I find the Sylvania Silver Star bulbs to be the brightest and longest lasting bulbs available.

 

Same here.

 

Which one do I get? Can I just go down to Home Depot and pick it up?

 

lus1:

WRONG - H7 110W Xtreme White Plus PIAA Motorcycle Headlight Bulb - WRONG
:fight2:Kicking self in head repeatedly...........:sry:

This is a motorcycle bulb but after doing more searching, the bulb of choice for the M50 was the Sylvania Silverstar H4 or H4ST, it is a 60watt bulb and these are more like $20 or so.

I know that PepBoys has them, but you might try to search to see if you can find better pricing on line.

 

Damn! $50 through Amazon!!!

Honestly, is this really going to make a difference? I'll spend $50 as long as the light actually is that much better.

 

Not only do they help you to see at night, but more importantly they make you a whole lot easier to be seen by drivers of other vehicles, day or night. That fact translates into magnitudes less chances of someone pulling out in front of you at intersections, driveways, parking lots, etc...

When I began to consider getting my first bike, I started paying attention, as a car driver, to which bikes I tended to notice and which ones I didn't, especially at intersections and the like. It turned out that bikes with a single dim headlight bulb were the worst to be noticed, those with a bright headlight bulb were much more easily noticed, and those with a bright headlight bulb and a light bar, or running lights were the best for being by me seen from my car.

After buying my bike, I immediately went down to PepBoys and bought a twin pack of those bulbs and installed one. I then made a custom light bar, and installed that. I can tell you that, in 3 riding seasons, I have never had another vehicle pull in front of me in any situation. Of course, that doesn't mean it will never happen, but it hasn't yet.

As I have corrected in my post above, the Sylvania Silverstar H4 is only around $20

 

I added a driving light. Bought a cheap set at Pep Boys and decided to only use one light. I never wired in a switch so it is on all the time.

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/f...uder-m50-secret-hideaway/27824-added-driving-light.html?highlight=driving+light

 

I fitted two 50W wide beam spots mounted under the headlight. They are aimed either side of the headlight beam with a 180 deg spread. I need them for mountain night rides as sharp corners weren't being lit up at all. I dont have any pics of them working yet. But there pics of them in my album. Only problem I have with them is that I have to dip the lights or be blinded by the reflected light from road signs.

 

I'll head down to pep boys and see if they have the H7 110W Xtreme White Plus PIAA Motorcycle Headlight Bulb one. Nice thing about buying locally is that I can take it back if it isn't much of a difference.

I'd rather not have multiple lights added. If I can just get one light that would work better for night riding, that would be awesome. I'll let you guys know of the difference.

 

I'll head down to pep boys and see if they have the H7 110W Xtreme White Plus PIAA Motorcycle Headlight Bulb one.

You gotta be a little careful with that.

IF the bulb really does CONSUME 110W of power, it may not "play nice" in a fixture intended for 65W max. Melting and smoke may result.....if you don't blow a fuse or burn a wire.

And if the socket is different.........think about it REAL carefully before you try to adapt it. One of the reasons the socket IS different is to prevent you from using it in a fixture that won't support it. :shock:

 

check out ebay too. I bought a pair from there for like $35 shipped.

 

You could try swapping out the standard h4 bulb for an HID kit. I did so on my C50T and never even need to run my high beam because of the increase in light output. I purchased the kit from eBay for $74 shipped and was able to fit everything inside my headlight bucket.

My friends liked the improvement so much, I have since done it to 3 other bikes.

 

What's involved here? Is it a simple plug and play?

 

How would the HID kit compare to that Silverstar H4?

 

While I cant comment on the Silverstar directly (not sure of the brand on his bike) I have pics of my brothers M90 with an H4 6000K bulb and then an HID of the same range.

I went directly from stock to HID on mine.

I wish I had a picture comparison to a stock bulb, but i never got one. The upgraded bulb was bright and bluer than the stock lamp.


attachment 3073 is the upraded bulb
attachment 3075 is the HID.

All research up until purchase and installation has told me that HID puts out about 3x the light of a standard bulb and draws less power. My brother and I used to run high beam all the time before, but now we dont even think about it due to the increase in light output.

On top of that, when driving our cages we feel like the headlights arent even on because we are so used to the bikes.

 

Anyone tried Motolights or similar?

How about adding the motolights or similar lower? Like on the forks. This creates a triangle of lights.

 

i've got PIAA 1100x on the lower forks.
love it.
bulbs are expensive as hell and hard to find, so i have to order online.

i have fog lights for wide angle too
and had silverstar bulb until it popped (during a crash...)

 

Got a picture?

 

After HID conversion, or replacement bulbs easy to find?

 

See also this US based seller. I have a message into them confirming model and price:
XerayUSA :: Quality Products for Life and Security - Motorcyle HID Kits

How about replacement HID bulbs? Special order or available at local retailers?

 

Replacement bulbs are available online - I am under the impression that aside from putting out more light and using less power than conventional halogen that they will also last a lot longer.

i was originally going to purchase from xerayusa (via eBay) but the person answer my emails did so incomplete. I had to send multiple emails to get 4 questions (sent in the original email) to be answered...the replies were coming back one question at a time and were not very clear.

on a sidenote - my family and I (4 bikes) just got back from "Thunder on the Mountain" in Brian Head, UT. We stayed an extra day to check out the sights and ended up getting caught in a rainstorm and fog at night going through 2lane mountain curves. the lead bike (HID imitation bulb) was so thankful that the 3 bikes behind him had the HID kits as we lit the way for him. The amount of light being put out was unbelievable esp. with us being in a staggard formation.

 

HID conversions are good if you are on the bike or in a car that has been converted, but if you are the oncoming traffic - not so good. Unless the housing was designed for HID, the light is going to be scattered. I looked into converting my truck, so I did a bit of research. The best option I came up with was retro fitting projector lenses in the housing. I am all for brighter light, just not at the expense of others.

 

9003/hb2 st = h4?

From Wally World, I found Sylvania Silverstar 2 pack of 9003/HB2 ST and package reads "also meets H4"; 12.8v, 60/55w.

Started thinking maybe that wasn't right, so went directly to Pep Boys and got the single pack (dusty obviously been there a while) Sylvania Silverstar H4ST 12v, 65/45w.

Checked the existing bulb which is Phillips 12v, 60/55w.

What gives? None of that is consistent. Are both types of Sylvanias okay to use?

 

funny.

if it were me, i'd get the 9003 bulbs from wally world... prolly cheaper and it'll last as long.
12.8v 60 watts = 4.68 amps
12 v 65 watts = 5.8 amps
12 v 60 watts = 5 amps

i wouldn't use the 65/45. use 60/55. 12.8 volts won't do much difference than the 12 volts.

use the cheapo wally world bulbs. they'll last longer as long as your charging system is putting out 12.8 volts (on highbeam) when charging... and it should be (it should put out almost 14 volts.

 

Thanks! I was perplexed... obviously don't know much about this stuff. Should make installing the PIAA fork lights interesting. arty4:

 

the piaa multi-fits are a breeze to install.

battery to relay.
lights to relay
switch to relay.
pie.

the hardest part if figuring out where you want to mount the light switch.

i'd suggest you cut into the headlight socket for the switch (where they tell you to connect to battery) so that you can only turn on your lights when the bike is on

let me know if you need help with it...

 

Just might do that Womper. Thank. Currently going through the parts list...wish they gave a picture of the parts - I'm such a visual person. The directions in general kind of suck from that stand point...just a bunch of verbiage. I need to go through it again because I think I might be missing some parts.

Do you run yours all the time? Just with low beam? Just with high beam? Do you ever NOT run yours?

 

you should have two long bolts... two brackets and two lights...

i run mine most of the time, either hi or low beam...
i cut into the AUX socket for mine. there's juice when the bike is on, and when the bike is off, i won't drain my battery by forgetting to put the lights on

i sometimes forget to turn them on... but it helps other vehicles seeing me coming at them... that's why i like them during the day...