TOPIC:

slmjim+Z1BEBE wrote:

Rolf1976_KZ900 wrote:

... I changed the bulb today in the garage and it was i very big difference in power and brightness on the wall infront of bike. ...



 

Would like to see before & after pics of the beam patterns on the wall.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

 

Not sure what happened when i tried to edit the post so i post again from my messy garage

A word of caution on the Silver star Ultra. They have a life expectancy of only 100 hours. A standard bulb gets over 1,000 hours. I made the mistake of buying them for my van once, as I neglected to read the fine print on the back of the packaging.

Rolf1976_KZ900 wrote:

slmjim+Z1BEBE wrote:

Rolf1976_KZ900 wrote:

... I changed the bulb today in the garage and it was i very big difference in power and brightness on the wall infront of bike. ...




 

Would like to see before & after pics of the beam patterns on the wall.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE


 

Not sure what happened when i tried to edit the post so i post again from my messy garage

 

Still too close & distracting background.  Can't see left side beam cutoff that would keep oncoming drivers protected from glare..  Try riding at night & evaluate beam distance & oncoming traffic behavior.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

ckahleer wrote:

A word of caution on the Silver star Ultra. They have a life expectancy of only 100 hours. A standard bulb gets over 1,000 hours. I made the mistake of buying them for my van once, as I neglected to read the fine print on the back of the packaging.

Hum.  I can't remember which version Silverstar I'm using, but never a problem (yet.)

Checking the Sylvania website, and there are LOTS of complaints about the Ultra's burning out.  According to the website, Sylvania warranties for 12 months.  Still, that's not that long. 

I swapped in all LED’s about 5 years ago including a new H4 headlight housing into my 1978 B2. I bought the housing/shell from Redline cycle (now closed) that had removed all branding from the packaging, so I can’t relay any information on the brand. It cast a clean cutoff line on low beam and a concentrated hot spot on high beam. These pictures were taken using the standardized 25’ distance on a flat wall. This is the type of picture Slmjim is talking about. Sure wish I had kept the packaging the shell came in. 

I ran Silverstar Ultra's in a daily driver Impala and always got about 12 months out of them - go figure    

Mikaw wrote:

I swapped in all LED’s about 5 years ago including a new H4 headlight housing into my 1978 B2. I bought the housing/shell from Redline cycle (now closed) that had removed all branding from the packaging, so I can’t relay any information on the brand. It cast a clean cutoff line on low beam and a concentrated hot spot on high beam. These pictures were taken using the standardized 25’ distance on a flat wall. This is the type of picture Slmjim is talking about. Sure wish I had kept the packaging the shell came in. 

 

Yes indeed!  Thanks for the pics.  Those are good MC headlight beam patterns.

 Appears high beam is the top pic, low beam the bottom pic.  As you say, high beam displays a good centered hot spot, and the rise on both sides illuminate both sides of the path forward very well.  The low beam pic illustrates the sharp left cutoff that protects oncoming traffic from being blinded. It also illustrates the rise at the low beam's right side illuminates the right shoulder / curb area farther forward.

Curiosity questions:
Is the word 'motorcycle' cast into the lens?
When looking straight on at the front of lens, is there an asymmetric, sorta pie-shaped portion at about the 9 o'clock position?

CandlePower has produced replacement housings to upgrade from sealed beam units for years.  If there's a stylized 'CP' logo in the center of the lens that's what it is.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Slmjim, I will check out the aftermarket shell and let you know. 

Just a couple of more pics from how the bulb lights up a wall. I have done some thest at this place back in 2020 with the fj1200 and the pencil marks was still on the wall =). Im not so impressed by the bulb and the lowbeam is not right .The topline of the lowbeam should go down on the left side of center so it is not blinding the oncoming cars. It does dip down on the left side with a regular bulb. Not impressed with the power of the light either when driving but have not been riding in very dark conditions yet. It is bright but not sure if its stronger than a good ordinary bulb. I will try to buy a better ordinary bulb and test.The test here is done in almost daylight.

Rolf this is what you are looking for to be legally compliant (bike looks stunning by the way)

 

Back in 2020 i did a lot of testing on the fj1200 and marked the wall with tape and compared. here are some pics this is after relaymod exept one pic i think

Certainly gives a nice clear definition on the beam pattern, I think the Phillips (or something similar) is the best option for your KZ as the generator can't support a 100w bulb for very long