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[hard10]

As a function of both declining night vision now that I've reached the latter half of my 40s ...

Is the what I have to look forward to? At 39, I'm just starting my mid-life crisis. Now you're telling me that I'm gonna loose my night time vision. Is there any thing else I need to know?

[Twolanerider]

Is the what I have to look forward to? At 39, I'm just starting my mid-life crisis. Now you're telling me that I'm gonna loose my night time vision. Is there any thing else I need to know?

I got glasses for the first time about a year and a half ago AJ.  At 39 I was still testing better than 20/20 and didn't notice any difference at night.  I'm told this is pretty normal for about this age, in fact better than many.  But I still find it annoying.  Even with the night vision of a 19 year old our headlights would still suck though. 

What else to know though.....   

Oh yeah, at 39 I still had hair

[hard10]

I got glasses for the first time about a year and a half ago AJ.  At 39 I was still testing better than 20/20 and didn't notice any difference at night.  I'm told this is pretty normal for about this age, in fact better than many.  But I still find it annoying.  Even with the night vision of a 19 year old our headlights would still suck though. 

What else to know though.....   

Oh yeah, at 39 I still had hair

Well, I still have my hair! But I do wear glasses.

[ESJ JESTER]

The very day i hit 40 i was at the eye dr saying  no to the bi-focal   word.   i still dont have em but ...   Hey Don,  can I assume the hid would not work with a headlight modulator?  They cycle I believe 120 times a min. 

[erniezap]

Don,

Great find!  Looks great, easy install.  Please let me know if you come up with something for the running lights.

BTW, you're getting good at spending my money! 

[Twolanerider]

The very day i hit 40 i was at the eye dr saying  no to the bi-focal   word.   i still dont have em but ...   Hey Don,  can I assume the hid would not work with a headlight modulator?  They cycle I believe 120 times a min. 

Bi-focals.  Yeap.  That's what happened here. Went from never having had glassed to bi-focals all at once.  Knew the need was coming for about a year.  Then just couldn't put it off anymore.  Fortunately I can still pass the driver's test without them.

HID with a headlight modulator would be a now go.  Ignitor needs to keep the bulb energized.  These digital ignitors can fire very quickly.  But the systems aren't designed for modulation. 

Since modulation is all about being seen rather than seeing I'm sure now the red bike that stupendously ugly difference between the blue HID and the harsh yellow/white spot lights will attract everyone's attention  .

[Chief]

Bi-focals.  Yeap.  That's what happened here. Went from never having had glassed to bi-focals all at once.  Knew the need was coming for about a year.  Then just couldn't put it off anymore.  Fortunately I can still pass the driver's test without them.

HID with a headlight modulator would be a now go.  Ignitor needs to keep the bulb energized.  These digital ignitors can fire very quickly.  But the systems aren't designed for modulation. 

Since modulation is all about being seen rather than seeing I'm sure now the red bike that stupendously ugly difference between the blue HID and the harsh yellow/white spot lights will attract everyone's attention  .

2L,

Forgive me for not doing my own homework, but are the bulbs in the spots replaceable? HID maybe? If so, $1,000 full front-end light upgrade? Would have to bury that receipt in the back yard.

Chief

[ronshood2000]

Bifocal is not so bad, especially since now I can read the newspaper.  

The light looks a little on the Blue side of the color spectrum. I really understand the need for the higher intensity lights, cause I too upgraded my 97 RK with the dual Bulbs, but on the oncoming traffic side of things, I can't tell is someone has their Hi-beams on, riding on these back country two lane unlit roads out here in the country. These country roads are dangerous enough at night without being blinded. Know what I mean? I guess it's a necessary evil.

[hd-dude]

As always, a great write up and install report Don! They look really good! Now onto the spots

[Twolanerider]

Don,

Great find!  Looks great, easy install.  Please let me know if you come up with something for the running lights.

BTW, you're getting good at spending my money! 

Thanks Ernie.  This was something that I'd really been needing to accomplish if I was going to ride at night very much.  The stock light package was so poor you just didn't trust it at night out on the two lanes.  So I feel pretty good about finding these that both at least initially seem to work so well and were so easy to go on.

While looking I did find a place that offered a HID version of the spotlights.  Never pursued it though.  Their ignitors were a bit larger.  Still would have required one ignitor for each bulb.  And I knew I didn't want to give up what limited fairing space I had for ignitors for the spotlights.  The headlights were the goal.

As is I've got to be about done inside the fairing.  Really no space to shoe horn anything else new in there.  There are some bulbs that perform a lot better than the stock pieces.  But, at least for me, HID was the headlight alternative rather than the spotlights.

[Twolanerider]

2L,

Forgive me for not doing my own homework, but are the bulbs in the spots replaceable? HID maybe? If so, $1,000 full front-end light upgrade? Would have to bury that receipt in the back yard.

Chief

Chief, Harley offers us a few different spotlight options.  They're all a replaceable bulb of some type or another.  Harley offers nothing for HID lights for the spots.  I only found one place that did.  But that still required one ignitor per bulb and they weren't fully digital ignitors.  So they were larger and, if I remember, had a relatively extensive hook up to them.  Not anything I was interested in.

[Twolanerider]

As always, a great write up and install report Don! They look really good! Now onto the spots

Thanks Jim.  And you're really really right. Need to find a different bulb for the spots. 

Knew there'd be some difference in appearance.  Just couldn't know beforehand how much; and how ugly they'd be.  Fortunately the spots just widen the field rather than extending it so all I'm looking for now is just a good bright bulb with a blue hue to it.  Don't have to worry about anything expensive.  The headlights took care of that part.

[Twolanerider]

Bifocal is not so bad, especially since now I can read the newspaper.  

The light looks a little on the Blue side of the color spectrum. I really understand the need for the higher intensity lights, cause I too upgraded my 97 RK with the dual Bulbs, but on the oncoming traffic side of things, I can't tell is someone has their Hi-beams on, riding on these back country two lane unlit roads out here in the country. These country roads are dangerous enough at night without being blinded. Know what I mean? I guess it's a necessary evil.

Ron, the times I've been in a cage with HID lights people don't seem to flash them too much if you accidentally stay on high beam.  Even if it happens occasionally if someone mistakes this low beam for a high beam it'll still be worth gain.  Fortunately the low beam optics disperse the light such that I really don't expect it.  But I'm not going to worry about it happening too much.

[ronshood2000]

I think you are right and I agree. Personal safety is paramount.

[naitram]

OK, dumb question time...... would this have worked with your stock headlight housing? I'd like to do something like the with the SERK, but i have a sealed bulb, not sure what the actual parts list i would need is