I emailed several people who actually bought one of the headlights you’ve referenced from Rice Paddy and asked them this question:
“I thinking of buying the sealed beam to H-4 conversion light like you just bought (11/3).
Can you tell me how well the light works?”
Here are the responses I received:
- Hi Scott, I don't know how well it works as I haven't installed mine yet. It seems to be of good quality and the bulb that came with it is a standard 55/60 halogen. I expect it will work fine.
- I'm sorry, I can't really tell you anything since I never installed
and tried it out before I tore down the engine for a rebuild. I did
see comparison photos of various bulbs and the stock sealed
beam. The differences were pretty dramatic. I'm confident there
will be a significant improvement. The other reason I switched
was the simple fact that if my headlight were to burn out I can
get a new bulb at any auto parts store. I think the change is a
good one, especially for the money. It's pretty reasonable. If
you make the change drop me a line and let me know what you
think of the new bulb. By the way, the outer lens is plastic.
- Scott,It is definitely worth the 19$ plus shipping.It is much brighter than the stock sealed beam.Mine had the low beam burned out(I only had high beam)-and the conversion unit is still brighter(not only that but the Kawa shop wanted 95$ for the replacement sealed beam!!!!!!!!!)In all fairness to Autozone,I didn't check to see what they wanted for a replacement car sealed beam unit,but one thing you'll notice(I have a Kawasaki '78 KZ750B3),the 3-prong plug is different (smaller)on the motorcycle than what a car's is.The only thing I notice about it is the highbeam is not a whole bunch brighter and doesn't cast light up much higher/farther out,but it makes a wider area lit up than the low beam.I took my bike on a lit up road and it was plenty good,then I took her on a dark country road without lights,and still did good on hills and twisties-going a pretty good rate(60-70mph).If you want brighter still though,you can prolly get an 80/100 watter-I did this on a 84 GPz750 that I had.That's the beauty of going with the H-4 conversion---they have different strengths of light,you just buy a different bulb and plug 'er in!I recommend!!!The replacement process is real simple too-you basically use the same parts(inner and outer ring,etc.),you're just replacing the sealed beam unit with a glass lense that has a spring clip on the back of it,and accepts the H-4 bulb.Don't forget the bulb grease and you're ready to go!!!Glad to help out Scott!Let me know how that works out for you! Tom Discipio PS The Rice Paddy dudes are okay too.I used Paypal,and I bet I got the unit in 3-4 days.
- I've used them in ever older bike I have ever owned, which is many, and the really make a difference. They should put out a brighter light than stack sealed beam and a wider flatter pattern. Of course the newer bikes with factory installed halogens do not need replacing. If you have one of them, you can find a brighter element to install.
- Hi Scotti, It worked fine! Just be careful taking apart headlight assembly and putting back together. bye Roy
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Sorry for the long post but I thought this was useful information.
