Cyclops Night Light Helmet Light

How often have you gone for a night ride and wanted more from your stock lighting system? You probably noticed that the stock headlamp wasn't bright enough and didn't always aim where you were looking, especially in turns, whoops, or on jumps. We know from entering the 24 Hour race a couple of years ago that the stock headlamp was just not enough. The Cyclops Night Light is the solution. We found it during our visit to the 24 Hours of Glen Helen race.

The Cyclops Night Light connects to the existing lighting system of any motorcycle or ATV. Compared to other helmet lights on the market this is the least expensive at $99.95. And it doesn't require that you wear a heavy and bulky battery on your back.

Installation:

The Cyclops Night Light comes with just about everything you need to install. It comes with all the wiring, a fuse holder and a 10amp fuse, velcro, and ty-raps.

Installation is fairly simple. There are instructions included for wiring bikes with or without a battery.

Time Required:

Depends on application and how comfortable you are with wiring. It took about an hour on our Yamaha WR.


Difficulty Rating: lllmm


What do we think?

After seeing the Night Light in use at Glen Helen and trying it out for ourselves we are definitely going to use it on future night rides and races. The only drawback is that it is designed to work with a motorcycle or ATV that is equipped with an existing lighting system. Well worth the $99.95.

For more information about helmet lights and helmet light solutions, visit http://cyclopsmotorsports.com.

Dirt Rider Tested RATED 9.5 CYCLOPS MOTORSPORTS

Nightlight Helmet-mounted Lighting System
June 2004

Half the allure of the Dirt Rider 24-Hour is riding the night loops, even when it's cold. But this experience can quickly turn sour without a good lighting setup. And having a bike with a headlight is only part of the battle. Stall or crash once in the middle of nowhere, and you'll rapidly notice it is dark out there. Additional lighting via helmet-mounted systems is nothing new, but it's an oft-overlooked aid that allows you to look ahead on the trail and maintain the good riding habits you use when the sun is shining.

During our 24-Hour, Washington-based Cyclops Motorsports hooked up a bike and rider with a system connected to the bike's wiring harness and a light on his helmet. After some minimal adjustments, he was plugged in and ready to ride off into the darkness.

Cyclops' unique light uses a halogen bulb that comes in a 35-watt configuration, with a 50-watt bulb available (higher-wattage units may require lighting-coil modifications, especially if you're using other power- hungry devices, such as grip heaters). Its bright light blended into the headlight beam, effectively doubling the area and intensity of the light coverage. Our tester rode with a 35-watt unit and had nothing but praise for the system. Not only was the amount of light supplied sufficient for basic night riding but the setup had a side benefit we weren't expecting: You don't get hypnotized by the bouncing white light from your motorcycle's head-light. The Nightlight attaches to the helmet with some hard core hook-and-loop closures; this allowed easy adjustment of the light's position on our lid, which in turn aligned the beam and ensured an iron grip on the light so it didn't fall off, even under hard riding conditions. Of course, you'll have to duck a bit more when dashing through branches. Since the Cyclops light attaches to the top of the helmet, its weight didn't cause your brain buckett to pivet into uncomfortable positions, something we've occasionally encountered with other helmet-mounted lighting systems.

The unit plugs into a motorcycle's or ATV's existing headlight wiring harness-- saving weight since it doesn't use a battery. The kit uses a thick coil wire to connect the rider and light to the bike via a quick disconnect plug-- for those times when you take dirt samples. Depending on the power output of your lighting system, the nightlight may dim when the rpm drop, as when entering tight corners or steep down- hills. This tends to create a slight blind spot. Your options are to go faster, keep those revs up, get a coil rewind or wait until Cyclops introduces its optional battery pack (likely to be available by the time you read this). One minor addition we'd like to see is some type of on/off switch. It's a necessity for a battery-based configuration but would be welcome even with the stator powered system. The bottom line is all of the components were well-made and worth the wallet friendly $99.95 price tag; it even comes with a lifetime warranty.

For more information about helmet lights and helmet light solutions, visit http://cyclopsmotorsports.com.