Just out of interest, am I correct in thinking that there are two styles of round headlight fitted to early monsters .. one of which has a single-bolt fixing of the rim to the shell, and another which has a two-bolt fixing ?
I think the latter may have been fitted to the S4R, and possibly others.
Mine is the former, with single-bolt rim fixing .. and its really fiddly.
I'm never totally sure whether I've refitted the rim correctly or butchered it into some "halfway-house" position, from which it will subsequently spring at the first decent bump in the road.
The replacement aftermarket headlight in Gazza's link looks like it has the two-bolt fixing ?
One question arising from all this is .. which type is being considered here, with regard to making an adaptor ring ?
I wonder whether the adaptor ring would be different for the two headlamp types (seems likely) or whether the same design would fit both ?
Which type do you all have ?
Tbh, I have a two-bolt type on my thumper and its like chalk and cheese compared to the fiddly, single-bolt one on the monster.
One relevance here is that, if I were to be considering getting a carbon headlamp shell, I might well be keen to switch to the other type.
Maybe others would feel the same and so it might be worth going for an adaptor to fit that type ?
I currently have the std lamp, fitted with a Phillips Extreme bulb.
I find that if this is adjusted within a gnat's cock of maximum dazzle height, its just about acceptable, on a good day.
I'm living with it for now but I'm constantly casting around for a potential upgrade that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
I've ruled out HID because of the lag, which sounds dangerous, and also the messiness.
I did try a cheap(ish) led bulb from China, which looked rather promising in a static test on the road outside my house, but seemed to throw a wobbler when I tried it on the move, being dim on dip and seeming to plunge me into darkness when I stabbed for main beam .. so I abandoned that.
But I did notice this led unit recently.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Headlight-...AAAOSwHsRYDfMQ
Its always difficult to judge until you've actually tried one, or know someone who has, and this is by no means a recommendation, just a "heads up".
But the price is good, the spec sounds ok (and is reassuringly not written in pidgin) and its appearance is perhaps more "normal" than some units.
I did also suspect that the polycarbonate lens might make it lighter than a glass lens, but I enquired and I think it probably doesn't.
Interestingly, the package does list a "stainless steel mounting kit", but that wouldn't be an adaptor ring surely ....???
They do also list their own shell for fifty odd quid, but personally I think I'd rather spend my money on a carbon shell.
I'm guessing that you've already assumed that I'd be interested in an adaptor.
There has been lots written about headlights previously.
It would be nice to bring all the various ideas together, perhaps test a few against each other, and come up with a definitive answer backed up with comparative, real world tests.