Alright so as spring sets in and I start doing some night-time riding I am now reminded of the fact that I can't see Jack with the stock headlight. Unless the high beam is on the thing is next to downright useless, I also have a nasty habit of "out-riding" the light. What sort of bulbs / mods / extra lights do people put on the GS500's to increase visibility? Preferably cheap and easy mods (electrical projects scare me).
Thanks
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000AM8BN6?pc_redir=1399678357&robot_redir=1 you would be amazed what a new bulb can do, I ride primarily at night, on roads with out lights, this dose great!
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Philips also offers the Xtreme +50, +80 and +100 series bulbs, and also there's the Osram Nightbreaker. These are brighter than stock with a sacrifice in bulb longevity.
I think I'll go with one of these when I have to replace mine, though not sure about the availability here...
I have the Phillips +100s in both of my bikes, the GS and a Honda NT700 Deauville. It is a HUGE improvement in both cases and well worth the cost of about $75/pair. :thumb:
Macka
if the reflecter will not dazzle other drivers with this led setup, it may be a good idea:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=976670
Quote from: prmas on May 13, 2014, 02:33:46 AM
I have the Phillips +100s in both of my bikes, the GS and a Honda NT700 Deauville. It is a HUGE improvement in both cases and well worth the cost of about $75/pair. :thumb:
Macka
Do you happen to know how much worse their longevity is?
I put mine in about 3 months ago, and ride almost every day or 50+ miles, so I'm not concerned if it would go tomorrow
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Thanks for the advice, I think putting one of the above mentioned bulbs in is gonna be the game plan. I'll have to see if I can find $75 in change tucked in my seat cushions....
The one I suggested is a good and cheap upgrade
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I switched to dual dominator headlights with Phillips +100 bulbs and the difference was night and day. They do rob some power though. If you're running anything extra off your battery you'll notice them dim at idle.
Note on the dual dominator sets. .. you get what you pay for!, the PO of my bike bought the el cheapo ones. .. the beam pattern and spread is just NOT the same as the good ones. .. still useable but they do lack in the view of light area!
sent by willpower and a phone
I like the idea of these LED's,but cos of the depth don't know if they'll fit in a naked headlight bucket.....anyone had experience.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131039275849?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
Sent by mere though,with no instrumentality,just like the Krell.
The LED should fit the bucket but its going to be tight.....IDK about LED headlights. I wouldn't think the beam is not going to be the same as a regular halogen...But Im not an expert
Would very depend on bucket/reflector size and depth ...
And 6000k colour temp? ... That's waaaay up into the blue/purple I think? ... Bright white-ish light ... But it will still get eaten by low frequency colour temp backgrounds ... I tried 4300k bulbs and while great close in ... The distance greenery and roadside dirt etc did NOT show the light back to me very well at all... White lines and marker posts and reflective signs were awesome showup however!
Overall effect is like turning the contrast down on the TV while the brightness is set high??
Put the 4300k bulbs in ute now and twin light setup with a wide centre gap is more tolerable ... Twin lights on a bike MIGHT be ok ? .. :dunno_black:
5000-5500k is white white light. 6500k should be like washed out blue. blue is bad.rainy/wet roads will make life hell i use this type of light in my hid projectors in my car and also the same light but full spectrum which is closes to daylight in my fully planted aquariums. . heres a nice chart :) (http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/hidguy_net/NewColorChart-WithInfo.jpg)
I also do quite a bit of night riding due to the nature of my job. I was looking for a way to see and be seen at night. Here is what I did.
I placed a set of these on the side mount of my windscreen.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-10W-8-Cree-LED-Work-Light-Spot-Beam-Fog-Lamp-Car-Jeep-Motorcycle-Truck-/230981198065?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35c78d60f1&vxp=mtr
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/buckmaw_1/ft_zps656d5eb5.jpg) (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/buckmaw_1/media/ft_zps656d5eb5.jpg.html)
And they work GREAT! They are not a flood beam but a 8deg spot and they really reach out there and light up the road. They operate off a separate switch mounted to the handlebar.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/buckmaw_1/patt_zpsd32cfb8a.jpg) (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/buckmaw_1/media/patt_zpsd32cfb8a.jpg.html)
I have them adjusted where they do not blind oncoming traffic.
I also have one of those LED bulbs with a fan in as my headlight. The Hi/Lo beam does work but I am not at all impressed with the bulb in my old style, round headlight bucket.
But in tandem, they both work well together.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/buckmaw_1/auxlight_zpsff9ce852.jpg) (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/buckmaw_1/media/auxlight_zpsff9ce852.jpg.html)
My bad on the colour temps... The 4300k bulbs I have are also tinted glass which is a mid-light blue... Which I misidentified last post ... The light out on the road is white .... But it needs to be slightly more yellow.... When I did some testing I ended up with a Phillips 100+ in the F headlight giving the current best viewable area and penetration ...
Additional light sources like Buckmaw's (I use the full flood ones just like that as work lights in my trucks) and Adidasguy's favorite fork mounted units... Which I can't think of the name of right this second... :icon_rolleyes: ... Will give better visibility on both ends... Rider and drivers
i really like those spot lights. ive been looking at getting a single one to mount lower down on the forks 2 for 60 isnt bad at all!
im with you on the yellow tint a bit to the headlight. it seems to make things more visible but i do like how the 5500k light really makes the painted lines and signed really pop. its a hard toss up for me. i dont think i will go with a led headlight just for the fact the reflector isnt good at and the glass i feel would scatter the light. have you ever seen hid lights in a non-projector housing? its horrid. does anyone of of a hid/projector lens mod for the gs? i think this is going to be the best bet over leds and possibly the upgraded standard bulb.
Weedahoe is your HID retrofit chap! ... He does lighting and can put together a kit IIRC?
is that only for the F headlight tho? i have a E...
He did it in an F ... Can't recall about the E ... Could be problematic though... E light has a faceted LENS .. F faceted REFLECTOR and clear lens/cover .... HID projector is meant for a clear lens far as I know about... The facet lens could wreck the effect or potentially increase it? .... About space in the bucket I have no idea.... Again theoretically possible... But could be quite cramped?
Thinking more.... Dinner time.... Reply later
Quote from: Buckmaw on May 18, 2014, 02:34:59 AM
I also do quite a bit of night riding due to the nature of my job. I was looking for a way to see and be seen at night. Here is what I did.
I placed a set of these on the side mount of my windscreen.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-10W-8-Cree-LED-Work-Light-Spot-Beam-Fog-Lamp-Car-Jeep-Motorcycle-Truck-/230981198065?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35c78d60f1&vxp=mtr
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/buckmaw_1/ft_zps656d5eb5.jpg) (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/buckmaw_1/media/ft_zps656d5eb5.jpg.html)
And they work GREAT! They are not a flood beam but a 8deg spot and they really reach out there and light up the road. They operate off a separate switch mounted to the handlebar.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/buckmaw_1/patt_zpsd32cfb8a.jpg) (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/buckmaw_1/media/patt_zpsd32cfb8a.jpg.html)
I have them adjusted where they do not blind oncoming traffic.
I also have one of those LED bulbs with a fan in as my headlight. The Hi/Lo beam does work but I am not at all impressed with the bulb in my old style, round headlight bucket.
But in tandem, they both work well together.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/buckmaw_1/auxlight_zpsff9ce852.jpg) (http://s251.photobucket.com/user/buckmaw_1/media/auxlight_zpsff9ce852.jpg.html)
thanks for the review of the led replacement bulb. I've seen a lot of people trying them, but no one ever torts back.
I have ordered this last Saturday:
http://stores.advmonster.com/h4-led-headlight/
Still waiting for it to arrive, will post a review when I test it. But for as much research as I did on LEDs, these should work great. There are tons of people on this forum:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=976505
Who got them and are very happy.
I wanted better visibility at night (but with a good quality beam so that I don't blind anybody), being more visible during the day, less power draw (unlike 100W+ bulbs that kill your battery, particularly on start-up), avoid overheating the reflector, long life, reasonable price, and no fans that can ingest moisture.
This bulb supposedly puts out 2400 lumens at only 20W power draw, and supports high/low beam operation. And the heat sink gets just hand-warm. As I said - as soon as I test it - I'll put out a little review.
Are there any LED lights out there that are actually DOT-approved? DOT standards talk about luminous intensity in terms of candelas while LED suppliers provide you with luminous flux in lumens (cd*sr). Any resources about that?
I wrote a nice, long review of that LED H4 bulb I got and then my browser crashed. I don't have time or energy now to repeat it all, so this time short:
it draws only 17W and is brighter than the stock bulb. How much brighter? hard to tell.
Low/high beam works fine, the beam of light is nicely shaped. Nothing gets hot or anything like that. It has a radiator, no fans or moving parts.
The light temperature is around 5500K. It's cool white, but no blue in it as far as I can tell.
What pissed me off it that it measures 28mm in dia, while the reflector entrance is only 25mm (or 1"). Rather than taking the front assembly off and enlarging the hole in the reflector - I resized bulb's own reflector, just in case I ever want to put a real H4 bulb in, that is made to specs.
The whole business took me 4h (did I even mention I'm anal about getting things right? and preicse?) and I'm satisfied with the results. But after spending almost $50 on this bulb, I'd rather have the evening to ride the bike, not to play around with dremel, epoxy and spray paint...
If you have time on hand - go for it. Otherwise look for an alternative. I'm just afraid there aren't any good LEDs out there that don't have electrical/thermal/optical problems, like this for example:
http://www.amazon.com/Vktech-White-Headlight-Brake-Taillight/dp/B00C9S0BE6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1402552628&sr=8-5&keywords=12V+H4+LED
stock and LED bulb before my surgery on the latter.
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