Headlight upgrade ??????

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cheekykev
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Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by cheekykev »

I know this has been mentioned before, but that was a few years ago, so I’m just wondering if anyone has done a headlight upgrade recently, if so what did they do, and what’s available on the market these days, the dark mornings and the early dark nights are up on us again.
I’m sick of riding round at night with nothing more than a candle light to see where I’m going :eek2 so looking to do something about it; it doesn’t have to be something elaborate, I just want to improve the original excuse for a headlight :thumbdown:
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jchesshyre
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by jchesshyre »

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Cadbury64
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by Cadbury64 »

I have one of these installed; awesome light output and pattern. Earlier LED H4 bulbs lacked a low beam shield so had upwards spill, but the new ones have a shroud that mimics a halogen H4.

http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/3 ... _p_83.html
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Wicky
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by Wicky »

Try an Eager Beaver relay kit that powere the headlight directly from the battery rather than through the switch gear. Ceramic bulb holder rather than the stock nylon one and most effective of all give the lens a clean as often as possible!
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ConTRo13R
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by ConTRo13R »

Retrofitted HID projector, with angel eye and solenoid for high beam cut off

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KermitLeFrog
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by KermitLeFrog »

I've fitted one of the Osram bulbs plus a couple of relays with a direct battery connection. Haven't yet had a chance to ride at night so don't know what the difference is. So, in fact, a totally useless post.







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mik_str
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by mik_str »

I did the Eastern Beaver kit with a Hella 100/55 bulb (works well) and am now running the Cyclops LED kit. The latter works better, is easy to install and doesn't cost a fortune.
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The End
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by The End »

Cadbury64 wrote:I have one of these installed; awesome light output and pattern. Earlier LED H4 bulbs lacked a low beam shield so had upwards spill, but the new ones have a shroud that mimics a halogen H4.

http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/3 ... _p_83.html
That looks quite good if their product comparison images are anything to go by.

Is it just a straight swap for the old bulb?
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Cadbury64
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by Cadbury64 »

Yes the bulb base is a standard H4. There is a small driver unit (about the size of a box of matches) that I stuck to the back of the headlight shell with double-sided tape. And the power connector is the standard 3-prong that fits straight into the existing power supply.

The only tricky part is fitting the fan/LED part back into the bulb base through the stock rubber boot. That is a touch snug, but no real bother.
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bigbadjonno
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by bigbadjonno »

So, here we are in 2019, has anything changed on this topic since the last post 3 years ago?
Mine definitely due an upgrade...
tony.mon
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by tony.mon »

There must be a bolt-on kit by now consisting of a lean-angle sensor and cornering lights?
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
VTRsquid
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by VTRsquid »

Phillips h4 led. Go halvies with a mate or sell the other one. Im not sre id trust a 100w halogen, the bucket on mine had evidence of burning when i pulled it out for a clean. Im thinking the previous owner had a 100w bulb in there at one stage. Bike came with an HID kit which i didn't like.. not that bright, slightly weird colour which annoyed me and a butt ton of superfluous wiring, module boxes relays and inline fuses.

This is the bulb im using, i had one spare from another bike, its the 17watt one with braided heatsink, chosen for the lack of space in the original application i bought it for https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PHILIPS-Ult ... SwHn9bldvm

There is a 23w one with a solid heatsink available, not sure if will fit on our bikes or not; https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Philips-LED ... 3198!AU!-1

Ive tried a few various chinese h4 led bulbs on various bikes and cars, they are all pretty good as long as you choose ones that have the chips placed in such a way as to emulate the position of a halogen filament, and have the low beam sheild built in, but beam pattern can still be sloppy. Ive been most impressed with the phillips one. And gives me the warm and fuzzies knowing it only draws 1/3 the current .
bigbadjonno
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by bigbadjonno »

VTRsquid wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 9:10 pm
This is the bulb im using, i had one spare from another bike, its the 17watt one with braided heatsink, chosen for the lack of space in the original application i bought it for https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PHILIPS-Ult ... SwHn9bldvm
Christ on a bike, how much?.? 8O
It'd have to emulate the sun for that money.
VTRsquid
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Re: Headlight upgrade ??????

Post by VTRsquid »

Yeah, not cheap. Thats about 60 pound for the two. Chinese no-brand can be had for half that. Ive tried a few and the philips ones are better. Not really brighter, but much better beam pattern, which pretty much equates to being brighter for the better focus. And they actually fit. I think they're worth it. Especially if you have two bikes or can get rid of one of them.
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