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Headlight woes

4K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  Luxlamf 
#1 ·
Hello,
I spent the last few days reading through many threads about Bonneville headlights. I am more confused than ever.
I need to replace the headlight on my 2009 Bonneville EFI. My reflector is fogged up with moisture, even when it wasn't, the light was woefully inadequate.

I ordered a HELLA 002395071 7" H4 Type Single High/Low Beam Headlamp with Position Lamp from Amazon thinking it would be a good fit but soon found members complaining that it does not fit the efi bonnie and just cancelled the order. Same for the Sylvannia 6024 sealed beam.

Can anyone suggest a good reflector or sealed beam that is a drop in fit for a 2009 Bonneville EFI? The stock light was never any good, so someone here should have a better one.

I rarely rode at night but due to a new job and daylight savings, I am currently riding 30+ miles blind as a bat every evening :crying:
Any input helps.

Regards
Bonnuter
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Cibie ( Valeo ) should drop right in . I went for a Wipac which required a little persuasion with my trusty Dremel . The holy grail would be a Cibie Z beam they made them back in the 70's as a conversion for old non halogen fittings , first one I had was for a Z550 kwak in 83 last one I found was in 04 old stock in a small dealership went in my then Honda 900 Hornet big improvement over stock .
 
#5 ·
I am quite happy with a reflector I purchased from DimeCity Cycles for my T100. My bike had the 5 3/4" lamp from the Scrambler as OEM....but the DimeCity 7" lamp stated it would fit the Scrambler mounts...and it did.
I run this with a 3000 Lumen Lumiled LED H4 fitment LED. This one has the copper ribbon flexible heat sink so it fits inside the reflector housing nicely.
Lighting is much improved of the poor Scrambler OEM setup. The LED lamp is so bright & white, really stands out even in bright sunlight...which for my urban driving is a big safety factor for me.
 
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#6 ·
Thank you so much for the pointers on a sealed beam and sorry for the delayed response, I lost the forum password and got lost resetting it.

After looking through Daniel Stern's site and seeing the price of the sealed beams, I thought I might try out an LED light instead. I got a daymaker style LED headlight from MICTUNING (got the cheapest I could find as this one will probably be an experiment) $55 from Amazon.

It was advertised for Harley's but fit perfectly into the Bonnie shell. Took it out this evening in the rain and the light is BRIGHT.
Found that the aim is a bit too high and adjusted it in the garage. It started to rain real hard by the time I was done, So will post a review/pics after I get the aim correct and do a night ride.
Thanks again
 
#7 ·
Looking forward to seeing the results from this. I finally took my Bonnie out the other night (after 9 months) and couldn't believe the how poor the light was.

How easy is it to replace the light? Plug out plug in?
 
#8 ·
A bit late for the OP, but I'd buy the Hella, try it, and return it if it doesn't fit. It's only about $30 in the US, and it's a good improvement.

The fit problem seems to be inconsistent, problem reported by some owners, and no problem at all by other owners.

I have the Hella, and the Eastern Beaver direct-wiring harness-relay kit, very pleased with the result. The high beam is too high, but I use it as my daytime light. The low beam is great at night.
 
#9 ·
Adjusted the headlights today as best as I can alone. (Dont have anybody to sit on the bike while I aim the light)
Rode around the neighborhood stopping occasionally to raise/lower the light and it is aimed pretty good right now.
Low beam does light up the road better than the original light. I can see potholes and objects on the road much better.
High beam is a bit shorter than I would have liked, maybe that is an aiming issue. I would say it is a pretty good $50 LED headlight.

This is a link to the product I am using
https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Pr.../B01DP9EQQG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481347868

Attaching some pics. Taken in my garage, the beam is on the garage door about 8 feet away from the bike. Sorry, I did not take the original beam pictures before I swapped out the light.

I will try it out more on my commute next week
 

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#11 ·
looks ok with the lights on and very effective, but lights off it looks like a one eyed fugly monster, sorta like cyclops

for me I went the Eastern Beaver relay kit (excellent quality), a Hella globe (proper metal and glass) to replace the stock glow worm powered piece of useless plastic crap that was burnt and broken inside, and a Philips H4 extreme vision bulb for good measure

now on Lo beam it is quite normal and acceptable, but Hi beam, its like Ka-Pow Zwap! (think 1960's Batman) to anyone incoming that doesnt dip their lights

for setting up Hi beam do a search as Ohiorider wrote up something useful for adjusting
 
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