There are a lot of misconceptions and myths out there concerning enhancing the useable light output of a vehicle. These misconceptions and myths apply to any vehicle cycle, car or truck.
Here is some information that might be helpful if you’re thinking about upgrading your headlight.
Misconception #1 - Over wattage bulbs gives more light.
Fact: To a point this is true. However, useable light output is a combination of bulb output, headlight reflector and lens. If you have a poorly designed lens, putting a high output bulb will create more glare than useable output.
Fact: Most factory headlight wiring harnesses are not designed to handle high output bulbs safely and provide full voltage. They really don’t handle stock bulbs all that well.
Fact: Over wattage bulbs are illegal
Fact: Over wattage bulbs tend to have a very short lifespan
Fact: In some cases, over wattage bulbs can melt your headlight lens and socket.
Misconception # 2 - My factory wiring harness can safely run over wattage bulbs because the factory fuse will handle the load.
Fact: The factory wires are very thin. I have seen 18-20 Ga wire feeding headlights. Putting a higher load through thin wire causes resistance. Resistance causes heat (dangerous), more resistance and voltage drop. Lower voltage reduces the light output of any bulb. At cruising RPM’s, my Vulcan 900 puts out 11.2 volts at the high beam. Most vehicle charging systems put out 13.2 – 13.4 volts. The net effect on light output (lumens) drop exponentially with the drop in voltage. Here are some numbers;
10.5V : 510 lumens
11.0V : 597 lumens
11.5V : 695 lumens
12.0V : 803 lumens
12.5V : 923 lumens
12.8V : 1000 lumens
13.0V : 1054 lumens
In my case, 30% - 40% of my bulbs output has been “lost” because of thin wire.
Misconception #3 - Blue bulbs give better light.
Fact: There are thousands of pages of documents having to do with light output and color. It is true that higher temperature bulbs (4300 K HID systems) produce a bluish color.
A number of companies such as PIAA, Osram and Philips and others sell “blue” bulbs. They get the blue color by coating the bulbs, not by temperature. It is the 4300 K temperature of an HID system that produces the bright like. Not the blue color. I have read a number of independent lab reports testing “blue” bulbs. They all come back with the same result, junk. They all actually produce less useable light than good quality standard bulbs.
Misconception #4 – Retrofitting to HID is a great option.
Fact: Retrofitting to a HID system is illegal.
Fact: The beam output of a HID system is completely different than a conventional bulb. So the headlamp lens on your vehicle was not designed to properly focus the light in a proper, legal pattern. The lens of your headlight is similar to eyeglasses. Imagine wearing glasses designed for someone else’s eyes.
To produce the highest legal output on my bike, I am doing a couple of things. I am adding a light bar and upgrading the bulbs to 35W. I have also built a prototype wiring harness for my light bar and headlight. This kit has marine grade 16Ga wire, Bosch (now Tyco) relays and separate fused circuits for the light bar, low beam and high beam. I am also reviewing a number of high quality legal bulbs available by my supplier.
I hope this information is helpful.
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