Headlight Upgrade
Headlight Upgrade
Hello, I am looking to upgrade the stock 2 bulb halogen headlight. I tried a knock off version of the JW Speaker 8790 adaptive but i didn't like it. I am really considering the HD Daymaker Adaptive. Another consideration is to upgrade the bulbs to either PIAA XTreme White bulbs or Sylvania SilverStar ULTRA or LED bulbs.
Would love to hear all your thoughts, suggestions, complaints, etc.
Have a great day riding!!!
Would love to hear all your thoughts, suggestions, complaints, etc.
Have a great day riding!!!
Banned
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 435
Likes: 320
From: North Carolina
Hello, I am looking to upgrade the stock 2 bulb halogen headlight. I tried a knock off version of the JW Speaker 8790 adaptive but i didn't like it. I am really considering the HD Daymaker Adaptive. Another consideration is to upgrade the bulbs to either PIAA XTreme White bulbs or Sylvania SilverStar ULTRA or LED bulbs.
Would love to hear all your thoughts, suggestions, complaints, etc.
Have a great day riding!!!
Would love to hear all your thoughts, suggestions, complaints, etc.
Have a great day riding!!!
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 197
Likes: 51
From: Tucson, AZ
Custom Dynamics
Hi,
I just put in a Custom Dynamics ProBeam headlight about a month ago...Wow! Pricey, but I can see hundreds of feet in front of me instead of a car length or two. High beam on this is awesome. $450 but I believe worth it for the ability to see farther at night.
Duff
I just put in a Custom Dynamics ProBeam headlight about a month ago...Wow! Pricey, but I can see hundreds of feet in front of me instead of a car length or two. High beam on this is awesome. $450 but I believe worth it for the ability to see farther at night.
Duff
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 486
Likes: 155
From: British Columbia
Those Harley branded adaptive lights sure look like the ticket but at $780 Canadian too pricey for me. I popped for the Daymaker several years ago. That was even pricey at $575. But it did what I wanted. Shot the light way down the highway compared to the original fit halogen lamp on my 2010 FatBoyLo. I sure like the idea of lighting up the inside edge of whatever lean or turn you're in though. Maybe Harley Canada will eventually get them down to reasonably affordable.
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 1,045
Likes: 390
From: Florida
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,456
Likes: 2,859
From: Oklahoma
We ride some of the biggest motorcycles available yet space between the back of the reflector and the fork tube is quite limited. Many replacements, whether LED drop in replacement bulb or sealed beam LED unit will require the mounting ring that moves the reflector assembly forward a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Many drop in LED bulbs are priced at or near the same as the Sylvania Super stars. The bulbs are drastically improved from the originals as long as you know what to look for. The "1 to 1" terminology seems to be popular right now and refers to the LED chip being shaped like, and placed on the mount in the same location as the halogen filament in the bulb it replaces. This results in a long, slim chip, not the big round blobs that early bulbs had. In dual :"filament LED bulbs, the low and high beam emitters are placed close to, each other but at slightly different distances from the base. These do a good job at replicating bright horizontal stripe of light produced by the original bulb (but much brighter) but may requiring re-aiming the headlight slightly after installation. Most suppliers sell the bulbs in pairs and $60 (plus or minus) for a decent pair of bulbs seems typical. I have not yet found a really good drop in LED replacement for the passing lights. My THEORY is that no manufacturer is placing the emitter in the same way the filament is oriented in the bulbs they replace. The filamets are mounted perpendicular to the long axis of the bulb but most LED manufacturers are still orienting the chips longitudinally. This produces a beam NOT closely duplicating that made by the halogen bulb. They are bright but sloppy.
Last edited by btsom; Feb 22, 2020 at 08:22 AM.