Here’s our 1999 Road King in the driveway and ready to get a new Headwinds LED headlight. Be sure to put a towel over the front fender to protect it.
By Chris Maida / Photos by Elayne Maida
This simple headlight bulb swap will greatly increase your ability to see the road and any road hazards while riding at night
I love simple upgrades! being able to make a simple parts swap to fix a problem or weak area of performance on a bike is like taking a pill to get rid of a headache. It’s quick, easy, and makes my life more enjoyable. Upgrading from the stock halogen bulb on your Harley to one of Headwinds’ H4 LED headlight bulbs (#8-9030-H4/$99.95) is just that kind of upgrade and definitely worth the cash and time to make it happen. We did this upgrade on a 1999 Road King, and the change was dramatic. This LED setup boasts a low beam that’s much brighter than the stock high beam, with a wider field of light thanks to the LED’s 1,800 lumens compared to the halogen’s 1,100 lumens, yet the LED uses less power than the stock bulb.
Use a #1 Phillips screwdriver to remove the stock ring’s screws, and then remove the stock ring and set it aside for reinstallation later.
The Headwinds kit includes the LED bulb, driver, fan (keeps the bulb cool and improves performance and longevity), and three-prong connector. Installation is all plug-and-play. No wires to cut or splice. Just plug stuff together, stuff it into the headlight bucket, and hit the road. The accompanying photos and captions lay out the entire process from start to finish. We didn’t have to adjust our headlight after the install, but you should check yours just to be sure. You can see how to do that on the Headwinds web site or in the manual for your bike.
Now pull the rubber boot from the back of the headlight to uncover the bulb-holding assembly.
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Sources
Headwinds
626/359-8044
Headwinds supplies a foam stick pad to secure the LED driver to the headlight housing. We went with some wire-ties for our installation.