Any advice for updating headlight, 1978 XS400, tried new globe already....

[butterbeats]

Any advice for updating headlight, 1978 XS400, tried new globe already....happy to go LED or anything thats gives some serious light.

What have you fellow XS400ers done to improve the outdated lighting on these older machines??

 

[16VGTIDave]

There have been plenty of discussions about headlights over the years. H4 conversions, HID's, and now LED's. I've done all of them, and will be sticking with the H4 lens and H4 LED bulb. Seems to be the best compromise between light output, beam pattern, reduced power consumption, price, and reliability.

 

[butterbeats]

any recommended brands?? I tend to go cheap then regret it?? heaps of choice on ebay. Nowadays with Ebay the cheap and expensive version can be made at same factory.

 

[16VGTIDave]

For the headlight, stick with big brand names like Bosch, Hella, Cibe, etc. Just make sure they are marked as motorcycle lenses, or that they have a symmetrical lens pattern. Automotive lenses will work, but aren't as good on bikes. Also remember that many lenses are manufactured for those of us who drive on the right side of the road, the correct side!

For LED bulbs, eBay is a good source. You will want a fan cooled bulb, that retains high and low beams. The good ones have shields around the low beam LEDs to maintain the correct beam pattern and prevent glare. Like these ones or these ones have - not that I'm endorsing them! Just examples I found. There is a great thread here if you want to read 150+ posts about LED headlight bulbs and tweaking them.