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Anyone carry road flares?

3.1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  dmftoy1  
#1 ·
Yesterday was cruising across southern MO on highway 34 and having a grand old time when I came upon a motorcycle wreck that'd just happened. An older lady (probably 55-60) was laying in the ditch under her bike and a young guy had stopped his truck partially in the ditch with hazards on (not even 2 inches of shoulder on the road. Anyway, I parked and walked back and the lady seemed ok other than two small scratches on her arm. (amazing since she took out a road sign and appeared to have high sided.

The young guy and I managed to get her bike back up and on the side of the road but we were between two blind corners and it was scaring the crap out of me trying to get her functional again. (no cell service as we were in the boondocks). I finally got enough stuff "unbent" and checked all the controls, functions such that it seemed she could ride back the 15 miles to civilization with me following. While riding back it occurred to me that some safety flares back along the road would've at least warned oncoming drivers and given me a better chance of not getting schmucked.

Anyway, glad I had the first aid kit but wondering if I could do better the next time.

Sent from my Motorcycle iPad app
 
#4 ·
We have LED emergency lights on our G-rides. (I mean in addition to the emergency equipment, we have small battery powered ones to place in the road, like you would a flare). I did a quick search on google and didn't find any small enough to be practical for M/C use. However, a man was in Iron Horse Motorcycles today trying to get them to buy his LED flashlights to sell in their store. They had 3 modes, white traditional flashlight, a white LED solid flood worklight from the LEDs on the side and a flashing red LED stripe as well as red LEDs around the flashlight head part. Their website doesn't do them justice. They were really bright, especially since they ran off of 3 AAA batteries. I offered to buy 2 on the spot, but the parts salesman at IHM couldn't commit the store to carry the product right then. So, maybe in the near future they'll be carrying them and I'll buy a few. I figured one for each bike plus one in the car.

Joey: Gun Metal - Outback Flashlights

The Joey was the model that the sales rep had to demo. m For the price, it looked like quite a good bargain.
 
#5 ·
Yeah I'd like something small/compact. I'm leary of LEDs as I wonder if they'd be bright enough in daylight?


Sent from my Motorcycle iPad app
 
#6 · (Edited)
Bought a 6 pack of these and put them in my take home squad for several years. We also used some IR ones on ground units so I could find and direct them using my NVGs from the aircraft.

PowerFlare Corporation

When I retired,I kept them and put a couple in each car and added one to my GT pannier emergency kit.

They work well, very bright, and batteries last a long time. Seceral flash patterns to chose from by pressing the power button.

Found them on Amazon for just over $20. Not a bad investment.
 
#9 ·
Bought a 6 pack of these and put them in my take home squad for several years. We also used some IR ones on ground units so I could find and direct them using my NVGs from the aircraft.

PowerFlare Corporation

They work well, very bright, and batteries last a long time. Seceral flash patterns to chose from by pressing the power button.

Found them on Amazon for just over $20. Not a bad investment.
The Powerflares are absolutely great - we have one with each bike and two in each car. Much bette rthan 'real' flares for visibility, and the batteries last forever. But they are $30-$40 depending on source.

http://www.amazon.com/Aervoe-Led-Road-Flare-Yellow/dp/B003ZJ3BJK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339441320&sr=8-2
 
#8 · (Edited)
Flying and LE this many years has taught me to find the best gear for the situation that's available. Especially when it comes to emergency gear.

Might pay a little more, it what's your life worth?

Plus, these little things jus plain work. Toss it on the road or he back of our bike and they really get the attention of approaching drivers.