brighter headlight
 

i know this has bin talked about many times . but i want a brighter headlight for my 08 ultra . i did the search but get confused with all the technical terms . i simply want a brighter headlight bulb that works in the real world . just a bulb i can put in without doing wiring or relays .
i dont need the newest high tech stuff , but just a brighter bulb , getting older and want better night time vision . can the passing lamps have a brighter bulb?
any sugestions?

on my 05 I went to Auto-Zone and got an HST-4 bulb, made by Sylvania .. and just swapped it out like you want to do...HOLY COW! what a difference in high-beam..low beam is the same with this, but when I need light, I hit the high beam and it is great...I hardly ever use the spot lamps anymore..

Will be interesting to see the answers. I have been doing the same search for sometime and am not willing to drop 300 on a led

if the moco really gave a shit for our safety...all of our bikes would come from the factory with the brightest possible legal head lite.

no doubt the oem led is a lot of $$$$ but it is well worth it

i just went thru this with my bike.. i went with www.customdynamics they have allot to choose from the PIAA H4 was my choise 3800/5000 kelvin rateing which means its very white and not that blueish purple. give Tiffiney a call she is very informative. youll be looking at 45$ i think

$70 for HID kit from DDMTuning.... well worth it!!!

BearNVa,

Do you have a link?

I am using 50 watt H3's in the spot lights. Major improvement over stock bulbs. Had to buy the HD lamps and pull the stock H3's. I think they were 37.5 watt rated. As for the H4 in the main lamp, there are many increased wattage bulbs out there. PIAA, Hella, Osram. I tried the silverstar and did not appreciate a profound difference. It might be a different color but they are stock in their watt output, so I don't really know how that is an improvement.

I ordered my 55w 8000k kit last week and it arrived yesterday... however sometimes it might take a little longer...

I orderd a 2012 Ultra with the LED headlights/driving lights. I saw the youtube videos showing the difference. I will be able to tell you if they are as goosd as they are supposed to be. I pick up the bike tomorrow!

I run a HELLA H-4 lamp. 55W lo beam/100W Hi beam. Works for me.

Bear - tnx for the ordering info. I'm thinking of getting the 6000k as I'd like it white as
possible - i.e. not bluish. Have you seen the color differences?

Over 4500K,it loks blue.Ya got a problem with the blueish?

Not a problem - just prefer the white look. But then again, I'm an old fart too.

Since the OP only wants to do bulbs PIAA has some pretty nice ones, that's what I used before I went HID, almost anything is better than OEM.

Color Temp (K) Color Description:
3000k: Yellow light (suitable for fog lights)
4300k : White light with tinges of yellow (closest to daylight, used in OEM applications)
5000K: PURE WHITE LIGHT.
6000K: White light with tinges of blue
8000K: Distinct blue color light
10000K: Bluish-green light
12000K: Bluish-purplish light.

Two new Tri-Glides, both Cool Blue were coming against me on the road Sunday, both had the sharpest looking headlights and spot lights I've ever seen!
I can't say that I have ever seen lights like them before and don't know what they were but I want them on my bike in the worst way.

They seemed to be like a super white/blue. They were like ice-cube laser beams and this was on a super sunny cloudless day.

If anyone knows what they could be please tell me! They've got to be the right choice!

+1 on the PIAA H4. I also bought the PIAA passing lamp bulbs to match the headlight,the wattage is the same as stock but the lights are WAY brighter, just my opinion.

Osram 70/65 H4 lamps are great!! Not overpriced like PIAA crap. The 55/100 by Hella is good, but beware, running your high beams all the time can cause the bulb socket to overheat, and also remember that the extra amps being pulled by the 100 watts is going through your hi beam switch, which is another place that can get a high resistance and possible overheating and failure.

There is a company called Eastern Beaver that sells a direct battery to bulb wiring system, that provides power direct from the battery, and is controlled by relays. It all fits inside the bulb housing, and is plug and play, or plug and "light."

Hella 80/100w bulbs

If you don't mind taking another five minutes, install this for another $38 or so. It's worth it.

Hella 7" E-code headlights

Bingo. The real problem with the HD headlamp isn't the bulb, it's the lens optics. Get an E-code replacement and you'll never be sorry. Night and day difference - literally. Personally, I got a Cibie unit. It cost about twice the Hella that iclick suggests and probably isn't much different. (Iclick - where were you years ago when I did this?)

If interested, I started a thread years ago on this. If I weren't so lazy, I'd look it up for you.

Ultrabrightlights.com ask for danny and order the motorcycle hid kit $99.00 and works great!

Exactly what the rep at DDM Tuning said - "the 55 watt HID at 6000k is very bright and
pretty much washes out the blue". $71 delivery including CA tax - hard to beat. IMHO.

This is the most cost effective path to a truly bright headlight. The housing is far superior to the factory Harley piece, and would be a huge improvement all by itself. I've been using one with the Hella 80/100W bulb for a year and a half now, lots of it at night with the high beam on, and have yet to suffer any ill effects. I was told I needed to replace the headlight connector socket with a ceramic one to use the high power bulb, but I didn't do it. No signs of heat degradation at all, no ill effects to the switches, wiring, etc. If you think about it, a Road glide with two headlights will have about the same current as one of these bright Hella's. Also, if you're already replacing the bulb, then it takes no extra time at all to swap the housing since you already have it out for the bulb change.

The difference between stock and my current setup is like, well, night and day.:D

I run a PIAA Star White...way better than stock, under $30, I believe.

My son installed the new HD LED headlight and it is the brightest I have ever seen. It is a "plug and play" product. You just remove the existing lense and plug in the new LED light. I could not afford that though so I use the Sylvania SilverStar ULTRA 9003 Halogen headlight. NOT THE PREMIUM BUT THE ULTRA!!! It it 50% brighter, shines 40% further down the road and shines 50% wide to the sides than the standard cheap HD stock light (as stated by Sylvania). The only problem is, when you get a incandescent type light that is brighter, you also get a shorter lifespan for that bulb. For me, it is worth it!!! Check them out an almost any auto parts store. There you can read the back and see comparison to the life span between the standard and the ultra. I get mine at O'Riley's Auto Parts ($29) and they have a standard 1 year guarantee on all parts they sell. I believe that also includes headlight bulbs. If you want to see some picture comparisons of the bulb, here is a link to the Sylvania site that has that.

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...lverStarUltra/

Keep in mind that these are pictures from a car not a bike but I still think they do it justice. I love the one I have on my Sportster!

Thhis is what I use and it is a great inprovement. Thinking on going the LED route though.

Dang, I forgot about those!!! having a RG, I don't have that option. You used to be able to get an E code housing for the Glide, but they have been unavailable for several years.

Not big on the HIDs, mostly due to the housing optics not being compatible to the HID capsule. That, plus the number of summons I write for illegal HID installations........

this one work very well for OEM replacement. order a couple because of shipping.
http://www.rmeuropean.com/Part-Numbe..._2439488A.aspx

patrick

Your thread from April 2008 was started a few months before I researched and bought the Hella E-code headlights. I've had the Hella headlight installed since Sept. '08 and although I had run E-code lights on my cars I had never researched it for a MC until that time. My old RK had a Bosch fluted DOT headlight (stock HD) which worked well, but I wasn't happy with the non-fluted HD light that came on my '07 SG. It looked good but the cosmetic appeal was gained at a loss in performance. I did some checking and found that Hella (German) was no less reputable than Cibie (French) in enthusiast circles, and the price was the clincher for me with the Hella coming in at half the price of the Cibie. I would've considered Marchal, Carello, or Auteroche if I could've found them, as I used most of these as well as Hella and Cibie at one time or another in my cars, long before H4 was standard equipment or well-known with the public. I quickly learned to respect the E-code pattern, which is superior to the DOT-code variant, and I think they are a very underrated option for HD owners.

PIAA H4 Headlamp
 

I just installed a PIAA H4 "Intense White" bulb in the headlamp of my 2010 Electra Glide. Almost immediately the headlamp began to fill with smoke (or what appeared to be smoke). Anyone have any idea why?

subscribing to this thread. thanks.

Interesting info...thanks

Thanks for the info guys. I bought a PIAA Extreme white bulb. The improvement in brightness is significant compared to the cost.

Trucklite 7" LED Kury LED passing lamps. Bright and white.

I've usually replaced the stock bulbs in my scoots with lamps from Walter's Workshop. Good products and prices.

I am running exactly this, and I wouldn't trade this combo for anything. The E-code reflector/lens is the secret. My low-beam is super wide and bright, and my high beam is absolutely positively devastating to anything in it's path. A true flame thrower!

Oh, yeah, and no goofy weird novelty blues and purples...

PS: Yes, they are available for the Roadglide. http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=733 Somebody correct me if these won't fit the Fugly.