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Old fashioned headlamp question


Allen Rowand

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Allen Rowand

I'd like to get some more light out of the RS, but do not want to go HID. Does anyone have opinions/experience with Osram Rallye 70/65w or Narva RangePower +50 60/55w bulbs?

 

Also ordering a headlight relay and upgraded wiring, and am putting 55w bulbs in the Motolights…

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Allen Rowand

- Increased failure points (ballast)

- Have yet to see a kit that wasn't a HID bulb shoved in an incandescent reflector; I'd prefer the bulb to be properly matched to the enclosure

- Potential legal hassle for using lighting not approved for street use

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I upgraded the wiring in my RT and installed an 80 watt PIAA bulb.

(It is true 80 watts, not the one that says 55 watts, bright as 80 watts)

 

 

It doesn't bother oncoming drivers, I think because of the very defined upper cut-off of the RT lens.

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BMW use marginal wiring for the headlamp (the whole harness is marginal) so the first thing to do is a wiring upgrade - Eastern Beaver make simple to fit relay triggered upgrade kits that do not destroy the stock system.

 

That alone will give you about 10 - 20% more light - the wiring is that marginal. Then look at bigger bulbs - in theory fitting a higher wattage bulb without wiring upgrade could give you less light - though this is unlikely. Burning out the harness is less unlikely though.

 

Andy

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I had the PIAA bulb in my RT also. A buddy gave me the bulbs( a pair of 85/85 watt bulbs,one bulb was new the other a take out from a car.They were great the 2 months they lasted...The low beam burnt out on both bulbs. Back to stock wattage now.:(

 

You guys running HID's what do you recommend as a good seller that provides a good product that does not cost a small fortune to buy? The stock lighting output is bad enough that I really don't ride her at night for fear of hitting animals.

 

I have done searches and it seems like there is a lot of "fluff" out there when it comes to HID's and the like.

 

Thanks

 

Perry Brokaw

 

 

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Allen Rowand

Good morning Boffin,

I installed an Eastern Beaver harness in my last bike, and a new harness (along with a horn harness and fuse block) is on already on order.

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Allen,

On my RSL I did not have great luck w/the "brighter" bulbs in the headlight wrt to length of bulb life.

I did have PIAA's mounted where the roundels are on the side fairing.

 

Slowing down 10mph increases the usability of bike's lighting.

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Morning Allen

 

 

As mentioned above, start with some sort of a harness upgrade. Or just get a power relay & some up-gage wire & make your own (that is what I do).

 

My suggestion would be to get a voltmeter on your headlight socket (+) side & battery (B+) post to see what the voltage drop is on the supply side then do the same between the socket (–) side & battery (-) post.

If much voltage drop found in either side then repair that before looking at higher wattage bulbs.

 

Next, aim your headlight correctly, all the higher-wattage light in the world won’t help if it isn’t shining where you need it.

 

If your headlight reflector is tarnished then clean that or replace it as that is what guides the light output to where it is supposed to go.

 

Also keep in mind that higher wattage bulbs are technically just as illegal as the HID’s are.

 

Also keep in mind when looking for different or higher wattage headlight bulbs to look for the UV protection rating of the new found bulb. With most new motorcycles having plastic lens’s a bulb without proper UV protection will yellow or dull your VERY EXPENSIVE plastic headlight lens much quicker than you would like.

 

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Allen Rowand
Slowing down 10mph increases the usability of bike's lighting.

 

Geez, next you'll tell me that if I want to go faster I should lose some weight :D

 

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Slowing down 10mph increases the usability of bike's lighting.

Don't you mean 'slowing down to 10mph increases the usability of bike's lighting!

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Slowing down 10mph increases the usability of bike's lighting.

Don't you mean 'slowing down to 10mph increases the usability of bike's lighting!

 

:grin:

 

Andy,

Never been across the pond but from pics y'all post looks like many narrow

winding roads where it could be interesting at night and 10 mph would probably be my

speed.

;)

Seriously though, going 10 mph slower (obviously not creating a rolling roadblock but closer to speed limit) gives you more reaction time and greatly reduces braking distance.

But you know that.

:wave:

I've added PIAA's and MOTOlights which I use on one part of my commute/

35 miles thru the forest w/very little traffic. I can dip to low and MOTO's using thumb swithces

if oncoming car. (this is darkthirty commute)

 

But I think you were saying the OEM setup isn't what we would like and I agree.

Best wishes.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Allen Rowand

Yesterday I finally installed the Eastern Beaver harness and an Osram 65w Rallye bulb. Huge difference; not only is there more light, but the output is whiter. I have a new stock bulb as a spare in case the Osram goes south. This combined with the 55w Motolites makes me much happier, and should come in handy on Mt. Washington @ 4:30am next week.

 

Tim, I want more available light overall no matter what speed I travel. I never ride that fast at night anyway because of the lower visibility. I limit hooning to daylight hours only :)

 

Also fitted dual Freeway Blasters with an EB harness while I was in there. I put 'em on the RT and found them very useful for getting the attention of SUV drivers as I brake to let them cut me off instead of running me off the road.

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Last night I came back from the Four Winds Rally or Interstate 80 west bound. It's a real semi truck race across. I was actually shocked how poor the low beam head light is on my recently acquired 03 1150RT. Is this normal for this bike?

Thankfully it has a pair of Piaa's mounted above the fender.

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Allen Rowand

Many people find the lighting to be… underwhelming. I did this same upgrade on my RT-P and mounted PIAAs on the crashbars.

 

I'm not sure what the options are for an 1150 besides HIDs (I've only had 1100s) .

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