So I went for a ride with a buddy last night and was depressed at how bad my headlight was. He has a Hawk GT with a stock light and it put out sooooo much more light it was insane. I didn't feel safe leading because I couldn't see any of the deer on the side of the road (did see the one that made him stall from 60 though - when it stopped right in front of him - that will get the heart racing).
So anyone have any suggestions on how to improve the headlight? Are there higher wattage or better bulbs? I'm not too crazy about some of the kits like the Acerbis - not really my style.
Oh - and I bought rideLIKEjehu's 93 so hopefully I'll be seeing some people around the NoVA/MD area.
i as well as others use the silvania silverstar bulb. i think it is the brightest/whitest street legal bulb you can get. next to HIDs of course. it helps so much that i ride at nite with my tinted visor. prob not a good idea however...
I found with my headlight that when the bike was delivered that they aim the headlight to low so it lights up the ground 2 foot in front of you and seems dim I aimed it up a little (not to far don't want to blind the birds) and all was well good spread and bright enough and high beam is now a champion try that and see if it works but remember not to high or it will become usless :thumb: :cheers:
I installed the Buell's X9BR lights (need to fab your own brackets, but it's
fairly simple if you just bend an aluminum flat bar to shape) on mine.
The Buell's lights are much much brighter
jjr_vw, care to post some pics cuz I'm interested in how that looks,
-BigTwin-
Quote from: MrDan.................. Are there higher wattage .......bulbs? .........
Caution , if you install a higher wattage bulb the extra current may cause the wiring to overheat.
:cheers:
doesnt anyone use the slyvania silverstars??
not to jack this thread or anything... my high beams are useless. the light reaches farther to the sides and higher but theres almost no light in the middle. its like a ring of light. its not the bulb because i've had two and they do the same thing. whats wrong here?
Yeah I use silverstars too - much brighter than stock. But my highbeam mysteriously shorted out about two weeks after I installed it and they were out of replacements so I'm riding with stock until I find time to get a new one.
I'm guessing since lots of people like them (like weaselnoze and from previous posts) that no one has had wiring or overheating issues...
Quote from: John BatesQuote from: MrDan.................. Are there higher wattage .......bulbs? .........
Caution , if you install a higher wattage bulb the extra current may cause the wiring to overheat.
:cheers:
I would not worry too much about the wires failing. The wires on the GS are a gage or two bigger than my TL and I run higher watt bulbs than stock without any problems.
I love silverstar bulbs. They tend to not last as long, maybe 75% of the life of normal bulbs, but they are brighter and do help my visibility..
And they look cooler... they aren't blue, just very VERY white.. no yellow
Sounds good. I'll check out the silverstars ... anyone have a part # or recommended place to buy?
Cheesy - When you say 75% life - how long have they been lasting?
jjr_vw - Any pix? that's the Firebolt right? How much does that conversion run?
i ride my bike almost every day and the silverstars have lasted me over 2 years
Quote from: MrDanSounds good. I'll check out the silverstars ... anyone have a part # or recommended place to buy?
Cheesy - When you say 75% life - how long have they been lasting?
jjr_vw - Any pix? that's the Firebolt right? How much does that conversion run?
they've lasted a good 2 years in my car.. since I bought it actually.. they've gotten a little less bright over time.. just slightly.
I haven't had the bike long enough to say how long it will last... I bought it from a coworker who already installed the silverstar bulb... he had the bike 7 months or so before I bought it... so about 4k miles and still going :dunno:
ok even if it dies after 2 years its a worthy investment.
I have a Silverstar in right now, cost me $12 and installs in under 3 minutes. I am upgrading to h4 HID's though to get that "cool blue" effect.
real HIDs? they are in the couple hundreds of dollars to over 1k if im correct...
yeah but u can find them dirt cheap on ebay.
just get one of those 2 million candle power spotlights and strap it to your helmet. you won't have any problems then. the light will even turn with your head. how cool is that? :lol:
There is a reason those are dirt cheap on eBay....Think about it...... :?
I have some sylvania cool blue light in my bike, and dont really like it at all, though I think I need to aim just a little higher and that would solve my problem. Its suppost to be blue tinted and isnt, my high beam also sucks, I need to go higher for the low beam so my high will be rendered even less usefull.
Quote from: weaselnozedoesnt anyone use the slyvania silverstars??
i use two on my twin headlights....i just point mine down lower and alway leave the highbeam on
anyone have a part # on the bulbs?
also - it seemed like when I flipped the high beam, the low beam went off - resulted in a black hole right in front of the bike ... should that happen? or should low = low and high = low+high?
Quote from: MrDananyone have a part # on the bulbs?
also - it seemed like when I flipped the high beam, the low beam went off - resulted in a black hole right in front of the bike ... should that happen? or should low = low and high = low+high?
thank you! thats what i asked earlier in this thread in a more complicated way. i never use my highs at night because of this. its really annoying. i dont think its a bad bulb because it happened with both bulbs i got
i have a '93 and i can flip the switch between high and low and get the best of both worlds :nana: of course, on-coming cars don't like it too much.
Quote from: splatti have a '93 and i can flip the switch between high and low and get the best of both worlds :nana: of course, on-coming cars don't like it too much.
your not the only one
I have a `93 as well and get that black hole. Odd
anyone have a solution to the black hole? or does everyone have it. seriously the high beams are rendered useless..
Quote from: MrDananyone have a part # on the bulbs?
they are just regular H4 silverstars... I bought one yesterday as a matter of fact.
you may be getting that black hole because the headlight is too high :dunno: I like my headlight pointed a little higher than normal. If people are blinded by me it means they see me.
ok - silly question. no way to lower the high beam and keep there low beam where it is right? i'd move the whole headlight housing not the bulb somehow. :dunno: