Headlight bulb help - central London

[twizit]

Doh, headlight bulb went on my morning commute into London today

Stupid me for not carrying a spare I know, but:

- can someone please tell me what spec bulb I need?
- anyone know where I can pick one up in central London (am near Oxford Circus) otherwise I'll be leaving in daylight and stopping in Halfords on the way home
- how easy is it to fit a replacement bulb? Am assuming reasonable access from behind the lamp assembly?

I know I could easily look in the manual for 1 & 3... but that's at home right now and I'm not...

All help much appreciated, ta

Edit - bike is a 2010 650GS...

 

[v8legend]

It's just an ordinary H7 (not H4), you should be able to get them at any motor accessories shop. If not, you might be able to get one of those travel kits, there are some in Aldi's at the moment. Alternatively, as a get you home, do what I did last year when mine went. Swap it for your main beam, they're the same bulb

 

[twizit]

Cheers V8L - just what I needed to know.

Quick job to change them over?

 

[v8legend]

Cheers V8L - just what I needed to know.

Quick job to change them over?

Dead easy. Mine's an F800GS, but they're the same. Just put the bars on full lock, and twist the back off, no tools needed.

Oh, don't touch the glass with your fingers. It will lead to a hot spot, and the bulb will blow.

 

[twizit]

Magic many thanks.

 

[nig5]

Dead easy. Mine's an F800GS, but they're the same. Just put the bars on full lock, and twist the back off, no tools needed.

Oh, don't touch the glass with your fingers. It will lead to a hot spot, and the bulb will blow.

I read somewhere that when you put the headlight on after putting a new bulb in you should leave it on for a while, not turn it straight off after you have checked it works as this could shorten it`s life?

Haven`t changed a bulb on the GS yet but it looks easy unlike the S model where you need to dismantle half the bike or work as a gynaecologist!

 

[TheJoker]

And don't touch the new bulb with your fingers. The grease will cook and attach itself onto the reflector, screwing it up.

 

[twizit]

Thanks for the additional advice.

Has to be the easiest bulb change I've ever done on a bike or car. Twist off back caps, take off electric connector, unclip retainer and remove bulb. Insert new bulb and reverse the process. All of two minutes to swap over the main beam bulb

Feel stupid for having to ask now but invaluable advice knowing the main beam and headlight bulbs are the same. Will be picking up lots of spares on the way home....

 

[Malcolm Leick]

Just a thought, but have you ever considered replacing your bulbs with a 35w HID setup? Much, much brighter and the lamps last a hell of a lot longer. I got through 3 'ordinary' bulbs in a year for some reason and the costs were adding up.

The initial outlay on the HID lamps and ballast/wiring was a lot (about £160 I think), but I have never had a lamp problem since. The difference in night vision, and day time visibility is huge. I got them from HID50.com but there are other suppliers around and some people go for cheaper options advertised on ebay.

Don't go for 55w HID lamps as they will toast the back of your reflectors!

Very easy to fit too.

Malc

 

[twizit]

Malc, most of my riding is the commute in and out of London, no unlit country roads, so I've always found stock headlights to be more than sufficient. If I was doing a lot more out of town night riding though I'd definitely consider HID.

Also in 6 odd years of commuting I've only ever had to replace two headlight bulbs. Funnily enough both were on BMWs....

 

[nig5]

Just a thought, but have you ever considered replacing your bulbs with a 35w HID setup? Much, much brighter and the lamps last a hell of a lot longer. I got through 3 'ordinary' bulbs in a year for some reason and the costs were adding up.

The initial outlay on the HID lamps and ballast/wiring was a lot (about £160 I think), but I have never had a lamp problem since. The difference in night vision, and day time visibility is huge. I got them from HID50.com but there are other suppliers around and some people go for cheaper options advertised on ebay.

Don't go for 55w HID lamps as they will toast the back of your reflectors!

Very easy to fit too.

Malc

I did 12,000 miles on my F800s and replaced dipped beam, did another 6,000 and had to replace it again, as I said before " read somewhere that when you put the headlight on after putting a new bulb in you should leave it on for a while, not turn it straight off after you have checked it works as this could shorten it`s life?"
Didn`t know this when I replaced bulb so maybe that shortened it`s life?

 

[Richie N]

Malc, most of my riding is the commute in and out of London, no unlit country roads, so I've always found stock headlights to be more than sufficient. If I was doing a lot more out of town night riding though I'd definitely consider HID.

Also in 6 odd years of commuting I've only ever had to replace two headlight bulbs. Funnily enough both were on BMWs....

same as me, try one of the super bright bulbs (60% brighter), i bit more expensive but the difference it amazing. now traffic parts for me!

cheers

Rich

 

[dannyblanchard]

Can i upgrade my bulbs??

Hi, am wishing to have a brighter main beam on my f800gs. other than going down the HID/wiring route, is it possible just to fit a brighter bulb without any effect on bike etc. if so whats the limit, and which bulb do you think is best.
thanks .

 

[GunZenBomZ]

Hi, am wishing to have a brighter main beam on my f800gs. other than going down the HID/wiring route, is it possible just to fit a brighter bulb without any effect on bike etc. if so whats the limit, and which bulb do you think is best.
thanks .

Yes, look for a H7 xenon bulb. 22% brighter or something like that.

And..welcome DannyBlachard

 

[Smythson]

Hi, am wishing to have a brighter main beam on my f800gs. other than going down the HID/wiring route, is it possible just to fit a brighter bulb without any effect on bike etc. if so whats the limit, and which bulb do you think is best.
thanks .

There's a couple of options but i wouldn't up the wattage - there are several reports of this burning the reflector. There's lots of threads on this and bulbs in general. I changed my commuting route to include some country roads that are unlit at night (it's good for the soul) and went with Osram Night Breaker Plus - a noticeable difference. They were £14/pair.

This was a few thousand miles ago and I'm now far more comfortable at night though because of the layout of the reflector leaning into corners at night can be a little short-sighted! I suppose this inevitable on bikes though.

There's also Philips Extreme that were apparently designed for motorcycle use have improved resistance to vibration and thus last longer. I haven't tested these personally but they cost twice as much as the Osram's and cant see them being twice as good. Next stop for me shall be HID's.

Hope helps,

S

 

[Sooty09]

Dont forget-
The main beam will come on with ignition on and engine not running. The dip beam needs to have the engine running before it comes on.
I spent ages swapping bulbs before I realised.
If your trip computer/info panel has flashed up "Lamp" you need to run the engine and then switch off and back on to for the testing sequence to reset.

 

[Stridey]

I use Halfords Rally bulbs which are 80W and have run run them for last 10K miles on my F800. These are supposed to be more vibration resistant.

My understanding is that for bikes there is no max wattage from a legal point of view?

They cost a bit more than standard Halogen 55W bulbs but are much cheaper than the extra bright 55W "zenon or blue" versions.

I haven't noticed any problems with burning reflectors.

I think this may be my first post?

If so hello!

 

[v8legend]

I use Halfords Rally bulbs which are 80W.My understanding is that for bikes there is no max wattage from a legal point of view?

I think this may be my first post?

If so hello!

I don't think you're right about 80w being legal on bikes. Good shout though.
Hello.
I don't think it was your first post? 4?

 

[rce]

I would be cautious about running the extra wattage from the canbus as the extra stress on the components may lead to premature failure.

 

[Stridey]

I don't think you're right about 80w being legal on bikes. Good shout though.
Hello.
I don't think it was your first post? 4?

I seem to recall it came from XT660.com as I am a subscriber on there as I also own an Tenere. To beef up the crap headlight some of us upgraded to 100W bulbs with no issues noticed. My Ten is now 3 years old 18K miles and still on OEM battery.

Does anyone know the correct legal answer for sure and also am I really going to damage anything just by running an extra 25W?

Such a long time since I have been on here but now on 5 posts or is it six?