XS400 Headlight Bulb Replacement

[kindest]

looking to get a nice new halogen bulb for my weak stock headlight so night riding won't be so scary.

I read on a couple other threads that some1 was successful in shoving a 7" replacment everything into the 6" stock housing.. mighty tempting to get a nice 7" led setup and shoving it in.

Other then that the stock lamp seems like its all one piece with the bulb sealed inside.. can that seal be broken and the bulb easily swapped out or is the fixture toast if you break the seal.

whats everyone else running these days?

[drewpy]

seen that done on the xs400.net forum

its german but pictures tell a thousand words.

you'll have to look for it coz it'll take me ages to find it

[OllieB]

Just ordered the 6 3/8" replacement reflector (see link below) into which I will install an H4 SilverStar Ultra 55/60w bulb. Also ordered a set of LED tail/stop bulbs to offset the increase in amp usage. Since LED bulbs use virtually no amps (much less than 1 amp), the increased drain of the H4s on the charging system output is basically nullified by the LED bulbs drop in amps consumed. Did the same with my scooter a couple years ago with great results. My XS400s stock sealed beam bulb is 35/50w so the new bulb will up the watt demand by 15-20 watts (depending on low/high beam) or an increase of 1.25-2.08 amps. The 1157 tail/stop bulbs consume up to 4.33 amps when both filaments in both bulbs are illuminated. By the math, even with a brighter headlight bulb, you reduce the amp drain on the charging system when installing LED tail/stop bulbs. One caution, you must match the LED tail/stop bulb design to the design of the tail light lens. Not all LED bulbs will be as bright as the filament type in the original lenses because the lenses were designed for the old style bulbs. In my scooter, I tried two different bulb designs and the second design is actually brighter than the filament bulbs. Have ordered an LED design that I think might work well in my XS400 tail light but won't know until I receive and test the bulbs. The light emitted by an LED is much more directional than that emitted by a filament and old style reflectors/lenses don't always catch and reflect the light from LEDs as well.

http://store.candlepower.com/ca631quheleu.html

[HoughMade]

I installed the Candlepower-H4 conversion for the 162mm/6 3/8" headlight. It took a little "customizing", but works well. I have taken rides over 50 miles with the light on the whole time and the higher wattage has not created a problem yet.

[OllieB]

I installed the Candlepower-H4 conversion for the 162mm/6 3/8" headlight. It took a little "customizing", but works well. I have taken rides over 50 miles with the light on the whole time and the higher wattage has not created a problem yet.

The increase MAY NOT be too much but these charging systems are VERY marginal, just like the one on my scoot. If you compliment the headlight bulb with a set of the right design LED tail/stop bulbs you will end up in even better shape than the original setup. As it is now, my stock headlight dims some (normal) when I apply the brakes. With LED tail/stop bulbs there should be virtually no difference in the headlight brightness when applying brakes. With 2 5w tail light filaments illuminated, the amp draw is about 1 amp. With the tail and stop filaments illuminated in both bulbs (2 x 26w) , the amp draw is almost 4.5 amps! With 2 LED tail/stop bulbs the amp draw never even gets up to 1 amp even with full tail/stop illumination.

[kindest]

I installed the Candlepower-H4 conversion for the 162mm/6 3/8" headlight. It took a little "customizing", but works well. I have taken rides over 50 miles with the light on the whole time and the higher wattage has not created a problem yet.

did you use the stock reflector and break the seal and replace the bulb that way?

Why did you order a new reflector ollie your old one was no good?

[OllieB]

did you use the stock reflector and break the seal and replace the bulb that way?

Why did you order a new reflector ollie your old one was no good?

I guess you are asking me about the headlight. If you clicked on the link, you will see that I ordered a new headlight lens/reflector unit designed to accept an H4 bulb. Don't think you can easily or reliably "break the seal" of the original sealed beam unit but who knows! The original sealed beam headlight still works but is miserably dim at night. High beam is more like modern day low beam.

[OllieB]

HoughMade,

Got the headlamp in the mail today and will install it later tonight. What mods did you need to do? (haven't eyeballed the setup yet)

[HoughMade]

HoughMade,

Got the headlamp in the mail today and will install it later tonight. What mods did you need to do? (haven't eyeballed the setup yet)

The main thing is that I took the bracket that the horizontal adjusting screw attaches to off the original sealed beam and used hi-temp epoxy to attach it to the new reflector unit. It can probably be used without that bracket, though.

[OllieB]

The main thing is that I took the bracket that the horizontal adjusting screw attaches to off the original sealed beam and used hi-temp epoxy to attach it to the new reflector unit. It can probably be used without that bracket, though.

Thanks. Well, got the new unit installed. Didn't have to do any bracket switching. Everything matched up perfectly. Only mod was to cut about 1/8" off one side of the tab on the new unit to allow it to be rotated a little more clockwise so the lines in the lens were perfectly horizontal. Will test it tonight. Most likely will have to do an alignment. LED tail bulbs should be here later next week.

[HoughMade]

Did you get the tail light from Superbright LEDs, or somewhere else? I'm interested.

[kindest]

I guess you are asking me about the headlight. If you clicked on the link, you will see that I ordered a new headlight lens/reflector unit designed to accept an H4 bulb. Don't think you can easily or reliably "break the seal" of the original sealed beam unit but who knows! The original sealed beam headlight still works but is miserably dim at night. High beam is more like modern day low beam.

ya thats what im trying to figure out.. if you can break that seal and pop bulb out and pop new one in.. doesn't sound like it.. I have a spare unit I might try it for giggles.

And yes keep us updated on the LED tailights.. I want to get me some of those too.

[OllieB]

Did you get the tail light from Superbright LEDs, or somewhere else? I'm interested.

No, got them from the ebay seller below. Bought some from him a couple years ago that worked great in my scoot tail lights. Won't know how they are until I try them. Not the cheapest out there but very good quality.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-1157-13W-High-Power-LED-Red-Stop-Tail-Bulbs-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2eaf747d53QQitemZ200512142675QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_798wt_1167

Rode in the dark this evening with the new Candlepower headlight and SilverStar Ultra H4 bulb. Very bright, good down the road projection and great side to side lighting. Don't do a lot of night time riding and it is always on 2 lane roads. This setup will work great. I like SilverStar bulbs - have them in my scoot and three cars. Never had a problem and they improved lighting in all applications. The set in my scooter is the original SilverStar (not Ultra), is about 6 years old and was in a car for the first few years. My next move is to install a headlight modulator. Have one on my scoot. Some folks don't like them but I'm for anything that increases my visibility to oncoming cars. Besides, the modulator only works in daylight on the high beam. You can always switch to low beam if you don't want the light blinking.

The first one, model S75H4.

[kindest]

No, got them from the ebay seller below. Bought some from him a couple years ago that worked great in my scoot tail lights. Won't know how they are until I try them. Not the cheapest out there but very good quality.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-1157-13W-High-Power-LED-Red-Stop-Tail-Bulbs-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2eaf747d53QQitemZ200512142675QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_798wt_1167

Rode in the dark this evening with the new Candlepower headlight and SilverStar Ultra H4 bulb. Very bright, good down the road projection and great side to side lighting. Don't do a lot of night time riding and it is always on 2 lane roads. This setup will work great. I like SilverStar bulbs - have them in my scoot and three cars. Never had a problem and they improved lighting in all applications. The set in my scooter is the original SilverStar (not Ultra), is about 6 years old and was in a car for the first few years. My next move is to install a headlight modulator. Have one on my scoot. Some folks don't like them but I'm for anything that increases my visibility to oncoming cars. Besides, the modulator only works in daylight on the high beam. You can always switch to low beam if you don't want the light blinking.

The first one, model S75H4.

wow you weren't kidding.. expensive little buggers. look badassssss tho. looking forward to hearing how they work

[OllieB]

LED tail light update:

Just got the pair of super bright LED #1157 Tail/stop bulbs I ordered from Ebay. I have used the seller in the past with good results. Installed the bulbs and they are practically as bright as the filament type - only a very slight difference. Far better that the other, flatter style you usually find in auto parts stores. I am totally satisfied with the results. The only possible mistake I made was when I ordered the red LED bulbs instead of the white bulbs. Since our reflector is already red, the white LEDs might have been slightly brighter behind the reflector. Forgot that little fact since I was into this with my scoot a couple of years ago. They are a little pricey but they are high quality. Power test: with engine running and headlight on high beam, no headlight dimming when the brake(s) are applied. Not so with the stock filament bulbs - the headlight dims noticeably when brake(s) are applied. Remember, I have an H4 SilverStar 55/60w bulb in a 6 3/8" CandlePower reflector. I can highly recommend these to folks wanting to take a little strain off the charging system after installing a higher wattage headlight.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-1157-13W-High-Power-LED-White-Stop-Tail-Bulbs-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2c5745737aQQitemZ190442730362QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_798wt_1167

[kindest]

LED tail light update:

Just got the pair of super bright LED #1157 Tail/stop bulbs I ordered from Ebay. I have used the seller in the past with good results. Installed the bulbs and they are practically as bright as the filament type - only a very slight difference. Far better that the other, flatter style you usually find in auto parts stores. I am totally satisfied with the results. The only possible mistake I made was when I ordered the red LED bulbs instead of the white bulbs. Since our reflector is already red, the white LEDs might have been slightly brighter behind the reflector. Forgot that little fact since I was into this with my scoot a couple of years ago. They are a little pricey but they are high quality. Power test: with engine running and headlight on high beam, no headlight dimming when the brake(s) are applied. Not so with the stock filament bulbs - the headlight dims noticeably when brake(s) are applied. Remember, I have an H4 SilverStar 55/60w bulb in a 6 3/8" CandlePower reflector. I can highly recommend these to folks wanting to take a little strain off the charging system after installing a higher wattage headlight.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-1157-13W-High-Power-LED-White-Stop-Tail-Bulbs-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2c5745737aQQitemZ190442730362QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_798wt_1167

awesome. thanks for telling us. I ordered the led tailights as well and also a cheap 7" headlight. If I can't make the 7" one I will go with the 6 3/8" Candlepower that you bought and recommended.

[kindest]

just a heads up I ended up buying a 7" assembly

http://cgi.ebay.com/7-MOTORCYCLE-HEADLIGHT-HARLEY-HONDA-YAMAHA-KAWASKI-/230132545131?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3594f7f66b <-- offered 13.01 and it was taken.

that one to be exact to replace the stock 6 3/8. I took the the headlight trim ring and took it apart so it was just the outer ring then had to dremel out the little mounting clips that have the nuts to hold the inner piece in. The 7" fits perfect with

the customzed ring..then the little spring clips that were used orginally work fine to secure the new bulb to the ring.

the only issue is shoving the headlight into the stock headlight housing.. its such a tight fit because its way bigger and deeper then the stock lamp but I got it all together and its super bright and nice. also put in some LED tailights from to offset the power usage.

Pretty happy the way it turned out..

[OllieB]

just a heads up I ended up buying a 7" assembly

http://cgi.ebay.com/7-MOTORCYCLE-HEADLIGHT-HARLEY-HONDA-YAMAHA-KAWASKI-/230132545131?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3594f7f66b <-- offered 13.01 and it was taken.

that one to be exact to replace the stock 6 3/8. I took the the headlight trim ring and took it apart so it was just the outer ring then had to dremel out the little mounting clips that have the nuts to hold the inner piece in. The 7" fits perfect with

the customzed ring..then the little spring clips that were used orginally work fine to secure the new bulb to the ring.

the only issue is shoving the headlight into the stock headlight housing.. its such a tight fit because its way bigger and deeper then the stock lamp but I got it all together and its super bright and nice. also put in some LED tailights from to offset the power usage.

Pretty happy the way it turned out..

Great! Glad it all turned out well for you. That 7" headlight looks huge in the XS400 housing. Bet it gives a good light pattern on the road. So, am I off the hook as far as the LED tail/stop bulbs are concerned?

[kindest]

Great! Glad it all turned out well for you. That 7" headlight looks huge in the XS400 housing. Bet it gives a good light pattern on the road. So, am I off the hook as far as the LED tail/stop bulbs are concerned?

yes you are off the hook