[1Adam12]

I'm sure many have heard the mantra "where the head and eyes go, the body follows." It's sound advice, so naturally, I look to the end of the curve and all. At an intersection, I'm already looking for my next focal point on the street I'm turning onto.

Trouble is, your bike headlights only illuminate forward. I want to see what's waiting for me on my next turn, but if it's just dark and the headlights aren't facing the right direction, I'm kind of screwed. I've narrowly missed patches of gravel and other junk - honestly, that's my least favorite part of night riding.

I've wondered about attaching a flashlight to the exterior of my helmet for this very purpose - being able to illuminate areas the headlights don't catch. Perhaps a rechargeable Surefire or something, maybe attached by Velcro or something similar...has anyone tried this with any success?

 

[mike721]

I've never seen a helmet spot light ( kind of a cool idea though) but there are adaptive headlights that shine directionally based on lean angle. I've seen them on a bike or two but never rode one with them. This sounds like a good idea in theory.

They are not cheap though, not at all
Adaptive 2 Series LED Motorcycle Headlight ? J.W. Speaker

 

[DGS65]

Sounds like on coming traffic would have an issue with this unless you have a remote switch to turn it off!

 

[1Adam12]

I bet oncoming would, though the average headlight is about 700 lumens...and usually, if I'm in a place with sufficient amounts of oncoming, there are probably street lights. I'm more concerned about when I get off the main roads and into the neighborhoods, where the lone street lamp doesn't quite cut it, and I'm taking a corner. For now, my solution is usually to flash the high beam, it provides just a bit more, which sometimes helps. Though direction is still a concern.

A remote switch would be a good idea though. I wonder about having a light that can be actuated by a bluetooth switch.

Or screw it, NIGHT VISION GOGGLES!

Of course, at that point, I'd just look into adaptive headlights too. I bet that's more likely the wave of the future.

 

[hogcowboy]

On my first Harley I added spot lights on the crash guards and pointed one to the left ditch or corner area and the other to the right ditch or corner area. Even though it had factory spots. It worked great. Early morning commutes were not a problem and because they were pointed that way, no one had a single problem with them. Be like pointing your headlight down instead of up into the drivers eyes. I bet you could do the same using fork tubes as mounting points.

 

[Shalom Rider]

People are starting to attach many things to their helmets these days, cameras, intercoms and even heads up display. This is okay but please remember that in the event of a crash they could result in unnecessary rotational forces being placed on your head and neck. I’m not saying don’t place anything on your helmet (I use an intercom) but I am saying make an informed decision.