2014 Headlight
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,462
Likes: 121
From: Northern Illinois
When I bought my XR1200 used it came with a Daymaker. I thought it was the worst POS headlight I ever saw. It dawned on my thick skull one night that it may not be aimed correctly. I adjusted the headlight, and WOW that thing is the best headlight I have had by a mile!!
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,670
Likes: 139
From: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
You should base your purchase decision on real-world experience and real-world testing. I myself complained about the first set of Daymakers that were released saying they were crap. I had them on for a total of 4 days. I agree that's not enough time to actually form an educated opinion and who knows, maybe I adjusted them incorrectly. The LEDs that HD has out now which most think are Trucklite LEDs are IMO much better. Adjusted properly based on your weight as a rider will give off as much if not more visibility than a standard headlight to other traffic during daylight hours. I guarantee you that the majority of the complaints you see all over the place are very subjective and way too many variables to make a decision based upon.
Go check it out for yourself. I know the roadies with the old style Daymakers are bright as can be on a clear day and can be seen from a mile away.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,693
Likes: 17
From: Ontario Canada
When I bought my XR1200 used it came with a Daymaker. I thought it was the worst POS headlight I ever saw. It dawned on my thick skull one night that it may not be aimed correctly. I adjusted the headlight, and WOW that thing is the best headlight I have had by a mile!!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 84
From: New Jersey
I had the dealer adjust both, the headlight and the spots and then I've gone back and adjusted and adjusted and adjusted, both the headlight and the spots with little to no satisfaction. If I get the low beam where I can see decently the high beam is so high is good for not much more than coon hunting. If I adjust it where I can actually use the high beam I have to slow down to a crawl in turns because I can't see hardly anything past 40' in front of me. That's a scary feeling going into curves blind. Adjusting the spots and having them programmed to stay on with high beam has helped but it's still not good. I can honestly see twice as good with the headlights on both of our 2003 Heritage Softail and the 2007 883Low than I can using the brand new, fancy, high tech 2014 Daymaker. Seriously thinking about swapping in something else.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 84
From: New Jersey
I had the dealer adjust both, the headlight and the spots and then I've gone back and adjusted and adjusted and adjusted, both the headlight and the spots with little to no satisfaction. If I get the low beam where I can see decently the high beam is so high is good for not much more than coon hunting. If I adjust it where I can actually use the high beam I have to slow down to a crawl in turns because I can't see hardly anything past 40' in front of me. That's a scary feeling going into curves blind. Adjusting the spots and having them programmed to stay on with high beam has helped but it's still not good. I can honestly see twice as good with the headlights on both of our 2003 Heritage Softail and the 2007 883Low than I can using the brand new, fancy, high tech 2014 Daymaker. Seriously thinking about swapping in something else.
Not trying to be a smart ***. I'm 58 and I find the bright blue/white temperature of LED and HID headlights REALLY annoying to look into/at with oncoming traffic but awesome to have on MY vehicle. I think older eyes get more sensitive to those light frequencies.
Maybe older eyes like the LED and younger eyes prefer the warmer analog lights. Maybe I'm full of it. Lol.
How old are you?
Not trying to be a smart ***. I'm 58 and I find the bright blue/white temperature of LED and HID headlights REALLY annoying to look into/at with oncoming traffic but awesome to have on MY vehicle. I think older eyes get more sensitive to those light frequencies.
Maybe older eyes like the LED and younger eyes prefer the warmer analog lights. Maybe I'm full of it. Lol.
Not trying to be a smart ***. I'm 58 and I find the bright blue/white temperature of LED and HID headlights REALLY annoying to look into/at with oncoming traffic but awesome to have on MY vehicle. I think older eyes get more sensitive to those light frequencies.
Maybe older eyes like the LED and younger eyes prefer the warmer analog lights. Maybe I'm full of it. Lol.
Everybody I have seen on the road with them stick out like a sore thumb to me, that bright white light is attention grabbing or at least it is to me. I do recall seeing a couple that the headlights didn't seem that bright but it looked they were aimed down. My wife has the phase7 on her street glide and when standing above the bike it don't look bright but when I am sitting level it is.
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Hi "offthewall", I know you're not trying to be a smartass. I'm 50 and I agree that as I get older the brighter lights are harder to look into from oncoming traffic. I was using the light blue tinted glasses at night because they are awesome for dealing with glare from other lights. I've switched back to clear to try and help me see outwards with this new headlight. The lighting width of the Daymaker is great, although the high beam does get significantly narrow compared to the low beam. It's the abrupt cutoff of the top and bottom field of light that get to me as much as anything. I expected the Daymaker to flood the countryside with light, especially on high beam but that's just not been the case. My 2007 Ultra Classic with a Silverstar Ultra bulb showed me much more of where I was going.
I also want to add that a great deal of my driving is done out of town on country roads and deer, along with dead skunks, possum, rabbits, squirrels, cats, etc are not uncommon. I'll continue to adjust and hope that I find just the right combination but I'm getting tired of adjusting every evening when I get off the bike.