Bulbs

[BTBR]

Not dafs either.......

Has anyone replaced the OE H1 headlight dip & main bulbs for the 50% brighter Zenon ones?

If so, have you any comments to make on them?
Alan

 

[Dave Hall]

I think most of us have been that route before giving up and mounting additional lamps.

I think it boils down to: Higher wattage/intensity = reduced bulb life.

The xenons are an improvement and last quite a long time but its not a dramatic improvement in my opinion.

 

[littleredrooster]

Try Philips Vision+ (30% brighter). Makes the best of a bad job. Genuine Philips are the only ones to deliver this extra output in my experience, as well as lasting well. Do a search on 'bulbs', 'lamps' or 'headlight' to find many early threads on this problem.

 

[MikeO]

Wot LRR said. I've had Phillips 30% brighter bulbs for 25k miles so far without one blowing (100w bulbs used to last between a week and a fortnight in the dip beam).

Mike

 

[Banjaxed]

Philips +30

Reliable, better, not good enough. Use 'em, but have added other lights.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

I've had a 100w halfords bulb in my 1100 for couple of years now - no bother and better light output.

probably better than 1150 lights anyway

Phil

 

[Wreford Miles]

I like good lights...

I now commute 100 miles on a cross country route using shitty back lanes.

And last year I did the Sahara run which involved early starts and lots of high speed work in the dark.

When planning that trip I wanted to ensure I had good lights, at the time I was running a 130watt main beam brought from Motorworks..... It was brilliant, BUT.

I was not 100% sure it would not burn out the switches and took advise from many areas. So my choice was to go with Halfords spots and Phillips +50%.

In my opinion the Philips + 50% make a difference worth having. If I did'nt use my main beam a lot I'd be tempted to run a +50% in the dip and a 100watt in the main.

 

[Explorer]

Cheapo Xenons

I got some cheapo Xenons from a Motor Factor-and they made a significant improvement. I have spotlights I have not got round to fitting yet-but the need has reduced after fitting the Xenon Bulb. After coming of a Triumph Tiger 900 to the GS-I was very dissapointed with the original halogen beam-the Xenon had brought it up to Tiger standards,
Cheer's
Explorer

 

[BTBR]

Fitted some of the Phillips +50% brighter bulbs the weekend, heaps better although I have no had to lower the beam slightly as car drivers were flashing me.
To be fair I had set the dip beam quite high and then altered the main beam down independently on the front adjusting screw coz of the linked lighting arrangement.
Good improvement over the OE bulbs just waiting for the light bar to arrive thne the FF50's are going on as well.

Alan

 

[Ned Flanders]

why more watts

If you up the bulb wattage all you you do is put more photons down in the same beam pattern/spread.

Don't we use additional lamps to change the beam pattern/spread to something more useful.

Higher wattage bulbs are a waste of money I reckon.

Regards

Tim

 

[BTBR]

You are not increasing the wattage thats the whole point. You are only increasing how bright the bulb burns, therefore whilst it does not alter the beam pattern what it does do is make the light more brighter and whiter.

I proved this by putting some masking tape lines on the garage doors with the OE bulbs fitted and switched on dip beam.
Then I swopped over the bulbs without moving the bike, no differance at all in the pattern..BUT...the light that was now there was a lot brighter. This was also highlighted when I went out yesterday afternoon when several car drivers flashed me about my lights

I agree that there is no subsitute for additional lighting but for a small fee why not take advantage of what you already have fitted and improve on it?

Thats my take anyway?

Alan

 

[littleredrooster]

Re: why more watts

If you up the bulb wattage all you you do is put more photons down in the same beam pattern/spread.

Ahhh - not so. 100W H1 bulbs are notoriously difficult to focus properly. In my experience (over the past twenty years), 100w bulbs have not provided a significant increase in intensity, only an increase in the spread of the beam. Useful in certain circumstances.

Having said that, my worry with fitting 100w bulbs rests with the ability of the switchgear to cope with the additional load. No-one has so far provided the answer to that.