Blown bulb close call............!

[Farmer Palmer]

Riding home from Kelso tonight in the light sapping darkness and i'm half way round a sweeping corner at 60mph on dipped beam as there's a car coming towards me when my dipped headlight bulb suddenly blows!

Sure enough the RID shows LampF and i was able to ride home using the foglamps instead of dipped beam!

First time I've had a headlamp bulb fail in the dark on the bike!

FP.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

So what colour is adrenaline?

 

[Pukmeister]

At last, someone finds a genuinely good reason for riding with the fog/driving lamps on. Naysayers take notice, they are a safety feature.....

 

[Bendy toy]

I always ride with mine on. I've watched the bike in the mirrors when I swapped bikes with my brother and the BMW really stands out because the three lights are so unusual compared to cars and bikes with just one dipped headlight.

However I dont see the light output is that useful - but better than nowt if the dip bulb fails.

LED fogs would give the same visibility effect & maybe better being so white,

 

[Bobbin-Man]

At last, someone finds a genuinely good reason for riding with the fog/driving lamps on. Naysayers take notice, they are a safety feature.....

At last, someone finds a genuinely good reason to carry a spare (as is legally required in the rest of continental Europe!). Naysayers take notice, they are a safety feature.....

 

[Nutty]

So what colour is adrenaline?

I'd guess brown

 

[Bendy toy]

At last, someone finds a genuinely good reason to carry a spare (as is legally required in the rest of continental Europe!). Naysayers take notice, they are a safety feature.....

Im not against carrying spares but they are much help when your few mm of white hot wire fails mid bend on a dark road. And try changing the bulb in the dark. A far more useful option would be for all vehicles to have at least 2 headlights.

At least the OP had his fogs to see by.

 

[ferrol]

When my main beam went I just used the high beam and tilted the headlight down some what. Got me home where I could sort the bulb with a spare.

Luckily on the 650gs twin both bulbs are the same so I'd just swap them if needed.

 

[Beemerman59]

Im not against carrying spares but they are much help when your few mm of white hot wire fails mid bend on a dark road. And try changing the bulb in the dark. A far more useful option would be for all vehicles to have at least 2 headlights.

At least the OP had his fogs to see by.

Whilst I understand the benefit of having the fogs on at night just in case the dip beam fails, my concern is for the traffic coming in the other direction which are going to be blinded by the fogs. I think you're much more likely to cause an accident which may well involve you because you've blinded oncoming vehicles. I have fogs and spots fitted to my bike (all with HID's) but never run with fogs at night for that reason unless its low visibility i.e fog. Maybe its just luck, but whenever I've had a bulb fail its never been when riding - just on power up. If you do have fogs on at night at least ensure they are pointing downwards rather than straight ahead.

 

[beatmeier]

Whilst I understand the benefit of having the fogs on at night just in case the dip beam fails, my concern is for the traffic coming in the other direction which are going to be blinded by the fogs. I think you're much more likely to cause an accident which may well involve you because you've blinded oncoming vehicles. I have fogs and spots fitted to my bike (all with HID's) but never run with fogs at night for that reason unless its low visibility i.e fog. Maybe its just luck, but whenever I've had a bulb fail its never been when riding - just on power up. If you do have fogs on at night at least ensure they are pointing downwards rather than straight ahead.

Fog lights should have a alignment that they don't blind anyone. ....There is one situation where they can a bit. . . ( in a lefthand bend with a bit of a leaning angle. )
However after market HID's are often slightly out of focus due to their shape and bigger ""burn pattern"". So this might cause the blinding on your bike and not all fog lights.

 

[Beemerman59]

Fog lights should have a alignment that they don't blind anyone. ....There is one situation where they can a bit. . . ( in a lefthand bend with a bit of a leaning angle. )
However after market HID's are often slightly out of focus due to their shape and bigger ""burn pattern"". So this might cause the blinding on your bike and not all fog lights.

I've come across enough 1200GS's with fogs on at night (HID's or no HID's) to know how they can blind on coming traffic. As I said in my post, personally I only have mine on when there's low visibility i.e fog or if its a bright sunny winter's day and the sun is low directly behind me. Just my experience.

 

[Mr K]

As an owner of a 1200 for 8 years, I would not contemplate a road-side bulb change - It's bad enough in a well-lit garage, where you know it's impossible for the little springy clip to escape......and you need fingers like ET anyway...

 

[Big Nick]

Always have the fogs on during the day but tend to turn them off at night after a mate at work told me they were blinding him when he was in front of me in his car one night.

 

[The Grey One]

Always have the fogs on during the day but tend to turn them off at night after a mate at work told me they were blinding him when he was in front of me in his car one night.

Had two groups through here last summer where nobody wanted to have the bike with HIDs behind them! This was during daylight. I want to see and be seen but if you dazzle/annoy other traffic I think you have to question the safety benefits.

John

 

[Farmer Palmer]

At last, someone finds a genuinely good reason to carry a spare (as is legally required in the rest of continental Europe!). Naysayers take notice, they are a safety feature.....

Of course I carry a spare............It's just not so easy changing one in the dark!

Fog lamps are set low aswell so you can see the roadside.........If they're set high then you'll get flashed by oncoming traffic!

FP.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

As an owner of a 1200 for 8 years, I would not contemplate a road-side bulb change - It's bad enough in a well-lit garage, where you know it's impossible for the little springy clip to escape......and you need fingers like ET anyway...

Too true

Oh, and for all the nae-sayers, there's nought wrong with HID or fog lights at all, in fact far from it. A HID conversion is almost obligatory if you're gonna try and make progress at night on unlit roads given how shite the standard light is.
If there is a problem it's with twats who don't know how to set up and properly align their lights.

Andres

 

[Beemerman59]

Too true

Oh, and for all the nae-sayers, ther'es nought wrong with HID or fog lights at all, in fact far from it. A HID conversion is almost obligatory if you're gonna try and make progress at night on unlit roads given how shite the standard light is.
If there is a problem it's with twats who don't know how to set up and properly align their lights.

Andres

I prefer my HID spot lamps not the fog lamps for night riding on unlit roads - much better range. Both have to be turned off when oncoming traffic is around as they will dazzle unless its low/bad visibility and then its the fogs. IMHO I think the fogs dazzle at night unless they're pointed down and then you don't get the range needed to make progress.

 

[The Grey One]

Too true

Oh, and for all the nae-sayers, ther'es nought wrong with HID or fog lights at all, in fact far from it. A HID conversion is almost obligatory if you're gonna try and make progress at night on unlit roads given how shite the standard light is.
If there is a problem it's with twats who don't know how to set up and properly align their lights.

Andres

And don't bother to re adjust when they load the bike with kitchen sink etc.!

John

 

[juddadredd]

For the love of all things holy...

If I can rebuild a bike by the side of a road in Cambodia, or make a new thread for a gear lever using a file in a supermarket car park (Kawasaki rider was in trouble) then I'm sure that you lot can replace a bulb by the side of the road, even at night...

Pull off cover, pull wire through no more then 2 inches
Pinch the wire and gently pull away from its mounting tabs
Remove bulb from housing
Remove bulb from connector
And then reverse the above with the new bulb

Same as my car my dads car my girlfriends car no problems doing theirs either, I guess it's practice knowing how your bikes put together (familiarity) and having a light touch. And yes I do know about those people that lose the spring, but then again those are the people that haven't put a small washer over the spring in the first place so don't read the forum posts that help those in need...

You can flame me but if you can't fix your bike for little simple things that go wrong then what you gonna do when your trip turns to shit in the wilderness when your cold and wet and shivering and your all lone in the night... that's my quote and I've been round the globe 2.5 times and been in the shit more then once but always managed to sort myself out...

 

[Big Nick]

For the love of all things holy...

If I can rebuild a bike by the side of a road in Cambodia, or make a new thread for a gear lever using a file in a supermarket car park (Kawasaki rider was in trouble) then I'm sure that you lot can replace a bulb by the side of the road, even at night...

Pull off cover, pull wire through no more then 2 inches
Pinch the wire and gently pull away from its mounting tabs
Remove bulb from housing
Remove bulb from connector
And then reverse the above with the new bulb

Same as my car my dads car my girlfriends car no problems doing theirs either, I guess it's practice knowing how your bikes put together (familiarity) and having a light touch. And yes I do know about those people that lose the spring, but then again those are the people that haven't put a small washer over the spring in the first place so don't read the forum posts that help those in need...

You can flame me but if you can't fix your bike for little simple things that go wrong then what you gonna do when your trip turns to shit in the wilderness when your cold and wet and shivering and your all lone in the night... that's my quote and I've been round the globe 2.5 times and been in the shit more then once but always managed to sort myself out...

Love it

You always get a bite eventually!