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Headlight replacement?

DucatiHoney said:
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.
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Wait, wut? I've seen your bike, ugly would blend right in. Do you think that headlight might draw attention away from the little toy gun strapped to the handlebars?
 
Those things are my "road barnacles". They are a patina that's the result of many miles and stories. We're talking headlights though. I don't want something too plastic looking on there. Looks just fine on a shiny modern bike. It would look dumb on mine. One bright perfect object on my bike...? The pegs aren't even matched anymore.
 
SFSV650 said:
^one of my colleagues has that headlight on his Honda Hawk, I'll ask him how when I see him.
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For what they're asking, I'm betting it's a crappy light and it's certainly not DOT certified.

Good lighting that works is NOT cheap. You will NOT find any bargains on the internet. If you want good lighting, get quality driving lights like the larger lights from Clearwater or some HID driving lights from Hella. Yes, they'll cost more than the bargain crap, but they'll really work. And they'll really last. Think of them as a safety enhancement. Riders often think nothing of spending 500+ on a helmet or brake upgrades or suspension upgrades but balk at good lighting. 'Can't figure that one out.

And keep this thought in the back of your mind. While a helmet will eventually need to be replace in about 5 years, and brake or suspension upgrades cannot be moved to a new bike when you get one, lighting can easily be removed from your old bike and installed on the new one. And it'll last one hell of a lot longer than a helmet.

So, upgrade the stock lighting with better wiring and better bulbs (halogen in halogen reflectors) and then buy some quality driving lights.

You WILL be happy. :thumbup
 
Why not put a set of fog lights on? My brother had it on his bike and I wasn't so sure, now I have them and have them on day and night and people actually do see you... You can get smaller ones and mount them somewhere hidden. They do cost some but it's the best money I've spent so far. Next will be the Hella Horns...
 
ST Guy said:
So, upgrade the stock lighting with better wiring and better bulbs (halogen in halogen reflectors) and then buy some quality driving lights.

You WILL be happy. :thumbup
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Gotta agree with ST Guy. If you can't replace the whole housing with a Cibie or Hella, get better halogen bulbs and aux driving lights. I think he already posted a link to Daniel Stern Lighting. Very reliable and know their stuff about lighting.
 
2wheelnut said:
Why not put a set of fog lights on? My brother had it on his bike and I wasn't so sure, now I have them and have them on day and night and people actually do see you... You can get smaller ones and mount them somewhere hidden. They do cost some but it's the best money I've spent so far. Next will be the Hella Horns...
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'Nothing wrong with fog lights, though they are poor at lighting up the road ahead of you. Fog lights are made to minimize reflections from the light off the fog and back to you. It is also assumed that you're driving relatively slowly as they won't light things out in front of you very far. And if there's no fog, all they get you is being more visible. Since fog generally isn't common around here, at least not real fog, get quality driving lights. Not only will they get you seen like fog lamps will, you'll be able to see better yourself which fog lamps aren't so good at.
 
I ended up getting an HID replacement bulb recommended by my shop. It's better, but not fantastic. In the process of replacing the bulb it was discovered that the connector is melted down, so that might be causing part of my problems. Got a replacement coming.
 
Boo. Even the HID bulbs with "shields" have the light output coming from the wrong place compared to a halogen bulb. Your headlight is now producing significantly more glare than stock, though I've known plenty of people who never dip their highs, so...

On an old bike with weak electronics to begin with (all Monsters), the way to go is a modern LED projector from Truck Lite or JW Speaker. There is even a chance your bike might start, run, and charge better. They're pricey, but can be moved to other bikes when sold, etc...

If you really want to cheap out, fix/clean all the connectors, run the highs and lows through their own relays directly from the battery, and install a quality (Philips, Flösser, Osram, Hella) H4 bulb. It will be better than when new.
 
Tremelune said:
... If you really want to cheap out, fix/clean all the connectors, run the highs and lows through their own relays directly from the battery, and install a quality (Philips, Flösser, Osram, Hella) H4 bulb. It will be better than when new.
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Eastern Beaver Motorcycle H4 Headlight Relay Kits :thumbup

Put one on my DR350. Made a HUGE difference. I know this for a fact because I was once on a Dual Sport group ride, and we found ourselves riding after dark. I'd been comfortably riding mid-pack all day long. After the sun went down and daytime turned to black, the fast guys stopped and asked me to take the lead into Clear Creek. :laughing
 
I need to replace the connector and some of the wiring still. We'll see if that makes this thing OMG-bright. As it stands, the way that I have it aimed and the light output is quite reasonable. My husband has the same exact bike with the stock headlight his and mine are now comparable.
 
Glad this thread got bumped. Think I'll order that relay kit for the DS bikes. Bothing like riding in BAJA in the dark.
 
The Trucklite Phase 7 LED headlight was already mentioned but I have to recommend going this route over any other. I replaced my oem headlight on the Triumph Thruxton with a Truckite and it put out a more use able light pattern and brighter light than any HID bulb can. Yeah I have done an HID bulb before and it just put out a lot of scattered light. The trucklite replaces the entire headlight glass, reflector and bulb. You can usually find them online for about 180 dollars.
 
Hey all
Just a heads up that the mondomoto mm10's are on a $99 special this weekend. I had them on the last bike, and I just ordered some for the new bike. If you want a lot of light, for not a lot of money, and you don't want to solder anything, you could do a lot worse.
 
Inteeeeeeeresting. I think I need to put new carbs into my bike (throttle got stuck OPEN the other day... Fun...not. Thank goodness I remembered there's a kill switch.). So I'll be investing in that first. And probably a new set of rotors.
 
DucatiHoney said:
I ended up getting an HID replacement bulb recommended by my shop. It's better, but not fantastic. In the process of replacing the bulb it was discovered that the connector is melted down, so that might be causing part of my problems. Got a replacement coming.
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Wait wut? Are you running an HID bulb in the stock housing? :wtf :shame :facepalm

If so, you know better Heather. :|:laughing
 
DucatiHoney said:
Inteeeeeeeresting. I think I need to put new carbs into my bike (throttle got stuck OPEN the other day... Fun...not. Thank goodness I remembered there's a kill switch.). So I'll be investing in that first. And probably a new set of rotors.
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I'm not saying you should get flatslides, but you should get flatslides.
 
DucatiHoney said:
Inteeeeeeeresting. I think I need to put new carbs into my bike (throttle got stuck OPEN the other day... Fun...not. Thank goodness I remembered there's a kill switch.). So I'll be investing in that first. And probably a new set of rotors.
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That sounds scary!
I am by no means an expert, especially not on your bike, but if you have a throttle return cable and a spring to actuate it, I'd lubricate or replace those first before digging into the carbs. I had the same issue on a ninja 250 and a new cable and a clean spring fixed the issue. Ymmv.
 
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