Any H4 bulb will work as stated earlier.

Having said that, you're not going to gain much (if anything) switching between H4 halogen bulbs. If you find one of higher wattage, you'll just end up melting something (the housing, the wires, etc.) or running down your battery for a very paltry gain in lumens.

If you really want to fix the problem, order what's called a Bi-Xenon HID H4 kit. They can be had for under $200 now. The Bi-Xenon part means that it includes an electro-mechanical servo that moves the HID capsule back and forth between the high and low beam position within the housing. It's small, trick, simple, and works great.

Read about how I installed one on my KLR650 here

 

You guys are funny, my KLX has better lighting than my 99 Dodge Ram. And that was after putting the "brighter" lamps in the truck. My bike lights up the road better than most vehicles around here.[8D] I don't know what the complaint is.

 

The complaint is riding home in the dark and raining low beam lets cars see me but I can't see squat in front of me, doesn't help that our pavement markings have lost most of their reflectiveness. So when there was oncoming traffic I had no white line to avert my eyes to and I just stared straight at the center of the leading vehicles taillights and charged on ahead. Even on high beam last night it was dismal at best, then you factor in the "compound eye" effect of having a rain soaked visor and it made for a miserable 15 mile commute.

 

HID is beneficial not only in the brighter light, but it also saves about 20W off the electrical system, which might be just enough for tremor38 to run both heated grips AND vest, instead of one or the other.

Thanks for the keyword on the "bi-xenon" bmwhd. That's the key for providing a "low" beam and remaining DOT legal, I think. The cool HID race lights available at Baja Designs are off-road only, unfortunately. But the bi-xenon high/low beam that use the stock reflector should be DOT legal.

 

Nobrakes what are the odds of actually getting hassled by DOT reqs, bright is good? I was going to get the Baja 8" HID and just point it at the ground when on pavement lol, it can't be that bright or is it

 

I can't see crap at night. I think the headlight is adjusted too low. Let's put it this way, it is the only vehicle that I ever owned that I can have the high beam on at night and not one person will be offended. [&:]

 

Might be OK pointed at the ground, but pointing straight ahead those lights will burn the eye sockets out of on coming drivers which is not safe for you as they might actually plow right into you since they are completely dazzled by the brilliance!

They are designed for high speed off-road at night - races like the Baja 1000 that don't stop when the sun goes down and the pace is 90 MPH WOT over the varying terrain of the Baja Peninsula after dark. You gotta have some serious light to keep going that fast after dark and those lights are it.

But I'd like to try them. They do have that quick adjust **** so maybe you can manually change the angle, or maybe even hook up an actuator and angle the whole thing at the flick of a switch on your handlebar.

 

I don't think you will catch any of the sellers stating that the Bi-xenons are DOT legal and I don't think you'll find that in the documentation either. I think it's one of those use at your own risk type of products. The very fact that you're putting an HID bulb into a reflector designed for a Halogen bulb probably would disqualify the set-up.

I have been considering a set-up like this for quite some time now and will probably make a move before winter is over. One of the reasons I was holding off was because I thought BMWHD was gonna go ahead and be the guinea pig!
I know he installed one on his KLR, but I thought we might run into clearance issues with the back of the bulb/connector combo running into the steering head.....Unless BMWHD would be willing to measure the distance that his bulb and connector protrude from the reflector on his KLR650. Where there's a will, there's a way, but I'd rather have a no hassle clean fit. The other possible issue is beam scatter, but small amounts of that should be acceptable.

 

??????????????? I have the same light you do, and it's pretty bright. I think you might have "offended" a few awefully tolerant drivers if you actually run it that way.

 

Yeah I checked. It's adjusted way too low. I'll have to adjust it to normal height. It looks like I have to take off the mini "fairing" to do so. [&:]