R80st Headlight bulb advice

monster-mash

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I need to replace my headlight bulb on my ST, i was wondering whether its worth replacing it for LED, Xenon type bulb or should i just replace with standard bulb.
Thankyou for any advice
 
Philips do a bright bulb to replace the standard one alternatively have a look if the LED ones would fit.
 
Philips do a bright bulb to replace the standard one alternatively have a look if the LED ones would fit.

Not sure whether the LEDs are worth it i have seen and read of some ill fitting lamps and terrible light outputs, think it may be worth going with a good manufacturer of the correct bulb type however I would consider something different based on someones experience of using it.
 
I seem to remember reading somewhere that aftermarket LEDs and HID lamps fitted to original lamp shells would be a MOT failure in future.

Suggest you refit with a standard bulb and supplement with extra lights if needed
 
I seem to remember reading somewhere that aftermarket LEDs and HID lamps fitted to original lamp shells would be a MOT failure in future.

Suggest you refit with a standard bulb and supplement with extra lights if needed

They should in theory be an MOT failure but wether any testers are failing bikes for this, who knows...

The other issue potentially with an LED replacement is that the light source puts out light in a different place to the filament in a bulb so you may get a poor beam pattern. This is the most likely cause of MOT failure as beam pattern is of course checked..

If you want more light and to be sure to be legal the best bet is to get a decent brand +150% brighter bulb..
 
Osram, or Phillips......

Rather than try a LED that probably wont work any better.

IMHO, and don’t sue me if it blows !
 
The stock set up is fine if it is working like new.

But by now the reflector probably isn't as reflecting well as it once did, the inside of the lens is probably dirty, and you might not be feeding full battery volts to the bulb.

And some Halogen bulbs are not built to OEM standards and don't focus properly.

So, fitting a LED which is probably even further out of focus into the existing light isn't going to do much, it seems that you have to change the whole assembly to something like the sealed beam units which were around a few years ago, but with Leds.

It is possible to remove and clean the glass, folks like Eastern Beaver sell high quality headlight relays , and as has already been said Phillips
+ 120 or better bulbs work well.

If you feel you need more probably better to fit a couple of LED auxiliary lights, prices vary from $15 to $450 - each and lamps at each end of the spectrum seem to work for some folk.

I have a $15 pencil spot on the bars which shines well left in an attempt to catch any wildlife on the verge and it does the job well, finding one with a good cut off dip might be harder.
 
Not as often as I ride during the day, but I usually ride six days a week, so probably a couple of times on average, we have seasons here too!
When I had a VFR with twin 55watt lights the single 55 watt on my R75/7 produced much better illumination than the two on the Honda, and it is vastly superior to the light on my almost new Himalayan.
Halogen globes are very sensitive to voltage and focus, and when you have both correct in a new reflector with a clean lens and a top quality bulb they are vastly different from a poorly performing set up with a cheap bulb.
But around 90% of my night riding is on dip beam anyway so ultimate performance is not as important as you might think.
Particularly with Australia's blanket 110 km/hr max speed limit.
 


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