Decent headlights for out of town riding

[Pixie]

This is how they work..

http://home.howstuffworks.com/question151.htm

Cheers

Aaahh, the internet,is there nothing It can't teach us?

[Pixie]

I looked up Howstuffingworks and got a totally unexpected site-more along the lines of what the police like to view

[Blackbird]

Hi Pixie

The Xenon bulbs I've just fitted are UK-made and on the flashy box they came in, it specifically said that they were compatible with polycarbonate reflectors. Having said that, the 100W halogens I've had in for a couple of years came in unmarked packets but there is no visible damage to the reflectors from them. Incidentally, I'm pretty sure that 100W bulbs are illegal in NZ but that's relatively unenforceable in practical terms. The police office who lives opposite me didn't even know, and said that he had more important things to worry about!

Thanks for the physics and chemistry lesson. Us mechanical engineers tried to avoid that stuff at varsity

Geoff

[Ixion]

It's interesting that someone using 100W bulbs hasn't had trouble with heat.
..
Halogen bulbs need to have virtually no voltage drop from the wiring to the bulb,e.g. 12 Volts on the bulb terminals to operate correctly,otherwise there is no avantage in using them..

I'm using 130W main beam in the BMW. No problems so far. You need to have a relay to feed the actual bulb (with decently heavy cable) or you will fry the handlebar switch (ie the relay has to go AFTER the main/dipped switch )

[Blackbird]

Whoa! 130W must be good for some serious visibility! Logarithmic if I remember right so ~ 10-15% brighter than 100W?

Agree with relays, had them fitted on my K100 when I upgraded the lighting.

[bungbung]

Whoa! 130W must be good for some serious visibility! Logarithmic if I remember right so ~ 10-15% brighter than 100W?

Agree with relays, had them fitted on my K100 when I upgraded the lighting.

The light output is linear at the bulb, but falls off in an inverse square fashion.

The difference between the bulbs will reduce depending on the distance the light is projected.

[XTC]

I have to say that the XT600 has the best headlight of any bike i've owned including the twin setups on the VFR750 and VF1000R.... And it's just a single 60/55w bulb. High beam gives great penetration and even better spread. To say I was impressed and surprised is an understatement.

[Flyingpony]

What better bulbs can I put in my bike?

It currently has 2x 25w units and they're only good for telling other people that I exist on the road.

One dip has blown so I must do something about it before my next WOF.

On my last WOF, I failed twice due to them being "unfocused" . WTF, it's factory! That LTSA dude was a biker and thought I was a European model or such. Didn't believe me when I said it was NZ new and made in Malaysia. Wanted me to sand paper the lens!

2.5yrs back, I nearly hit someone on a rainy night because I didn't see that person with their black clothes etc. Burglar?

[Ixion]

Whoa! 130W must be good for some serious visibility! Logarithmic if I remember right so ~ 10-15% brighter than 100W?

Agree with relays, had them fitted on my K100 when I upgraded the lighting.

Especially when augmented by the twin 100w spot lights

[Coyote]

That looks alot better, guess what Im heading out to buy today

Let me know what ones you get, so I can look out for them

[Zapf]

have fitted some Philips Vision Plus H7 and H4 onto my k5 750, a lot brighter than the standard Osram bulbs. They are all 55W's

I won't buy the Niva (spelling) ones again, as I had the blue ones in the cage and they keep burning out....