I have an '87 sporty, with the glass bulb, and I only get about 1000 miles out of a headlight. The the glass filament inside the bulb doesn't just burn out, it falls down in the light. I'm thinking that the vibrations are causing it to do this? That being said, I buy the bulbs at advance auto, because they're much cheaper. I'm wondering if there's something different about the $80 bulb that the stealer sells? Has anyone else tried the cheap ones from advance auto? Any help would be appreciated. I'm trying to make sure that it's not some kind of electrical problem that's causing the bulbs to blow before I go drop 80 bucks on a headlight.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the problem, but you're not alone. I had similar experience with cheap bulbs when I was on my '85.

Switching to motorcycle specific bulbs fixed the problem immediately.

The issue isn't MC vs car lighting, it's vibration. My '85 shook like a hound dog ****tin' peach pits and it tore up everything. Cars don't see near the vibration of bikes, particularly a solid mount Sporty, and the lower quality (cheaper) lights reflect that. Quality lights will handle more vibration than cheap.

If you really want to avoid paying MC light prices, you might try an "offroad" or "4X4" headlight - they should handle the vibration better. I couldn't guess about whether they'd be less expensive than the MC lights.

Good luck.

 

Find a headlight from a newer sporty and use the capsule that goes in them, they are about $10 to replace and I haven't had any problems with the Silverstar lamp I have in my 02

 

Also just to be sure check your voltage when the bike is running above idle, a bad regulator could be putting too much voltage and the headlight bulb is the weakest link, should be no higher than about 14.75 volts.

 

my headlight was the original from 88 and its worked fine, i just replaced it with one of those sylvania super whites, and that lasted, but it still wasnt bright enough so i used one of the no name brands xenon filled bulbs, its very VERY bright and lasts


i think my bulbs last beucase i was aware of the vibration problem so i bought lots of squishy rubber washers and rubber mounted my headlight visor and headlamp itself. the whole assembly is smooth.

i think its worth a try, beucase obviously your electrical system is not to blame.

i would also recamend you buy some bar end weights, sportbike shops sell good ones for around $10, these are what i use and they cut down on handlebar vibration a lot!

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I really appreciate it. I was wanting to cover all my bases before I replaced, yet another $10 bulb. I ended up checking the electrical on my lunch break, and was able to rule that out. So the newer sporty headlight fixture will fit huh? Good to know they're the same diameter. I was wanting that type anyways. And I really like the idea of rubber mounting the bezel. Very good idea. Actually my handlebars is the one place I get zero vibes. Mine are rubber mounted and a little worn out, so my hands are shake free. I really appreciate the help though. Good to know I've got a place to go for problems the service manual can't solve.

 

I know that in OTR trucking applications bulbs burn out faster than they otherwise would due to vibration. I would imagine that it's worse with Harleys.

I would look for a long-life bulb designed for use in trucking fleets. They are the same physical size as other sealed-beam units but are more robust and designed to handle more vibration. You can order them from many places online, like Ryder, for example:

http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/cg...uct_detail.jsp