+1 - The headlight and wiring are not designed to handle 100w bulbs. Over time, the heat will literally melt the bulb socket & wiring.

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I just throw on the highs ... my headlight is aimed low enoug that it doesnt blind oncoming drivers and riders but still lets me see farly well infront of me at night .... backroads are dark ... put faith in something and ride hahahha

 

OP: Spend 15-20 minutes aiming the stock headlight. That may very well be all you need.

The headlight on my '07 1200R was downright dangerous when I got the bike. Spent the time to aim it properly and after that it positively lit up the night. Aim is very important and most people neglect it.

 

UPDATE: I took about a half hour to properly aim the headlight and its a HUGE improvement. Low beam cuts off where it should, and the high beam is *incredible* now (it was useless, worse than the low beam before).

I may still peruse an upgrade at some point, but aiming it properly took it from horrible to pretty darn good for a halogen.

I'm also spoiled by having projector HIDs on my car, they are amazing.

 

o.k.- HID in a halogen reflector is a bad idea but what about a higher output halogen that still draws 60/55w but has a higher output? Will those also cause heat/melting issues?

 

Shouldn't cause a problem.

Watts = heat. Period. It doesn't matter what you do with the wattage, you can spin a wheel, power a lightbulb, power a computer, or run a box fan....watts = heat always.

So, as long as the bulb is rated for the same wattage, you don't have to worry about heat/current draw issues.

Not all bulbs were made equal, some 55/60 bulbs are WAY better than others.

I would recommend something from PIAA, I've personally had a horrible experience with Sylvania Silverstars, they tend to last less than a year on bikes due to the vibrations which they are not designed to handle.

 

I replaced my headlight with this one and it works great.

 

GO HID! The headlamp on the sporty is horrid, I agree. The lamp on my vrod is better, but not great - until now that is, since I installed a HID lamp, and OMG it is brighter than the sun. Holy crap I cannot believe how bright that damned thing is - I can see it on the road signs in the middle of the day. At night, forget about it - so bright you would never want more, and I never even use the high beam anymore either.

DDMTUNING.COM has by far the best prices around from what I found. You'll be fine with a single 55w low but you have to match your bulb type. You won't even need the dual filament hi/low bulb, trust me, you'll never use it.

Now, the hard part - where to hide that ballast. I was looking around on my girl's sporty and you might be able to stick it under the headlamp eyebrow/visor, or where the coil is (if you move the coil/ignition like many of us do), or maybe extend the wires back to under the saddle. It will be worth it.

 

Thanks for the tips!! I am happy now, here is a couple tips on the cheap.
http://goo.gl/kCC3M

 

HD does sell a higher output bulb that makes a huge difference. I was unhappy with the stock bulb so I upgraded it. It may have cost about $20 I don't remember it was a while ago but, it was worth it for the amount of visibility I gained at night.