I was lucky enough to be able to run both these headlights on my Slim over the last 10 days or so and I thought I would share my impressions.

First one very important note: If you run either of these headlights, aiming them properly is critical. You won't reap much from your investment in these lights if you don't do that. They simply will not provide the light they are capable of providing if the beam is not aimed properly using a tape measure. I'll provide info on how to do that in my second post.

Now, on to the review, which I broke up into several categories.

Regular beam punch down a straight road:

Projector: Incredible beam here. It reaches farther on regular beam than the brights of my stock HID bulbed light. The light is very white, almost bluish. And road markers and the terrain of the road are well illuminated. Grade: A

Reflector: Nice beam here, but about 30 percent less reach than the projector. Light is white, but not as defined as the projector. Terrain stands out a bit less. Grade: B


High beam punch straight down the road:

Projector: A little disappointing here, actually. The beam only carries about 30 percent further on high beam. Ok punch, not great. Grade: B-

Reflector: Best category for the reflector here. Really punches down the road well. Perhaps 50 percent more distance with nice definition. Grade: A

Daylight visibility to oncoming traffic:

Projector: A very unique lighting array seems to catch the eye of cagers, even other bikers coming your way. (Think those fancy new BMW headlamps) Of course, you can't depend on this and should still ride like they are trying to kill you. But when running the projector over several days in thick traffic, not a single cut in front of me, cagers clearly waiting for me to pass. The light array is a bit mesmerizing. Very bright and noticeable and well defined during the day. Other riders stare at it. You can use low or high beam here, it doesn't matter. Both make your bike stand out because of the brilliance and uniqueness of the clean array. Grade: A-

Reflector: A bit more like a conventional light here, actually. The array is awash like a traditional light, and only half of the housing at that when you have normal beam on. Even with high beam on, it looks like a regular headlamp on brights, just a bit whiter and brighter. Grade: B-

Peripheral strength of beam

Projector: The beam literally covers one side of a five lane L.A. freeway to the other. It's that good and I don't think it gets better than that with any single 7'' headlamp. Grade: A+

Reflector: Good coverage here. Better than stock. But probably 25 percent less peripheral strength than the projector. Maybe four lanes of peripheral view, not five. Grade: A-

Horizon effect created by beam in turns (Not a good thing)

Projector: The projector does indeed create a horizon effect with its powerful beam when making a turn. The light spreads like wings on the road, and it expands and contracts according to the sharpness of the turn. The projector does this in a pronounced way. And though I did not find it to be dangerous, you do have to get used to it. If you were on the twisties alone at night with no other lighting, you might find it unnerving. My Custom Dynamics LEDs act as running lights when not signaling, so there is some help there tracking the road on the turn. And I have the advantage of street lamps and ambient city light here in L.A. Grade: B-

Reflector: I expected the reflector to excel here and have no horizon effect at all. But that was not so. It also creates its own horizon, similar to the projector, simply not as sharp and pronounced because the light is not as strong. You do get a bit more wash of light on the road into the turn, but not as much as you would think. Because the light is a tad weaker than the projector, when the beam is at its smallest into the turn, and the "wings" contracted so to speak, you feel a bit like you're running a flashlight. Grade: B+

Hope this review helps.

A few more notes: My Projector is identical to the HD product, made by JW Speaker. But it came directly from JW Speaker, and because of that was less pricey and carried a 10 year warranty instead of the 1 year offered by Harley. It is not branded Harley, but very discreetly branded Speaker. You really can't see it unless you look for it. The Reflector was the regular HD branded product, and JW Speaker does not make the item. There is the 1 year warranty with this product.

Also, I know there are other options out there like the Trucklite and HID bulbs, etc. But for various reasons, including concerns with daytime visibility of the Trucklite, I was drawn to the Projector and Reflector options.

I'll be returning the Reflector and keeping the Projector. YMMV, but with both lights aimed properly, the Projector simply performs better under more conditions where I ride. The one place the Reflector was hands down better was on high beam, straight down the road. But truthfully, the Projector on regular beam is almost as good.

And lifted from a post by forum member Prog on how to aim the Daymakers:

Park the bike on level ground 25' away from a vertical wall, preferably white.

With the bike sitting on level ground with you sitting on it, upright not on the kickstand, measure from the distance from the top of the light to the ground. Then turn the light on. You will see a horizontal beam pattern projected on the wall. Measure from the ground to this horizontal beam on the wall. This measurement should be the same as your first measurement at the bike. If it isn't, then you need to adjust it. If you are having trouble decking what to consider the top of the beam on the wall, choose the highest point. This in effect cheats it slightly downward.

 

Thanks for such a thorough review, lots to think about! I'm currently testing the Phase 7 TruckLite. I won't have the direct comparison you had so your input is valuable.

 

What Dee said.

Very nice write up, SoCalSoftailSlim. I'm still considering the Truck-Lites for both the headlight and passing lamps. I'm willing to sacrifice some daytime visibility to help light up those dark country roads I ride when it's dark. I work 12 hour shifts and at this time of year my 20 mile rural commute is dark both ways while the deer are active.

 

I had not had the opportunity to do any night riding until recently up in the North Georgia mountains. The stock Daymaker (Projector?) was amazingly bright. Far brighter than my '13 RK, or my '05 FLHTC. It was definitely screwey in the LONG sweepers because the beam is so narrowly focused. High beam was only a little better than low. For those complaining about Daymaker, get them aimed properly and you'll be amazed...Think laser.

 

No sweat, guys.

rdam, it's a Projector Daymaker if has the LEDs visible in the housing. (Two on the sides, one big one on the bottom, and one smaller on top for the model fitting my Slim.)

And Reflector Daymaker if it looks more like a regular headlamp, but with a divider down the middle of it to reflect the LEDs, which you really can't see in the housing.

The Projector came out first, I believe. Then Harley came out with the Reflector, kinda billing it as an improvement. Though, for me, the Projector is the better unit.

 

I've seen the bikes with the projectors heading towards me at night. It's like staring into the sun. If I do go that route, I will get the JW Speaker version. The 10 year warranty at a better price seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

I have the Projector with 4 lights, unlike the "new and improved" 6 light that came out last year...if it's still available.

 

Rash, if it's aimed right, it should be bright like the sun, but not blinding oncoming traffic like the sun. haha.

chicken, just to avoid confusion, the new and improved one you're referring to with the 6 visible LEDs instead of four is for your model bike. 5'' I believe? My Slim takes the 7'', which has the four visible LEDs. They didn't change that because I think the bigger housing allowed for bigger LEDs to begin with.

 

Damn good review. Lots of useful information.

I have the latest 5 3/4" HD LED that came with thew 1200C I picked up. I can't compare it with the previous version but it's an excellent product.

 

The one time I was blinded badly the bike was coming at me with the curve, hill and timing lined up just right. Other times you can definitely tell it's a Daymaker on there even without the perfect line of sight.