streetfighter headlight

[chris5150]

i am not a big fan if the 7" headlight that is on the bike stock. i was wondering what kind of kool headlight options there are. but i do not want to loose visibility at night. style is not worth that much to me. is there any dot approved street legal stunt fairings. like the ones on ebay but functional. i am not looking for an off road use product. thanks.

[wildbill]

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Upgrades/DualHeadlights

the wiki has all the info u need but using search on here can help.

dominators are pretty common and they are easy to install, i was thinking of using triumph speed triples but may go with dominators. Buells work well to but are ugly IMO.

[fred]

I had dual headlights on my bike and they were the first thing I took off and replaced with a 7" headlight. I don't think it is possible to switch to dual headlights and not loose visibility at night. With a 7" headlight, you simply have more surface area the light is coming from and I think that is one of the most important things when it comes to visibility. I hated riding with dual headlights and was more than happy to change them.

[dgyver]

I had dual headlights on my bike and they were the first thing I took off and replaced with a 7" headlight. I don't think it is possible to switch to dual headlights and not loose visibility at night. With a 7" headlight, you simply have more surface area the light is coming from and I think that is one of the most important things when it comes to visibility. I hated riding with dual headlights and was more than happy to change them.

4" Dual headlight do have less reflector area  (25.2 in²) than a 7" single (38.2 in²)  but have twice the available wattage. Plus when one bulb blows you still have a another. It has happen to me plenty of times on previous bikes. I would run dual lights over a single any time.

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Aztec8 and FlynCycle sell duals, I prefer FlynCycle duals. They have better wiring, unless Aztec has changed.

[scottpA_GS]

Yea, when I switched to Duals I felt that I had much more light, brighter further projection... all in all I LOVE THEM 

[fred]

4" Dual headlight do have less reflector area  (25.2 in²) than a 7" single (38.2 in²)  but have twice the available wattage. Plus when one bulb blows you still have a another. It has happen to me plenty of times on previous bikes. I would run dual lights over a single any time.

Is that really true though? First of all, any single headlight actually has two filaments in it, so if one blows, you can just use the other while you go grab a spare. You might get stuck in high or low beams, but you can replace it quickly, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. You may have more filaments with a dual headlight setup, but if you're letting more than one filament burn out before doing anything about it, that already isn't a good way to go. Also, from my understanding, your headlight wattage is limited by the electrical system of the bike more than it is by the actual fixture you're using. If you want higher wattage headlights, you can easily get a higher wattage headlight bulb...

[dgyver]

Is that really true though? First of all, any single headlight actually has two filaments in it, so if one blows, you can just use the other while you go grab a spare. You might get stuck in high or low beams, but you can replace it quickly, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. You may have more filaments with a dual headlight setup, but if you're letting more than one filament burn out before doing anything about it, that already isn't a good way to go.
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Both bulbs in a dual headlights system are dual filaments. So it will have 4 filaments. They are the same H4 bulbs used in the stock light.

...
Also, from my understanding, your headlight wattage is limited by the electrical system of the bike more than it is by the actual fixture you're using. If you want higher wattage headlights, you can easily get a higher wattage headlight bulb...

If that was true, then replacing with a higher wattage bulb will do nothing.

[fred]

Both bulbs in a dual headlights system are dual filaments. So it will have 4 filaments. They are the same H4 bulbs used in the stock light.

Yes, the point I make is you already have a backup. Going from 1 filament to 2 is important, going from 2 to 4 is not as important because having more than one filament fail at the same time is not likely.

If that was true, then replacing with a higher wattage bulb will do nothing.

No, I'm saying that there is some limit that exists to the total amount of wattage you can supply to the headlight circuit. If you keep adding load to the circuit, you will eventually blow a fuse or melt something. You can either use that power to run two lower wattage bulbs in dual headlights or one bulb with twice the wattage in a single headlight. In my opinion, the way to get the most light is to go with a single high wattage bulb with a big old 7" reflector.

[dgyver]

Stock is a single 55/60 bulb.
Duals have two 55/60 bulbs.

To equal the duals, you would have to run a 110/120. Would you run a bulb that size?

[ATLRIDER]

Both bulbs in a dual headlights system are dual filaments. So it will have 4 filaments. They are the same H4 bulbs used in the stock light.

Yes, the point I make is you already have a backup. Going from 1 filament to 2 is important, going from 2 to 4 is not as important because having more than one filament fail at the same time is not likely.

If that was true, then replacing with a higher wattage bulb will do nothing.

No, I'm saying that there is some limit that exists to the total amount of wattage you can supply to the headlight circuit. If you keep adding load to the circuit, you will eventually blow a fuse or melt something. You can either use that power to run two lower wattage bulbs in dual headlights or one bulb with twice the wattage in a single headlight. In my opinion, the way to get the most light is to go with a single high wattage bulb with a big old 7" reflector.

If your concern is getting the most out of your existing headlight bulb, you might want to try bypassing the headlight switch with a relay and getting 100% of the available power direct from the battery.  This way you won't have to be concerned about overloading and burning out the headlight switch.  You may actually find that the 55W/H4 bulb is brighter than a higher wattage bulb without the relay.

Personally, I prefer the look of the dual headlights.  Haven't had a chance to test them out at night yet but will post any negatives, if any.  I can tell you though, that those dual 55W/H3 bulbs are bright!



Here some good links to relays and headlight wiring:
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/Relays.asp
http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Faqs/Relay_Info/relay_info.html

[Tang]

see i would get the dominator headlights

but to me they are tiny lookin on the bike

i like the aztec8 5 3/8" duals which are bigger and look more suiting to the gs500

but their prices are high :-(

[yamahonkawazuki]

me too, BUT then again, im a gstwin official cheap ass 

[commuterdude]

I want to run two stock headlights, in an over under position.   That way the top headlight can serve as a fly screen   Seriously I would like to have two stockers w/ one big rock guard screen covering both.

[Tang]

that'd be crazy and a bit out of the ordinary but do it

i want to see waht it looks like

[ATLRIDER]

Still need to get a flyscreen to finish it off.  I used landscape fabric for the mean time to cover up and protect the wires.  If I had to do it over again, I'd go with the Buell's cause of the dual H4's.

[the mole]

I have a friend with a business making spotlights for shooters. He has a range of different candela output lights, but they all use the same bulb. The difference is in the size of the reflector. He assures me that when it comesto actual light output, size is everything! I'm sticking with the 7", but I'd love to get more light down the road on high beam, maybe just a higher wattage bulb and a relay.

[Dom]

They are Buell headlights...don't ask how I mounted them.  It's a pain in the ass.  I fabricated brackets.

[galahs]

I don't mind the f models headlight on the naked.

[LOUiE]

i've seen lots of these dual headlights mounted horizontal... anyone seen one done vertical?  might be  cool...