Why Tape Headlights and Tail Lights?

[Relic]

Sorry if this topic has already been beaten to death, but can someone please explain why we need to do this? I've heard the reason is that in case the bike crashes, we don't want glass all over the track...but that seems lame. The headlights are made of polycarbonate and at any rate, the painters tape that most people use is hardly going to protect the track. Seems to me that requiring safety wiring and/or coolant replacement would be more useful if safety were the issue...not that I am suggesting safety wire/coolant change. It's just that taping headlights and tail lights seems to be a bizarre, prehistoric ritual whose time has long come and gone.:notsure::notsure:

 

[rk97]

I think taping lights helps more than it hurts. The two minutes of time it takes to tape lights is signficantly less than the time it would take to clean up a broken lens on the track (be it plastic or glass).

And some people don't pull their brake light fuse. It's distracting as hell to have someone's brake light come on when they're in front of you.

 

[fitz]

To catch that 1:1000 that still has glass?

LOL, if I had a nickel for every time I went through the "why do you tape lights?".
"why do you tape lights?"
"because they don't want glass all over the track"
"but the lights aren't glass, haven't been for years and years"
"I guess it's just tradition from way back"
"but the fairings are plastic too shouldn't the whole bike be taped?"
"..."

Personally I think it should be mandatory to pull the fuses from all the lights, nothing more distracting than someone’s brake light shining through the tape.

fitz

 

[2trill357]

One good reason that I saw just recently at a trackday with another org is the lighting itself. When you see brake lights from someone in front of you your natural instincts tell you okay he's on the brakes so I need to brake too. We end up braking when we didn't need to. If I can see someones brake lights on the track it is a distraction. Alot of people don't pull fuses, take out bulbs, etc. so the next best thing is taping over them.

Edit: Damn fitz & rk97, I was still typing while you guys were posting, but :agree: lights are bad umkay!

 

[rk97]

FWIW, i did my first 5 trackdays on a bike with a glass headlight. I taped the whole front of the fairing anyway. Made room for nice big duct-tape numbers.

 

[fitz]

Depending on how powerful the brake lights are and the tape used taping the brake light at times makes no difference.

It's incredible how much ## years of conditioning on the street can affect you on the track. It gives the term fixation a new meaning.

 

[vinny337]

It can be a fixated object for some people...

 

[JeremyGSU]

I gotta chuckle a little bit about all the guys getting distracted by the brake lights. Try doing a car track day. EVERYBODY has brake lights.

 

[tomseviltwin]

On some bikes, the fuse that is used for the tail light is the same as the one for the dash. Can't pull it without losing tachometer and temp meter information. Wanna know how I know this? :banghead:

Its easier anyway to just pull the wiring connections. Or use black tape so no light shines through.

 

[tiggen]

I would say that anything to make a corner worker's day easier is worth while.

 

[sekelaam]

The type of plastic is different in bodywork and lens covers. I may be wrong but doesn't polycarbonate plastic shatter? The stuff in bodywork is more like ABS. If you've ever stepped on your blinkers in the garage after taking them off you'll know why they should be taped.

Honestly, I'm not sure why anyone leaves lights on. They are easy enough to take off and that much less to replace if you have an oopsie. If I didn't have sharkskins on my previous bikes I'd take the lights out and put aluminum tape over the holes.

 

[BigBird]

JeremyGSU;123280 wrote: I gotta chuckle a little bit about all the guys getting distracted by the brake lights. Try doing a car track day. EVERYBODY has brake lights.

:agree:

and plus even in ALMS all the cars have their brake lights working

 

[GS500rider]

I have a glass headlight.......

 

[Relic]

When I had the CBR 1000RR, even after I unplugged the lights, I was asked to tape them over, which is what doesn't make sense to me. Polycarbonate is shatter-proof, but even if it isn't, taping it up with painters tape doesn't make it a whole lot safer. Me thinks it's time for the lawmakers :adore: to articulate exactly what is the objective. That may lead to a better solution or at least options.

 

[rk97]

^ i don't disagree, but two of us have chimed in saying we've used bikes with glass lights on the track.

it seems a lot simpler to have 1 standard for everyone through tech than to have to check for glass. Or if the corner-worker calls in someone with an exposed headlight, are they supposed to know from 100 feet away that it's not glass? :dunno:

how would they know who to black flag?

or are you proposing a "no glass" rule? I wouldn't hate the idea, but it might deter a lot of first-time riders...

 

[stkr]

You know why we tape the lights up?
.
.
.
Because it's in the manual, that's why. :rtfm:

 

[jfeagin]

My Triumph (which I've been riding on track recently) has glass lenses. And, similar to the evil twin, pulling the fuse kills the bike. On another bike I had, there was no easy way to unplug things without leaving you wanting to say the hell with it and make the thing a track-only bike.

Oh, and they won't let you through tech if you don't tape up. :idea:

 

[needknees]

jfeagin;123343 wrote: My Triumph (which I've been riding on track recently) has glass lenses. And, similar to the evil twin, pulling the fuse kills the bike. On another bike I had, there was no easy way to unplug things without leaving you wanting to say the hell with it and make the thing a track-only bike.

Oh, and they won't let you through tech if you don't tape up. :idea:

An alternative to pulling fuses is to unplug the lights themselves. I'm in a similar situation where the headlight fuse is tied to the main fuse and just unplug my headlight bulbs. The connector tucks up nicely in the bottom of the headlight housing. It is a pain to have to unplug everything before going to the track but that's what you've got to do if you want to have a streetable trackbike ...or a trackable streetbike for that matter!

 

[Relic]

It is my understanding that you need to tape the headlights regardless of whether or not the headlights are turned off. So, why bother pulling the plug or the headlights? I'm pretty sure that in most tracks in Europe, there is no such requirement...I've seen track riders there with headlights on and mirrors. I'm not saying we need to do everything they do, but from a safety standpoint, European countries are at least as advanced if not more so than the U.S. Besides, if the U.S. rules are meant for safety, then it makes more sense to ensure that things are safety wired and the coolant in the radiator is appropriate. Taping up headlights and tail lights to make them safer is an arcane ritual and it needs to end. Until then, I've got a boat load of painters tape!

 

[alphamale]

There was a guy in the Advanced group this weekend at Summit with a working brake light. At first I was so annoyed by it... but then once I got closer to him, I used it as my "GO" light. :wow: