1990 Sportster 1200XL - Need additional halogen lights to see at night.

:duh2: Hi,

Who knew this would be so difficult to find the correct lights to purchase!? UGH

I need to add auxillary spot lights to my existing 5 3/4 headlight (upgraded to a halogen) in order to see in the distance while riding at night. Evidently, there are differences between brands of halogen lights. Can I get sufficient light from halogens to see at night? I suspect so, given I can see at night while driving my car and they are not halogen I suspect. Anyway, can anyone suggest a halogen light? I am open to LEDs if that would be a better (more) light - although I understand that these can be expensive.


Keep in mind that I will have to find the hardware and have it installed to house these new halogens. I'm not sure if I should find the hardware first then come here or not? (i.e., are halogen plug and play type of lights) Let me know.
I appreciate any and all advice!

BTW, I live in Maryland.

TampaGirl99 said:

Can I get sufficient light from halogens to see at night? I suspect so, given I can see at night while driving my car and they are not halogen I suspect. Anyway, can anyone suggest a halogen light? I am open to LEDs if that would be a better (more) light - although I understand that these can be expensive.

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Halogen lamps, if properly designed, should afford enough light to be able to drive safely at night.

Unless your car is very, very old, and was equipped with sealed beam headlamps (and you've never upgraded the sealed beams to halogen sealed beam lamps) they're halogen. Or did you actually mean "HID" when you've been mentioning "halogen"? If that's what you meant, then we have to ask HOW your "existing 5 3/4 headlight (upgraded to halogen)" had HID installed?

Did you use one of the "HID kits" that are quite prevalent but are unsafe, ineffective, and illegal?

She's talking about a motorcycle. Perhaps JW Speaker make an led replacement for the original headlight that would help.

Lee Dodge said:

She's talking about a motorcycle. Perhaps JW Speaker make an led replacement for the original headlight that would help.

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I mentioned the car because SHE mentioned the car. Reread her post. Reread mine. I wouldn't have to mention the possibility of her car being "very, very old" unless it was because I know her motorcycle is NOT very "very, very old".

JW Speaker does make fine 7" and 5¾" round headlamps suitable for motorcycles. They are LED, and have an adaptive function to more safely light the roadway in turns than non-adaptive headlamps. They're also quite expensive, but you don't get what you don't pay for!

Welcome to this forum.

TampaGirl99 said:

Who knew this would be so difficult to find the correct lights to purchase!?

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It's true, there is a lot of trash on the market, and all of it is pushed and marketed as the ultimate upgrade.

I need to add auxillary spot lights to my existing 5 3/4 headlight (upgraded to a halogen) in order to see in the distance while riding at night.

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I don't think so, no. It sounds like what you need is better seeing while riding at night. That will probably not be achieved by adding "auxiliary spot lights". Also, the original headlamp on a '90 Sportster 1200XL was a halogen item, so what specific parts do you refer to when you say you "upgraded to a halogen"? Please describe the parts in detail.

I can see at night while driving my car and they are not halogen I suspect.

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They almost definitely are -- most vehicles have halogen headlamps, and that has been the case for many years.

I am open to LEDs if that would be a better (more) light - although I understand that these can be expensive.

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The adaptive LED headlamp Alaric linked to is, by far, the best solution. It completely solves the problem of your seeing distance disappearing when you bank into turns. Even better would be to put in the larger headlamp housing shell assembly that accepts a 7-inch lamp and use the larger 7" version of that adaptive headlamp.

if that amount of money is not in the budget, then the best thing you can do is put in the larger 7" housing shell and install a well-chosen non-adaptive headlamp unit. Again, there are tons of them on the market, most of them junk, and all of them promoted as an "upgrade". You'd do well to drop a line to Dan Stern and get his recommendation; I don't recall the particulars, but last time we spoke he had some kind of (legitimately) extra-good 7" motorcycle lamp. The 5-3/4" light is way too small to give you anything but barely/legally-satisfactory light.

Hey guys,

I'm sorry that I may have created some confusion. The confusion starts with me.

My ignorance of lights/lamps. My car is a 2005 Toyota Camery. It really is irrelevant to my question.

I have a 1990 Harley Davidson Sporster - It currently has a single 5 3/4" headlight. I upgraded to a halogen that I grabbed off the wall of a local biker shop. Paid less approx. 10 dollars. I couldn't even tell you the type or make but it had three prong and plugged into the existing housing. No modification was made. I didn't know this bike had an original halogen lamp in it. My bad.

Yes, money is somewhat of an issue, but safety is of the highest priority.

Alaric, I just reviewed the JW Speaker 8690 A (Adaptive) Series. Looks incredible. It is very expensive ($600). I would love to have these.

Maybe there is another option?? Possibly adding the additional two spots if the 5 3/4" is going to be insufficient as Virgil mentions.

Gosh is this going to cost me 600$. Thanks for helping.

TampaGirl99 said:

I'm sorry that I may have created some confusion. The confusion starts with me.

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It's Ok, we all start our learning with some confusion. This is why we respond to some questions with more questions of our own-- so we all know what is *really* being asked, and know what really occured with the upgrades you said you'd done.

My car is a 2005 Toyota Camery. It really is irrelevant to my question.

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This is one of those cars that was equipped with halogen lamps right at the start-- you couldn't have upgraded it to halogen, since it already was. Unfortunately, there are some downgrades which are halogen bulbs (SilverStar Ultra, anything by PIAA/Nokya/IPF, etc...) But, no, it wasn't really irrelevant as it's useful to help inform you.

I have a 1990 Harley Davidson Sporster - It currently has a single 5 3/4" headlight. I upgraded to a halogen that I grabbed off the wall of a local biker shop. Paid less approx. 10 dollars. I couldn't even tell you the type or make but it had three prong and plugged into the existing housing. No modification was made. I didn't know this bike had an original halogen lamp in it. My bad.

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Sounds like a normal ol' motorcyle headlamp-- halogen, of course, since those were readily available even then. Probably Sylvania or GE or maybe Toshiba. So long as the new lamp is from a reputable manufacturer and one of their reputable product lines, at the very least you got an upgrade in the form of a new filament without the slow malformation they tend to get as they age.

Yes, money is somewhat of an issue, but safety is of the highest priority.

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A broken arm costs more than a good headlamp! And simply the extra comfort level of driving behind the adaptive headlamp may well be worth the price of admission.

Alaric, I just reviewed the JW Speaker 8690 A (Adaptive) Series. Looks incredible. It is very expensive ($600). I would love to have these.

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You could do as -Virgil- recommends, and convert to the 7" round system so you can use the 7" adaptive headlamp. That does run into some real money, but the 7" lamp outperforms the 5¾" lamp (that lamp, in turn, outperforms any and every halogen 5¾" lamp you can get). (And, of course, always wear a helmet and protective clothing, and drive as if you are completely invisible.) I'd like to say the 5¾" adaptive lamp outperforms any 7" non-adaptive lamp simply because the adaptive function helps overcome visibility deficiencies inherent in a non-adaptive headlamp when turning. On a straight road basis, the 7" halogen lamp may outperform the smaller adaptive lamp, but the road is full of twists and turns.

TampaGirl99 said:

My ignorance of lights/lamps. My car is a 2005 Toyota Camery. It really is irrelevant to my question.

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FWIW, that car has halogen headlamps.

I have a 1990 Harley Davidson Sporster - It currently has a single 5 3/4" headlight. I upgraded to a halogen that I grabbed off the wall of a local biker shop. Paid less approx. 10 dollars. I couldn't even tell you the type or make but it had three prong and plugged into the existing housing.

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So that's an H4 bulb. All H4 bulbs are halogen bulbs -- including the one you took out. The "upgrade" bulb was probably actually more of a "downgrade". If it has blue or violet-colored glass, it's definitely a downgrade. But that's kidn of academic; you really won't ever be able to see well at night with a 5-3/4" H4 lamp.

TampaGirl99 said:

:duh2: Hi,
I am open to LEDs if that would be a better (more) light - although I understand that these can be expensive.

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You'd be better off just replacing your current 5.75 inch with something that has real oomph. You mention the JW Speaker adaptives, and they are indeed the bees knees for motorcycles, but very pricey. Arguably, might be worth it, but its a lot of cash. But, you can get some serious (and road legal) light down the road for less.

I have a JW Speaker 8700 Evo 2 on my bike (7 inch)
If you had a 7 inch bucket on the bike, you could get under $200 for a great LED; the Truck-lite Phase 7 is still a fine LED headlight and they're dirt cheap nowadays.