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Headlight replacement?

rodr said:
I just noticed a recommendation for this product on the stromtrooper.com forum. Looks really nice.
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Again, waste of money. How do I know? I bought one. It's far brighter than a halogen, so others will see and be annoyed by you. Problem is that it actually reduces the amount of light that is projected forward. So, for the rider, or this rider as the case was, lane visibility at night got substantially worse. :dunno

Wanna buy mine? :thumbup
 
I'd add test your charging voltage first, then test the above. If the power supply (battery) ain't happy, nobody's happy. Your charging voltage could be low but still barely charging.
 
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The best solution I've found so far has been the Eastern Beaver H4 Headlight Relay Kit. Thought it was probably a gimmick, but bought and installed it on my DR350. Huge difference. I think I'm gonna pull it off and put on my F650.
 
Years ago, I would buy the 55/100 H4 bulb. Regular low beam, screaming (and illegal) high beam. Do they still even sell those?
 
DReg350 said:
Again, waste of money. How do I know? I bought one. It's far brighter than a halogen, so others will see and be annoyed by you. Problem is that it actually reduces the amount of light that is projected forward. So, for the rider, or this rider as the case was, lane visibility at night got substantially worse. :dunno

Wanna buy mine? :thumbup
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I personally don't need one, but are you sure you have that particular brand and model? The reviews there sound different from your experience.
 
rodr said:
I just noticed a recommendation for this product on the stromtrooper.com forum. Looks really nice.
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That is so wrong. The LED's aren't even near where a halogen filament is and thus the reflector can't work as it should. 'Designed by people ignorant about optics.
 
rodr said:
I personally don't need one, but are you sure you have that particular brand and model? The reviews there sound different from your experience.
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Same company. The back is different, but the led layout is identical. Maybe it works great on other bikes. :dunno. Sucked on an F650. Get one. Try it. :thumbup
 
rodr said:
Hmm, OK. I found a long thread about their products on advrider. They seem to working well for many.

:dunno
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I'm in that thread. Hey, I wanted that bulb to be the shit. I tried hard to convince myself that it worked. In the end, it's not the shit. It's just shit. Don't take my word for it. Buy one. See for yourself.
 
FWIW, I'm a huge fan of these aux lights. Mondomoto MM10

At $130 with a really simple, well made wiring harness they're going to give you more light and more conspicuity for less work and money than almost anything you can do with your headlight. Mounted low on the forks, I don't think they ruin the aesthetics of a naked bike either.
 
DReg350 said:
I'm in that thread. Hey, I wanted that bulb to be the shit. I tried hard to convince myself that it worked. In the end, it's not the shit. It's just shit. Don't take my word for it. Buy one. See for yourself.
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Tough to argue with that. Evidently the type of reflector matters a lot. Sounds like the product is not ready for prime time. Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
rodr said:
I just noticed a recommendation for this product on the stromtrooper.com forum. Looks really nice.
Click to expand...

Just finished installing this kit on my '12 DL650. I'll let you know what I think after tomorrow mornings commute.
 
DReg350 said:
Same company. The back is different, but the led layout is identical. Maybe it works great on other bikes. :dunno. Sucked on an F650. Get one. Try it. :thumbup
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Don't. Save your money. It's not going to work great on any bike because you can't change the laws of physics. Will it put light out in front of the bike? Of course. Will it direct the light where it needs to be and in the appropriate amounts? No. It can't. (See comments about physics.)

Anecdotal experience is just that. Most people have no idea clues about proper lighting design and how the eye works. Thus, most people will give praise for products that don't deserve it.

If a reflector is designed for a halogen light source, use a proper halogen light source. If a reflector is designed for HID, use a proper HID light source. Same goes for LED. Don't be mixing them up.
 
Another example of people giving a product underserved praise is Bose speaker systems. In a word, they suck. But because people are impressed by things like powerful base and sparkly high frequencies, most people will say a Bose system is fantastic. Until they hear a direct A/B comparison with a good system. Pay no attention to anecdotal praise.
 
It's not just you, Heather. My 2013 Monster's headlight sucks in the dark. I'm quite certain I already have a relay installed and it runs on a dual bulb system for low/high anyway so modifications are a pain in the ass.
 
ST Guy said:
Another example of people giving a product underserved praise is Bose speaker systems. In a word, they suck. But because people are impressed by things like powerful base and sparkly high frequencies, most people will say a Bose system is fantastic. Until they hear a direct A/B comparison with a good system. Pay no attention to anecdotal praise.
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yep. agree with you here. The cost of the lighting kit was reasonable and I can sell it for a little less then what I have into it. Some have praised the effectiveness of the LED upgrade some I'm giving it a try. Perhaps it's an emotional decision and not a logical decision but I'll save that discussion for my therapist.
 
No offense, but I'm not putting that on my bike. It's really ugly. (On sure it's handsome on yours... :). I'll ride around by candle light first. Which isn't all that much dimmer than my headlight.
 
It must be a first generation Monster thing. On our night trip to Hawthorne, Kelly's headlight on her 2000 750 was so damn dim that if I got even a quarter mile in front of her, I'd lose sight of her in my mirrors on the Beemer.
 
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