That regulator is made by ElectroSport and the model needed or the cb550 is the ESR240. This will help the charging system run smoothly. The regulator is about 100 bucks but is must for a new build. Now for the cool stuff.
Before I even bought my bike I knew what lights I wanted to put on it. Lighting seems to be something that everyone overlooks. I have friends who have that ride motorcycles, and almost all of them wish their headlights were brighter or feel like the amount of light their stock units put out is dangerous. That was something that stuck with me. Why would you ride without adequate lighting? It seems that riding a motorcycle is already risky enough with all these idiots texting and putting on makeup when they should be driving, so why make it worse? Having good lighting is also better for riding. I ride/race mountain bikes, as in bicycles. Maybe that's what turned me on to lighting. In racing, the more light you have, the faster you can go. I can only assume it will be the same situation while riding a motorcycle. One of the main reasons I went with this headlight was because of it's freakishly wide beam pattern. One headlight will easily cover two lanes. This was something that scared me about motorcycle headlights. If you are riding mountain roads (or forest service roads like I plan to) you should be worried about wildlife. The more you can see on the sides of the road, the more safe you will be. I don't know about you, but I don't want to hit a deer on a motorcycle. Ok enough preaching, here's the light.
It's made by Truck Lite. Truck Lite got their start by making replacement lights for the humvee assault vehicle. This is the generation two, or phase 7 light. It has a lexan lens (shatter proof) and a nice aluminum heat sink back with a breather so you don't get any condensation. Condensation isn't really an issue with LED because they usually give off less heat than conventional bulbs. LEDs also last 50 times longer than standard bulbs. This is the "7 inch round headlight" used for humvees and jeeps. It costs anywhere from $180 to $220 (depending on who you get it from). I would have paid more, it's that good. Not to sound lame, but you can't put a price on safety. Needless to say I'm impressed with the quality and output. It's more than I expected.
Here are some more pictures that are a bit more important. Here is the power draw of the stock sealed beam (high):
5.10 amps at 9.2 volts, the lower voltage was because it was draining the power supply. On the battery, the draw in volts will be larger, between 12-14 volts. At a stop light this matters a good bit. Here are the numbers for the Truck Lite LED (high and low):
3.84 Amps at 13.6 volts, because our power source wasn't being over loaded. This is a lot better than the stock sealed beam. Ok light comparisons. I hope you all appreciate this because it was a pain in the butt. Here is the lack luster stock beam on high. Straight over head (assisted by my lovely girlfriend, Sofia):
From the side but still looks forward. These are taken with the iPhone so the differences aren't as noticeable in these pictures...the photos don't do it justice.
And the Truck lite LED. Straight forward. Notice we couldn't get the whole beam pattern in the shot. It was lighting up the yards on both sides of the street.
From the side looking forward.
Crazy bright. And here are some shots of the light from about 25-30 feet away. (Any farther and the iPhone wouldn't have really captured the light well)
Stock: looks like your nieghbors walking their dog.
Truck lite LED: looks like a small alien, ship traveling at warp speed.
Notice how much of the road is illuminated.
This light should be a direct replacement for the stock sealed beam (as far as I can tell from a quick test fit) more info will be posted as I start getting everything wired up.
