I was in there when I fixed the bike last winter, but I don't remember; is the [stock] headlight a sealed beam, or does it have a replaceable 9003/9004-style bulb? If a sealed beam, does anyone have a recommendation for an alternative that would accept replacement bulbs? Thanks.

 

Stock is not a sealed beam, the bulb is replaceable. The MoCo offers an upgrade bulb or the original as replacements, the high performance one is better than the original. If you want fantastic light, and not to worry about bulbs again, spring for the LED headlamp replacement.

 

Thanks, I'll look into the LED. Does it require a load balancer like the tail/signal lights, so you don't get "codes"?

 

The stock setup should have a replaceable H4 type bulb.
If you want to improve your night time performance , go with an E-Code 7" round replacement housing with the H4 bulb setup.
Here's some good deals.
http://store.candlepower.com/7inchheadlamps.html Any of these should improve your light output and beam pattern easily.
I went with a (I think) better setup , a bit more money , but great performance.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html
Cibie E-Code 7" with an 70/65W Osram Plus 50 bulb.
This setup ran about a hundred bucks total.
The (better quality) euro-spec setups have a better pattern on the road as opposed to the SAE lighting we're used to in the US.
They still use "lense optics" with clear aluminum reflectors and lead crystal glass to produce their beam pattern.
The newer bikes have "reflector optics" and clear lenses (some plastic) which don't produce the same quality pattern as the E-Codes do.
All are a big improvement over the stock stuff for pretty small money.
Mick

 

Awesome info, Mick....thanks heaps.