Sportster's AWFUL headlight...
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 7
From: Rochester N.Y.
In a general sense , the beam should have a 4" drop at 25 ft.
Example , if the headlight center is 34" from the ground , mark a spot on a wall at 30" high.
Go back 25 feet , sit on the bike , settle the suspension , check the aim.
On a DOT beam , the "hot spot" should be centered at the 30" mark on low beam.
On a E-Code beam , the cutoff should be at 30" on the low beam.
Once the low beam is properly set , the high beam should take care of itself on both styles.
You can vary for your own taste , but this is generally what is legal and spec.
Mick
Example , if the headlight center is 34" from the ground , mark a spot on a wall at 30" high.
Go back 25 feet , sit on the bike , settle the suspension , check the aim.
On a DOT beam , the "hot spot" should be centered at the 30" mark on low beam.
On a E-Code beam , the cutoff should be at 30" on the low beam.
Once the low beam is properly set , the high beam should take care of itself on both styles.
You can vary for your own taste , but this is generally what is legal and spec.
Mick
Road Captain
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 566
Likes: 7
From: Seattle, WA
That said, the bulb you've posted does NOT throw a legal beam pattern in the stock housing and those photos pretty clearly show that it's spewing light in all directions with no discernible pattern and no clear horizontal cut-off. If you're OK blinding other people on the road and being a hazard to other drivers when the glare from your illegal bulb robs oncoming drivers of their ability to see, I suppose that's your decision though.
As I've said many times in other threads, you cannot get a legal beam pattern by putting that bulb in the stock housing.
Rather than re-hashing the many reasons why that LED "drop-in replacement" is not acceptable, I'll simply link to the last thread where I outlined the issues (and where another set of photos show the clear problems with the beam pattern): https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sport...headlight.html
Park the bike about 25 feet from a wall so you can see where the light is aimed. Pop the little round cover off the top of the visor, loosen the bolt slightly, aim the headlight, tighten the bolt without moving the headlight, replace the cover.
It's best to only loosen the bolt a little (so the light can be moved with a little effort, but won't slop about if you let it go) and to be sitting on the bike and reaching around to adjust the aim.
Last edited by Zenmervolt; Jul 21, 2015 at 09:21 PM.
Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 176
Likes: 12
From: in a house
Man, some of you REALLY sweat the 'rules' a bit much; 'illegal beam pattern', good grief! 
I always felt my Sportster had a pretty decent headlight (it was an 04, maybe they've changed???). Of course, that assumed a decent quality bulb and a good aiming job. Personally, I've had to re-aim headlights on every bike I've ever owned. NOBODY seems to get it right. I aim mine so that I can see better, I only give minor consideration to the drivers whom on a daily basis are running into my lane with their stupid faces glued in their phones. Now before the 'courtesy police' get their panties in a wad I don't aim my lights straight in their faces, I make an attempt to keep it sensible but not at the cost of ME being able to see well.
As a side note, I absolutely abhor those super defined 'cutoff' lines. As a driver/rider they absolutely KILL your vision for anything more than a couple feet off the road; a real nuisance driving out in the county where there is NO light but what you're throwing out. On top of that, if you head downhill, even slightly, your vision up the road effectively becomes nil.
Then, when someone comes at you there's the constant flashing/color shifts as that vehicle hits bumps and that 'cut line' is effectively bouncing around above/below/above/below your line of sight. It's enough to induce an epileptic seizure! There's this Ford Explorer I cross paths with most mornings that does this with its factory projectors. It starts annoying me from probably a solid 1.5-2mi off and by the time we finally cross each other I just want to throw a rock through those stupid headlights!
I always felt my Sportster had a pretty decent headlight (it was an 04, maybe they've changed???). Of course, that assumed a decent quality bulb and a good aiming job. Personally, I've had to re-aim headlights on every bike I've ever owned. NOBODY seems to get it right. I aim mine so that I can see better, I only give minor consideration to the drivers whom on a daily basis are running into my lane with their stupid faces glued in their phones. Now before the 'courtesy police' get their panties in a wad I don't aim my lights straight in their faces, I make an attempt to keep it sensible but not at the cost of ME being able to see well.
As a side note, I absolutely abhor those super defined 'cutoff' lines. As a driver/rider they absolutely KILL your vision for anything more than a couple feet off the road; a real nuisance driving out in the county where there is NO light but what you're throwing out. On top of that, if you head downhill, even slightly, your vision up the road effectively becomes nil.
Then, when someone comes at you there's the constant flashing/color shifts as that vehicle hits bumps and that 'cut line' is effectively bouncing around above/below/above/below your line of sight. It's enough to induce an epileptic seizure! There's this Ford Explorer I cross paths with most mornings that does this with its factory projectors. It starts annoying me from probably a solid 1.5-2mi off and by the time we finally cross each other I just want to throw a rock through those stupid headlights!
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,377
Likes: 20
From: Kafar Hanusi
Illegal? ILLEGAL??!! WE DONT CARE ABOUT NO ILLEGALS!!!
I was just lobotomized by someone here talking about safety, now with lights, guess what, IT MATTERS!!
YOU take the biggest bulb, cram it into the tiny-est holder, and wallah, LANDING LIGHTS FOE A 747 ! ! !
To me perfectly legal, to all the legal-begals go Puck-a-duck. I wanna see what I'm running into!!!
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 994
Likes: 43
From: Essex, England
Guys, in the UK your headlights beam pattern comes into an annual MOT test by our Department of Transport and most of the beam patterns shown here would cause your bike to fail.
That aside, I have no desire to blind oncoming traffic by shining a headlight into their eyes and as has been shown in these threads, if you lower the beam to the correct height you get a less effective headlight anyway! YMMV and probably does! ;D
That aside, I have no desire to blind oncoming traffic by shining a headlight into their eyes and as has been shown in these threads, if you lower the beam to the correct height you get a less effective headlight anyway! YMMV and probably does! ;D
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 638
Likes: 2
From: Three-one-O
I have both the Daymaker and custom dynamics turn signal LEDs. The lighting combination is amaze-*****. I always feel completely seen. I have tried bulbs, other kinds of lamp units (not the Cibie but hear good things about it) and there is no substitute for the Daymaker. Dark roads, highway driving, city streets....I wish I had just gotten this first to begin with. It's the most expensive option out there, but when you're riding at night that thought goes away quickly 
Last edited by sroc3; Jul 22, 2015 at 09:24 PM.
$500 HD LED Daymaker DOT approved
$69 DK LED NOT DOT approved
VisionX Bulb on Top DOT approved
Stock HD Headlight on bottom DOT approved
I have the Daymaker on one of my bikes. I like it except in certain situations the cut-off line is very limiting.
I have the DK LED in 3 bikes. It shines about the same amount of light up close and to the sides as the Daymaker, just a little bit Less.
It does not have a sharp cut-off line up top. I have NEVER, Not Once, had anyone flash their high beams at me at night (in complaint that I'm blinding them), and I've ridden quite a bit at night with them...and around here folks will flash their lights if you're blinding them...have had it happen plenty of times, even with the stock light, WHEN I have inadvertently left my High Beam on.
I rode with the DOT approved VisionX in one bike for a long time. It is much better than the stock, but not as good as the Daymaker or DK LED.
The stock light, properly adjusted, never made me feel uncomfortable...but I always (or almost always ) rode within the limits of the light.
If cost were not an issue, I would consider the Daymaker, I don't like the cut-off, but the light seems a bit crisper, and it is definitely wider, which is good for spotting critters coming out of the woods. But at 1/7 th the cost, and not having the (in certain situations) limiting cut-off, the lower cost LED is my choice.
If anyone riding toward me had ever complained, that would factor in to my decision. One thing to note, 40% of my night riding is on country roads, 40% on interstate and 20% in city.
$69 DK LED NOT DOT approved
VisionX Bulb on Top DOT approved
Stock HD Headlight on bottom DOT approved
I have the Daymaker on one of my bikes. I like it except in certain situations the cut-off line is very limiting.
I have the DK LED in 3 bikes. It shines about the same amount of light up close and to the sides as the Daymaker, just a little bit Less.
It does not have a sharp cut-off line up top. I have NEVER, Not Once, had anyone flash their high beams at me at night (in complaint that I'm blinding them), and I've ridden quite a bit at night with them...and around here folks will flash their lights if you're blinding them...have had it happen plenty of times, even with the stock light, WHEN I have inadvertently left my High Beam on.
I rode with the DOT approved VisionX in one bike for a long time. It is much better than the stock, but not as good as the Daymaker or DK LED.
The stock light, properly adjusted, never made me feel uncomfortable...but I always (or almost always
) rode within the limits of the light.If cost were not an issue, I would consider the Daymaker, I don't like the cut-off, but the light seems a bit crisper, and it is definitely wider, which is good for spotting critters coming out of the woods. But at 1/7 th the cost, and not having the (in certain situations) limiting cut-off, the lower cost LED is my choice.
If anyone riding toward me had ever complained, that would factor in to my decision. One thing to note, 40% of my night riding is on country roads, 40% on interstate and 20% in city.
__________________
DKCustomProducts.com
DKCustomProducts.com
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 79
Likes: 4
From: Easley, SC
As a side note, I absolutely abhor those super defined 'cutoff' lines. As a driver/rider they absolutely KILL your vision for anything more than a couple feet off the road; a real nuisance driving out in the county where there is NO light but what you're throwing out. On top of that, if you head downhill, even slightly, your vision up the road effectively becomes nil.
Then, when someone comes at you there's the constant flashing/color shifts as that vehicle hits bumps and that 'cut line' is effectively bouncing around above/below/above/below your line of sight. It's enough to induce an epileptic seizure! There's this Ford Explorer I cross paths with most mornings that does this with its factory projectors. It starts annoying me from probably a solid 1.5-2mi off and by the time we finally cross each other I just want to throw a rock through those stupid headlights!
Then, when someone comes at you there's the constant flashing/color shifts as that vehicle hits bumps and that 'cut line' is effectively bouncing around above/below/above/below your line of sight. It's enough to induce an epileptic seizure! There's this Ford Explorer I cross paths with most mornings that does this with its factory projectors. It starts annoying me from probably a solid 1.5-2mi off and by the time we finally cross each other I just want to throw a rock through those stupid headlights!
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Southpaw Super Glide: A Left-Hand-Drive 1979 Harley FXE Built to Fit the Rider
Verdad Gallardo
Stage I
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: california
So as we know, the stock headlight is downright unsafe. I replaced the stock bulb with a Philips X-Treme Vision bulb, their brightest one, and it's STILL TERRIBLE.
Question I have-- the little black "cone thing" (technical term) that covers the tip of the bulb...can I just take that off? Will it improve the light?
Anybody else struggling with this scenario?
Question I have-- the little black "cone thing" (technical term) that covers the tip of the bulb...can I just take that off? Will it improve the light?
Anybody else struggling with this scenario?
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,882
Likes: 83
I've been riding with the DK Customs LED all spring and summer. I find it to be a much brighter and visible head light bulb without question and that it itself is an advantage. I know for a fact that i'm more easily seen by cages during the day then with a incandescent bulb. My only problem is there is no measurable difference between high or low beam light out put. Although reflective illumination seems awesome the projected on road beam seems short ranged compared to a high end incandescent.
There is no WIDE beam in high beam with this bulb. The ranged beam is less light on the road at long range than a Sylvania Silverstar The stock bulb housing is simply not designed for LED bulbs. Is this the best drop in for daytime visibility? I think its awesome but if you spend alot of dark night rides this isn't the bulb unfortunately. Sealed beam is just that. There is no beam of light with this bulb in the stock headlight reflector from my riding experience. And thats of utmost important when it comes to spotting road kill. Your mileage may vary. My comments are of my driving experience.
There is no WIDE beam in high beam with this bulb. The ranged beam is less light on the road at long range than a Sylvania Silverstar The stock bulb housing is simply not designed for LED bulbs. Is this the best drop in for daytime visibility? I think its awesome but if you spend alot of dark night rides this isn't the bulb unfortunately. Sealed beam is just that. There is no beam of light with this bulb in the stock headlight reflector from my riding experience. And thats of utmost important when it comes to spotting road kill. Your mileage may vary. My comments are of my driving experience.