Changing from incandescent to halogen head light

I checked and did not see any threads on this subject. Here is the deal. I had to replace my head light on the old Z because the low beam burned out. I've used the heavy duty auto type round 7 inch head lights for years. They are cheaper than a regular "motorcycle" headlight.

The problem is finding a standard round incandescent headlight is if you can believe it is getting harder to do and required a special order in my neck of the woods anyways. Finding a round 7 inch halogen is a piece of cheese, they are all over the place.

My question is this; if I were to put in a Halogen would it burn down (melt) the head light connector? I know the Halogens run hotter and I don't care to melt and mangle my connector. What say you guys? Thanks in advance. Tim

Halogen does not run hotter if it's the same power rating which these are:

www.summitracing.com/parts/WAG-H6024/

Drops in, works perfectly, much brighter than stock.

bountyhunter wrote: Halogen does not run hotter if it's the same power rating which these are:

www.summitracing.com/parts/WAG-H6024/

Drops in, works perfectly, much brighter than stock.

+1 I've been running this same lamp for many years. Ed

Another possible alternative is to get the halogen headlight parts from an 80s KZ. You'd need the lens unit, halogen bulb, & dust cover. The same headlight chrome ring & mount rim are used on almost all of the KZs, so the halogen parts might fit your bike. I don't know if your sealed beam terminals are the same as later models - I'd guess yes, but that is just a guess. A halogen bulb might be easier to find if it needs replacing & they are inexpensive. Or you can keep a spare at hand - doesn't cost much or take up much room.

The parts from an 82 750-Ltd were a direct bolt-on to my 81 650-CSR (the stock halogen bulb is 12V 60-55W).

Thanks guys, I feel much better. I was thinking I might have to raid the local junk yard to get some spare headlight bulbs on hand.

Well dang. The new incandescent didn't last a week. I'll try the halogen next.

I might be doing something wrong. I put new dampers in about everything when I rebuilt the front end.

I'd remove the headlight, and get a multimeter to check the voltages at the headlight connector when the engine is at idle, and at 4000 rpm. Your voltage regulator may be at fault. www.electrosport.co has a nice troubleshooting page

I think you are on to something. Instead of burning steady, the light would dim at idle and get brighter as rpms were added. Turning on a turn signal at idle would cause the head kight to actlike it was flashing too. Both of these symptoms are new this spring. Thanks for pointing me in the correct direction. Tim

It was mentioned swapping out your headlight for an 80's model KZ unit. Another idea would be using one off a 2000-2004 ZR-7. It uses a 7" round housing with an H4 bulb. They are on eBay all the time and usually pretty cheap. Another idea for getting better lighting is using a relay harness. Eastern Beaver makes them and they make a huge improvement in the output of your headlight. I put one on my ZR-7 and now my low beam is brighter than my high beam was prior to the swap. They make kits for H4 bulbs and non-H4 bulbs. They also sell a regulator/rectifier kit that is really nice, it's listed as R/R kit on the site. Shipping takes a little bit because the parts are drop shipped from Japan but it's very nice stuff. www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Wiring_Kits/wiring_kits.html

I ordered a new regulator/rectifier which is a plug and play unit from Redline. It comes with a 2 year warranty. I have found these guys have good parts and are easy to deal with. I’m going to leave the old rectifier in place; it just won’t be plugged in. I could have gotten a tested to be good OEM regulator but since this bike will always be in my garage I don’t want to have this problem again. Thanks for the help. Regards, Tim