Motorcycle recomendations?

[ttabbal]

I have a 1983 Honda CB1000C I want to upgrade the lighting on. Brake, turn and running are LED based now, so I do have some extra power to burn. Wiring is no problem, I'll be running new wiring, fuses, and relays for the new lights and the stock headlamp.

The headlight takes an H4 bulb. I only have one, so I'd like to get as much out of it as I can. I've seen some 80/100W bulbs out there, are they worth anything? I know to avoid tinted bulbs from reading old posts, but that seems pretty common locally. This one seemed to get some recommendation around here: http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html ... I will be seeing what I can do with the lens as well to clean it up, though it's in decent shape. Or would something like this be a better idea? http://store.candlepower.com/fco7h4mohebd.html .. That unit looks like my existing beam once removed from the housing.

Is that vendor any good?

I also wouldn't mind adding some axillary lighting. HID or LED would be nice, but I expect they are out of budget. I'd like to keep price around $100. Standard bulbs I can get local replacements for would be required. Mostly to be seen better by cars, but better night vision would be nice as well. This is a street bike, so nothing that could cause oncoming traffic to be blinded is desired. Getting a little better side vision at night would be nice for animals, if it doesn't cause blinding.

 

[deadrx7conv]

Most of the +30 and +50 bulbs should do you well.
Sometimes even just replacing an old bulb might be all you need.

http://store.candlepower.com/h4hb29003bulbs.html
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

You can also find the same bulbs on ebay or at your local 4x4/speed/auto store, sometimes cheaper.

Since the life of brighter bulbs isn't always too good, keep a spare with the bike.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

The headlight takes an H4 bulb. I only have one, so I'd like to get as much out of it as I can. I've seen some 80/100W bulbs out there, are they worth anything? I know to avoid tinted bulbs from reading old posts, but that seems pretty common locally. This one seemed to get some recommendation around here: http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html ... I will be seeing what I can do with the lens as well to clean it up, though it's in decent shape. Or would something like this be a better idea? http://store.candlepower.com/fco7h4mohebd.html .. That unit looks like my existing beam once removed from the housing.

Is that vendor any good?

That vendor is excellent; I've purchased from them before and their shipping is fast, and they assisted me with a strange problem I was having. Not only did their salesperson assist me, but one of their technical staff (a very knowledgeable and amiable fellow).

I've seen Scheinwerfermann recommend that Bosch 7" headlamp before-- if I still had my '65 Dart 270 I'd definitely pick up a pair of them (despite them being for motorcycles)-- it's an excellent price for sure. If you put one of these bulbs in it, make sure you upgrade the wiring so they're not starved. Or just use one of these (but relays may still be advisable).

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I have a 1983 Honda CB1000C I want to upgrade the lighting on. Brake, turn and running are LED based now, so I do have some extra power to burn.

Concerning those LED 'upgrades', are you sure that they conform to applicable regulations? Some LED conversions are sadly lacking in that they are too dim at some test points yet too intense at other test points.

 

[ttabbal]

Thanks for the great info guys. I have ordered the 70/65 bulb and Bosch headlamp from candlepower and already planned to upgrade the wiring with relays and such. Now to wait for the package, and figure out where I'm going to stash the relays on the bike.

 

[ttabbal]

Concerning those LED 'upgrades', are you sure that they conform to applicable regulations? Some LED conversions are sadly lacking in that they are too dim at some test points yet too intense at other test points.

I don't have the necessary gear to do a real test, but they are certainly brighter at every angle I have looked at than stock. We also have safety testing here and it's passed for 4 years with the changes. I've had friends and family follow me in a car and report that the rear is very visible. Not much more I can think up to do to ensure visibility there. And most collisions occur from the front of a bike, thus the concentration on the headlamp currently. If you have suggestions for better ways to handle it, I'm willing to give them a try. The stock lighting in the hard luggage, which is the only rear turn indicator and has extra brake/tail lighting, was using dome light bulbs. The type that look like the tube shaped glass fuses. The LEDs I replaced them with are significantly better at lighting up the lens. I could barely see them at night before, now they are clear in direct sunlight. That said, I am certainly no expert in lighting. If there's more to be done, or it can be done better, I'm all for it.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I don't have the necessary gear to do a real test, but they are certainly brighter at every angle I have looked at than stock. We also have safety testing here and it's passed for 4 years with the changes.

Like I said, it may be too dim in some points or too intense in other points; maybe this is too intense in very many more points.

Unless the safety tester performed the tests described in SAE J588, you don't know with certainty that it meets the requirements. The testers usually just check for basic function, not performance.

Essentially, the lamp assemblies, being designed for a filament lamp of a certain type, will not work well with any LED retrofit.

 

[ttabbal]

Like I said, it may be too dim in some points or too intense in other points; maybe this is too intense in very many more points.

Unless the safety tester performed the tests described in SAE J588, you don't know with certainty that it meets the requirements. The testers usually just check for basic function, not performance.

Essentially, the lamp assemblies, being designed for a filament lamp of a certain type, will not work well with any LED retrofit.

Thanks for quoting the spec number. I can't find a free reference for it, but it looks like it requires specialized equipment to really make good use of it anyway. Based on the excerpts I've seen anyway. The lamp assemblies I'm using... calling them "designed" is a bit of a stretch. I'm not convinced any such work was done on them. Giving hand signals to a blind guy would probably convey as much information as they used to. I expect they didn't fall under regulation much as they were "accessory" type lamps. Odd to me, given that they are also the only rear turn signals on the bike, but whatever. I am learning a lot from google based on that term though.

 

[tay]

If they were pre-made turn signal and brake light assemblies from a reputable manufacturer, they could certainly be compliant with all applicable regulations. I'm going out on a limp here, but I'd assume that the OP, who seems intelligent enough to be concerned about safety, is not one of those dumb kids riding around with blue or green brake lights and strobing turn signals and all that garbage. Without further clarification, there isn't a way to know for sure, but they're probably just standard off-the-shelf LED turn signal stalks designed for motorcycles, similar to the round LED modules designed for trucks.

 

[ttabbal]

If they were pre-made turn signal and brake light assemblies from a reputable manufacturer, they could certainly be compliant with all applicable regulations. I'm going out on a limp here, but I'd assume that the OP, who seems intelligent enough to be concerned about safety, is not one of those dumb kids riding around with blue or green brake lights and strobing turn signals and all that garbage. Without further clarification, there isn't a way to know for sure, but they're probably just standard off-the-shelf LED turn signal stalks designed for motorcycles, similar to the round LED modules designed for trucks.

Actually no, most of them are the LED based 1157 "replacement" bulbs. I'm not quite so stupid as to run purple or blue brake/turn signals, but I am still a bit of a newb when it comes to the more technical aspects of lighting. I was going with "it's more visible and not blinding". Perhaps that's not good enough, even if it was a step up from where it was.

I will be looking for those motorcycle turn stalks at the very least though. After more reading, it looks like at least the front signals could use those and see an improvement in safety. The whole point of doing this is to increase safety for myself and others while riding. If I did it wrong to begin with, lesson learned and I'll do more research to do it right next time.

Pointers to reputable vendors for products that would be a better choice would be appreciated. There seem to be a LOT of products out there are look like items listed on CPF as examples of what not to do. If I'm going to spend time and money correcting my mistakes, I want to make sure I'm getting good parts.

 

[Bobyn]

I'm at risk of being flamed here - but I'm sure mostly anyone who rides knows the feeling the someone turning left while you are going through the intersection the opposite way. :huh:

The problem I found was that most of the time my headlight blended into the vehicles behind me and other drivers (I assume...) had trouble judging distance. I replaced the H4 bulb with a Candlepower 'Gold' H4 from BikeBandit.com

It has a really yellow glow, at least relative to normal bulbs. Whenever I was following someone, bike or cage, when we stopped they stated how easy it was to see me. Its only a 55/60W bulb, so its not going to blind other drivers (as if the headlight on my ZZR600 ever could, so weak.), but will make you easier to see.

The catch? Its not DOT approved - so be prepared for a fix-it-ticket. With that said I've been pulled over (No not speeding! Checkstop. :nana and the cop didn't mention it. Then again they are fairly lenient here as long as you ride with the front wheel on the road. I figure a ticket is easier to pay off then my funeral. Disclaimer - I do not recommend this or take responsibility for anything you might do. :thumbsup:

 

[Bobyn]

Essentially, the lamp assemblies, being designed for a filament lamp of a certain type, will not work well with any LED retrofit.

I can't speak for any manufacturer - but in experience I've notice the 'design' of the lamp housings is very poor at most. A friends V-Strom didn't even have any sort of reflector in it, relying solely on a fluted plastic lens and forward light from the filament. Backwards light simply got wasted.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

The catch? Its not DOT approved - so be prepared for a fix-it-ticket.

No such thing as DOT approval. Read this post.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I can't speak for any manufacturer - but in experience I've notice the 'design' of the lamp housings is very poor at most. A friends V-Strom didn't even have any sort of reflector in it, relying solely on a fluted plastic lens and forward light from the filament. Backwards light simply got wasted.

I would expect that it conformed FMVSS 108 if it was factory equipment. It may have have been as good as it could have been, but it still met the requirements.

 

[Bobyn]

No such thing as DOT approval. Read this post.

I didn't know that! Thanks! I'll reword then - Yellow lamps in the headlight are illegal.

 

[Bobyn]

I should really learn how to put this all in one post...but,

I would expect that it conformed FMVSS 108 if it was factory equipment. It may have have been as good as it could have been, but it still met the requirements.

Very true, they still sucked though. Kinda like the headlights on the `89 Jetta I used to have - those things were brutal, yet somehow passed some sort of cert.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Kinda like the headlights on the `89 Jetta I used to have - those things were brutal, yet somehow passed some sort of cert.

They used the 9004, a dual-filament bulb with transverse filaments. Difficult to make a good headlight from it; requiring a large reflector to approximate doing it properly. It can be made to generate a beam as required by law but that's about it.

 

[ttabbal]

Just wanted to say thanks for the help. I got the parts installed from Candlepower.com and they are great. Far better than the stock setup I had in there. The Bosch headlamp fit perfectly and my headlight went from being a light yellow smudge on the wall to a clearly defined beam with a nice cutoff. It's also much brighter.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Glad to help! Enjoy the Bosch headlamp!

Also: Ride safely!

 

[mboni]

The problem I found was that most of the time my headlight blended into the vehicles behind me and other drivers (I assume...) had trouble judging distance. I replaced the H4 bulb with a Candlepower 'Gold' H4 from BikeBandit.com

This is an inherent problem with motorcycle headlights, they don't provide a good reference for judging distance. A single point of light just gives no perspective information.

I strongly recommend adding a pair of aux lights on the bike forks. This provides a triangular light pattern that is pretty distinctly a motorcycle, and also provides enough visual cues to judge distance and speed of closure. In fact, I'd recommend putting on aux lights before you touch the headlight, since the aux lights will also increase the amount of light on the road.

I have a pair of Motolights on an older bike, but my newer bike has a pair of Vision X Solstice Solo 10w LED modules. The Vision X LEDs are really slick, and very kind to your electrical system. (Vision X Solo lights are also re-branded and sold as Denali driving lights by Twisted Throttle)

There's also a couple of LED kits for motorcycles that are aimed just at visibility, but aren't intended to add to road illumination. Look at Hyper-whites, Photon Blaster, or BikeVis Bullets.