Shedding Some Light on the Situation

When we first purchased the bike, it was done very late in the season. So late, in fact, that the days were becoming very short in the march towards the holidays. This meant that our daylight hours were very limited. By the time we covered any decent distance it was already after dark. That alone wouldn't be much cause for concern, except that we live in the deer capital. Anytime of day, but especially dusk when the visibility is poor, there are deer. Seeing those deer in enough time to react created a dangerous problem.

I hadn't really given much thought to lighting on the bike. If you were to ask my wife, she would tell you that I have a lighting problem. I'm not sure why, but she has a point. Within our house, I obsess over lighting. I'm constantly trying new technologies, buying fixtures or adjusting placement. It's bizarre, I know, but I always end up with improved results.

The warm yellow glow of stock headlights. Although classic, the look of pure white has grown on me. 

I don't tend to obsess with the lights on the car, so why the bike? Well, truth be told, my uncle cultured up some already existing paranoia. I was already thinking about some marker lights for the bike, but he insisted I do anything I could to increase visibility. He made me very, very worried I would be hard to spot without a ton of lights constantly shining to make my presence known. I really can't fault him for the concern, but then his concern created an obsession. Essentially, I now needed to make sure I could be seen for miles so I would reduce the risk of being hit. Obviously accidents can still happen (knock on wood), but thanks to his concern and my insane and obsessive paranoia, I should be far more visible. 

So the hunt began.

Pictured above: Improved visibility or being able to buy food; your choice! The high price of the Daymaker Setup

My first goal was to find a brighter headlamp. I will say that this took the longest out of any of the searches I did. Immediately upon searching for lighting, LED lights came to the forefront. It still seems odd that a technology as old as LED is only now being fully utilized for it's energy efficiency and high lumen output. However, for such an old technology the prices are very modern in the sense that they will cost you a paycheck. In fact if you are interested in the official HD LED Headlight it will run you around $530. Want that in black? $600. The white version with some trim? $600. And to top that all off the passing lamps will run you another $400. You will easily spend around $1000 on replacing the front lights alone if you go to the Harley Davidson dealership. I hope you have two jobs if you need any adapters, rings or hardware for these since those items will most likely add up to another $200.

The biggest issue with these lamps is that the marketing plays with your emotions. They say the lamps are worth it because you can't put a price on safety. Evidently, HD can and that price is around $1000. But I digress. Very few items should ever be purchased from a dealer. I hit the good 'ol world wide interwebs to find a better deal. The second headlamp that pops up is the Kuryakyn (curry-ah-ken) Phase 7 headlight. This lamp was selling for around half the price, so I was a bit skeptical. 

I hit the google hard, looking for as many reviews and articles as I could find. Luckily, there are many sources out there as others are having the same issues I have; they don't want to spend their child's college fund on lighting. I found numerous comparison videos on Youtube as well as long written reviews. It turned out that the official HD brand received mediocre reviews while the Phase 7 received nothing but praise. 

At half the cost how could I go wrong? I went to Amazon, prepared to spend a ton of money on this light. Thankfully I read some reviews and comments on the page for the Phase 7 and learned some interesting material. According to the internet people, the light is made by a company called Truck-Lite. Truck-Lite has been making products for years and Kuryakyn simply took the light and rebranded it. In fact this review linked to the non-Kuryakyn branded Phase 7 which was $100 less than the one I was looking at. The issue? Fitment was not guaranteed. In other words, it might not fit properly and I could be stuck with a worthless bulb. Luckily, many people had purchased it before me and had no issues so I took the dive.

The Truck Lite headlamp. A worthwhile investment. The passing lamps are identical in design.

At that time I was able to score an Amazon deal for two of the 4" passing lamps that flank the headlight on the Road King front end. These passing lamps match the main lamp in style and add further visibility. As always, if you buy the Truck Lite brand you will save lots of money.

Passing lamp adapters. Most bikes will require these. Very easy to install.

A further note on the passing lamps. If you do buy the Truck-Lite or Kuryakyn branded passing lamps you will most likely need to purchase an adapter set. The setup on my lamps was not a traditional plug but two "C" clips terminated onto the hot and ground wire. Buying the adapter kit provided all the materials I needed except for the wire strippers and the crimper. Terminating one of these ends could be done by a child so don't expect to struggle. 

The more you read about headlights the more it seems like a giant racket. I'm aware I sound like an angry old man rambling about price, but the markup these companies put on is insane. Even the official HD "Daymaker" light is a re-branded bulb made by a company called JW Speaker. Buying the SAME BULB from them will save you MORE THAN HALF. It's very upsetting that HD would put such a high price on safety, but I suppose it is a business. 

My box of lights finally arrived after a few days. When it was all said and done, I paid $160 for the headlight, $140 for two passing lamps and $16 for the adapter kit for the passing lamps. In other words, I purchased a whole setup for around $300 less than the Kuryakyn brand setup and around $600 less than the HD setup. 

Installation and Testing 

The exposed area of the cell for the headlight missing the bucket, retainers and rings.

Before I even went through the adjustment trouble, I, like any other wise individual, tested the lights outside their enclosures. The receptacle for the headlight was perfect. It plugged right in without any need for tampering. The passing lamps, as mentioned above, required an adapter set. I waited for my uncle to get home and terminate the wire end for me as he knew where the tools were. After one quick crimp I plugged in bother passing lamps. I was a bit worried because they were Amazon open box items and the chance of them not working was pretty solid. Luckily they worked fantastically! 

Always test the lamps before you install them, it'll save you frustration.

When it came time to actually put the lamps in and secure them, I ran into some issues. 

First, the passing lamp housings and exterior clamps drove me up a wall. I ended up going to Home Depot and buying a roll of small weather stipping to place on the inside of the clamp. This, after about 20 minutes of fidgeting, held the lamp in place well. It took another person helping to hold the clamp down and giving tilting directions to finally get them where they needed to be. It wasn't fun, but it didn't require a degree in engineering.

The old passing lamps in the housing. Notice the old style connectors you must use the adapters for. 

The headlight went very well. It fit exactly into the retaining ring that holds the adjusters and the ring that holds it into place snapped right in. A few protrusions on the back of the lamp lined up with the ring and it was good to go. I was actually surprised as many on the internet said that some modifications would be needed to make it fit properly. 

The finished product!

All in all I am very satisfied with the LED conversion I performed. It was almost painless and looks great. The bright results have been nothing short of illuminating. 

Now if only the turn signal conversion had gone so smoothly.