BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Has anyone replaced their H11 bulb with a H9 (modified to fit). I'm interested in someone that has done it or knows someone that has done it, not a discussion of pros and cons.
Mostly interested in how the Can bus feels about the extra 10 watts of draw to the bulb.

Never heard of that.

I don't think it'd be hard to remove the H11, and temporarily connect an H9 bulb to the bike's headlight wiring to see if the ZFE objects to the added load.

OK Success.


For those that may be interested. I purchased a standard Sylvania H9-65W (64213) from Amazon for $9.45.

Install: I had to cut off one of the tabs inside the H9 female plug. Google it, there are pictures all over the place under H11-H9 conversion. Straight forward install, just unplug the old - plug in the new.

The extra 10 Watt draw seems to have no effect on the Can-bus and the bike is happy with the slightly higher amp draw.

Testing:
With the H11 in (fairly new bulb) I started the bike in the garage with the headlight pointed at the back wall. When I turned the high beam on I could still see the cuttoff on the upper edge of the low beam. I made note of the light pattern with both lamps on.
With the H9 in, I again started the bike and switched the high beam on. The light from the high beam was so much brighter that I could no longer see the light pattern from the low beam. The light pattern from the combined lamps seemed the same as the H11 but noticeably brighter than with the H11 in.

Down side: The H9 has a shorter service life than the H11, but I'm running it in the high beam and it will get used rarely. Changing bulbs on the R is as simple as it gets, so a failure on the road can easily be easily resolved by putting in the spare H11 I carry.

Bad News: I don't think this would work well on the low beam because the H9 doesn't have the light shield on the tip of the bulb and that would surely screw up the light pattern from the low beam (lots of glare). I never use the high beam when another vehicle is approching and when I went for a test ride at night bounce back from the H9 didn't seem to be noticable.

As a side note: a few months ago I installed a cheap HID conversion in the high beam and it was a disaster. I had to use the 55W unit as the Can-bus didn't like the 35W unit. On high beam the thing threw light all over the place and the bounce back (glare) off bright and refelctive surfaces was blinding. The units (two of them) now reside in my box of projects that didn't work out.

Conclusion:For the extra light you can get for less than $10 I don't know why someone on the list hasn't done this already.

Conclusion:For the extra light you can get for less than $10 I don't know why someone on the list hasn't done this already.

Because we were waiting for you to do it - obviously.

Could I have the rest of the numbers from that bulb?

as in 9007?

Thanks for the report.

David

David R wrote:Could I have the rest of the numbers from that bulb?
as in 9007?
Thanks for the report.
David

Which one the H9 or H11

I bought the H9. It goes in later today. $10.25 at Advance Auto.
I bought the plane jane one because I have found the fancy ones do not last long.

I'll post some pictures when I am done.

Thanks

David

The H9 is brighter. Is there more current draw? Is this going to melt wires in the long run? If it doesn't scare the canbus maybe not.

Just a thought... seems like a h11 will fit a h9 socket. Perhaps switching the socket (fixture) might be do-able. If a good connection could be made.???

Robert

celticus wrote:The H9 is brighter. Is there more current draw? Is this going to melt wires in the long run? If it doesn't scare the canbus maybe not.

The H-11 is 55 Watts the H-9 is 65 watts so naturally it draws more amperage. it's all in the P=IE.
As stated I would be hesitant to use it in the low beam.

redwing wrote: Just a thought... seems like a h11 will fit a h9 socket. Perhaps switching the socket (fixture) might be do-able. If a good connection could be made.???

My last resort would be to bastardize the stock wiring especially when the H-9 is so easy to modify.

BTW: Has anyone else actually tried this. If so how did it work out. So far mine works fine with no problems.

I've not tried it, sounds like a good idea. If my calculations are correct its less than on amp (.9)differences between the two bulbs.

Newportcycle wrote:I've not tried it, sounds like a good idea. If my calculations are correct its less than on amp (.9)differences between the two bulbs.

Should be 15% brighter since its drawing that much more current. It was easy to cut the tab with a SHARP pocket knife.

David