trying to find it online.

As for this MotoComm one...i'd pass on it. My mom and dad have had bad luck with motocomm products.
There are WAY better ones out there.

This is the real answer, check it out.
http://www.reevu.com/what_you_see.asp

I feel much safer when I'm driving more aggressive than passive on the highway for some reason. Passing cars feels natural, but when they are ripping by in the fast lane I feel more vulnerable (like a sitting duck). Anyone else have this feeling?

passing idiots
 

Yeah i hate having a car whip past me while half way out of my lane. Freaks me out. I typically try to stay ahead of the traffic although I had a couple run ins with the same guy going to work which caused me to call the THP. He would tail me on the bike even after looking back at him to back off. I was on a 600rr and I put it into 12grand and took off. Several miles later he passed me when i slowed down and was in the right lane. He was laughing and shaking his head. I gave him the finger, he quit laughing, and took off. I haven't seen him since but I know if he keeps driving like that he is going to kill someone. I called the THP and gave em the tags after the last run in.

I figure water would slow them down and not elevate the situation and get out of control.
Oil would cause a dangerous situation limiting vision and could cause a wreck and you could be held accountable.

Your right, how about a little HCl, wouldn't show immediately, but later thier paint would be doing some funky things. . .Seroiusly though, eye for an eye will just end up getting you killed on a bike. Get to know your local bike police, they will be most interested in these asscagers.

I suppose an update is in order... We rode with the camera for the first time yesterday (yes, Monday -I was 'sick' :D ). It works pretty well. I guess I didn't realize the VFR bars put me up so high. I have to look down to see the speedo if I'm riding in an 'upright' position. With the LCD mounted to the camera mount on the steering stem I have to look even further down to see the screen. Also, I didn't think about this initially, but it's a camera facing backwards... It's not a backup camera. So the left side of the screen shows the right side of the road and vice-versa. It's like turning your head 180-degrees rather than looking in a mirror. That was a little odd. The other thing I found out is that I need to charge the battery before we ride! When I started the unit up it looked like it had plenty of power, but since it didn't have much charge it kept shutting off as the voltage dropped. I could run it for about five minutes at a time so it helped in places where I really wanted it (the freeways).

So I'll have to find a way to mount the unit above my gauges and make sure it is charged for future rides, but overall it worked to my satisfaction.

I took a couple of short videos with it too. I'll post those up when I get a chance.

Nothing exciting, but it's video from the MotoComm:

http://www.youtube.com/v/HvI0M05KHr4

VTR mirrors aren't very good, but if adjusted properly and checked every few seconds, you'll certainly see a car crowding your ass.

I never use the car pool lane. I don't want some maniac crowding my tail light and I don't want to get stuck behind some snoozer on a cell phone going 48 mph.

It sounds like all the fussing with the camera probably put you at more risk than you were in the first place. Using your whole dime for awareness would be safer. On a bike awareness is all you have in place of steel. And there is unfortunately no arguing with steel. (by the time its your turn to talk its too late)

I taught the MSF ERC last weekend and someone had a helmet with a rear-view mirror integrated inside the helmet. He said it worked just like a cage's rear-view mirror. It also didn't take any batteries like the camera systems use.. just mirrors. I found the web site where these are mide (http://www.reevu.com) and will check them out when it is time for a new helmet.