Dual headlights

I ride my KZ daily to work. Part of my commute is riding in the wee morning hours. I have an automotive H6024 installed currently, it is brighter than stock, but I would still like more light. I would like to go to a dual headlamp setup, but some of my concerns are: what can I use and still be DOT legal, and will my existing electrical system operate it (if I have to do some modifications it's no big deal). Your thoughts?

I'll tell you what I did (and what I'm doing) in a nutshell, and I hope it helps...

I changed my turnsignals and taillight to LED to reduce the load.

I did WG's "Coil Mod" to help the spark to be reliable.

I clipped every bullet-style connection I could find and jumpered and soldered because the old wiring is pathetic.

I dream of having one of those dual headlights, but they cost way too freaking much. In the mean-time, I wired in a foglamp/running light at about 45 watts that I run with my low beam when needed. When I try to run it with my high beam, the bike lets me know it isn't happy...

My intentions are to fabricate them. loudhvx has something similar on his bike, looks like two driving lights.

I got a set of the duals from americanclassix.com and love them. They are spendy, but I owed myself a x-mas present that year.

donthekawguy wrote:

I got a set of the duals from americanclassix.com and love them. They are spendy, but I owed myself a x-mas present that year.

Yep. Those are the ones I meant by "cost way too freaking much"...

Is the H6024 a halogen light?

I did a headlight conversion to a H4 halogen 55watt low / 60watt high beam from JC Whitney. It seems pretty bright and cost about $20.

I believe it is, I would need to recheck that. Not only am I trying for more light, would like to "update" the look of my bike a bit.

Mine were $15 at Harbor Freight. I'm sure they are not DOT approved for headlights. They are 55W each so that's 110 Watts with no problem on the charging system. It actually takes stress off of the regulator to have more lights. You may have to upgrade the wiring a little bit though. You may also have to increase the fuse if you go much higher on the wattage. The key to being seen is not just wattage, though. You also need a certain amount of area on the bulb lit up. Projector beams are not very visible if the person looking at you is not in the beam.

Also, the shape of the beam will affect how much it lights up the road.

DT... You are worried about DOT regulations? Why? The DOT doesn't have police to check to see if you are using a DOT headlamp or DOT helmet... check your state's regulations! Every state has their own. In Texas, you could probably use 50,000KW headlight if you wanted to and no one would care. The regulations in some states for motorcycles are VERY VERY primitive.

As far as how that system would work? The shape of the reflector makes more difference than the power of the bulb. A round and traditional shaped reflector works best. If you go with dual lamps and are looking for the most light, I doubt the two smaller reflectors would do as well as a single larger reflector... If you are truly interested in seeing well at night, put your headlight on a dedicated relay (see coil powering mod) and go with HEAVY wiring out of your relay. Keep an eye on the rating for the bulb holder as well. Make sure it can stand more voltage going through it. The best bet will be a GOOD quality H4 bulb... perhaps a 100/55 would work or if you are really sporty, a 130/55.

Several years ago, I found that JCW sells higher power bulbs and I bought several 90/55 for a Vulcan. It turns out that these lower quality bulbs (and cheaper) cast a yellowish light and actually illuminated the road less than an aftermarket 65/55 superwhite bulb. Get a GOOD quality bulb from a company that is known for making light bulbs... a Chinese special may not work as well in this case!

wiredgeorge wrote:

DT... You are worried about DOT regulations? Why? The DOT doesn't have police to check to see if you are using a DOT headlamp or DOT helmet... check your state's regulations! Every state has their own. In Texas, you could probably use 50,000KW headlight if you wanted to and no one would care. The regulations in some states for motorcycles are VERY VERY primitive.

Periodic vehicle safety inspections and inspection stickers are mandatory in some states. A 50,000KW headlight would probably vaporize the inspector. :whistle:

Ron

California doesn't have annual inspections for vehicles, but sometimes the PD get a little anal about motorcycles. Recently they started cracking down on bikes with loud pipes, aftermarket turn signals that were not DOT approved. Hence my reasoning for DOT approved lighting systems. The 6024 bulb I am using is halogen, but I don't know what the wattage rating is.

How about a pair of Bates 5 3/4" "chopper" headlights. They use a DOT sealed beam and have high beam indicators.