Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Any ideas on headlight upgrade

Has anyone found a decent headlight modification for an America? The headlight on mine is hopeless. The only difference between high beam and low beam is that high beam spreads much more in front of the bike. Hardly any difference in distance. Have played with adjustment to no avail. Just ended up with oncoming traffic flashing me because i had the light set too high on low beam. Theres got to be something better, Any ideas?

I'm pretty sure at least one person has installed an HID kit.

For sure, Darryl... an effective upgrade is well within reach. Pull that dim bulb out of there and replace it with one of several PIAA H4 bulbs available. Arguably, PIAA makes the best and brightest replacement bulbs available. They are a bit spendy, but get the job done by virtually doubling output without increasing power consumption. Check out your options at the link provided below.

http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-H4.html

+2 PIAA...

I added the Triumph light bar for better light. Was OK but the longer it was on the less I liked it. Looked to bulky and like to many other bikes on the road. Not to mention it was way over priced. Took it off and bought a decent replacement headlamp from MCSuper Store. May have gotten basically the same thing from the local auto parts store. Don't remember if it was the xenon or not but it has a white to blue color output. Spent about $40 and have much better lighting. Brighter light, better spread pattern and I see a good bit more at night with it.

http://www.fasteddysports.com/?page_id=3&category=254

I use the first one on the list,makes a huge difference. I ride a lot at night and the stock light is $hit.

For 15 bucks you can drop an automotive-type sealed beam bulb in the bucket .

I'm guessing that a $15 sealed beam wouldn't light up the road like one o' those PIAA bulbs would. In my case I run 3 PIAA H4s because even my driving lights are hi/low. Now, I don't know how effective the stock lens is because I swapped that out too for an Adjure unit, but the PIAA bulb/Adjure lens combination seems to distribute light very effectively.

I researched HIDs but the jury is still out on them I figure for a number of reasons. LED is up and coming but I haven't researched that per se. But I am pleased with what the PIAA are capable of and I am waaaaaaaay ahead of anything stock.

I run 35w PIAA H3's in the lightbar, also.

Tis is an older thread, but worth adding to.
I've used Sylvania's H4 SilverStar xenon bulb to replace the hi/low beam bulb in the stock Triumph headlight reflector. It gives a much brighter, whiter light that extends further down the road. While a friend tried it on his HD and it only lasted him 5 months of shaking, I'm only on my 2nd bulb after riding with it for almost 6 years. Just make sure the one you buy specifically says (for Motorcycles) on the single bulb package as it's built a bit more rugged. I don't think he had the MC bulb - it takes a bit of searching the auto parts store to find it.
Sylvania rates the bulb at 910/1,500 lumens and has max. 65/72 watts with a 4,000 K (bright white) color temperature. It's a plug and play replacement - just replaces the stock bulb and the stock wiring and switch has not shown any problem at all. I use the hi beam during the day, figuring if I loose that filament, I still have low beam which will be OK to ride with if my ride takes me into the night. I adjust the headlight aim like a normal headlight and the hi beam use during the day doesn't seem to be an issue with oncoming cagers. It's the best $20 lighting improvement I've seen.

One issue with HID lighting you have to consider is the amount of light that isn't radiated on the road. If you don't have a proper reflector, the light could blind oncoming vehicles. Most HID kits have a bit of a disclaimer with them related to installing them in a reflector designed for a Halogen bulb.

They will work but be forwarned.

Did a quick search to see if there were any HID Projector kits for cycles and guess what, they are available. The projector lens will keep the light on the road instead of the oncoming drivers eyes.

HID Projector Kit

Don't ride much at night but I put the PIAA in for visibility during the day along with a modulator. A car in the left turn lane knows I am coming when I through on the high beam and it starts modulating. At night a sensor kicks out the modulation. Cops don't like them, use it enough and you are bound to get pulled over.