Headlight brightness

[Bob Sdaman_imp]

I'm the second owner of my 2013, so maybe the original owner changed the bulb at some point, but this headlight leaves me with some true discontent. (But the bike is only 5000 miles old). There's been some great weather around here for a bit of after-work riding, it just gets dark really early. So my weekday options lately have been to ride at night, or not ride at all. Loving this bike as I do, y'all can guess what option I'll take!

Those PIAA bulbs look promising, and they seem to get good reviews, but I'm also intrigued by the thought of an LED.
The Harley guys say they're true "Day-makers", and they sell for about $400 bucks I believe. Has anyone else looked into this? I believe you'd need an adapter for the power supply, and then figure out a mounting solution.

This is a really expensive upgrade, half the cost of a Staintune, but it's something I would think is really worth it, if it performs well.
And who can ignore how cool they look.

[Jim21680_imp]

Bob's da Man...I think the 7" Daymaker from HD is well over $500 bucks, and it says "Harley Davidson" right across the front.
I'm sure it's possible to adapt it to our bikes, but I'm not aware of any wiring adapter that exists (i'm not sure why anyone would make such a thing).

Before you spend that kind of money, it might be helpful to read through this thread:
http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread....=headlight

I've been running an LED bulb in my headlamp for quite a few months now, and couldn't be happier with it. It's a great upgrade if you're looking for better-lit roads.
Our lamp buckets were not designed for an LED, but the one I picked up seems to work beautifully (there are numerous H4 options out there; some good, some not-so-good).

[Olyrider]

Bob's da Man...I think the 7" Daymaker from HD is well over $500 bucks, and it says "Harley Davidson" right across the front.
I'm sure it's possible to adapt it to our bikes, but I'm not aware of any wiring adapter that exists (i'm not sure why anyone would make such a thing).

Before you spend that kind of money, it might be helpful to read through this thread:
http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread....=headlight

I've been running an LED bulb in my headlamp for quite a few months now, and couldn't be happier with it. It's a great upgrade if you're looking for better-lit roads.
Our lamp buckets were not designed for an LED, but the one I picked up seems to work beautifully (there are numerous H4 options out there; some good, some not-so-good).

In September, a customer brought their 2014 CTX700, bought from us, into our shop. They wanted to initiate a warranty claim for bad parts. (They had a "professional installer" replace their headlight bulb with an LED. It melted the reflector!)

Here's the funny part. FSVoF. (For some value of funny) They wanted to file a warranty claim for a defective reflective. :-) So they removed the LED and put the oem bulb back in. When they brought the bike to us, with the original
bulb, they denied there had ever been any modifications. Then they, husband & wife, went off on poor Honda manufacturing. Got a little carried away, IMHO. Since they had also had their dash LEDs changed, and some other LED stuff done, I looked for them on Facebook. They proudly showed off the LED headlight mod on their FB page. We didn't mention it to them. Just denied the warranty claim...which was "after" expiration anyway. They left the store complaining to all that Honda was a rip-off company. Swore we'd all be in court.

[Jim21680_imp]

Ha! What crumbs. I love the Facebook investigation; it's amazing how often social media can be used for stuff like that. I use it at work fairly often.

[4 Paws_imp]

Have upgraded many motorcycle headlights with different bulbs for very reasonable costs. ADV rider has numerous threads on this, as does - believe it or not - Soviet Steeds (the Ural forum).

Haven't "seen" the need to replace the CB bulb with another.

[kmoney_imp]

I've thought of getting one of these H4 LED conversions from Cyclops.

http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/38..._p_83.html

Reviews seem positive and it's really not that expensive (it's really downright cheap if it actually delivers on what it promises). It seems surprisingly hard to find good information on lighting.

[Frulk_imp]

I'm not saying it can't be improved upon but to REALLY appreciate just how BRIGHT the CB1100 headlight is find a friend with a KLR650...2008 or later. Ask to ride it for about 10 minutes on a back road at night. Then immediately afterwards climb on your CB and take it for a spin. It will seem as if the surface of the Sun has been mounted in front of your handlebars....Perspective!

[Jim21680_imp]

^Yep, that's the same feeling I got when riding with the stock bulb vs the LED.

The CB's original light was certainly adequate, but I'm starting to think it's my cars that got me accustomed to a new level of night vision.
I regularly go between an S2000 (with its original HIDs), and a TLX (with Acura's new "Jewel Eye" LED headlights).

Once you see how good it can be, it's hard to go back to the incandescents.

[Elipten_imp]

Wow it is better that I stay ignorant of better lights then. When I first drove my CB1100 I was very impressed by the good light versus my 1990 BMW K75RT!


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