Hua Hin;305764 wrote: I like extra day time running lights for extra visibility, a modulator for the rear brake light that makes it flash the first few seconds when you brake and a load horn.
+1 for all of the above. If you fit daylight running lights (DRL), there's some quite thought provoking material on, "
"Inattentional Blindness" & Conspicuity." The key concept lies in the first paragraph, "Inattentional blindness is not a mental aberration; it is the norm. Conscious perception is the abnormality." There's a lot of research that indicates DRL's do decrease the motorcycle accident rate but not by as much as one would hope (c.10%, research summaries
here and
here, both .pdf's).
Furthermore, motorcycles tend not to "
loom" in the eye/brain of other road users; "The human eye picks up and perceives X-motion much easier than it does Z-motion. Looming is the rate of expansion of an object that is exhibiting Z-motion. An object will double in size with each halving of the distance from the viewing point. Due to the small front profile of a motorcycle when it is coming towards you from a distance its perceptual size does not increase as rapidly as a larger vehicle and so the human eye has trouble perceiving that the object is approaching." See also, "DeLucia, P. R. (2013) Effects of size on collision perception and implications for perceptual theory and transportation safety.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22, 199-204."
There is a technique of "weaving" on the approach to a T junction which draws attention to a bike. Similarly, road positioning can help a great deal. Riding on the outside third of a lane around a left hand corner can increase both the rider's field of view and his visibility to traffic that may be pulling out from a junction on his left.
For the 500X you might consider fitting high quality soft compound tyres. A large percentage of motorcycle accidents are single vehicle accidents, the result of "unforced driver error" such as going too fast into a corner. Modern motorcycle tyres provide superb grip which in the rain is something you might be grateful for. Thai roads don't have the specially engineered surfaces of European or American roads.
Ride safe!