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What's the best headlight improvement option?
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:26 pm
by Rick Lee
I can't stand the weak yellowish beam of my stock headlight. H4's are pretty good on old Porsches, but they don't do much for modern bikes. I'm spoiled by HID's on my cars. I had Sylvania Silverstars, which seemed like a great improvement until I installed HID's and was blown away by them. Not sure I want to spend the money for an HID on my bike. But what's the next best option? Does someone make a bolt-on relay kit to handle a hotter bulb?
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:38 pm
by pinecone
Kind of pricey, but I have noticed an improvement since replacing the stock bulb with a PIAA SuperPlasma GT-X bulb. Make sure you get the powersports (anti-vibration) version.
http://www.shopatron.com/product/produc ... 0476/353.0
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:50 pm
by Rick Lee
On second thought, some of the HID conversion kits on eBay look pretty decent for $100-$150. Anyone try one of these?
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:47 pm
by R4R&R
Kevin Markwell (lives in Bethesda) put an HID converion on his K1200R and it looks pretty good. He had some hookup from his sons sportbike crowd from what I remember. Try sending him a PM, but he may be a little slow in responding; he's a busy man and tried deer hunting last week with his r1150r - he bagged an 8 point!
Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 7:30 pm
by Deano
Here is a good option for trying higher wattage bulbs:
http://www.easternbeaver.com/Home/Main/ ... _kits.html
I am trying out a 100/80 watt OSRAM I found on e-bay from a seller in Thailand:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/os55-PAI ... QQtcZphoto
I had the bulbs in two weeks. Vast improvement, but I am sure HID would be even better.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:19 am
by socalrob
I put in an HID kit in my R1150R about 2 years ago. Best mod I've made, would do it on any bike I own. Low beam gives a very bright wide beam that I am never flashed by other drivers for. I can run in the 70's on a dark road and still not over run the light.
Only down side is you can't also have a modulator as the HID kit is a single bulb that wiggles for the high beam focus position.
I have never got around to adding any other lights, the HID works that well.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:23 am
by Rick Lee
Which kit and color did you get and how much was it? I love the 6000k in my 993.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 9:53 am
by GeoffJ
I visited the PIAA site, saw lots of products, but no application charts. What gives?
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:46 am
by Deano
I was searching for info on another board and came across an interesting link RE: HID kits:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... sions.html
Use Higher watt H 4s
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:56 am
by kjax909
I've run an aftermarket H4 130w/90w since I bought my bike new in '02. I haven't had any problems (melted wires, headshell, etc) and I do check my wires about twice a season since some think the extra current draw is too much for the stock wiring. You get great light from these higher wattage bulbs and I don't get cars flashing their highs at me when I'm on the the 90w low beam.
Only thing I would observe is that these bulbs (probably deasigned for cars) burn out faster. I've gone through two in this bike, though I buy the cheapest I can find (usually at JC Whitney), of the non anti-vibratory type. Still cheap installment payment for much improved lighting. As I recall they're about $19 for two.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:11 pm
by Arbreacames
I highly recommend easternbeaver for its well-made relay kits. I gained nearly a volt at the bulb because it powers the bulb straight from the battery, by-passing the switches. In an older Honda I once had, there was a 2 Volt drop from the battery to the bulb. One or two Volts make a huge difference in the light output. In addition, you can run higher-watt bulbs without burning your switches. It is about $50 shipped.
H4
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 5:31 pm
by johnt650
I had good luck with a standard wattage Vision Plus bulb from Powerbulbs.com. This is not the DOT approved version sold in the states and was a nice improvement over the stock bulb.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 7:52 pm
by challey
I copied a fairly detailed report on lamps and harnesses from a web posting some time ago. The person who did the testing did a great job with the analysis, measuring the light output with meter and then road-testing to verify the results. His write-up is below.
LOW BEAM TEST RESULTS (in footcandles @ approx 30 feet)
Bulb
GE (Stock)
Stock Harness = 12.7
Beaver Harness = 15.8
Silverstar
Stock Harness = 17.5
Beaver Harness = 16.4
Xtreme White
Stock Harness = 18.5
Beaver Harness = 17.1
SuperHalogen
Stock Harness = 20.7
Beaver Harness = 20.0
HIGH BEAM TEST RESULTS (in footcandles @ approx 30 feet)
Bulb
GE (Stock)
Stock Harness = 45.1
Beaver Harness = 79.7
Silverstar
Stock Harness = 55.3
Beaver Harness = 89.4
Xtreme White
Stock Harness = 46.7
Beaver Harness = 81.3
SuperHalogen
Stock Harness = 64.1
Beaver Harness =100.0
Note that Beaver Harness had less light output on low beam!
Xtreme White had "whitest beam", Silverstar not quite as "white", GE yellow, Super Halogen yellow/white beam.
Clearly the Silverstar is a much better value than the more expensive PIAA Xtreme White.
The expensive Xtreme White is only marginally brighter than the stock bulb, although the light apears whiter, it is not measurably brighter.
The additional light gained by the use of the Beaver Harness in cases >75% is worth the expense if driving in mountains/rural areas at night.
The light gain between a stock bulb/harness to the SuperHalogen/Beaver harness is 121%!!! The downside is the extreme heat generated from the bulb. I would not use this bulb without the upgraded wireing harness as I would expect overloaded components/wires in the lighting circuit.
Though I have the text. I unfortunately don't have the link and so can't give the proper credit but whomever it was that put the test together deserves recognition.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 8:41 pm
by Arbreacames
challey wrote:I unfortunately don't have the link and so can't give the proper credit but whomever it was that put the test together deserves recognition.
Good info. Here is the original link:
http://www.bikersoracle.com/rs/forum/sh ... ostcount=2
I like the performance of the Silverstars. I have used them on several cars and motorcycles. However, they don't last much more than a year or so on my cars. The low life and reliability of the Silverstars has made me go back to standard bulbs.
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:58 pm
by boxermania
Very nice and informative posts, however, we always go back to the addage of "you can't have your cake and eat it too"
The bottom line:
Halogen
More watts = more light, more heat, more draw on the charging system, less life on the bulb.
HID
Same as above plus one beam, light pattern requires diferent optics than the halogen for proper lighting, cost.
So, it pays to eveluate the type of night riding you plan to do and then choose what would be the best system that will provide the desired end result. There are many available choices...............
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 11:50 pm
by Rick Lee
This thread has opened up a can of too many worms. I will rarely ride at night. But I still want a much better light than the stock one. Daniel Stern's article seems to totally debunk retro-fitted HID's. But honestly, it was the best of many mods. I've done on my 993 and the best bang for the buck too. I emailed him and am waiting to hear back. Maybe a hotter bulb with a relay is the answer. I did that on two older 911's I had and it worked great too. Maybe I should just conduct a poll: people who have done HID vs. relays and hotter bulbs.
Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:33 am
by DJ Downunder
Mine was a quick..easy..and cheap fix.
It only takes a few minutes to put in a Phillips H4 60/55w Vision Plus globe/bulb.
Heaps better light...they claim 50% more light....no more dull yellow glow.
You can get them from most auto shops and cost about $10. (btw..you can buy single packs)
DJ
Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:20 am
by rdsmith3
Arbreacames wrote:
I highly recommend easternbeaver for its well-made relay kits. I gained nearly a volt at the bulb because it powers the bulb straight from the battery, by-passing the switches. In an older Honda I once had, there was a 2 Volt drop from the battery to the bulb. One or two Volts make a huge difference in the light output. In addition, you can run higher-watt bulbs without burning your switches. It is about $50 shipped.
Another vote for this relay kit.
I installed this relay plus a 90/100 watt bulb, and it has made a big difference in the amount of light that the headlight puts out.
You can add the two relays yourself for less money, but I just found it easier to buy this kit.
Regarding the heat issue, I just don't see that being an issue on our naked bikes. The headlight is in a large metal housing that is exposed to the airflow on all sides. That arrangement seems to work fine for dissipating heat. I can see that heat would be an issue on a bike with the headlight inside the fairing, but not on the Roadster.