Dual-sport and adventure motorcycles are truly unique vehicles.
They can take you to the farthest corners of the globe or let you explore out of the way places close to home.
But, if your ride always ends when the sun goes down, you're missing half the fun! We all choose to ride motorcycles for the exciting new way they let us experience the world.
With the right equipment, riding at night can be a unique extension of that excitement.
Everyone is familiar with the headlights on the front of their bike, but most riders rarely give them much thought.
For the casual motorcyclist riding on flat pavement, basic headlights are usually adequate.
For off-road and adventure riders, however, stock motorcycle headlights have one major flaw: they always point where the bike is pointing.
Off-road riding is a dynamic experience filled with switchback corners, rocks, stumps, side trails, jumps, landings, drops, hills, and more.
For these types of obstacles, the ability to put light where you need it is essential.
A helmet light gives you that ability.
Being able to 'look where you want to go' makes night riding much more like day time riding.
There are several things to keep in mind when selecting a helmet light.
First, you need to choose a type of light.
The 3 most common types of helmet lights are LED, Halogen, and HID.
Recent advances in LED technology have taken them from key chains and pen lights to being a serious contender for high powered lighting applications.
They are extremely efficient, use relatively little power, and can be very bright.
However, they tend to produce a more diffused light and generally do not have the focus or reach that other types of lights provide.
This is because LEDs are comparatively large surface area light emitters.
This makes it more difficult to focus the light energy into the tight beam pattern most useful for night riding.
Halogen lights are similar to household incandescent light bulbs and produce light by passing an electric current through a tungsten filament.
While this allows them to produce large amounts of light, it has the unwelcome by-product of creating lots of heat.
Halogen bulbs can easily become hot enough to cause burns and melt plastic.
Also, because so much energy is wasted producing heat instead of useful light, they tend to be very inefficient compared to LEDs and HID.
This means shorter run times if using rechargeable batteries, or added strain on your electrical system if using bike power to run your light.
When it comes to throwing large amounts of focused light over long distances, HIDs are the reigning champions.
Instead of passing electrical current through a filament, they produce light by exciting a small capsule of gas using a high-voltage charge.
This produces an intense white light in a very small area which is easily focused into a tight, powerful beam pattern.
Because more energy goes towards producing light instead of heat, they are very efficient.
They can produce more than 5 times the light of an equivalent wattage halogen bulb.
The latest generation of HID bulbs are very durable, and have been proven in many demanding motor-sports applications.
While HID bulbs do eventually burn out, and are more expensive to replace than halogen bulbs, their price has dropped considerably and is now easily within reach of most riders.
Aside from the lighting technology used, you should look carefully at how the helmet light will mount to your helmet.
Many lights are mounted using velcro pads or have plastic bases that are stuck onto the helmet shell using double-sided tape.
While these options provide a stable mount for the light, they have two disadvantages.
First, it means that the base or velcro is permanent and gets left behind when the light is removed.
For riders who primarily ride during the day, this can be an eyesore.
Second, because of their semi-permanent nature, it is difficult to adjust the beam direction once they are mounted.
Being able to adjust the beam can be critical for the constantly changing speeds and environments of off-road riding.
A better alternative may be a strap mounting system.
Strap mounted lights mount quickly and easily to the helmet and remove completely.
Most of these lights are hinged to provide easy aiming and can be strapped to the side or front of the helmet's chin bar or the visors of off-road helmets.
In a pinch, they could even be strapped to the bike as an emergency headlight.
They offer the added benefit of easily being able to share one light between multiple helmets or riders.
You should make certain that any light you buy is going to hold up to the environment you ride in.
Is the housing solid enough to take a hit from a low hanging branch? Will it withstand rain and mud? Reliability is key.
Even the most expensive helmet light is useless if it doesn't work when you need it.
Lastly you should consider how the light is powered.
Typically you have two choices: battery powered, or vehicle powered.
Rechargeable battery packs give the advantage of being able to use the light off the bike or on vehicles that do not have an electrical system capable of powering the light, such as bicycles.
If you are able to use the bike's power, however, it can provide several advantages:
An HID helmet light may be too bright to use for bike repairs or around the campsite, and an LED headlamp will likely be cheaper, smaller, and lighter than a battery pack for your helmet light.
Hopefully these tips will help you narrow down your helmet light options and get you one step closer to night riding nirvana.
See you on the trail!
They can take you to the farthest corners of the globe or let you explore out of the way places close to home.
But, if your ride always ends when the sun goes down, you're missing half the fun! We all choose to ride motorcycles for the exciting new way they let us experience the world.
With the right equipment, riding at night can be a unique extension of that excitement.
Everyone is familiar with the headlights on the front of their bike, but most riders rarely give them much thought.
For the casual motorcyclist riding on flat pavement, basic headlights are usually adequate.
For off-road and adventure riders, however, stock motorcycle headlights have one major flaw: they always point where the bike is pointing.
Off-road riding is a dynamic experience filled with switchback corners, rocks, stumps, side trails, jumps, landings, drops, hills, and more.
For these types of obstacles, the ability to put light where you need it is essential.
A helmet light gives you that ability.
Being able to 'look where you want to go' makes night riding much more like day time riding.
There are several things to keep in mind when selecting a helmet light.
First, you need to choose a type of light.
The 3 most common types of helmet lights are LED, Halogen, and HID.
Recent advances in LED technology have taken them from key chains and pen lights to being a serious contender for high powered lighting applications.
They are extremely efficient, use relatively little power, and can be very bright.
However, they tend to produce a more diffused light and generally do not have the focus or reach that other types of lights provide.
This is because LEDs are comparatively large surface area light emitters.
This makes it more difficult to focus the light energy into the tight beam pattern most useful for night riding.
Halogen lights are similar to household incandescent light bulbs and produce light by passing an electric current through a tungsten filament.
While this allows them to produce large amounts of light, it has the unwelcome by-product of creating lots of heat.
Halogen bulbs can easily become hot enough to cause burns and melt plastic.
Also, because so much energy is wasted producing heat instead of useful light, they tend to be very inefficient compared to LEDs and HID.
This means shorter run times if using rechargeable batteries, or added strain on your electrical system if using bike power to run your light.
When it comes to throwing large amounts of focused light over long distances, HIDs are the reigning champions.
Instead of passing electrical current through a filament, they produce light by exciting a small capsule of gas using a high-voltage charge.
This produces an intense white light in a very small area which is easily focused into a tight, powerful beam pattern.
Because more energy goes towards producing light instead of heat, they are very efficient.
They can produce more than 5 times the light of an equivalent wattage halogen bulb.
The latest generation of HID bulbs are very durable, and have been proven in many demanding motor-sports applications.
While HID bulbs do eventually burn out, and are more expensive to replace than halogen bulbs, their price has dropped considerably and is now easily within reach of most riders.
Aside from the lighting technology used, you should look carefully at how the helmet light will mount to your helmet.
Many lights are mounted using velcro pads or have plastic bases that are stuck onto the helmet shell using double-sided tape.
While these options provide a stable mount for the light, they have two disadvantages.
First, it means that the base or velcro is permanent and gets left behind when the light is removed.
For riders who primarily ride during the day, this can be an eyesore.
Second, because of their semi-permanent nature, it is difficult to adjust the beam direction once they are mounted.
Being able to adjust the beam can be critical for the constantly changing speeds and environments of off-road riding.
A better alternative may be a strap mounting system.
Strap mounted lights mount quickly and easily to the helmet and remove completely.
Most of these lights are hinged to provide easy aiming and can be strapped to the side or front of the helmet's chin bar or the visors of off-road helmets.
In a pinch, they could even be strapped to the bike as an emergency headlight.
They offer the added benefit of easily being able to share one light between multiple helmets or riders.
You should make certain that any light you buy is going to hold up to the environment you ride in.
Is the housing solid enough to take a hit from a low hanging branch? Will it withstand rain and mud? Reliability is key.
Even the most expensive helmet light is useless if it doesn't work when you need it.
Lastly you should consider how the light is powered.
Typically you have two choices: battery powered, or vehicle powered.
Rechargeable battery packs give the advantage of being able to use the light off the bike or on vehicles that do not have an electrical system capable of powering the light, such as bicycles.
If you are able to use the bike's power, however, it can provide several advantages:
- It's cheaper, as you don't have to buy the battery pack and charger.
- You don't have to take time or remember to charge the battery.
- Batteries are heavy, and weight is bad!
- It will never run out of juice when you need it most.
An HID helmet light may be too bright to use for bike repairs or around the campsite, and an LED headlamp will likely be cheaper, smaller, and lighter than a battery pack for your helmet light.
Hopefully these tips will help you narrow down your helmet light options and get you one step closer to night riding nirvana.
See you on the trail!