Best Motorcycle H4 55/60W Halogen Bulbs?

[alarmguy]

Ive been meaning to reply, ran 12 hours a day non stop at work, now off for 3 days.

Yes, I was thinking that my personal thoughts might be all yellow/gold lighting might be too much, meaning you need some white in there.
I know there are those out there that like the lights to all match up, but that is for looks, to prevent accidents and be seen, a mix of colors are best and I know you had a terrible accident.
I have so gotten used to the yellow lighting of the white headlight and yellow "fog/driving" lights that I honestly rarely turn on the high beams (and we have dark roads here) as once I do the yellow fob lamps turn off and almost feels odd.

One more thing to note, the human eye is most sensitive to light at the yellow end of the spectrum and least sensitive to the blue end.

Anyway, I think your on the right track.
For what it is worth, I am surprised at times when riding, as I think at times, cars looking to turn out in front of me, tend to wait for me to pass even though they had plenty of time to pull out onto the road, keep in mind I live in a motorcycle friendly state but I cant ever remember so many times where I thought people waited for me to pass when they didnt have too, not sure if its light related or not but I do know if they are paying attention, its impossible not to see me.

 

[alarmguy]

This is what I am currently using = GP THUNDER 3500K 881 27W 12V Golden Yellow Light Bulbs for Fog Light (bought off Amazon)

I also have these that I am not using = Nokya Arctic Yellow 881 Headlight Bulb

They are both good bulbs, If I remember correctly the Nokya were brighter but no longer sure of anything.

Bottom line, for $35 you can buy both and see what you like best, If the GP thunder ever burn out, then I have the back up Nokya to put in again.

I bought the GP thunder direct from them - Here

This is where I bought the Nokya - click

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Might try yellow tinted bulbs, depending on how well they work at night. Saw a bike the other day in daylight with them and they stood out in traffic pretty good. Want to be seen seen seen by motorists but not by excessive glare or poor cutoff characteristics (LED in Halogen housing). Or high beams in daylight.

http://mtqinc.com/nokyausa/headlights/hyP/hyP.php

http://www.piaa.com/store/p/45-H4-Plasma-Ion-Twin-Beam-Halogen-Bulbs-Single-Pack.aspx



Agree, for me personally, that nice bright blue shine of the higher color temperature lamps looks super sweet when your looking at the bike, they "show" nice.

BUT if you want to be seen, golden or yellow color lights are the way to go, they stand out much better in daylight.
I run a stock headlight bulb but in the OEM driving lights of my Road King I run yellow/gold bulbs.
I have tried two types both good, I cant remember which is which but will get back to you if I figure it out.

I think the Nokya were the brightest, to the point of getting flashed at night by other cars, so I bought DOT approved bulb and it toned down, now not getting flashed alot, I assume it will last longer too.

Here is a photo, the "color" stands out on the interstate, vs a shiny white bluish bulb, I think, anyway.




I think you'll get noticed because from the front you look like a motorcycle cop. Even if your paint is orange, the windshield and crash bars resemble the patrolmen bikes.

 

[alarmguy]

That thought crossed my mind!

 

[LoneRanger]

I just saw a newer Road Glide going the other way oncoming this morning and he had the Daymaker LED option. Honestly, it really wasn't that eye catching or visible. Your Road King with the current setup you have, at least in that photo, has twice the visibility as that RG I saw today.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
This is what I am currently using = GP THUNDER 3500K 881 27W 12V Golden Yellow Light Bulbs for Fog Light (bought off Amazon)

I also have these that I am not using = Nokya Arctic Yellow 881 Headlight Bulb

They are both good bulbs, If I remember correctly the Nokya were brighter but no longer sure of anything.

Bottom line, for $35 you can buy both and see what you like best, If the GP thunder ever burn out, then I have the back up Nokya to put in again.

I bought the GP thunder direct from them - Here

This is where I bought the Nokya - click







I've got to stick with H3 55 watt ones for fogs I have. These are what Guzzi put on at the factory:


http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/p...um-halogen-fog/


They ain't the greatest, and in fact are reputed (by Guzzi gurus) to craap out after about a year or two of enduring the vibrations mounted on the crash bars as they are. Not sure what I'll replace them with, cross that bridge when I come to it.

I did put the multimeter to the fogs and I'm getting full voltage at the input wire inside the fixture, over 12v.

 

[rrounds]

If you want to be seen in the daylight get a headlight module, they work and help keep you alive.
http://www.signaldynamics.com/headlight-module/

ROD

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: rrounds
If you want to be seen in the daylight get a headlight module, they work and help keep you alive.
http://www.signaldynamics.com/headlight-module/

ROD


If those are the things that modulate lo beam hi beam like an emergency vehicle, I don't like them.

 

[LoneRanger]

Aiming of the fogs is still very much a work in progress, but here a couple rough drafts from this afternoon after installing the previously mentioned yellow H3 55W bulbs.

 

[LoneRanger]

Center stands sure are handy but bikes never look good on them. Leaned over with side stand down and wheel turned is always the best look.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
I just saw a newer Road Glide going the other way oncoming this morning and he had the Daymaker LED option. Honestly, it really wasn't that eye catching or visible. Your Road King with the current setup you have, at least in that photo, has twice the visibility as that RG I saw today.


You are so correct!
It blows my mind that people pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars extra for those Daymaker LEDs and on some models they are standard.
I just dont get it, its like a "mass" mentality about LEDs or they just do not realize.

Many LEDs are so narrowly focused (and some way to blue) for max forward light output that if your off axis from the front of the bike you cant even see that the lights are on during the daytime! It amazes me.
Off axis would be like a car waiting to turn out onto a roadway.

I would never ever accept a Harley Daymaker headlight on my Harley *L*
I have witnessed this first hand all the time, even wife agrees. See a Harley coming at you with Daymakers on and you cant even tell the headlights are on.
Also complaints from riders that its hard to see around curves at night, again, narrow focus.

This isnt a bash on all LEDs, its a bash on people who think standard lights must be replaced by Leds. Also, things go wrong all the time with LEDs, circuit boards go bad, etc. Im not saying LEDs are bad, I am saying there is good and bad of all types of lighting and I think an example of bad are the Daymakers.

Just to prove I am not against all LEDs this is the rear of my bike which is all LEDs, the front is all Halogen.
By the way, the rear is all Harley Davidson DOT LEDs and they cost no more and in some cases less then the name brand aftermarket non DOT do. I am VERY happy with them and photo does not capture their true brightness, they are also a bit more red then photo shows, I may have posted this photo, not sure and the bike was still dirty from a trip to the mountains. (

 

[alarmguy]

Excellent color on those fog lights! Very noticeable.

 

[David_g]

I think there are different models of Harley Daymaker headlight. The 5 3/4" Daymaker (IIRC) on my riding buddy's bike lights up the night really well. It's the best I've seen for illuminating the sides of the road to spot deer. It would almost be worth having a Harley for that. Though I expect it could be installed on other bikes that take a round headlight.

 

[LoneRanger]

I also want to get a set of LED tails similar to the ones on your RK's bags. The bags on my Guzzi look weird but I'm getting used to the steamer trunk look. Anyhow, I've seen where guys have add-on tails that strobe about 3 or 4 rapid flashes upon activating brakes. That is a great wake up call to the car behind you so they notice you're slowing up.

Both my Ducati's had LED lights, the 2013 only low beams were LED but the 2016 both high and low were LED. I'm not just saying this to justify the Guzzi but after a few night rides my 54 yr old eyes seem to prefer the lower color temp of the halogens. The LED's by memory seemed to reduce contrast of the roadway and sides or something. But man did they light up the reflective road signs, almost too much.

Also, I've been reading on LED's and they DO produce heat and most need a fan/heatsink combo at the rear and require you to cut up or modify the weather boot on your bulb mounts to get them to fit.

The fogs on the Guzzi aren't going to last real long, they get hot as a fire cracker a 55W bulb in such a small housing, and just in general crash bars they're hard mounted to transmit those good old v-twin engine vibes right to the fogs 1:1. May have to switch to an after market LED fog light by necessity after a while but the mains will stay halogen.

 

[alarmguy]

Yikes, 55 watt, yes, that is hot for sure and think you will be right about its lifespan.

The 881 fog lights I have are the standard 27 watts for an 881. I do think the Nokya was a few watts more if my memory is correct.

Yes, in your case LED maybe the way to go.

I was never much of a fan of the blinking rear lights or headlight modulator for me personally, but they do get attention I certainly dont look at it as a negative, just not for me and think I make up for it with a lot of bright light. I also have the room for all this lighting on a touring frame, if i didnt, I would consider a blinking type. The only thing that bothers me about the blinking is once you are stopped, if you take your hand of the brake even for a second and reapply, it blinks all over agian.

The rear brake lights are extremely bright and I am surprised they are DOT, I do "pulse" them if I wish to make sure some twit on a cell phone behind me sees me stopping.

I did forget to mention since I said the rear is all LED, the rear amber turn signals are just a regular OEM bulb, the amber rear turn signal blinks right or left with the right or left red led saddlebag light when I am turning. I intentionally left the amber OEM bulb as now I have two colors flash when I turn, AMBER OEM turn signal and super bright LED saddle bag brake/run/turn signal.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Originally Posted By: rrounds
If you want to be seen in the daylight get a headlight module, they work and help keep you alive.
http://www.signaldynamics.com/headlight-module/

ROD


If those are the things that modulate lo beam hi beam like an emergency vehicle, I don't like them.


I have the H-D brand modulator and it goes from low beam to low intensity; high beam is not involved. I'm thinking about amber LED lights on the crash bar of my Dyna, but have no clue what to get.