Headlamps
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
i discovered the E-code headlights. hella and cibie both make them. they're made for the european market and don't spash light all over the place, but put it right down your lane, with a little bit over to the right to watch out for deer and other critters. i think the headlight housing for my streetglide cost me around 40 bucks and it's far superior to the stock harley housing. the harley housing is plastic, go figure. the hella is glass and holds the same type of h-4 halogen bulb. you can google susquehanna motor sports, they're in pennsylvania and are quite helpful. be sure to get the type made for germany and france, because if you get the one for england, it'll be made to illuminate the wrong side of the road whereas the german and french housings are made to splash a bit off to the right, but most all of the light is straight down your lane. it's surprisingly better ilumination and i'm using the same bulb i took out of my harley headlight housing. osram/sylvania bulb, nothing special. $20 bucks or so for a pair at advance auto parts for the bulbs.
For <$40 I think this is the best bang-for-the-buck lighting upgrade on the market, and I'm surprised more riders haven't tried it. If they did I don't think they would be moving to the very expensive alternatives sold on the aftermarket, or at least fewer of them would. I also use a modulator, which prolongs the life of the high-beam filament, and I've changed bulbs perhaps 2-3 times in the last 15 years of running the high-wattage bulbs.
E-code headlights
80/100W bulbs
Last edited by iclick; Jun 20, 2011 at 10:50 AM.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 192
Likes: 5
Harley sells a European E code lens for Road Glides. I have one running 100/90 osrams with ceramic plugs. HD electrical systems will handle 100/90 bulbs just fine without a relay,you just have to wire in ceramic plugs so the sockets won't melt from the heat. They are about $5 each on ebay. You just about have to have the E code lens to run 100/90. They focus the light better on low and high beam and won't blind oncoming traffic.
Thanks.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
There is no confusion however over Hella and Cibie lights, also Bosch, which are all very good, whichever side of the road you ride down. Had Hella and Bosch on my Harleys over the years.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Surely they will only do that if they stop selling RGs in Europe! We only get offered the CVO 110" in the UK.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I never tried pairing these with the high-beams, but I would think they would just add to the output of an E-code headlight. I'm not sure if the next guy would like the pattern these produce, but I did, and they had plenty of power. They're 35w with a 50w variant available, but an additional 8A in addition to the headlight is putting a burden on the charging system with the higher-powered lamp, IMO. With my old RK I had to rig a relay even with the 35W version, as wired to the low-beam circuit the 15A breaker would trip frequently when run with an 80W low-beam bulb.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
The factory headlights sold in the U.S. are all DOT-certified, even those made by Bosch or other Euro manufacturers. The E-codes we've been talking about are not DOT-certified and are theoretically illegal for use in the states, but you can't tell anything by looking at them and the chances of someone ticketing you for them is remote. OTOH if you blind people going down the road from a poorly aimed headlight you may get cited for that.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,044
Likes: 145
From: Lawrenceville,GA/Rome,Italy
The factory headlights sold in the U.S. are all DOT-certified, even those made by Bosch or other Euro manufacturers. The E-codes we've been talking about are not DOT-certified and are theoretically illegal for use in the states, but you can't tell anything by looking at them and the chances of someone ticketing you for them is remote. OTOH if you blind people going down the road from a poorly aimed headlight you may get cited for that.
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 147
Likes: 0
Thanks iClick! I just ordered the E-Code headlamp and 100/80W bulb. Do you think my aftermarket amp and MP3 using the lighter socket to charge will push me to the point of needing a relay? Or is this a non-issue because they're on different fuses? I'm not very well versed in electrical issues...
When I had passing lamps I used a sealed-beam halogen lamp from CCI (#15085, p. 5-15 in their 2011 catalog). These are pencil-beam lamps that throw the light down the road in a very narrow beam, which worked well with the low-beams. The headlight provided the dispersion close-up and the passing lamps threw enough light down the road sufficiently to provide more visibility than the high-beams alone. At $17 each they are a bargain, but if you break the glass its output will die, as it is a sealed-beam with non-replaceable halogen bulb. When I had these on my old RK I think I replaced one lamp in nine years and >100k miles.
I never tried pairing these with the high-beams, but I would think they would just add to the output of an E-code headlight. I'm not sure if the next guy would like the pattern these produce, but I did, and they had plenty of power. They're 35w with a 50w variant available, but an additional 8A in addition to the headlight is putting a burden on the charging system with the higher-powered lamp, IMO. With my old RK I had to rig a relay even with the 35W version, as wired to the low-beam circuit the 15A breaker would trip frequently when run with an 80W low-beam bulb.
I never tried pairing these with the high-beams, but I would think they would just add to the output of an E-code headlight. I'm not sure if the next guy would like the pattern these produce, but I did, and they had plenty of power. They're 35w with a 50w variant available, but an additional 8A in addition to the headlight is putting a burden on the charging system with the higher-powered lamp, IMO. With my old RK I had to rig a relay even with the 35W version, as wired to the low-beam circuit the 15A breaker would trip frequently when run with an 80W low-beam bulb.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 7
From: Rochester N.Y.
I also use an E-Code setup that I'm quite happy with.
I'm using a Cibie E-Code 7" round from http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html with the Osram 70/65 bulb.
The E-Code housing makes a better pattern of light (useable) and fills your lane more completely than a DOT lamp setup.
The Cibie uses lead crystal glass with precision "lense optics" for better patterning of light.
The are actually kinder to oncoming traffic because of the sharper pattern cutoff at the top.
These make the "black hole" just in front of the bike dissappear and light up road signs down the road much earlier than the stock setup.
I burned up my Osram bulb finally , so I put the stock Harley 55/60 bulb back in while I order a new one , funny thing is , it's still way better than stock with the stock bulb.
The Cibie housing was about $75.00 and the bulb was around $25.00.
I feel this was one of my better safety/comfort mods to date on this bike.
Actually I did this on my last bike and moved it to the 09 when I got it , I kinda felt guilty putting the stock headlamp back in the bike (trade in) knowing what I know now about lighting.
Mick
I'm using a Cibie E-Code 7" round from http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html with the Osram 70/65 bulb.
The E-Code housing makes a better pattern of light (useable) and fills your lane more completely than a DOT lamp setup.
The Cibie uses lead crystal glass with precision "lense optics" for better patterning of light.
The are actually kinder to oncoming traffic because of the sharper pattern cutoff at the top.
These make the "black hole" just in front of the bike dissappear and light up road signs down the road much earlier than the stock setup.
I burned up my Osram bulb finally , so I put the stock Harley 55/60 bulb back in while I order a new one , funny thing is , it's still way better than stock with the stock bulb.
The Cibie housing was about $75.00 and the bulb was around $25.00.
I feel this was one of my better safety/comfort mods to date on this bike.
Actually I did this on my last bike and moved it to the 09 when I got it , I kinda felt guilty putting the stock headlamp back in the bike (trade in) knowing what I know now about lighting.
Mick
I went the same route with the Hella E-codes and added a Hella 80/100W H4 bulb as well. The low-beams are superb at night but invisible to oncoming traffic in daylight, mostly because it aims the light precisely where it falls on the road, not into the eyes of oncoming drivers. The high beams are excellent for day or night riding and provide much greater "seeing distance" than the non-fluted stock headlights, which suddenly look inadequate once you upgrade to the E-code headlight. The higher-wattage bulb helps too, and I've had no trouble with connectors or wiring due to the increased heat generated. A friend with a BMW did have trouble and replaced the connector with a high-heat variety from Auto Zone.
For <$40 I think this is the best bang-for-the-buck lighting upgrade on the market, and I'm surprised more riders haven't tried it. If they did I don't think they would be moving to the very expensive alternatives sold on the aftermarket, or at least fewer of them would. I also use a modulator, which prolongs the life of the high-beam filament, and I've changed bulbs perhaps 2-3 times in the last 15 years of running the high-wattage bulbs.
E-code headlights
80/100W bulbs
For <$40 I think this is the best bang-for-the-buck lighting upgrade on the market, and I'm surprised more riders haven't tried it. If they did I don't think they would be moving to the very expensive alternatives sold on the aftermarket, or at least fewer of them would. I also use a modulator, which prolongs the life of the high-beam filament, and I've changed bulbs perhaps 2-3 times in the last 15 years of running the high-wattage bulbs.
E-code headlights
80/100W bulbs