Topic: cb350f halogen headlight upgrade

[zcb350fb]

does any one have any experience on how to upgrade the stock sealed beam to a halogen headlight on the cb350f. I found some old threads on here where people bought some new halogen headlight housings from candle power. I went on candle power's website and they no longer sell that part bc the man ufacturer was in the nuclear fall out range in fukushima japan

[Bankerdanny]

Assuming the 350 uses the same 7" bulb as other SOHC4's you can go buy a standard 7" dual beam halogen bulb from any auto parts store. Just make sure it is not a high output bulb, which might stress your charging system.

[robvangulik]

Assumption is the mo.........
6 inch headlamp, find a european reflector and put a 35watt halogen lamp in it.

[Bankerdanny]

Interesting, and annoying since there aren't a lot of 6" options. Can you fit up the housing from a 500/550/750?

[Dunk]

Are you sure it's a 6" reflector? I've never heard of that. For round sizes there are two standards, 5.75" and 7" 5.75" is common on cars. 7" common on bikes and newer cars. The 7" reflector (fits CB750) is this part (https://www.amazon.com/Cibie-082440-82440-Light-Unit/dp/B008DQV88Q), very high quality and arguably the best H4 reflector available in 7" round. Bosch is also good quality. Hella is OK, passable but not on the same level as Cibie or Bosch. Do not buy any Chinese reflectors, or any DOT compliant reflectors. ECE is the spec you want for best performance. I like the Sylvania Xtremevision or Motovision bulbs. Osram Nightbreaker is also an excellent quality bulb. You may need a lower wattage bulb than either of these though depending on charging system performance.

If you need a 5.75" reflector you can get them from Daniel Stern Lighting (https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html). 5.75" is a less common size but he can get them. If you have a 6" reflector as you say, you'll not likely find any bolt in reflectors. It'll be a custom job to fit a 5.75" reflector. It might swap right in, it might need some creativity.

You'll want relays for high and low beam (2 relays total). Run a dedicated power and ground to the battery for headlights, 14ga minimum 12ga is probably overkill but don't go smaller than 14ga. I like the Panasonic micro relays, they tuck nicely in the headlight bucket (of a CB750 at least). Relays, plugs, connectors, etc. available from either of these sources. I got all the hardware components from Eastern Beaver, and ordered my wire frmo wirebarn.com.
https://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Relays/relays.html
http://www.cycleterminal.com/accessory-relays.html

On ym restoration thread I go over installing an upgraded reflector, bulb, and wiring. You'll need a photobucket fix plugin for your browser to see the pictures. http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=125385.200

[Deltarider]

I don't see the advantage of relays when there's no significant voltage drop and even then... but that's another subject. I'd try just a 55/60 Watts H4 halogen in an appropiate reflector (Cibié, Hella, Bosch, Marchal)*. My friend on her CB350F never encountered too much draw, but she didn't use her bike for rides around town ofcourse and her model had 21 watts indicator bulbs (18 watts is also good, you won't see the difference. Mind you, the indicators on the CB350F for France even had 10 watts bulbs!). If you're still worried about the draw, consider the Philips Ecovision H4. In tests it gave a better light than an ordinary 55/60 Watts halogen, it saves 20% consumption (so expect 44/48 Watts) and they're longlife too. Excellent choice.
*The European reflectors usually have an extra socket where you can fit a Ba9s bulb. I replaced the original 4w by a 20 watts halogen and use that as DRL.

[gtmdriver]

It's definitely not a 7" unit, its 6 1/4", and I found it impossible to get a replacement lens of the correct size here in the UK.

Eventually I fitted a complete new shell and lens unit but that's not simple either as the original is shaped at the rear to allow the speedo and tach cables a clear run to the gauges.

I had to panel beat very large recesses into the new chrome shell.

[zcb350fb]

thanks everyone. I will start my search

[Bankerdanny]

Some searching on the part# for the replacement came up with 175mm, which is 6.89 inches. I would try a shell from a later SOHC4, maybe a 550F, which is shallower and maybe has more room for cables.

[flybox1]

search EMGO 66-64310 and 66-64312

[Bodi]

I see "not approved for US highway use" and wonder why?
I bought an H4 headlight (no shell) that I think was Emgo, but not listed in US or Canadian catalogs. It's OK, but the pattern is for left side driving... so it's a bit bright for oncoming vehicles when driving on the right, and it doesn't light up road signs much at all.