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Replacement H-4 Headlight Bulbs
These Hella, halogen bulbs have Xenon added to the gas mix inside the bulb. This allows the bulb to burn with a whiter color. Halogen light has a color temperature of approximately 2,000 degrees Kelvin. The +50 bulbs I sell are about 3,000 degrees Kelvin. Daylight is about 4,500 degrees Kelvin. Xenon bulbs produce a "cleaner" or "whiter" light that allows you to see more color and thereby more detail. Effectively, they look brighter because you see better. There is no "Blue" component to a Xenon bulb and it does not resemble an HID light.
Order Part Number: C-02114. Price: $18.00 each, delivered.
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Some straight talk about headlight bulbs
Bulb Upgrades
If you are replacing the bulb(s) in your headlamp(s) with bulbs of higher wattage, be
aware that enhanced wattage may or may not produce the improvement you desire.
The degree of improvement you will see depends on the definition or precision of your
lighting pattern. In US-DOT lighting, the patterns vary from very poor to very good. In
those cases where the pattern is good (as in the Concours headlight), the improvement can be marked. With a poor lighting pattern, the light distribution is so diffuse, the improvement can be negligible. In a Euro spec, or "E" coded lamp, like the one I sell above, the improvement is substantial on the Concours. This bulb's output is very close to a halogen, 80/100 watt bulb, but does not tax the stock wiring or j-box because it draws no more current because it is a 55/65 watt bulb.
Bulb Life
The industry accepted life of a standard wattage bulb is some 200-300 hours - of
course, some are going to fail earlier and some are going to last your lifetime. Time to
Fail is a standard bell curve around 200-300 hours. Typically, the life of a high wattage
bulb is less than half that of a standard wattage bulb - some (not these Hella bulbs) are rated as low as 50 hours. It is heat and vibration that kills any bulb. With a high wattage bulb, there is much more heat, resulting in a much softer filament which is much more susceptible to vibration failure. When running high wattage bulbs in smaller lamps designed for 55/65 watt bulbs, not only do you run the risk of cracking your lens or housing, you significantly reduce the normal life of the bulb. Your wiring may not be up to the task of handling the higher wattage bulbs too.
Bulb Handling Caution
DO NOT touch the glass of a replacement bulb with your bare fingers. A halogen bulb
burns VERY hot and the oils from your skin will create a SUPER HOT spot on the
glass that will cause the bulb to shatter or burn out prematurely. If you inadvertently
touch the glass with your bare fingers or skin, you may very carefully clean the bulb
with a clean cloth soaked in isopropyl alcohol.
Thinking about HID driving lights?
These marvels of electronic ingenuity promise a ton of increased lighting while consuming significanly less electrical power, almost a free lunch. Yes, they are BRIGHT, but the very white/bluish tint makes some objects, particularly dust and rain, very distracting. Also, the distance the lighting gets down the road is still the function of the reflector design (bigger IS better). HID lights utilizing a projector type housing at do not perform nearly as well as ones with larger reflector housings. I have ridden ahead and behind a motorcycle that had HID, projector beam, lights, and, other than the brightness, they provided very little advantage over my Hella FF-200's, particularly in the overall useful lighting that is needed for safe night-time riding. The Hella Compact 4000 Compact HID's are a large diameter light and are the ultimate in driving lights. To see pictures of the installation of these lights on a C-10 Concours here.
Pencil Beams
I own a set of PIAA 5100 series pencil beams. This little known of model, is light in weight and not overly large. They use their "super white" PIAA bulbs (55 watts each) that PIAA claims have an output like an 85 watt bulb. These $40.00, each, H-3, bulbs are of the bluish/white type and change the light spectrum to appear brighter but have some of the same disadvantages of HID lights when riding in rain, dust, or fog. When I used them, I had them on the mirror type mounts on my Concours. Because of the vibration of the fairing, the movement of the lights was distracting and the high mounting often prevented their use. This situation is what led to the developement of my Driving Light Mount for the Concours. I have compared them to the Hella FF-200's , and they are no match because the Hella's are such a good all-around light.
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