Headlight burned out?

[davidh]

Bulb #5 blew this morning (Sylvania SilverStar Ultra). I'm convinced it has something to do with the bike because every time I've lost one, it's been at start-up. This last one lasted just over 3 months and 3,000 miles. I'll be calling Sylvania tomorrow to talk about warranty but am looking for other options. PIAA has several, some upwards of $50 each! I'd really have to be convinced of longevity (or a good warranty) before I spend that much. I'll definitely be talking to the dealer about this too. Last time I asked there weren't any bulletins or campaigns but it's WAY too coincidental this always happens at start-up.

 

[justscootin]

When I changed my bulb a couple of weeks ago I took the original high beam bulb and put it on the low beam side as I new it would last longer than the sylvania bulb. The sylvania is a much hotter bulb. The bulb may not be burning out at startup it is only being recognized by the computer when it scans the system. If it is burning out at startup it is because the bulb is going from stone cold to instant hot.
Last night was the first time I had the chance to use the high beam with the sylvania, WOW almost like running into daylight

 

[Skipper]

Something I've seen on tv for the last month is one of those class action lawsuits about Sylvania light bulbs. It could be related to this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[davidh]

Update: I called Sylvania this morning and talked with a very nice person. She told me any of the Silverstar lamps (regular, Ultra, etc.) are good for around 200 hours which apparently equates to around a year in an automobile. She said that because PTW lamps are on all the time they'd have a shorter life (in terms of number of days). I told her I had two failures since June but didn't have my receipts (I checked with the parts store and they couldn't pull them back up). She said no problem and said she'd ship two out FedEx today! She advised I keep future receipts (I've already taped yesterday's to the box and stashed it away) so I won't have any problems in the future. I'm not crazy about blowing lamps every 200 hours but as long as they're willing to replace them, big deal (I'll just be sure to carry a spare on the bike). I'm wondering how PIAAs or other manufacturers compare to the 200-hour figure.

 

[bill steele]

I would check the connection points on the light socket if the clips are not tight to the pins this will decrease the life of the bulb quite a bit. I changed the bulb in my bike after it burned out about 11000 miles ago and still going strong and 200 hours on a light bulb is crazy.

 

[JaimeC]

When searching around the internet on headlight bulbs (someone at the Finger Lakes Rally was hawking an LED "drop-in" replacement for H4 halogen bulbs) I found out from many sites that these LED and HID "headlamp replacements" are GARBAGE. From what I've seen, THIS is THE hot ticket for a replacement bulb (many on the ADV forum raved about them) so I'm going to order a pair and keep them on hand, I think: Osram Rallye 64217 65w Ultra High Output H7 Special-Service Bulb

 

[Spdrush]

Daniel stern lighting is the go to guy for information re bulbs. Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
I have followed his advice through Corvettes and Subaru STi cars. I am happy so far with the stock bulbs but will follow his advice re replacements. Bottom line is avoid blue tinted bulbs.

Spdrush

 

[Xian Forbes]

Something new for your consideration ... ADVMonster has these Cree 20w XML L2 emitters now available. XML's are a very bright and white emitter (2,400 lumens and 6,000k color temp) that should out perform its filament counterpart. 30,000 hours vs 200 hours.

http://stores.advmonster.com/h7-led-headlight/

 

[JaimeC]

LED H4 and H7 bulbs legality

 

[hshawarby]

Here is link to a discussion with the manufacturer about these LEDs. They clearly state that these are for off-road use and are not DOT certified.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=948701

...a lot of positive comments by users.


Sent from my iPad

 

[Xian Forbes]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=976505

 

[Doraemon]

I bought one, and it won't fit. the forks will hit it.

 

[Xian Forbes]

I bought one, and it won't fit. the forks will hit it.

The advmonster h7? If so, how did it look in the reflector? Did it maintain a nice cutoff or become scattered as I've seen in some retrofits?

 

[Doraemon]

the plastic part that holds the led arm in is too thick to latch the lamp in. the back area is too deep, and interferes with the fork turning.
I bought off of ebay for 30 or so and thought to try it. the light was quite bright and in the garage I could not distinguish from the halogen or the led.
I removed the fins down to about half and ran on the bench at 14vdc for 30 min and it was ok, it did get hot but not get shallow enough to work.

 

[Xian Forbes]

Dammit, I so wanted this to work. Mostly because lamp life seems short and changing twice a year is not ideal.

 

[Doraemon]

that and my thoughts exactly

 

[hshawarby]

Will the 650 have the same fitting issue or there more clearance?


Sent from my iPad

 

[Doraemon]

Will the 650 have the same fitting issue or there more clearance?


Sent from my iPad

you need 4-5" clearance outside the back of the bulb cover. the bulb cover will not fit back on after this.

 

[hshawarby]

you need 4-5" clearance outside the back of the bulb cover. the bulb cover will not fit back on after this.

Is that inches or cms? Inches seems a little excessive.

Sent from my To Be Filled By O.E.M. using Tapatalk

 

[Doraemon]

From the flange mount back is about 2.5" . The forks come within 1/4" of the back of the headlight.... to be exact.
Unless you find one that allows the cover to go on, it wont fit.