I've got my headlight apart right now, installing a mini-tach which mounts to the nacelle. Anyway, after 1200 miles with the 80/100W Hella bulb (and the e-code housing) my stock connector is still unaffected. It doesn't look like there is a heat issue at all. Probably not enough time on it to be sure though.

 

Lightguy - thank you for the cutting edge info.
for what it's worth, I've had Osram 80/100 in my Ultra for over 6000 miles with no problem and it makes a difference but not like HID or LEDs that's for sure. also, I just installed an E-code headlight with the 80/100 bulb and the light pattern is better, but it's still a yellow light and still does not meet my expectations. I'm going to order an hid this week. Seems everyone is happy with them. Again, Lightguy, thanks for the very interesting information.
Just another thought - if you are looking for outstanding secondary lighting, the HD lights that fasten to the engine guard are outstanding but can't be used with the Ultra. I went with Vizor Lights from Weekendconcepts.com fastened to my Ultra's engine guard. those suckers are really bright, just a little pain in the butt with finding the right way to attach to the guard and the wiring relay I bought from easternbeaver.com. Well worth the effort though. Look great too, imho.

 

In our other root business (Marine), we have been manufacturing LED underwater lights for some time now for small boats & not ships. We have been using these lights and they are a lot more harder to develop for the market than plugging in a bulb. There is much circuity involved to make a big intensity LED work. It seams every month the Koreans have doubled the efficiency so by the time you develop a product it is outdated. In the future all lighting will be Light Emitting Diodes. Korea is the place where it all happens and they are the world leaders in this field.

My experience is the droplet sized LED "Bulb" and separate "Controller" (for simplicity) gets very hot. Hold a single 5 Watt in your hands and you will know. The problem is heat sinking for temperature management. I have some direct drop in 6,000 Kelvin that will drop into your new style passing lamps. I did not test them due to my production schedule.

The future will be in LED lighting especially in autos, boats, and airplanes, no doubt. A developing product that is in cooperation with Asia & an American Motorcycle lighting company is testing a LED for custom applications. The light must include the bucket (chrome thing), bulbs w/controllers, and lamp (glass thing with chrome inside). The color can be made any temperature (kelvin) but you will see these crystals grown in only a few colors. The failure rate of producing the passable bulb is very high. I guess this is not a good time to die as the future will far too interesting to miss.

 

Thank you very much Lightguy and FastHarley for the valuable and interesting info.

 

There is no question in my mind that in the future all bulbs will be LED, or something similar. LED technology is getting better and better but, IMHO, it is not ready yet for all applications...

Until headlight LED's catch up with HID, intensity and price wise, I will stick to HID...
Just my opinion...

 

I did not discuss any headlight that was contained in the above post.

 

I would like to put a plug in for LED's. I am in the EMS business and buy our vehicles. I am contantly reviewing and trying new lighting methods since power load, visibility, and reliability are all a factor in our industry. LED's have come a long way in two years. I am currently using no incadescent lights on our vehicles except for those in the OEM chassis. We use scene lights, patient compartment lights, and emergency lights that are LED. Not only do these lights greatly reduce power consumption, they are brighter and have a cleaner whiter light. We have had virtually no failures. I for one will be looking at upgrading my lighting to LED as soon as the budget allows.

 

wow, i got one of the truck lite 7" led, the same one sold by k , on sale at napa for 199.00, this lite is killer, i also bought some par 36 led from a police supply, the three lite set up is far better than i expected, better lite than old head light and spots, just waiting for them to go on sale to get 2 more for my other bikes, by the way now that the power drain on battery has been reduced, can any one tell me what wire to cut so i can run spots and high beam at the same time, thanks

 

I found the company that makes the Harley one too. JW SPeaker I think. I like the beam pattern alot better than the trucklite. There is a whole thread debating the legallity and the problems with LEDs here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=271800

They also have a few pics of the beam patterns and a comparison to Halogens.

 

My brother bought one at the Kuryakyn tent at Black Hills HD while we were in Sturgis this year. They installed it while we waited and on the way back to where we were staying in Spearfish I could pick him out in my rearview mirror with ease. He was the one with the "white" headlight. Everybody else's headlights looked "yellow"!