Hi-Viz Vests

Today I bought my first ever Hi-Viz vest. I felt great, thinking I was now much more visible and it felt kind of reassuring.

I have a Givi DT214 screen fitted and....blow-me-down, I'm getting a reflection of my wind-blown vest across the top part of the screen; it's a little distracting.

Do I get used to it or give up the vest? And, no, I'm not changing the screen!

I use a hi viz airbag vest now- after a while, it’s likely you won’t notice it, so better to be seen than not (unless it’s REALLY distracting).

Hi viz gear is good, but be careful in leafy areas during the spring. The green hi viz can merge into in the fresh green growth and actually make you less visable.

I can't ever recall seeing my reflection in the screen of any maxi scooter I've owned when wearing a high-vis vest, and that's with both OE and aftermarket screens.

I've got a couple of hi-vis yellow vests and a hi-vis red one. l don't wear one on every ride but they're useful in bad weather or poor light, and I suppose you could argue the case if you were wearing one in a 'Sorry mate I didn't see you' incident.  

Your hi-vis vest shouldn't be wind blowing, inflated, or flapping about when you're riding. The Icon and Olympia vests I own have elastic cords or Velcro side straps to adjust to prevent that. I have another half size vest that cover mainly the chest and shoulders and uses Velcro adjustment and a Fastex buckle, that doesn't flap about either.
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That tall Givi DT 214 screen should be giving you ample wind protection to you chest, unless your high-vis vest is XXL and fits like a bin liner and flaps about. Being distracting by that flapping and screen reflections it's an annoyance that's potentially dangerous.

My jackets have hiviz or reflective panels in various places and I wear an Oxford H-Belt; my large size means it doesn't flap as it's on the limit of adjustment.
I am a firm believer in giving those motorists who do try to look out for bikers a better chance of seeing me.

I find you meet a far better standard of driver coated in Hi-Vis once they have slipped their phone into their lap, only to happy to move over and let you pass.

Yellow works best.

Be safe, be seen! always.

I use both the hi-vis orange and hi-vis green vests et al. I have never noticed a reflection on ANY of my steeds. Both the Silver Wing and the Forza have larger than OEM wind screens and no problems. Not sure why you are having this issue...good luck with finding a solution!

It helps that this side of the pond all our Mounted Police are head to toe in Hi-Vis, summer or winter.(nudge nudge, wink wink,... say no more!

Be safe, be seen!

I have now discovered that it is the lower-half of the vest which is reflecting on the screen. I rolled up the lower half of the vest and it was out of view.

Now I could modify the vest by removing the lower front part but this might reduce my visibility. Besides, I don't want to be riding around looking like one of The Village People

I often wear a short hi-vis vest that was designed specifically for jackets made by Dutch company Macna. I made an easy mod to it  by adding a Fastex buckle.

It only covers the the top half of my chest at the front, and it's lower at the back. It also has plenty of reflective panels on it. As it's a shorter length, access to jacket pockets is more convenient.

The vest doesn't need to be full length because only the top half of my body is visible when I'm on the Forza. At the front, the area above the screen, and at the rear my shoulders above my Givi top box.

It'll be the same if you decided to shorten your vest

You can take this visibility and conspicuous thing to ridiculous levels, extra lights, annoying loud exhausts etc.

If you’re of a certain age you’ll remember from years ago the occasional saddo that you'd see riding round on an old ex-Police BMW or Honda ST100's with white fairings.

They'd deliberately add hi-vis stickers to the bikes fairing, wear white helmets, black riding kit, and Sam Browne belts to add to the illusion that they were Police riders.

Sadly the 2011-2013 (mine is 2012) Silver Wings came in one color BLACK! Not the best for visibility... I early on used reflective tape on areas of the bike to aid in visibility after dark. In addition I usually purchase a helmet that is hi-vis or at least partly so. Nowadays, I seldom ride much after dark but just in case...LOL

GHM-PM wrote:

I early on used reflective tape on areas of the bike to aid in visibility after dark.

Years ago, I did the same. This photo is from 2012, and I frequently commuted home after dark. The reflective tape is 3M Diamond Grade, often used on school buses in the USA. Found out about this tape as a school bus driver back in the day.


My Silver Wing is long since gone via trade-in, but my other maxi-scooter has the 3M tape which still looks great since installation in 2010. Hi-Viz gear, including vest, remains my preference.

I love wearing hi viz shirts and hoodies I’ve been wearing them on job sites since I joined a union as a teen and I’m retired now Amazon has some good deals on long sleeve light weight tee’s right now 2 for $15 ,I get my hi-viz work hoodies from a place in Pennsylvania that has one of the biggest selections of styles on the web,quality materials 12.5 Oz shell & 6.5 Oz thermal liner which makes a heavy weight hoodie ,they have thermal lined crew neck sweats too,,they embroider or screen print your name,logo on any item where it’s possible,I went with the screen printing and it’s been over 5 yrs and still not a crack can be found on it. My t shirts I bought elsewhere cause their prices are too high ,I bought mainly from our international union which had print front and back for$13 

The factory was called Camber sweats but the site is down but their store is called All Seasons Uniforms 

https://www.allseasonsuniforms.com/products/cm130-camber-arctic-thermal-knit-collar-zip-front-sweatshirt

I thought the percentage would’ve been higher but there’s a 37% chance of a cyclist will be seen if wearing hi-viz clothing.

https://driving-tests.org/beginner-drivers/wheres-your-neon-why-high-visibility-motorcycle-clothing-is-essential/

Take a

Those Hi-Viz strips look quite effective on the SW, both day and night.

I tried 20 years in the entertainment business to get myself noticed and it seems I should have worn a Hi-Viz best all along!

Loosemarbles wrote:

Those Hi-Viz strips look quite effective on the SW, both day and night.

I tried 20 years in the entertainment business to get myself noticed and it seems I should have worn a Hi-Viz best all along!

Totally agree,I think the yellow looks great on burgundy ,good combo…

Loosemarbles wrote:

Those Hi-Viz strips look quite effective on the SW, both day and night.

Come on old chap play the game, we're British and call it Hi-Vis over here, not Hi-Viz.

Meldrew wrote:

Come on old chap play the game, we're British and call it Hi-Vis over here, not Hi-Viz.

Zzzzzzzzzz...

Surely that post-Napolionic, anti-French de-zedding has had its day. Get over yourselves.

smellybeard wrote:

Meldrew wrote:

Come on old chap play the game, we're British and call it Hi-Vis over here, not Hi-Viz.

Zzzzzzzzzz...

Surely that post-Napolionic, anti-French de-zedding has had its day. Get over yourselves.

Nothing to do with the French, we use English over this side of the Pond, and not American English. It's Hi-Vis not Hi-Viz, or invisible not invizible etc.

At least I don't say Southern Ireland mate.