Head light bulb burned out

[allanoue]

My bike is 22 months old with 21,000 miles and the light burned-out.
That is quick. Anyone else have there low beam head light burnout yet on the 300?

[Ghostt]

I would upgrade the bulb to a CREE LED, they are brighter, longer lasting, less amperage draw than the regular one, and in most cases a plug-n-play modification.

HID is another one but more involved due to the ballast that must be installed.

[LittleRedNinjette]

I normally have to replace my car headlights once a year to a year and a half. Its a similar kind of bulbs so doesnt sound odd to me. Someone else may have more insight on it though.

[dcj13]

Dunno the specifics of the HL bulb for the 300...

Small motorcycles exhibit higher amplitude and higher frequency vibration than do cars: so a filament-type bulb generally fails sooner on a bike than it will on a car.

If a plug & play LED bulb with suitable performance characteristics exists, it would be worth looking into (provided it's cost-effective).

If any of you folks convert to an LED headlight, please provide your thoughts.

[Ghostt]

I have done the CREE LED conversion on my SUV and it's very cost effective, and they are about twice as bright as the OEM bulbs, are, even the aftermarket Sylvania ultra silver star bulbs.

2X Super White H7 High Power 80W LED CREE Projector 1920 Lumen DRL Fog Headlight
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...554369&alt=web

On my bikes I have the DDM TUNING HID KIT 55W/6K Hi/Low H4, these kits are amazingly bright, to put it into numbers, a Sylvania ultra silver star bulb is about 1000~1200 lumens, the 55w HID is 5,000 lumens

[snot]

No, I never heard of this.
I want to upgrade to 636 lights, just need to save a lot of $.

[Ghostt]

The advantage of CREE LEDs is they don't generate heat, like a conventional or HID bulb. Also with an HID conversion you need to find a place to mount/hide the ballast.

I would have done the CREE LEDs headlight on my bikes, but the technology wasn't there at the time, as it is now.

I have since converted my brake,tail, and turn indicators bulbs to CREE LEDs bulbs and they are awesome.

SIDENOTE: I converted the front turn indicators to a switch back CREE LEDs bulbs, they are white in running light mode and amber in turn signal mode, best part is they are plug-n-play and do this automatically.

The advantage of converting to HID & CREE LEDs bulbs is the saved wattage, so I can power other accessories like heated grips, and clothing.

[Ghostt]

Another option on bikes that have non-fluted lenses

Installation guide for retrofitting mini Bi-Xenon…: http://youtu.be/r3p5jedQcjg

[APEmike]

Does anyone have before/after photos of the cree headlight bulb? Im not sold on the idea yet of their light output and beam patterns.

[Ghostt]

Light output is rated in lumens, a OEM bulb is about 800 lumens, a Sylvania ultra silver star is about 1000, so just do the match, also the light is a brighter and purer white, which is rated in Kelvin temperature.

Beam pattern is going to be almost identical due to the shape of the reflector, and lens.

try searching YouTube videos.

Hope this helps you out.

[LNasty]

I just switched my low beam out with a Phillips Motovision, I love it so far. Had 18,000 on the OEM bulb, it is still good, so I put in the motovision box and carry it in my backpack for emergencies. I will get a motovision for the high beam soon as well.

Don't those Cree LED bulbs still need a different reflector or projector like the HID's do?

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by LNasty

I just switched my low beam out with a Phillips Motovision, I love it so far. Had 18,000 on the OEM bulb, it is still good, so I put in the motovision box and carry it in my backpack for emergencies. I will get a motovision for the high beam soon as well.

Don't those Cree LED bulbs still need a different reflector or projector like the HID's do?

Yes and no, they will work fine with the OEM set up, it's just putting a better bulbulb in place of the stock one.

To get the optimal performance from any bulb, a projector style is the best as of now, but that's a more involved and extra money that some do, some don't.

Choice is yours in the end.

[JohnnyBravo]

if I want HID or LED

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

if I want HID or LED

The easiest is LED for plug-in play, HID requires a bit more, mounting and hiding the ballast, and some wiring.

If your looking for the most lumens, a DDM TUNING HID KIT in the 55. watts will produce 5,000 lumens per bulb.

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by Ghostt

The easiest is LED for plug-in play, HID requires a bit more, mounting and hiding the ballast, and some wiring.

If your looking for the most lumens, a DDM TUNING HID KIT in the 55. watts will produce 5,000 lumens per bulb.

Probly go with the led, I love those things... Less power robbing, and longer life. I don't really go for the most lumens as I hate cars with bright lights, especially the idiots that run their fog lights in clear weather just to blind folks

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Probly go with the led, I love those things... Less power robbing, and longer life. I don't really go for the most lumens as I hate cars with bright lights, especially the idiots that run their fog lights in clear weather just to blind folks

If aimed properly they don't blind oncoming traffic. I have the kit in both the ninja 250 & 500 , and once in a blue moon I get the curious flash to dim, I flash back, that answers their questions.

The CREE LEDs boasts some impressive lumens some over 2,000 which is nice when riding at night especially, see more/further= reaction time.

[Ghostt]

Also keep in mind the color, you want to be within 5 to 6k range, more would be that bluish look, less would be more yellow.

[CZroe]

I had to replace my first and second bulb by that time on my first 250.

[Somchai]

Looking for PnP LED lights?

Here it is: http://japan.webike.net/products/21793687.html

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by Somchai

Looking for PnP LED lights?

Here it is: http://japan.webike.net/products/21793687.html

My 2¢ worth,

I'm familiar with this style of CREE LEDs, the design seems overly complicated for a motorcycle.

The fans are need, but I'm not sure how they would hold up on a motorcycle, which the headlight housing is more exposed to the elements, than a automobile.

On my automobile I used the CREE LEDs without the fans. While they might not offer the same light output, I like the simpler design.