New Headlight bulbs- initially not impressed...

[jcombs]

I bought the H4 and H7 headlamps for my bike. I went into the garage thinking I'd just pop those suckers in and be on my merry way. NOPE. First of all I have these fat pudgy hands that don't fit down in there to manipulate these parts well (I'm talking about motorcycle parts here)... so I ended up taking some fairings loose. Then... that God-awful little wire thingy that holds the bulb in there.... seriously??!! There's not a better way to do this than that chinese puzzle of a wire thing?? really?? Finally using the other side as a reference, I got the puzzle right.
Bulbs in, I went for a ride. The light was not all that illuminating. I was fairly disappointed actually... until last night.
Took a ride using a helmet I usually don't use. On my previous rides I had been looking through a dark smoke shield- DUH!!!! The headlights do great!! Big dummy here was looking through a tinted shield. :shakehead:

 

[ebster1085]

What kind of bulbs...

 

[jcombs]

Fleabay special Xenon 55w

 

[2006_FZ6]

Good story, sounds like something I would do! :BLAA:

 

[lazamus69]

Shoulda bought a few spares..dem bulbs burn out quick. Take it from someone whos spent alot on bulbs....go HID....NOW!

 

[jcombs]

Don't have a before pic...but here's the after. Not sure if u can tell anything from the pic or not.

 

[ChevyFazer]

Yeah hid is the way to go but if your not interested in it the best "regular" bulbs are the sylvainia silverstars bottom line best!!! Although PIAA also makes some decent bulbs

 

[Mexi-can't]

Those ebay bulbs are usually junk. The silverstar bulbs are worth the money, as is the phillips motovision bulb.

 

[jcombs]

Here are the bulbs.
If they burn out too soon I'll let u know.

 

[jcombs]

How difficult/expensive is the dual headlight mod. I think it looks stupid having only on side on when on dim. I keep mine on bright most of the time.

 

[04fizzer]

How difficult/expensive is the dual headlight mod. I think it looks stupid having only on side on when on dim. I keep mine on bright most of the time.

It's easy and can be done for about $5.

 

[Fishwiz4]

I was lazy and decided to spend a couple bucks extra to get a harness from BD43 for the dual headlight mod. it looks better than if Yamaha ad made the harness and it was super easy to install. i recommend that unless you really like fabricating things from scratch.

 

[FIZZER6]

I used to like my factory headlights too, until I went HID projector retrofit :BLAA:

 

[FB400]

If you pay for cheap Ebay Crap, you will get cheap Ebay crap. As other posters have mentioned you will pay up to $20 per bulb for good stuff. I just went with HID's which are, IMO, the ultimate setup and worth the price and effort

 

[red06]

a must read about bulbs
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

[chomorro]

How difficult/expensive is the dual headlight mod. I think it looks stupid having only on side on when on dim. I keep mine on bright most of the time.

Its like 25 bucks or something from one of the members here. Motogiro made mine. Easy install and works great just pm him or one of the other guys who makes it on here. You actually get tickets here for driving with your brights on.

 

[chomorro]

I used to like my factory headlights too, until I went HID projector retrofit :BLAA:

WOW do that to my SV please

 

[fb40dash5]

Yeah hid is the way to go but if your not interested in it the best "regular" bulbs are the sylvainia silverstars bottom line best!!! Although PIAA also makes some decent bulbs

Sorry, but Silverstars are junk. I bought them when they first came out. They were an improvement, but they always burnt out in about 6 months for me. I picked up a pair of GE Nighthawks at a Wally World on clearance, they're a big improvement over Silverstars. If you look at them, the glass is almost clear, not tinted blue like Silverstars... if you subscribe to the Daniel Stern theory, a stock wattage bulb can't be brighter with tinted glass vs. clear. I dunno how they do it, but they're my favorites for commonly available bulbs.

I've been using PIAA Ultra or Star Whites lately. They're expensive, but Amazon has them for halfway decent prices. All mine have lasted really well, and the light is awesome, especially high beams. I think the ones in my truck have been in there for 2 years or so now.

 

[ChevyFazer]

Sorry, but Silverstars are junk. I bought them when they first came out. They were an improvement, but they always burnt out in about 6 months for me. I picked up a pair of GE Nighthawks at a Wally World on clearance, they're a big improvement over Silverstars. If you look at them, the glass is almost clear, not tinted blue like Silverstars... if you subscribe to the Daniel Stern theory, a stock wattage bulb can't be brighter with tinted glass vs. clear. I dunno how they do it, but they're my favorites for commonly available bulbs.

I've been using PIAA Ultra or Star Whites lately. They're expensive, but Amazon has them for halfway decent prices. All mine have lasted really well, and the light is awesome, especially high beams. I think the ones in my truck have been in there for 2 years or so now.

Maybe it had something to do with the first ones on the market, not sure

But I've had silverstars in my truck for over 2 years now with no issues, and I've run them in other trucks and cars with no issues either

And yes PIAA makes some very good bulbs as well but in my experience the silverstars are brighter, I can't speak for longevity because I've never had to replace either, but that's a good thing. All the other cars and trucks that I've used them in I ended up getting rid of before the bulbs burnt out

 

[fb40dash5]

Maybe it had something to do with the first ones on the market, not sure

But I've had silverstars in my truck for over 2 years now with no issues, and I've run them in other trucks and cars with no issues either

And yes PIAA makes some very good bulbs as well but in my experience the silverstars are brighter, I can't speak for longevity because I've never had to replace either, but that's a good thing. All the other cars and trucks that I've used them in I ended up getting rid of before the bulbs burnt out

Maybe it was their newness. I haven't tried them since, considering I found Nighthawks to be better, and they're usually cheaper too. Besides only lasting half a year for as much as Silverstars cost, it's kinda a pain to have to deal with a burnt out headlight that often. Especially if you try to keep to replacing headlight bulbs in pairs, which I usually do, I just keep the good one as a spare for when the next one burns out. I'd hate to have that problem with a vehicle that was a PITA to change bulbs on, at least all mine are easy.

I dunno what PIAA bulbs you used, but mine are stupid bright. I think the ones in my truck are Extreme White Plus, and I pity anyone I have to flash my high beams at. They're like having a few hundred feet of daylight.