I hate plastic headlights!

[Travman]

I can't stand that almost every car and motorcycle in world now comes with plastic headlights.  This is especially noticeable in sunny areas like So. Cali. & Florida.  I see perfectly good cars that are only a few years old with yellow headlights.  The cars look tired and worn out before their time.  This is just another case of a companies trying to cheapen their product.

I was in my local dealer today and every Ducati model had plastic for a headlight.  Even the Sport Classics headlights which look like traditional round glass headlights are plastic.  (The MV Agusta Brutale and F4 1078 had glass headlights).  Does this bother anybody else? 

[redxblack]

It bothers me as well, but not enough to start a thread.

The more I learn about the Sport Classic line, the more I want a 1970s 750 GT.

[He Man]

i have glass in my stokc bucket and my dualies.

the stock one is still clear, but the duals are nasty as shit. im no sure if u can polish them, im going to try soda blasting it.

[superjohn]

The yellow could be polished out with a little effort. Plastic is easier to mold, so easier to use in aerodynamic applications. Not to mention it allows greater freedom of design, unencumbered by the need to accommodate standard round and square lenses.

[Porsche Monkey]

Those plastic headlights polish out pretty easy.

[Travman]

The yellow could be polished out with a little effort. Plastic is easier to mold, so easier to use in aerodynamic applications. Not to mention it allows greater freedom of design, unencumbered by the need to accommodate standard round and square lenses.

The plastic polish works to some extant. I've polished a two sets of car headlights. It will get rid of most of the cloudiness, but they never really look new and clear. Also, there are places that offer a headlight refurbishing services, but again the lights never look new & perfectly clear.

Glass makes for a more durable & classy headlight than plastic.  I saw a sweet looking RX-8 while in Florida last week. It looked perfect except for the terrible looking cloudy & discolored headlights.  That car couldn't be more than 6 years old.  The glass in my Monster's headlight will look good for the life of the bike.

I don't doubt that plastic is easier and cheaper to use.  However, this doesn't mean glass is limited to round and square lenses.  Glass has been shaped into just about any form imaginable for centuries.  Take a look at the glass headlight on the MV Agusta Brutale.  The fact is plastic is a cheap substitute.

[kopfjäger]

You could start manufacturing aftermarket glass replacements. 

[Popeye the Sailor]

The fact is plastic is a cheap substitute.

Cheap, perfectly acceptable, strong, lightweight, inexpensive substitute. Seriously-glass blows. It's just as subject to getting cloudy, nicked, cracked, broken, stolen, and worn out as anything else, except it's probably more expensive and easier to shatter. I have no doubt neighborhood kids would love it if lenses were made of glass.

[ducatiz]

i had a set of transparent aluminum headlights made, couldn't be happier.  whales like 'em too.

[krolik]

i had a set of transparent aluminum headlights made, couldn't be happier.  whales like 'em too.

 

 

[GAAN]

but if they brought the whales back then the alien thing never threatened them so they wouldn't have to go back...the idea is as flawed as blown glass