The new bike has an inadequate headlight. I guess I'll have to face up to that and do something about it. It really is like pointing a AA flashlight onto the street ahead of me - can't even see surface irregularities.

The things that might be done, in order of economy, are: Substitute a 55W/55W bulb for the 35W/35; replace the front number plate/headlight with one using an H4 bulb; have the alternator stator rewound and get an HID light/number plate.

The first may work, but as I can't find the output of the stock alternarot, I can't be sure. The taillight/brake light could be replaced by an LED version that draws less, giving some slack to use up front. It's a cheap fix that might give me some improvement. The total cost would be something on the order of $30.

The second, well it would seem that I could just come up with an H4 base for the current reflector, but reflectors for H4 bulbs are designed differently. H4 bulbs have a built-in front cap/reflector, sending light mostly rearward to be sorted out by main reflectors designed for their use. Even a 35W/35W H4 would be a distinct improvement on stock, but as the front number plate would be changed, the appearance of the bike would be different and, I believe, somewhat uglified. Total cost for this change would be about $140.

The HID idea is great and would produce huge light, but there are no hi/lo beam options that don't use two complete lights. Without hi/lo the light wouldn't be street legal, not that this in itself would prevent me from doing it. The stator would be sent out for re-winding, a new voltage regulator installed and a HID front number plate/light set would be substituted. Cost would be bounded at the low end around $600.

Notice the almost order of magnitude differences in costs. It's interesting in an abstract way that there are no $100 or $350 fixes. It's a discontinuous function, as it were. I wonder if in economics such functions are the rule rather than the exception. "Well, we could just dab a spot of grease here, or we could replace this part with one of a harder material and smoother surface finish, or we could start back at the beginning and design the whole damned thing all over again..."

For what it's worth, I'll probably try the cheap fix and see if it does any good, then move up to the intermediate fix if necessary. If the cheap one doesn't work, I've gambled and lost $30. That's about the way industry approaches the same sort of decision - a minor risk is taken even though the odds of winning are small because the payoff of a win would be relatively big. Then a "good enough" solution is undertaken when "cheap" doesn't work. The "best" is seldom done simply because the high cost vs small additional payoff doesn't make it worthwhile.

Or I could just avoid riding in the dark.

Angela, photographed in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada during my first trip up there. She's so smooth. I'd ride her in the dark - heh, heh, heh, sputter, cough...