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Replace Sealed Beam Headlight w/ Halogen H4 & Quartz Len
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:17 pm
by dthomp
I ride a 1978 Honda Hawk CB400T II. In order to make the headlight brighter, I would like to replace the 7" sealed bulb with the more modern H4 halogen bulb which plugs into a new quartz lens. There are after-market bulb/lenses available, but the current headlight has screw tabs attached to the actual glass itself, which prevents the use of a standard lens. There would be no way to mount the new lens to the chrome ring around the headlight. Is anyone aware of a model-specific replacement solution?
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:41 am
by Johnj
Not a model specific solution but look at a motorcycle salvage yard for a newer model Honda with a round headlight bucket that used the H-4 bulb and modify it to fit your bike.
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:55 am
by mydlyfkryzis
Before you do it, check the wattage of the existing bulb. My CB360 has a 37 watt sealed beam headlight. I replaced it with a H4 Headlamp and bulb (55/60 watt). The charging system couldn't keep up with the load. I ended up putting the 37 watt headlight back. My 360 has a 130 watt charging system. The extra wattage of the brighter bulb was too much for it.
Your bike may be O.K.if the original lamp is 55 or 50 watts.
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:56 am
by dthomp
Both very good ideas. Thanks.
I have put feelers out into the world of junk. The current sealed beam is a 50/35W. I think the new H4's are 60/50W. I wonder if the high beam will be ok?
Another idea is to use that special 2-part auto adhesive to glue metal tabs onto the glass lens. Hmmmm.
Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:38 am
by s0crates82
I'd say get an autolite euro 7" H4 conversion off ebay. the light pattern is WAY better than a lot of the cheap taiwanese "crystal cut" lenses.
But... before you mount it up, make sure your charging system is in top form. Hit your rectifier and stator with a multimeter and check that all of your grounds aren't rusty and are conducting well.
Oh, and one last thing, if you do decide on getting the aftermarket headlight, make sure that it's the 60/55 one, and not something crazy like 100/75. It'll say on the little H-4 lamp. If it comes with a high-wattage light, make sure to swap it out with something more tame at an auto parts store.