Son of Geek

A couple of days ago I wrote about three lights that will be with me on the IBR.  This final light is to the motorcycle as the dome light is to the car.  This is the light needed to see a map, read a bonus sheet or see into a tank bag while you ride. 

The first cockpit light I owned was a Littlite.  This company produces lights primarily for audio engineering boards but have lights for automotive and aircraft applications as well.  Mine had a halogen bulb on an 18 inch flexible goose neck stem.  It worked well, but future IBR winner Jim Owen had a better idea.

Jim took a camper headlamp and affixed it to the chin bar of his helmet. The big advantage over the cockpit mounted light is that the light is goes with you.  You can look in your top case or saddle bag without having to dig a flash light out of a pocket or luggage.  Not being proud, I immediately stole the idea as shown in the photo on the left.  When I showed my son this incredible practical modification, his reply was “You look like a geek”.  I dubbed the mod “The Geek Light”.

Unfortunately, the mod never worked well on my newer Shoei Muiltitech helmet.  The chin bar doesn’t have a flat surface that Velcro likes to adhere to.  I’ve had one light fall or and struggled to keep the other in place.  So what you see in the photo on the right is “Son of Geek”.   SoG is an EverReady key chain light.  I’ll be testing it over the next few weeks. It’s smaller, sleeker and less geeky than the original.  The downside could be battery life since it’s only rated for 2 hours on high.  We’ll see how it works out.