With that said, let's get to it!
My basic criteria
Today I share my 6 month review of the J.W. Speaker Adaptive LED Headlight and the Kuryakyn Tracer diffused LED turn signals that I installed on the MotoWriter Road King Special back in May of this year (see My Inner Cheapskate Lost!).
In my previous post, I mentioned a few points that I'll touch on briefly here.
1- Price and value. The number one thing I look at when buying or upgrading any product is the price and the value. When I say value, I mean, what am I going to get out of this product for the price I'm going to pay for it? Is it cheap enough to try it, then toss it if I don't like it, or is this going to be a significant investment for me? What is a significant investment for one person, may be quite a bit different for someone else, so I'll qualify that question with this- I'm a blue-collar working man with bills to pay. I don't have "family money" or a job that pays 6 figures, so a headlight that costs more than my motorcycle payment, is going to fall under that "significant investment" category.
2- Cool factor. Yes, this may seem like a very superficial point to consider, but it is an important point nonetheless. Why? Because it's a motorcycle and, while I want it to be functional, I also want it to look good while being functional. Let's be honest for a moment, if we are only concerned with functionality, then we probably wouldn't ride motorcycles in the first place. I can think of several different options for improving the lighting on my motorcycle that would be less expensive, but would look horrible in my opinion (which is all that matters when it comes to how my motorcycle looks).
Bottom line- it's gotta look good, function well and do what I expect it to do for the price I paid for it.
J.W. Speaker adaptive headlight (model 8790)
So with the J.W. Speaker Adaptive headlight, the biggest question wasn't if the quality of the product was sufficient, but rather, was the functionality of the "adaptive" technology worth the price tag? Living in South Mississippi provides a very long riding season, but the trade-off is, there's not a whole lot of really curvy roads and there's even less mountain roads. So, in order to do a full, fair product review on a headlight that is supposed to illuminate your way through curves, I made a trip to the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, just for my loyal MotoReaders.
The headlight functions surprisingly well. I do notice it more in left-hand turns and curves more than right hand turns, but it's not because it's not working properly, but rather, the fact that I'm on the right side of the road, so there's less road to be lit up. In right turns, it lights up the shoulder and ditch instead which is still good because now I can see those woodland critters on the edge of the road that are waiting for their chance to ambush an unprepared motorcyclist. The light functions exactly as promised and, as a matter of fact, has spoiled me so much that I don't even want to ride my Dyna at night because I've become so used to the extra light from the Road King's adaptive. It really is that nice.
While the price tag is hefty, it is worth spending the extra money if you ride at night, especially on curvy back roads. If you are a daytime only rider or do most of your riding on long, straight stretches with little to no curves, then first of all, I'm sorry for you because that sounds awful, but my advice would be to save your money. If, however, you enjoy the peace and solidarity of riding under the stars on sweeping curves, then bust open that little ceramic pig and order yourself a new adaptive headlight from J.W. Speaker.
Kuryakyn Tracer diffused LED turn signals (2904 & 2906)
While the replacement LEDs functioned well thanks to Harley-Davidson so thoughtfully using an, already load equalized, CAN bus electrical system on the bike (meaning, you don't need to install load equalizers due to the lower amp draw with LED bulbs on the newer Harley-Davidson models), they didn't look that good. I really like the look of the diffused LED tail lights on newer cars. My wife's car has them and they just look like they're from the future... they're one of the few things of the modern age that I do actually like. So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw the Kuryakyn Tracer diffused LED lights available for my, modern classic, Road King Special. At over $100 a pair, they are considerably more expensive than the LED bulbs that I had already picked up, but these lights had the modern look I was after, so it didn't take nearly as much decision making on these. They are super bright, look amazing and, in my humble opinion, really match the sleek, modern aesthetic of my Road King Special.
For what you get- a very well made, plug and play, aftermarket device that offers an immediate improvement over the stock lighting with a modern, updated, and just plain stylish appearance- all for around $250.That's not too bad for a full LED upgrade, in my opinion.