TOPIC:

Hey fellas I'm looking to install some auxiliary or fog lights on my 82 KZ1100. I'm riding at night a lot and any edge I can get to see the critters and react to them faster is a good thing. Had my first close encounter with a deer last night and that was pretty much the last straw on this project.

I went to my local dealer and he suggested changing out my headlight entirely with a different light bulb, I forget if he said LED or HID, but I'm pretty sure it'd require a whole new housing. Any members here have good experiences with a particular set of auxiliary lights or have done a headlight upgrade on a similar bike, a 1000, 1100, or 1300 I think would be helpful to share your input.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationI got a HID.

Steve
kzrider.com/forum/4-electrical/602108-new-bulb#721497

You should not need to change the housing regardless of what type lamp you use. However, you may need to change the lens.

The KZ1100-A2 came with an H4 type headlamp. This type has the replaceable bulb that fits into the lens. There are aftermarket HID and LED bulbs available that fit the H4 lens configuration, so the housing is not an issue. Depending on the bulb, it may be necessary to replace the lens with the bulb, but the new lens will still fit in your existing housing. This lens replacement may be required to ensure the light emitted from the lens is spread in such a fashion as to provide good visibility without blinding oncoming drivers. If you surf the web a bit you should find multiple options with reviews, etc. to help you decide. Ed

My lense is from a motorcycle. It works fine with the HID.
Steve

www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/H...ons/conversions.html

The above site mirrors my worries about the bulb damaging the lens with an HID bulb. (I meant requiring a new lens instead of new housing in my initial post) I've heard stories of higher heat off the bulb melting the lens in cars, I'd imagine it'd be a similar scenario with motorcycles. Stumbled upon this thread too that spiraled downward into an argument about HIDs in an H4 setup: www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread....H4-for-my-motorcycle

My local shop pointed towards this $60 light, looked like an LED to me: flat white strip with a yellow circle on the end. He said it was awesome bright, but without knowing more detail he couldn't guarantee fitment. I'll see if I can find it. LEDs run much cooler and should be safer for the lens right?

I'm considering a headlight alternative also. When my stock unit is adjusted to the best low-beam position, then the high-beam shines way too high.
Would that be the nature of the reflective beam pattern produced by the stock headlight housing, or might that be corrected by a better bulb choice, such as the OPT7 that Steve suggests?

daveo wrote: I'm considering a headlight alternative also. When my stock unit is adjusted to the best low-beam position, then the high-beam shines way too high.
Would that be the nature of the reflective beam pattern produced by the stock headlight housing, or might that be corrected by a better bulb choice, such as the OPT7 that Steve suggests?

I have the same issue too daveo, Fairly certain it's caused by the headlight lens arcitecture in tandum with the hi/low filament position of the bulb. Don't think there's much we can do about it except swap out an entirely different headlight (which would likely have the same result again anyways). So in the meantime you gotta find that happy medium setting where both the high and low beam are acceptable.

SmokyOwl wrote:

daveo wrote: I'm considering a headlight alternative also. When my stock unit is adjusted to the best low-beam position, then the high-beam shines way too high.
Would that be the nature of the reflective beam pattern produced by the stock headlight housing, or might that be corrected by a better bulb choice, such as the OPT7 that Steve suggests?

I have the same issue too daveo, Fairly certain it's caused by the headlight housing arcitecture in tandum with the hi/low filament position of the bulb. Don't think there's much we can do about it except swap out an entirely different headlight (which would likely have the same result again anyways). So in the meantime you gotta find that happy medium setting where both the high and low beam are acceptable.

Informative read BTW

Maybe time to drop the high beam to a lower position, to take advantage of the increased brightness. The bulb is an H4 55/60W

www.z1enterprises.com/product/EM48-67700

My headlight is from the 550 In bought. It's glass and says motorcyle on it. It is meant for a H4. They run hot as well. Halogine. No problems and I run it day or night.
They just want to sell you a new one.
Steve

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationI went with this light and love it. LED and DOT approved. LED low beam and high beam. This is a sealed replacement and is plug and play with the stock bucket. This light is just as bright if not brighter than an HID but uses less amperage than the incandescent bulb. It's the best of both worlds. The spread of the light is great. When I turn the high beam on in dark back roads it is ridiculously bright.

SmokyOwl wrote:

daveo wrote: I'm considering a headlight alternative also. When my stock unit is adjusted to the best low-beam position, then the high-beam shines way too high.
Would that be the nature of the reflective beam pattern produced by the stock headlight housing, or might that be corrected by a better bulb choice, such as the OPT7 that Steve suggests?

I have the same issue too daveo, Fairly certain it's caused by the headlight lens arcitecture in tandum with the hi/low filament position of the bulb. Don't think there's much we can do about it except swap out an entirely different headlight (which would likely have the same result again anyways). So in the meantime you gotta find that happy medium setting where both the high and low beam are acceptable.

Here's a thought...
Bending the three metal wing-tabs (at the base of a removable H4 bulb) changes the bulb angle inside the housing, which alters the light pattern reflected through the lens.
This simple alteration provided a much-needed improvement for my headlight, though it did take some thought and experimentation to get the result I was after.

Be careful how many watts extra lighting will take, LEDs are great watt savers.