I rode my GSX in the dark for the first time recently. The headlight is woeful.
Is there an Org recommended upgrade?
Osram Night Racer Plus http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-OSRAM-H4-NIGHT-RACER-110-Harley-Davidson-XL-883-R-Sportster-R-Nakedbike-2007-/171181961883?hash=item27db3d729b:g:cIgAAOSwo6lWL2de
I used to be a Philips XTreme man, but have just changed my bulbs to one of these and got a slightly brighter light still (having said that the Philips Xtreme gives out a very good light - we are only talking a few lumens if that here!)
Reason I went for it - apart from the brightness - was because its made for bikes and will accept a bit more vibration than normal car type bulbs
Cheers Barmy, I've got one of those on order now.
Barmy, when my amazing phillips blows, have tagged your suggestion. when i fitted phillips, can still remember how amazed i was. if better ill be amazed again. very descriptive word, amazed. sort of like being startled in the headlights, very fitting for this post. :rofl2:
Quote from: grog on Monday, 20 February 2017, 07:18 PM
Barmy, when my amazing phillips blows, have tagged your suggestion. when i fitted phillips, can still remember how amazed i was. if better ill be amazed again. very descriptive word, amazed. sort of like being startled in the headlights, very fitting for this post. :rofl2:
:rofl2: that made me laugh grog, made my morning thank you!
I tried the Phillips Xtreme, a big improvement.
I tried some 6000K Chinese HID a bigger improvement but the reliability was lacking.
This is the next one for me to try after seeing a thread from Blubber? on the oldorg.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-H4-HB2-9003-Led-CREE-Hi-Lo-H4-3-High-Power-40W-4000lm-3000K-6000K/32573163897.html?spm=2114.13010308.0.0.ecOI24
no prob Barmy. glad you laughed, what its all about, laughing at life i mean. just enjoy, hard with a triumph, i do love rockets, i actually do like your new choice. Rick, let me know how long that globe lasts. reason i went off chinese, just kept failing. do your bikes have park light fitted in headlight. mine didnt, had to drill and fit. headlight blew, id ridden home in dark with no light at all on front. street lights and hadnt noticed. scary.
Quote from: RickC on Monday, 20 February 2017, 08:42 PM
I tried the Phillips Xtreme, a big improvement.
I tried some 6000K Chinese HID a bigger improvement but the reliability was lacking.
This is the next one for me to try after seeing a thread from Blubber? on the oldorg.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-H4-HB2-9003-Led-CREE-Hi-Lo-H4-3-High-Power-40W-4000lm-3000K-6000K/32573163897.html?spm=2114.13010308.0.0.ecOI24
You rang? :mwink:
I bought this one:
Good throw, bright, light blue tint to it. No problems with scatter or blinding other road users or cops.
Still have to refit it to the original GSX1400 heal light bowl :whistling:
IMHO Whatever you do, don't fit cheap HID's. Or for that matter any HID's
I tried it, they failed on me on the way home one night - had only been in place a month or less.
Had to strip all the extraneous shit off the bike, in low light, and replace with incandescent bulb I was able to obtain from the only open servo anywhere nearby.
Never again.
If I'm ever tempted I'd try LED as an option.
Blubber: Does it fit in the original headlight? Straight plug and play?
If money was no object I'd definitely have one of these: http://www.jwspeaker.com/blog/new-led-motorcycle-headlight-adapative/
Sadly, at £ 649.95 money is most definitely an object !
That's a very clever and innovative piece of kit Vlad..Sadly, way out of my price range for a headlight too :shocked:
agree Vlad, h4 from osram or phillips good enough for me. buy two, keep spare under seat. a good plan i think.
A very clever system but way too expensive. KTM have come up with a similar solution on their Super adventure with leaning lights, as you corner harder more lights come on the show up the bend in three stages.
Price will come down over time - like many things, but if similar vehicle version are any guide, they'll come down SLOWLY.
Unfortunately JB Speaker dont have any REAL competition.
Quote from: VladTepes on Tuesday, 21 February 2017, 02:33 PM
Blubber: Does it fit in the original headlight? Straight plug and play?
i haven't tried to fit it tom the gsx1400 bowl. I think it's tight but doable.
I first had it on the 14 in a gsx750 ET headlight which is open at the back.
Another money no object option...
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorcycle/headlights-conversions/denali-d2-dual-intensity-led-light-kit
Sure there's far cheaper equivalents around though.
the set off led light are nice and small and neat ,,, but the price wow but i do like them :onya:
and the same goes for the headlight unit i see all bikes being fitted with that type of head light unit and it make sense for all bike to have them but ... as you have said its the price
Quote from: RickC on Monday, 20 February 2017, 08:42 PM
I tried the Phillips Xtreme, a big improvement.
Are they the same wattage as the standard bulbs?
(Come to think of it, it's been a while I don't even know what the 'standard' ones are? 60/55 ?
Do our bikes headlights draw power via relay to the battery OR just from the same circuit going through the switch? My concern in the later instance would be melting the switch if too high a current draw occurs.
( LR Defender owners will understand... :lol: )
I have to do something about mine pronto as low beam failed the other day on the way home, and I only have high beam left. Someone has already pointed the brightness (glare) out to me..... and technically it's illegal to ride around the city / suburbs with lights on high beam.
Hmm Autobarn has the Phillps Xtreme in +100 and +130 varieties
+100 (twin pack) $70
+130 (twin pack) $100
(those are the online prices too, not in store prices)
That seems like a lot of money for a bloody bulb....
Vlad, ive tried all the phillips etc. now using a repco plus 50 intense. its awesome. good or better than the rest. not sure on price. not a lot. plus 30 in car also good. still 60/55 so no more current draw. dont pay big bucks, these are good. prob. made by narva i reckon at much less price.
Quote from: grog on Friday, 09 June 2017, 07:40 PM
Vlad, ive tried all the phillips etc. now using a repco plus 50 intense. its awesome. good or better than the rest. not sure on price. not a lot. plus 30 in car also good. still 60/55 so no more current draw. dont pay big bucks, these are good. prob. made by narva i reckon at much less price.
I've got +120's in mine - different headlight & it has a bulb for low & a separate one for high.
Thanks grog. :)
Boy's, I sell an LED headlight bulb at my work and have one in my bike. It's bloody sensational and I'll be getting a second for my other bike when it goes on the road.
https://gearbrake.com/products/h4-led-motorcycle-headlight
$100 in OZ
Ps not a sales pitch, i just reckon it's the shit for what I want
@moshiach No doubt the LED bulb is brighter, but fitting it to a reflector headlight shell is surely not going to give the ideal beam pattern, and will increase 'glare' to oncoming vehicles.
Also is this actually a direct swap in the GSX1400 shell - no clearance issues, no heat issues etc?
What part of Brissie you in - I wouldn't mind having a look one night.
@grog with those bulbs what is the difference between the +30, +50 and +120? Is it basically just the colour temperature?
None of those globes are as effective as a Hid kit, and @ $27 it's certainly a lot cheaper than some globes listed here.
Delete
Vlad, not sure. +50 works fine. intense its called, would work well in landrover. HID, i know nothing about. +120 i havent seen.
On high beam i find myself being dazzled by the road signs. This can be quite off putting, anyone else have the same complaint. Its the same in the car.
@Kiwifruit what bulbs are you referring to?
@RossP I have tried an HID kit on my 1400 and it was a bad experience. (Wrote about it on the old forum) In short, it was a kit cost around $70 at the time IIRC. It was a pain in the bum finding somewhere to put the ballasts and after all that the performance was underwhelming, though much better than standard, obviously. The issue around headlight shell design is same for HID as it is for LED. There were issues around beam thrown and pattern.
And then riding home one night they clapped out entirely (it turned out that the ballasts had died) meaning I had to find a servo, rip off all the HID shit (in poor lighting conditions), and buy an H4 bulb to put in it.
So much faffing around. Never again.
Just in general Mike. One marked speed corner could have 4 big yellow reflective signs plus all the chevrons on the out side of the corner. Damn bright, hard to see the road sometimes.
I think my bulb is Narva +30 ??
Quote from: VladTepes on Friday, 16 June 2017, 11:07 AM
@Kiwifruit what bulbs are you referring to?
@RossP I have tried an HID kit on my 1400 and it was a bad experience. (Wrote about it on the old forum) In short, it was a kit cost around $70 at the time IIRC. It was a pain in the bum finding somewhere to put the ballasts and after all that the performance was underwhelming, though much better than standard, obviously. The issue around headlight shell design is same for HID as it is for LED. There were issues around beam thrown and pattern.
And then riding home one night they clapped out entirely (it turned out that the ballasts had died) meaning I had to find a servo, rip off all the HID shit (in poor lighting conditions), and buy an H4 bulb to put in it.
So much faffing around. Never again.
You must have bought a crappy kit.
Mine fitted easily, ballast was small and fitted easily inside r/h side cover.
I tried the fancy globes before the Hid kit and they all improved the light to a degree but nowhere near Hid quality.
What the after market high output globes did do was to generate a lot more heat which resulted in a discoloured reflector.
If the light could be turned off through the day that would be great, but all that extra heat in 45 plus degree temps are too much.
I know a lot with Hid and they are all happy, spouse you need a good kit.
i fitted led park globe in headlight. lasted around 3 months. went back to normal globe, still going 2 yrs later. im happy with headlight globe, +50, no extra heat or current draw.
Hello, I recommend the osram Nightbreaker laser, it's already very good the best I've tried, and buying 1 pair we always have 1 spare in case any luck happens.
Quote from: paca on Sunday, 26 November 2017, 03:47 PM
Hello, I recommend the osram Nightbreaker laser, it's already very good the best I've tried, and buying 1 pair we always have 1 spare in case any luck happens.
Try the Osram NightRacer Paca - its the same bulb (in terms of output), but more resilient to the vibrations from motorcycles (its the motorcycle version of the Nightbreaker essentially)