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Abysmal headlight performance -- need upgrade!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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I went for my first night ride around town on the '80 GS450E and (maybe I'm just spoiled by car headlights) the headlamp seemed pretty weak. It's clean and seems to be aimed/operating properly, just it seems like the limitation of that old 30/40watt lamp.

I know I could proabably replace the whole headlight assembly, but I'd like a quick-fix if possible. Anyone found a drop-in lamp that has more kick to it? :?
 
Re: Abysmal headlight performance -- need upgrade!

Replace the sealed beam with a Silverstar Halogen. I have one on my 1150 and it lights a path about 50 feet wide and 400 feet long. :-)

Earl

astor said:
I went for my first night ride around town on the '80 GS450E and (maybe I'm just spoiled by car headlights) the headlamp seemed pretty weak. It's clean and seems to be aimed/operating properly, just it seems like the limitation of that old 30/40watt lamp.

I know I could proabably replace the whole headlight assembly, but I'd like a quick-fix if possible. Anyone found a drop-in lamp that has more kick to it? :?
Click to expand...
 
I second the Sylvania Silverstar if its possible. Bright white light without that stupid greenish/pink/blue hue common to many of the imitation HID lights.
 
cyclerecycle sells a conversion kit for coverting sealed beam to H4 halogen lights. It includes a mount ring, reflector, necessary clips, etc. Its simple to install.

Earl

bwringer said:
I second the Sylvania Silverstar if its possible. Bright white light without that stupid greenish/pink/blue hue common to many of the imitation HID lights.
Click to expand...
 
earlfor said:
bwringer said:
I second the Sylvania Silverstar if its possible. Bright white light without that stupid greenish/pink/blue hue common to many of the imitation HID lights.
Click to expand...
cyclerecycle sells a conversion kit for coverting sealed beam to H4 halogen lights. It includes a mount ring, reflector, necessary clips, etc. Its simple to install.

Earl
Click to expand...
Very cool. I will have to check to make sure I have a 7" headlamp assembly when I get home (didn't occur to me to measure it 'til now). If it will fit, it's just $30 for the H4 headlamp assembly and then I can use the H4 Silverstar bulbs. I know Pep Boys sells those. :)

Hmm...the old lamp is a 30watt low beam (at least according to an old spec chart I saw on bikebandit). The Silverstar is 55watt. The extra wattage should be okay to run, right? Sounds like other people are running Silverstars and nothing blew up or melted. :D
 
I ran the H4 bulb with a bad charging system and nothing blew or melted, just ran down that battery with about 90 min. of running lo beam. Fixed the charging system and now no problem. Ran with the lights on around town and on thes freeway with no issues. I did have to use some silicone on the socket that holds the H4 bulb to get rid of some looseness/vibration that caused two bulbs to blow, but at $8-10 each, no big deal. I had thought it was the charging system that blew the bulbs, but the silicone did the trick and that was before the new stator/rr went in.
 
I don't know what Pepboys carry but I'd avoid getting something that is designed for cars. Their beam is shaped diferently and they tend to not stand up to vibration very well.

astor said:
earlfor said:
bwringer said:
I second the Sylvania Silverstar if its possible. Bright white light without that stupid greenish/pink/blue hue common to many of the imitation HID lights.
Click to expand...
cyclerecycle sells a conversion kit for coverting sealed beam to H4 halogen lights. It includes a mount ring, reflector, necessary clips, etc. Its simple to install.

Earl
Click to expand...
Very cool. I will have to check to make sure I have a 7" headlamp assembly when I get home (didn't occur to me to measure it 'til now). If it will fit, it's just $30 for the H4 headlamp assembly and then I can use the H4 Silverstar bulbs. I know Pep Boys sells those. :)

Hmm...the old lamp is a 30watt low beam (at least according to an old spec chart I saw on bikebandit). The Silverstar is 55watt. The extra wattage should be okay to run, right? Sounds like other people are running Silverstars and nothing blew up or melted. :D
Click to expand...
 
JCWhitney.com has some 7in. H4 replacements designed for bikes. Reasonably priced too. I don't know where mine came from but the lens works. Good coverage with both lo and hi beams. The $10 H4 bulb came from AutoZone (Sylvania) and has lasted for 300 miles so far. We'll see...
 
I found a halogen replacement was OK, but wiring in a headlight relay directly to the battery really helped. I used a Hella headlight relay, which is small and comes with a mounting bracket attached

This was 25 years ago, so the draw on modern bulbs may be less and not tax the wiring as much
 
Most of the stock sealed beams on GS's were 55/60. The new Halogen H4 Silverstar is also 55/60. Light output is about 3 times greater, but power consumption is the same. A relay is not necessary.

Earl


Big T said:
I found a halogen replacement was OK, but wiring in a headlight relay directly to the battery really helped. I used a Hella headlight relay, which is small and comes with a mounting bracket attached

This was 25 years ago, so the draw on modern bulbs may be less and not tax the wiring as much
Click to expand...
 
Check out the Phillips headlights too. Although I have used Silverstars in all my vehicles without problems I hear that they are prone to burn out. The Osram Silverstars are supposed to be great but the Sylvannias only last 1-2 years.

Steve
 
Silverstar in 1150E going 3 years and nearly 40K miles, just keeps burning. :-)

Earl


srivett2 said:
Check out the Phillips headlights too. Although I have used Silverstars in all my vehicles without problems I hear that they are prone to burn out. The Osram Silverstars are supposed to be great but the Sylvannias only last 1-2 years.

Steve
Click to expand...
 
earlfor said:
Silverstar in 1150E going 3 years and nearly 40K miles, just keeps burning. :-)

Earl


srivett2 said:
Check out the Phillips headlights too. Although I have used Silverstars in all my vehicles without problems I hear that they are prone to burn out. The Osram Silverstars are supposed to be great but the Sylvannias only last 1-2 years.

Steve
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

you can thank the voltage drop for your bulb lasting that long.
plenty resistance in the small gauge old wiring and low grade contacts in the dimmer switch.
the lower voltage makes the bulbs last way longer, but at the cost of peak brightness.

I am running a headlight relay and my bike headlight is brighter than my cars headlights with the same bulb!!
 
I wish the Garage section had a detailed relay install procedure in it, I REALLY want to do this too.
 
I'm not too sure about that. I monitor the voltage levels at various points in the wiring harness probably closer than most. On my ignition circuit, I have sero voltage drop from battery and on the headlight, the drop is aprox .2 v. Maybe thats enough to make the difference though.

E.


focus frenzy said:
srivett2 said:
Check out the Phillips headlights too. Although I have used Silverstars in all my vehicles without problems I hear that they are prone to burn out. The Osram Silverstars are supposed to be great but the Sylvannias only last 1-2 years.

Steve
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

you can thank the voltage drop for your bulb lasting that long.
plenty resistance in the small gauge old wiring and low grade contacts in the dimmer switch.
the lower voltage makes the bulbs last way longer, but at the cost of peak brightness.

I am running a headlight relay and my bike headlight is brighter than my cars headlights with the same bulb!![/quote]
 
I use a Sylvania Silverstar, and I'll happily accept shorter bulb life and the doubled cost in exchange for the incredible flood of bright white light that keeps me alive...
 
bwringer said:
I use a Sylvania Silverstar, and I'll happily accept shorter bulb life and the doubled cost in exchange for the incredible flood of bright white light that keeps me alive...
Click to expand...

OH YEA!!
great having a headlight so bright it blinds the bugs and they cant home in on you.
also with the silverstar I can come up on left lane parkers during the daytime and line up to their left and the glare they get in their mirror snaps them out of their coma and they get over, they never did that with the old headlight and wiring!! (and this is just using the low beam!!!)

you are lucky Earl if you only have a 2 tenths voltage drop at the headlight, I had a 1.5 volt drop that cleaning contacts and connections could not get rid of.

bulbs last substantialy longer at 13.5 volts than they do at 14.5 volts
with my car I have never seen voltage over 14.2 volts but the silverstars never lasted more than about a year, and in 4 years the only other bulbs I have had to replace are the licence plate lights and one front turnsignal bulb.

the PIAA ION bulb is even better than the silver star but it is very expensive and definatly wont last any longer.
 
Just wait until I get the quarter fairing molded and installed for the 1150 that will sport dual headlight silverstars. That ought to wake up the cagers. LOL

Earl

focus frenzy said:
OH YEA!!
great having a headlight so bright it blinds the bugs and they cant home in on you.
also with the silverstar I can come up on left lane parkers during the daytime and line up to their left and the glare they get in their mirror snaps them out of their coma and they get over, they never did that with the old headlight and wiring!! (and this is just using the low beam!!!)
Click to expand...
 
It'll not only wake 'em up it'll have 'em reaching for their gun to extinguish the source of their irritation - well, hopefully not. I know I get hot under the collar when these guys in their 4x4s come up behind me with their blazing lights right at mirror level, but, I don't carry a gun so I guess we can all live with that. People don't pull out in front of me as much when I run the H4 lo beams during the day. When I was having charging problems I was riding without the lights, they're switchable on my bike, and had two close calls with comatose cagers just not seeing me.
 
focus frenzy said:
bwringer said:
I use a Sylvania Silverstar, and I'll happily accept shorter bulb life and the doubled cost in exchange for the incredible flood of bright white light that keeps me alive...
Click to expand...

OH YEA!!
great having a headlight so bright it blinds the bugs and they cant home in on you.
also with the silverstar I can come up on left lane parkers during the daytime and line up to their left and the glare they get in their mirror snaps them out of their coma and they get over, they never did that with the old headlight and wiring!! (and this is just using the low beam!!!)

you are lucky Earl if you only have a 2 tenths voltage drop at the headlight, I had a 1.5 volt drop that cleaning contacts and connections could not get rid of.
Click to expand...

Might that be where the tractor battery comes in??? :lol: :lol:

Sorry Earl, I couldn't resist. But I am happy that you made it home OK.
 
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