??? about the LED headlight
??? about the LED headlight
Coming from a RG for the last two bikes I've gotten kind of spoiled by the amount of light my headlights would put out after replacing the somewhat weak stock bulbs with PIA halogens. I noticed in the P & A description for the Projector LED Daymaker headlight that it says the low beam stays lit when the high beam is on. I don't see this to be the case on my 2014 Limited but it would be great if it did because to my eyes a guy could really use the extra light that the low beam would put on the road. This LED light does put out a bright beam but it's so focused that it doesn't light up the road as well as I'd like. Do any of you know if there is a fairly straight forward way to keep the low beam lit when the high beam is on? The passing lamps are already set up to stay lit on high beam. So I have that going for me. But I guess I'd still like to get more light out of the stock headlight if possible.
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 337
Likes: 30
From: SLC, UT
I'm with you. The lights are pretty decent, but they have a weird pattern with a very sharp height cut off that makes it so that when you lean into corners the light doesn't shine where you're heading. I want to raise the driving lights and see if I can fill in the giant voids that the height cut off causes. If I cant, I'm going to add some LED driving lights switched with the high beam if possible. There's just too many large animals around to take chances.
You pretty accurately described how I feel about the lighting. The biggest hang up I have with it is how drastic the cut off is. And now that I have the headlight aimed more correctly so I have a useable low beam that lights up the road more than 10 feet ahead of the bike I feel like the high beam is actually out there too far to give good light close in to the bike. There just isn't any good compromise in the adjustment where I get good lighting on low beam where I don't over ride it at any speed above 30 mph and a high beam that reaches out where you need it for highway speeds. Getting the passing lamps aimed better might help me out. First I need to make myself a socket to get those nuts loose. Already tried the easy way of ordering the Snap On tool. Back ordered and have not seen or heard anything from them in a month and a half so I guess I'll just make my own. I'm just not convinced that I'll get the lighting I'm looking for with the passing lamps. But I am convinced that a combination of passing lamps as well as the high and low beam all lit at the same time would do well to light up the road and make any critter or garbage on the road visible after dark. I know the passing lamps were set up to be on all the time just by making a simple programming change. I wonder if the same can be done with the headlight?
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 3,504
Likes: 12
From: DOWN SOUTH
Yall just took the words out of my mouth. I thought I was the only one who thought the lighting sucked on high. My low beams are great, light up a good amount of road, when I hit the high beams along with the passing lamps, I get a HUGE dark spot and the high beam shines up in the trees it looks like. when I pick up my bike after they fix the scratches I am going to have them re-aim and go from there. I am subscribed, anxious to hear what yall come up with. Thanks guys.
I have been happier since I had the floods programmed to stay on. I like being able to see 100 yards or more away. Now the floods light up closer in with the high beam on. I have not had to adjust anything.
IMO, the LEDs are lagging behind halogens still at this point. The field of light just isn't right for a motorcycle. I have them in my new CVO, and programmed to keep the driving lamps lit with the high beam. I also have a set of CD Dynamic Rings so I'm throwing a lot of bright white light down the road, but as you lean into corners, the spread of light totally changes and not in a good way. I'm anxious to hear how the guys with the new Road Glides like the dual day makers. My bet is they throw great light down the road, but are an even worse liability in tight turns as the fixed fairing will follow the curves even slower.
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 102
Likes: 1
From: Wisconsin
Coming from a RG for the last two bikes I've gotten kind of spoiled by the amount of light my headlights would put out after replacing the somewhat weak stock bulbs with PIA halogens. I noticed in the P & A description for the Projector LED Daymaker headlight that it says the low beam stays lit when the high beam is on. I don't see this to be the case on my 2014 Limited but it would be great if it did because to my eyes a guy could really use the extra light that the low beam would put on the road. This LED light does put out a bright beam but it's so focused that it doesn't light up the road as well as I'd like. Do any of you know if there is a fairly straight forward way to keep the low beam lit when the high beam is on? The passing lamps are already set up to stay lit on high beam. So I have that going for me. But I guess I'd still like to get more light out of the stock headlight if possible.
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Banned
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,967
Likes: 206
From: Jax FL
seems like we are REALLY overdriving the headlight into tight corners, there's just NO LIGHT in front of you.
these headlights are starting to show up on Craigslist as take-offs, that's how bad they are.
my wife loved mine, (she saw one on craigslist, wanted it for her softail) until i turned the spots off and showed her how Hi/Lo beam was just a rectangular box that moved around. she did NOT want it after she saw it without the spots.
on my bike the the "rectangular box" of light at low beam ties in with the spots.
on high beam, the "rectangular box" moves up to a few feet off the road, and there is a big black dark area between the spots & the high beam.
i have had really cheap HID's before, and they act just like this light: they are whiter..and reflect more off of signs...but DO NOT illuminate as well as OEM head lights.
is the Truck Lite any better?
a basic old school headlight with eBay HID's would be better than this....
these headlights are starting to show up on Craigslist as take-offs, that's how bad they are.
my wife loved mine, (she saw one on craigslist, wanted it for her softail) until i turned the spots off and showed her how Hi/Lo beam was just a rectangular box that moved around. she did NOT want it after she saw it without the spots.
on my bike the the "rectangular box" of light at low beam ties in with the spots.
on high beam, the "rectangular box" moves up to a few feet off the road, and there is a big black dark area between the spots & the high beam.
i have had really cheap HID's before, and they act just like this light: they are whiter..and reflect more off of signs...but DO NOT illuminate as well as OEM head lights.
is the Truck Lite any better?
a basic old school headlight with eBay HID's would be better than this....
Last edited by 04ctd; Sep 23, 2014 at 11:11 AM.
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I've been raising hell about this wonderful Daymaker headlight for 10 months. I swapped in the Reflector Daymaker and it's better but still not good. I've said all along that there is no way that real motorcycle riders would ever make this headlight standard and that the test riders never rode them in real world conditions like many of us ride in where there is no other light around except for our headlight.
