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Author Topic: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install  (Read 5624 times)

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Dan_Lockwood

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LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« on: May 31, 2017, 11:50:58 AM »

Okay, I went cheap.  I just could NOT see $750 for the Road Glide HD LED Daymaker headlamps assembly.

This is the lumen rating on the LED headlight assembly I bought.

Luminous flux : High Beam 45w x 2 - 90w,  3600LM x 2 - 7200LM,  Low Beam 30w x 2 - 60w,  2400LM x 2 - 4800LM

I found the lumen spec on the HD unit,  and they are the same as the one I bought.  I saw many on eBay that had the same high beam lumens, but the low beams were only 1600L. 

I paid $169.99 for mine with free shipping.  I figured that I couldn't to too far wrong at that price.

Here's what I started with.



This is the new one on top and my original H4 unit on the bottom.



Here's what came with the kit.  The rag is clean, just stained.  I never throw anything away, just keep cleaning and reusing.

The two round plastic sleeves go over the two center mounted studs on the back of the aluminium housings.  This is incorporated into the metal bracket that adds support to the headlight bucket because they are about twice the weight of the original unit.



The long curved tool at the top is from Kent Moore tool company that supplies tools to automotive dealerships etc.  I had this for many decades and finally found a good use for it when I bought the '09 SERG.  With a ground down socket on the end, I can just slide it on the two lower adjuster pins and adjust the vertical/side to side beam adjustment.



Here is the new LED unit installed in the fairing.  You can see the two plastic sleeves on the two aluminium studs in the middle.





Here is one half of the steel support on the inside.  The top hole and the middle hole are transferred onto the plastic for drilling.  I should remind everyone here that there are NO instructions with this and you're left on your own to figure out where all the parts end up going.  The part with the two studs goes on the front of the fairing.



Here is the front part with the studs through the holes I drilled.







Here's the two steel parts bolted in place.

I will say that hindsight is 20/20.  When I installed the brackets, I should have moved them up a bit, but where they are seemed to be a neutral positioning and that's why I drilled it there.  BUT... the two catch mounts on the bike that hook into the fairing slots are partially blocked by the steel upper "T" areas.  I had to remove the inside part and cut upward a bit to allow full access to the slots in the fairing.  I could NOT get the fairing to snap into place. 



Also the wiring ends on the LED's were a bit bulkier that the original wiring.  I found that they would hang down in the way of the fairing upon installation.  So I looped a piece of chalk line around the two leads and held them up into the empty space.  Another thing to do is to tighten the 3-prong headlight plugs a bit.  The wiring spades on the new LED unit are thinner and do not grip as well into the 3-prong plugs.  I also taped the two together so they could not unplug due to vibration etc.

The adjusters that come with the new kit worked well.  But I had to put a little grease on the adjuster threads to get the adjusters to turn easy enough in the plastic fairing retainers.

The headlight bezel was a bit stubborn, but a few good whacks and the four prongs snapped into place.

The only thing is that the new LED assembly sets back into the fairing a LOT more than the original assembly does.  The adjusters are threaded in about 1/2" to 3/4" further. 

When the beam is "close" to correct, the top of the clear housing lens sticks out a lot through the bezel.  At first I had the assembly aligned to that the lens, top to bottom, was about equal.  When I turned on the light, it was shinning about 10' up at about 20' away.  I had to really thread out the lower adjusters to get the beam down.  And this is when I saw the great difference between the top and bottom lens to bezel distances.

I will have to say that the assembly is VERY BRIGHT...  :2vrolijk_21:

I have a headlight modulator on the bike and I remember Harry said that he could not see me very well when I followed him last May.  I tried the modulator on the LED's and it worked.... But not right.  On the H4's it would modulate between 50% and 100%.  On the LED's, they're either on or off, not in between on these babies... :(  It looked cool and there's no way someone would miss the on/off of the low beams, but it looked very much like a cop bike and I felt that if the cops saw they would write me up as impersonating a cop.  So I took out the modulator and hope that being a LOT brighter now will be good enough.

All in all, I think I'll like the new lights.  The ES trip will be the proof, I hope.

I hope this helps some of you making a decision on buying or not.  So far for $169, I think I got a good deal.  There are some in the $149 or a bit cheaper out there, but not at the same low beam lumens as this one.

Let me know if you have any questions and hope to see LOTS of new faces in ES.  Ride safe and see you all there!   :2vrolijk_21:  :2vrolijk_21:
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Dan

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Board Track Racer Project, Ultima 113"/6spd
2021 Coleman UT400 Side By Side

Twolanerider

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #1 on: May 31, 2017, 11:57:14 AM »

I installed on my old Road Glide yesterday also Dan.  Love the light.  Works great and easy install. 

"I can see clearly now..."

To adjust the Road Glide headlight adjusters I've always just put a socket on a little thumb wheel ratchet.  There's room to get your hands down there.

Actually ordered the one here a few months ago and only yesterday got around to installing.  It's not marked so no clue which low beam output unit I've got.  Whatever it is it puts out a truly effective amount of light at night though.  I'm a happy camper too.
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GregKhougaz

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2017, 12:24:57 PM »

There is no reason other than gouging that the Harley Daymakers  need to be as expensive as they are. The price of LEDs in nearly every industry have fallen greatly.  Kudos if you found one that performs and is less expensive. When I had my 2009 Road Glide, the Daymakers were far better then the LED headlights on my 15. I miss them!
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grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2018, 07:39:12 PM »

I installed on my old Road Glide yesterday also Dan.  Love the light.  Works great and easy install. 

"I can see clearly now..."

To adjust the Road Glide headlight adjusters I've always just put a socket on a little thumb wheel ratchet.  There's room to get your hands down there.

Actually ordered the one here a few months ago and only yesterday got around to installing.  It's not marked so no clue which low beam output unit I've got.  Whatever it is it puts out a truly effective amount of light at night though.  I'm a happy camper too.

Thanks for the pics and description, I'll be installing mine shortly. The price has come down again and was able to get mine for $130 delivered.
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Twolanerider

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2018, 09:46:12 AM »

Thanks for the pics and description, I'll be installing mine shortly. The price has come down again and was able to get mine for $130 delivered.

If the experience here is anything to go by you'll be pleased Lou.  Works consistently and shines well.  Good long distance optics/reflector.  Feel much better at night than with what was in before.
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grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2018, 02:08:13 PM »

If the experience here is anything to go by you'll be pleased Lou.  Works consistently and shines well.  Good long distance optics/reflector.  Feel much better at night than with what was in before.

I hope to have the same experience, must have checked tracking three time already today.
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Dan_Lockwood

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2018, 07:37:08 AM »

Mine are still working as they did new.  I love the brighter frontend for visibility during the day as I don't really ride a lot at night.

You'll love them.

I did find that many of the cheaper than my setups didn't have as high of "low" lumens as the one I bought.  Most seem to have the same "high" lumens.  So look at the specs to make sure you pick the highest lumens available.
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Dan

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grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2018, 12:27:07 PM »

Your right, I checked and found mine will be less lumens. The specs are hidden or not displayed in many of the on-line offers. I'll post my results and hopefully will be better than stock.
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grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2018, 11:18:52 AM »

I received the headlight conversion yesterday and found it "not as described and damaged".  Evidently there are two units, one for the early RG's and one for the later models. The description on ebay mistakenly showed the unit for the later models although I was buying the unit for the earlier RG's.
The newer model has a screw on wire heat shield and no extra red wires that go to ??  The extra red wires and the fact that bezel had deep abrasions and would have to be filled, sanded, and painted plus no heat shield made me ask for a refund. The seller has offered to find out what the red wires are for, supply the heat shield and compensate for the bezel repair, but I'm done with this.
The other items I purchased from him were fine and will be going on the bike today. The weather in SoCal has been very cold and it even snowed just above where I live yesterday so I've got the down time to deal with this. Hey, what could go wrong   :nixweiss:

















« Last Edit: March 01, 2018, 11:08:47 AM by grandpadoc »
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grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2018, 11:29:34 AM »

update  :)

I did a lot of research last night and found that the unit he sent me was correct for my 2000 RG just that the image was for the later models.
The newer (2003-2013) model runs brighter and hotter and needs the Harness Protector. The red wires it turns out are for the European units which have low voltage marker lights for night time parking. The European factory units have a HD shield that glows at night built in. The folks that get the EU version are using the red wires to power up accessories.
I'll try the install today, what could go wrong   :nixweiss:
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Dan_Lockwood

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2018, 12:01:59 PM »

This is the setup I bought for my '09 SERG.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-5-3-4-LED-Headlight-Projector-Daymaker-Lamp-For-Harley-Road-Glide-98-13/232196263553?hash=item360ff9ce81:g:5z8AAOSw5cNYeBgP

As I said, this setup has the higher low beam lumens.

Good luck with your upgrade.
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Dan

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Board Track Racer Project, Ultima 113"/6spd
2021 Coleman UT400 Side By Side

grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2018, 12:44:49 PM »

Thanks Dan, Looking at your install pics and couldn't figure out why the front plate was shaped like that and not completely flat. Must be right though.
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Twolanerider

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2018, 02:15:42 PM »

It's worth fighting a bit to get it done Lou.  End result is worth the effort. 
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grandpadoc

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2018, 02:23:00 PM »

Had to get around some issues, but couldn't handle this screw up. The new adjusters don't have a hex head, so how does that work ?  I'm glad Dan sent me the link to the one he got. I'm returning this one and getting what he has.
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Twolanerider

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Re: LED "Daymaker" LIKE Road Glide LED Headlight Assy Install
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2018, 10:20:51 PM »

Couldn't use the original adjuster screws?  On mine they were the same size ball head.
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