H-4 Headlight Bulb Changes?

[twistyrider]

Hi All,

I'm new to the board here and look forward to checking in and learning more. Sorry if this is a tired post. I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for doing a search. My main disappointment with the FJR is how poorly it lights up the road at night. I'm coming from a 2005 Kawi ZZR1200 and a 2005 Goldwing. Both did a fabulous job--especially the ZZR. It's my gold standard for how a bike should illuminate the road.

1. How do you improve the situation with the FJR (without having to add a whole bunch of auxiliary crap)??

2. Are there any issues or concerns with higher wattage bulbs (like a 60/80)?

A friend recommended some "super blue" xenon bulbs with 60/80 wattage. I've tried them, but they still don't seem to improve the situation much. Now that they are in though, I am very reluctant to take them back out given the PITA of bulb changes on this bike.

Thanks for any insights on this. I appreciate it.

Twisty

 

[Bounce]

ACK! Steer clear of blue tinted bulbs pretending to my HIDs. You lose usable light into the tint that should be going down-range.

Check the first link on this page for some more info: https://www.fjr-tips.org/misc/misc.html

 

[Fred W]

First recommendation is to insure that the headlamps are properly aimed. Most people that think the FJR lights are inadequate (on low beam) have their beams aimed too low. On high beam, the beam cast really is kind of crummy, but mostly due to the void in the foreground. There is really no way to "fix" that except adding aux lights to fill the void.

For increased lumens out of the stock headlamp buckets, the best answer is to convert the H4 halogens lamps to HID. You will get more light output with about the same draw on the electrical system. Higher wattage bulbs will give you a slight increase in brightness, but at a considerable cost. You'll need to beef up the headlamp wiring by using some sort of a headlamp relay and heavier gauge wiring harness to draw the power directly from the battery. And even then you will be using more of your alternator's precious wattage. Plus you will be generating considerably more heat inside the plastic headlamp bucket and may cause distortion of those parts in time.

The HIDs, OTOH are said to run "cooler" than halogens, but there have been reports of users having the reflectors hazed just above the HID capsules over time.

 

[puppychow]

In addition to the above, OSRAM Nightbreakers are the cat's meow! The next best thing to HID's. However, they do not last very long, they are averaging about 9,000 miles or so for me - I carry a spare set with me on trips.

 

[TomInPA]

+1 Gunny on adding a bixenon slim-ballast HID kit. The quality and intensity of light is significantly improved, and the stock reflectors do a reasonable job of beam cutoff at low beam. As far as the void in lighting on high beam mentioned by Fred, I have seen that on other bikes as well. It doesn't bother me enough to invest in driving lights.

 

[bramfrank]

Keep the stock lights (among other reasons, because there are legalities at work) and add in a set of HID driving lights.

 

[BIODSL]

My main disappointment with the FJR is how poorly it lights up the road at night. I'm coming from a 2005 Kawi ZZR1200 and a 2005 Goldwing. Both did a fabulous job--especially the ZZR. It's my gold standard for how a bike should illuminate the road.

At the Iron Butt National meet in Denver this last August, a GL1800 with all stock four bulbs converted to HID won a comparison of various auxiliary driving light combinations. There were about 6 bikes involved including 2 HID converted FJR sporting Hella FF200 and Soltek HIDs. It sounds like you're coming off two bikes with exceptional stock reflectors. HIDs are the only way you'll come near duplicating your previous experience.

 

[HeUeR]

Hi All,

I'm new to the board here and look forward to checking in and learning more. Sorry if this is a tired post. I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for doing a search. My main disappointment with the FJR is how poorly it lights up the road at night. I'm coming from a 2005 Kawi ZZR1200 and a 2005 Goldwing. Both did a fabulous job--especially the ZZR. It's my gold standard for how a bike should illuminate the road.

1. How do you improve the situation with the FJR (without having to add a whole bunch of auxiliary crap)??

2. Are there any issues or concerns with higher wattage bulbs (like a 60/80)?

A friend recommended some "super blue" xenon bulbs with 60/80 wattage. I've tried them, but they still don't seem to improve the situation much. Now that they are in though, I am very reluctant to take them back out given the PITA of bulb changes on this bike.

Thanks for any insights on this. I appreciate it.

Twisty

I had the same problem and here's what I did...first I purchased on EBAY a pair of Xenon light bulbs for $8 shipped from China, then I adjusted my head lights down...for some reason FJR's come with them pointed to high. Both of these made a HUGE difference and it really lights up the roadway now at night, where as before it flat sucked. But it seems you have the bulbs already, now adjusted down your lights and I bet that helps...I had to lower mine quite a bit.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I prefer the higher color temperature and seemingly brighter output of the Philips X-treme Power H4 lamps. They are not DOT approved for street use in the USA, but we all ride off-road anyway, don't we?

The Philips bulbs are still rated 60/55w, just like stock H4. The bulb life has been comparable to stock in my experience.

Philips X-treme Power H4 bulbs at CAsportTouring

I've tried several H4 bulb types that do offer noticeably improved coverage for me. I'm partially colorblind and color temperature is very important for me. The Philips bulbs are the only ones I've used that don't have disgusting short life.

 

[Harald]

In addition to the above, OSRAM Nightbreakers are the cat's meow! The next best thing to HID's. However, they do not last very long, they are averaging about 9,000 miles or so for me - I carry a spare set with me on trips.

I really like those bulbs also for the increased lighting without that obnoxious blue coloring (and usually less light output) of some of the aftermarket bulbs. One of mine lasted 9 months (about 10k miles) and the other is still going after a year. I bought another set and see that they have the same bulb now in a PLUS rating that supposedly offers longer life. We'll see that happens in my testing.

 

[Harald]

In addition to the above, OSRAM Nightbreakers are the cat's meow! The next best thing to HID's. However, they do not last very long, they are averaging about 9,000 miles or so for me - I carry a spare set with me on trips.

I really like those bulbs also for the increased lighting without that obnoxious blue coloring (and usually less light output) of some of the aftermarket bulbs. One of mine lasted 9 months (about 10k miles) and the other is still going after a year. I bought another set and see that they have the same bulb now in a PLUS rating that supposedly offers longer life. We'll see that happens in my testing.

Talk about jinxing yourself! Within a couple day of my post above, the other OSRAM Nightbreaker bulb burned out. So it made it barely over a year. So the tally on my first set is 9 months on one bulb and 12 months on the other. It will interesting to see how long the new PLUS life versions last.....