Oley,

I am having the same dliemna that you are. I too want to upgrade my lights but not sure what to do. I have already changed the stock bulbs to PIAA Xtreme White and as others have posted not much of a diffeence. I have narrowed my choices to bacially 2. Either go with Howard's (Motorcycle Metal) HID's. Why, becaise he sells excellent products and I trust him, or install the Osram 70/65w +50 H4 bulbs, recommended by Daniel Stern. Can anyone post an opinion on this. how much better are the Osram's than stock and how much better are the HID's than the Osram's. Thanks in advance. Ted

 

I got excited about not having to pull the fairing off to change bulbs, so I went to my dealer to check on that mounting plate. They found it in their parts catalog but couldn't explain how the plate solved the problem. When they showed me their "blow-up" from the catalog, it still looked like the 3 adjusters slipped through the front part of the fairing like mine (2008). Can you explain what's different from my 2008 that would allow the replacement of the bulbs. I'm probably just too thick headed to figure it out from their pictures - Thanks!

 

I can only speak for the HIDs I have

The HIDs use less power to achieve a brighter whiter light. The stock bulbs which came in our bikes on low beam use 55 watts each. The HIDs use only 35 watts each to power each of the ballasts. If I remember right the HIDs also run cooler.

The beauty of Howards system is that it doesnt make any changes to your existing wiring. He recomends that you wire the lights to run from a seperate on/off switch. I used my Accessory switch to power mine after I start the engine

 

I converted my 2009 headlight plate. Disassembled the plate, lights, hold down, etc. Drilled and tapped the eight (4 ea side) bulb hold down screws all the way through the plate. Then I drilled holes through where the adjustment screws sit in the back of the plate. I slotted ball end of the adj screws with a Dremel so they would accept a flat screwdriver. Then I put it all back together mounting the bulbs to the FRONT side of the plate (That's how the 2010-up plate is configured).

Now I can change the bulbs and set all three adjusters just by taking of the bezel or cover (whichever you choose to put on). You can pretty it up if using the clear cover since the screws will be noticeable.

BTW - I did not come up with this idea, I just looked through a bunch of posts and did what felt best to me. So I cannot take any credit. The whole project took about 30 minutes (I had the outer fairing off a couple times in the past, so it was quicker)