After running down to London in the dark a few days ago I have realised that better lighting would help enormously with the XT (1986, single headlamp). What is available - from simple bulb changes to more ambitious projects........?

For some reason I noticed it far more on the A and M roads in England than zooming around familiar but twistier Welsh roads in the dark. I was in danger of out-running the light.

Regards,

Richard

Hi I also want to improve the headlight on my 3AJ XT600
Was thinking of changing the complete headlight or going for a HID conversion like this HID50 50 watt H4 HID lighting kit - High Performance Lighting - HID50 H4 50watt Lighting kit - adventure-spec.com: Off-Road Adventure Motorcycling gear,UK,enduro,rally,rallye,touring,rtw,mx.
I think I will try just some new bulbs first as it is the cheapest option and then try and find some one who has used the hid conversion.
My bike has twin headlight H4 35watt bulbs and as it is a UK model both lights are on at the same time, I have another XT 3AJ import from Germany which is wired so only one light is on at a time this uses a 55 watt bulb. Both set ups are pretty bad for night time use, it is quite difficult to get H4 bulbs in 35watt the last time I asked they were £9 each another reason to change the set up
I try to avoid riding at night but some times is necessary

Richard,would it be worth running the headlight directly from the battery through relays to minimise voltage drop?Has your bike got crashbars?Perhaps some cheapo spotlamps bolted onto them if it has.

I did this om my car and it was a big improvement on the headlights so I think it might work on the bike as well.

I have a 35W H7 HID unit on my '02 XT600 4PT and it's a vast improvement. Bought the unit from www.hids4u.co.uk/

I have an XT600 2kf with single headlight. It is possible but expensive to go for the 35W HID unit. It is not possible to go for additional lights because the battery and charge system cannot cope. the kickstart only bikes have a 5AH battery!!!!!

What I have recently done to mine (as I had the same problem with the candle blowing out) is to replace the H4 bulb with a Philips Extreme Power bulb. They are not cheap, but claim up to 80% more light than standard. I have not measured the light output but can say it is definitely brighter and whiter. I am pleased with the result. night riding is now a pleasure.

In fact I am so pleased that I have bought another 2 for my Landrover Discovery and they are superb there as well.

Hope that helps.

Dave.