High beam usage

[davidmacknh]

Is it alright to keep my high beam on at night for prolonged period time on 2006 fz6? Will I burn out the bulb?

 

[Norbert]

eventually it will. they don't last forever.
but so what?
you have it there, so use it!
and when it goes out, replace it!

 

[Motogiro]

Your high beam uses 65 watts. It's okay to to leave it on high at night as long as you dim it when oncoming traffic is present. There is a low beam on the right side but the OEM factory set up does not activate it. There is a way to activate the low beam and have the high beam when you need it.

 

[mave2911]

bd43 mod for the win! (wire that clips into existing harness and utilises the lowbeam of the H4.)
Do a search and if he's still got some, it's the best mod you can do - and it plugs into the stock setup with no cutting of wires etc.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[red06]

the high beam is a h4 bulb it can use low or high beam , and they can last as long as any other bulb

 

[davidmacknh]

bd43 mod for the win! (wire that clips into existing harness and utilises the lowbeam of the H4.)
Do a search and if he's still got some, it's the best mod you can do - and it plugs into the stock setup with no cutting of wires etc.

Cheers,
Rick

Can u put that simpler for me?

 

[mave2911]

Can u put that simpler for me?

A gentleman by the name of Daryl (username bd43) makes a wire you can buy that plugs into the factory harness, in the factory plugs. It replaces the wire that Yamaha removed to meet Euro-spec.

The wire enables low beam on the H4 bulb, so on low beam, you have BOTH lights working and greatly increases visibility.

I purchased the wire off him, plugged it into the plugs (instructions also provided) and it works perfectly.

You need to lift your tank to fit this, as that's where the plug you need to connect to is, but otherwise that's all you need to do.

No cutting any wires, no changing plugs etc.

Cost me $38inc airmail shipping to South Australia.

Do a search, as I can't find the link on my phone.

Cheers,
Rick

P.S. I still have his return correspondence so I have messaged him this thread and if/when he sees it, no doubt he'll be in touch. Cheers.

 

[Darth Fazer]

I keep my high beam on all the time in the daytime for visability & whenever there's no oncoming traffic after dark & 5k miles later it's still burning bright! I actually can't wait for it to burn out so I can upgrade to Silverstars! :rockon:

 

[Redwolf35]

I also use my high beams constantly during the daytime and whenever I can at night.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

A gentleman by the name of Daryl (username bd43) makes a wire you can buy that plugs into the factory harness, in the factory plugs. It replaces the wire that Yamaha removed to meet Euro-spec.

The wire enables low beam on the H4 bulb, so on low beam, you have BOTH lights working and greatly increases visibility.

I purchased the wire off him, plugged it into the plugs (instructions also provided) and it works perfectly.

You need to lift your tank to fit this, as that's where the plug you need to connect to is, but otherwise that's all you need to do.

No cutting any wires, no changing plugs etc.

Cost me $38inc airmail shipping to South Australia.

Do a search, as I can't find the link on my phone.

Cheers,
Rick

P.S. I still have his return correspondence so I have messaged him this thread and if/when he sees it, no doubt he'll be in touch. Cheers.

+1 on the above, a lot cheaper in the states too.. In heavy traffic, I run the HB on for extra visability as well... PIAA also makes "powersport bulbs" that draw the same amount of watts as the stockers but put out over 100 watts of light, very recommended..

 

[VUU]

+1 on the above, a lot cheaper in the states too.. In heavy traffic, I run the HB on for extra visability as well... PIAA also makes "powersport bulbs" that draw the same amount of watts as the stockers but put out over 100 watts of light, very recommended..

Actually the wattage rating is for it's power draw, light output is measured in lumens, the PIAA lights will draw more power and produce more heat. If higher light output is your goal, I would shoot for an HID conversion, the added heat from the PIAAs probably won't be an issue but the increased power draw may be an issue with the low current put out by the stator on these bikes. x2 on running the high beams during the day

**edit** looks like they are using marketing english, they seem to have the same wattage rating as stock, but they are claiming it to be brighter by an undetermined amount and they don't list the lumens, fairly typical marketing stuff

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Actually the wattage rating is for it's power draw, light output is measured in lumens, the PIAA lights will draw more power and produce more heat. If higher light output is your goal, I would shoot for an HID conversion, the added heat from the PIAAs probably won't be an issue but the increased power draw may be an issue with the low current put out by the stator on these bikes. x2 on running the high beams during the day

**edit** looks like they are using marketing english, they seem to have the same wattage rating as stock, but they are claiming it to be brighter by an undetermined amount and they don't list the lumens, fairly typical marketing stuff

So when they advertise,:

Description
H4 60/55W=110/100W Xtreme White Anti-Vibration XTRA, Single

Its not putting out more light but just drawing more power?

BTW, I've been running these bulbs for about a year and a half, idle at 1,000 (discharging at idle) RPM's and have never had an issue with the battery..

 

[chimneydoc]

I use the high beam all the time ( 99 % ) I can't remember if I have replaced the bulb yet and I have 42.5 K on the bike.

Doc

 

[darkbluexplorer]

For me the high beam is on all day and then in the evening/night its on when there is no oncoming traffic. always has been this way since i bought the bike yes still on the same light bulb!

 

[Motogiro]

So when they advertise,:

Description
H4 60/55W=110/100W Xtreme White Anti-Vibration XTRA, Single

Its not putting out more light but just drawing more power?

BTW, I've been running these bulbs for about a year and a half, idle at 1,000 (discharging at idle) RPM's and have never had an issue with the battery..

Actually wattage is power and lumens or candlepower are light measurement. What I think happens is PIA is saying that if you had a bulb that used 100watts of power and it performed with the same characteristic efficiency as the 65 watt it would put out the equivalent amount of light as a 100 watt lamp but use 65 watts.

Marketing has to somehow falsify ideas because they look down at consumers and know that dumbing down the information sells more product (i don't know if that's true). Don't worry about what the information means to the consumer just tell them it's bigger, better, newer and most of all if you have one your neighbor and friends will envy you!

The claim that the PIA states may in fact and is probably true as far as lamp efficiency but wattage equals wattage and does not have to mean more lumens. I think Joe and Joann Consumer are smart enough to understand lumen or candlepower ratings in lieu of wattage.

They also do this with vacuum cleaners. You'll see amperage ratings to signify one sucks better than another. And yes amps times voltage is wattage!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Actually wattage is power and lumens or candlepower are light measurement. What I think happens is PIA is saying that if you had a bulb that used 100watts of power and it performed with the same characteristic efficiency as the 65 watt it would put out the equivalent amount of light as a 100 watt lamp but use 65 watts. Marketing has to somehow falsify ideas because they look down at consumers and know that dumbing down the information sells more product (i don't know if that's true). Don't worry about what the information means to the consumer just tell them it's bigger, better, newer and most of all if you have one your neighbor and friends will envy you!

The claim that the PIA states may in fact and is probably true as far as lamp efficiency but wattage equals wattage and does not have to mean more lumens. I think Joe and Joann Consumer are smart enough to understand lumen or candlepower ratings in lieu of wattage.

They also do this with vacuum cleaners. You'll see amperage ratings to signify one sucks better than another. And yes amps times voltage is wattage!

Question: These bulbs are brighter than the stockers (visably) as was the single (similar bulb, single bulb in my old KLR250 where it was much more noticable).

So they are not brighter than the stockers?

What does the 60/55W=110/100W mean?

 

[edgeofnj]

Question: These bulbs are brighter than the stockers (visably) as was the single (similar bulb, single bulb in my old KLR250 where it was much more noticable).

So they are not brighter than the stockers?

What does the 60/55W=110/100W mean?

as motogiro alluded, it is likely that they were saying that the 60/55 watt bulb produces about as much light output as a bulb drawing 110/100 watts of power - mostly marketing and likely stemming from the incandescent bulb days, when there was a simple correlation between power draw (watts) and light output (lumens). nowadays, you will find a similar issue when buying non-incandescent bulbs (cfl, led, etc) where they claim that the 15 watt [cfl] bulb produces the same light output as a 60 watt [incandescent] bulb, for example.

 

[FIZZER6]

I keep my high beam on all the time in the daytime for visability & whenever there's no oncoming traffic after dark & 5k miles later it's still burning bright! I actually can't wait for it to burn out so I can upgrade to Silverstars! :rockon:

Do some research on silverstars before you use those. There have been thousands of people complaining on all different car/bike forums of them burning out prematurely (less than several months) and it's even more likely on a bike where there is more vibration in the headlamp. I had them in 2 of my vehicles and neither lasted over 4 months with minimal usage! Philips Extra-Vision are much better if you want to stick with halogen but if you were to go with dual bi-xenon projectors...your lighting worries would be over!

My bike output at night with dual FX35 Bi-xenon HID projector retrofit:

 

[Motogiro]

Question: These bulbs are brighter than the stockers (visably) as was the single (similar bulb, single bulb in my old KLR250 where it was much more noticable).

So they are not brighter than the stockers?

What does the 60/55W=110/100W mean?

Yes they (the PIAs) are brighter than the stockers but because something uses more wattage doesn't mean is produces more of any type of work whether it's light or horsepower.

In other words wattage (power) is voltage x current. If you had a bulb with a standard filament and a bulb that was a halogen and both used 60 watts the halogen, because of it's design and efficiency would put out more light.

All that's being expressed here is that Lumens are the measurement of light output and not wattage. Horsepower is the measurement used to express the work a motor does and not amperage. Although wattage and amperage are often used by marketing to express the work a product does it is a marketing misnomer that can elude what you are actually getting.

Also 60 watts = 60 watts. It does not = 100 watts. What they are trying to convey is that for the 60 watts used on a normal lamp, if you created a lamp that uses 100 watts with more light, that's what they are giving you. A more efficient lamp that gives you more light for the same amount of wattage used.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I just got off the phone with PIAA tech. He confirmed what I believed and pointed it out in their glossary:

"XTRA

A PIAA term used to designate high efficiency bulbs that are designed to produce greater light output than its rated power consumption. (Example 55watts = 85watts of light output"

He further stated that the bulbs will draw the same amount of wattage but put out more light (measured in watts, ie 55 = 85 watts) . He further stated alot of bikes, should you put in a 100 watt bulb in a housing designed for a smaller wattage bulb, melting from extra heat is a distinct possibility..


In either case, I have to agree to disagree. These PIAA's put out more light than the stockers, I can see that. Its not going to be as bright as a halogen modified set up however I DO NOT want to hack up the headlight assembly, heat light assemblies to take apart, etc. The light output of what I have is plenty for my needs...

As for the new (110 volt) florencent light bulbs drawing say 27 watts and putting out approx 100 watts of light, I have several of them thru out the house and they indeed put out the same amount of light of an incandecent 100 watts bulb...