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Need headlight upgrade

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22K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  Sabre-t  
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#1 · (Edited)
I just picked up a 2003 vulcan 800 classic for my 17 year old son. It is a beautiful bike in perfect condition but it certainly needs a headlight upgrade if i am going to let him ride it. I live off the beaten path a little bit and there are no street lights near me and a lot of wildlife so i need something brighter than stock. The bike does have a add on light bar but still doesn't put out enough light. I have heard the wagner 1210 80/100 is nice and bright but am concerned about the fuse due to the light bar. The bar does have an on off switch but that seems like playing with fire. Any reasonable priced options? I have harleys version of the daymaker on my harley but that was a $500+ Light i would rather not spend that. (Although if mine ever went I would replace with the non harley version, same thing I believe and about $ 200 cheaper.
Please help me out my son gets his motorcycle license at the end of the month so time is of the essence
 
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#2 ·
#4 ·
Great comparison pic PMC.....
 
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#13 ·
As rick says, there are big differences between LED bulbs. The first thing I look for is how many faces it has. There WILL be dim areas with an LED bulb with just 2 faces because of the way LEDs work. I think the Superbright link in the 2nd post was like that, i.e. 2 faces. Yes, it probably does shine 360°, but not equally or even close to equally. I have a 3 face Cyron bulb and it gives a very similar pattern to an incandescent bulb, but they no longer make headlight bulbs with more than 2 sides :mad:. A 4 sided bulb would be even better.

My preference is 3 or more faces, specifies 6000°K color (that is the very white color you see from headlights), and if possible, Cree LEDs. There are lots of very good LEDs out there, but if they specify Cree, you know you're getting a unit made with good LEDs.

Some LED headlights are difficult to install because they have fans right behind the bulb and the bulb spring is hard or impossible to get it to fit to hold the bulb in the correct position. Mine is like that. A few weeks ago, the OEM spring finally gave up and just would not hold the bulb in right. I had to make my own. I saw a link to this bulb https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010QBCZ1O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 on another forum. While they don't specify Cree LEDs, it is 3 faced and 6000°K, and, apparently, the bulb can be separated from the fan making it easy to get the spring on the bulb, then plug the fan back in. Out of 155 reviews, the only negative ones were really idiotic. I would consider this one if I were buying another one, even though it is a little bit pricey, but not nearly as much as some others.
 
#7 ·
I would suggest using a Sylvania Ultra if you want to light up further down the road. Halogen bulbs do tend to dim over time and even a stock type replacement can make a world of difference. If you just want more light without the added distance, LEDs may be what you want. I have seen several reviews that comment much better light, but no added distance, actually better with Halogens. There is also a big difference from one LED bulb to another as far as light scattering, unfocused light. With this all said, a lot of people have been happy with the H4 plug n play LED bulbs available.
 
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#8 ·
I try to stay away from anything sylvania. I bought silverstar ultra in the past for my work truck and they are absolute garbage. The first bulb burned out in 3-4 weeks the second in 3 months. Sylvanias responce was all lights have different life expectancies. That is unacceptable.the headlights i had pulled out were 8 years old and working fine just not bright enough so i know its not an issue with wiring.
I may try led bulbs
 
#9 ·
light

I have the Sylvania H4 Ultra gold or gold ultra a in my bike. Longer beam (further down the road) and wider at the bike (on a 2 lane road fence to fence) , much brighter than the stock halogen bulb, $25 bucks at O'Reilly's. Plug n play of course......

......

Granted it's not an LED, other than the current draw I don't think I'm losing that much light anyway. The bulb has been there for 2 years so far.

Just make sure you keep your oily fingers off the glass!!
 
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#12 ·
Dean said:
I have the Sylvania H4 Ultra gold or gold ultra a in my bike. Longer beam (further down the road) and wider at the bike (on a 2 lane road fence to fence) , much brighter than the stock halogen bulb, $25 bucks at O'Reilly's. Plug n play of course......

......

Granted it's not an LED, other than the current draw I don't think I'm losing that much light anyway. The bulb has been there for 2 years so far.

Just make sure you keep your oily fingers off the glass!!
Click to expand...
My silverstar ultras were sealed beams so fair to say there is zero chance my oily fingers touched the bulb
 
#14 ·
specifies 6000°K color (that is the very white color you see from headlights
.....
I stayed with the 4000, less chance of melting the plastic lens on the front of my headlight.
 
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#15 ·
It's not an actual temperature, it just the color. It's loosely based on the temperature of stars whose color is similar to the color of the bulb light. Incandescent bulbs can get much hotter than LEDs as far as the lens is concerned. The LEDs need localized cooling to prevent damage to the LED phosphor, the epoxy that hold the LED to the substrate, and other such components of the LED bulb itself.
 
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