I have been reading about all the talk about LED, HID, etc... Does spending more money on a light really mean it is that much better? I have switched to a Bosch Xenon Blue that is stupid bright and really annoys people I ride behind and meat head on, cost was only $10.

Some lights say they produce a more natural light color, how does it work in the daytime? Does it "blend" with ambient light?

I was just curious, there seems to be some comparable alternatives out there for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, I have never seen the LED lights in person. I do agree that the OEM bulb is crap though. Lets see some comparisons between types…

On another note, I have not found a good Xenon replacement for the aux lamps. I did find a web site that has an HID set up for all 3 on the Ultra Classic, but I cannot bring myself to spend $200-$300 on them.

Thanks.

 

"Does spending more money on a light really mean it is that much better?" No, and none of the reviews on this forum that I have read have implied that.

 

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Cat...-Kits-Lighting

My son has bought the car kits from this site , I see they also sell for bikes.

He just installed one for my truck and its a huge improvement , I may look into a bike kit.

 

I have a stock headlight, stock spot lights and HD Fog lights installed and it made a huge difference at night running all five lights. I actually don't mind riding at night, there is enough light now it looks like I'm driving my car. The HD Fog Lights are well made and produce a lot of light I think it's a bargain.

 

There is a thread comparing two different LED lights (HD and Truck Lite I think). From reading that thread and a few others, people really like them. But at a cost of $800 to replace all 3 lights (HD Brand), are they really that much better than other options? So my question stands to reason, is spending more money mean a better light?

 

I have a buddy that just ordered a kit for his Road Glide from http://hemrickperformance.com/HIDHea...orHarleys.aspx They have a set-up for all 3 UC lamps for $212, but I want to see what my buddies kit looks like. Want to be sure the ballast is of good quality, etc... Unfortunately I have not seen LED in person. I would like to try to find a comparison of LED, HID, and a bulb like the Phillips X-treme Power (it is supposed to ridiculously bright.

Cale

 

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.

 

I had a set of HID headlights installed on my RG, used them for one riding season and now they are back in the case on a shelf in my garage. I wasn't really pleased with them, they were brighter and had a different, bluer tint to them, but the light pattern wasn't that helpful for nighttime riding. I'm sure they made my ride more visible during daytime riding, I just wasn't happy with them when it got dark. I have done some reading and found that using just the bulb replacement is not recommended by lighting gurus, a proper reflector is also needed. Now I'm waiting to see what type of LED becomes available for the RG......

 

My neighbor put the HD LED lights on his Ultra Classic Limited, to the tune of around $800, and I will say they definitely are bright. When we ride up to the dealer and pull into the parking lot, the lights from our bikes shine into the glass of the showroom floor. When side by side, I have to say his are at least 2X bighter than my stock lights.

At night, I don't like him riding behind me because I can't look into the rear view mirrors without causing my night vision to go to crap. I just know he is there from all the light.

When I asked him if they were worth it, he said from a safety standpoint, especially in the daytime, they were. He would do it again. I think I will wait until they come down in price.

 

The HID kits are available through quite a few on line vendors. A kit for the Road Glide will cost about $150 and are well worth it. If you are looking for a very specific lighting pattern, measured in inches of where the light falls, you will have to go with the high end racing lighting kits.
Concern for oncoming traffic doesn't seem to matter anymore. As long as you can see the road, that's all that matters.