Ok so I've had my 07 since May of 07, and I've just blowen my 5th head light bulb. 3 on the left side, 2 on the rights. Left side always goes first followed by the right one about 3 or 4 days later.
Is this common for the bike to be hard on headlights?
An 02 VFR burnt up its' right sided headlight bulb first. However, the allready burnt out bulbs' partner-in-shine, well, sadly, he must have been feeling very much so all alone after going through such a recent tragedy. That poor little H4 bulb ended up going down the wrong path, all this just shortly after the most recent crisis involving bulb number one. This poor surviving bulb smoked too many watts!!! Sadly, the second bulbs behavior resulted in an eqaully sad story as was the first bulbs case... a second broken filament to complement that of the first H4's short-lived lifes' ending. In just under a week, those two bulbs lost both them filaments! It all just happened soo fast...
The first case could probly not have been avoided? It was the bulbs time to go. It is just sad that noone could have seen the pain on H4 number 2. Probably could have diverted such a repeat incident??? All within a week! Too sad really...
Allthough, replacing those no-more-shiner bulbs with sylvania silverstarz bulbs created a new beginning to the moma bike. The bike ran great, day or night, after those replacements were introduced. Then, no more broken down filaments for years and miles
Always nice to have a happy ending! Still, Those other bulbs will not be forgotten...
I seem to go through both headlights once a year on my 5th gen since I switched to Silverstars. I haven't found the cause yet, but like the brightness of the lights, so I keep replacing. Yesterday I actually ordered a set of PIAA's though to see if they were any better.
If you put the bulbs in with dem thar greasy fingers, they will blow early due to the hot spot that is created by the oils from the skin on your hands.
I even take laquer thinner or acetone to the bulb before installing them and then use a sparkling clean paper towel or lint free rag.
What should the voltage be? And what to do if it IS too high?
Check voltage with engine at 5500rpm with high beams on and off, as well as idle. Voltage should be between 13.8 and 15 volts. If it is too high, report back here and we will start checking your R/R, monitor wire, battery, etc.
I read once that the the nature of the Silverstars are that they all have a fairly short life. However on my last bike I had one and used it for probably 5 years and it still worked when I sold it.
Installing them with bare fingers is sure to cause them to fail, so hopefully you are not touching the glass when installing....
[image: View Post]dweese, on Sep 5 2008, 01:06 AM, said:
Ok so I've had my 07 since May of 07, and I've just blowen my 5th head light bulb. 3 on the left side, 2 on the rights. Left side always goes first followed by the right one about 3 or 4 days later.
Is this common for the bike to be hard on headlights?
ive normally blown low beams every 6 months, I went to Walmarts cheap motorcycle type and they've been the longest lasting, been in there 10 months.
Stock blew around 6 months and I used phillops premiums and they lasted the same amount of time. The Ge's have been, well pretty reliable
I think the walmart GE car $7 bulb is the same thing, the motorcycle box costs ten dollars
my voltages were all in spec, usually around that 6 month area , if I rode a really rough road they would break the spring for sure, but Ge's have held up thus far.
[image: View Post]wera803, on Sep 5 2008, 07:10 AM, said:
I seem to go through both headlights once a year on my 5th gen since I switched to Silverstars. I haven't found the cause yet, but like the brightness of the lights, so I keep replacing. Yesterday I actually ordered a set of PIAA's though to see if they were any better.
I've had PIAA's. They are great. Except they last about half as long as the Silverstars. For the price I'll stick with Silverstars. They are very close in performance. The PIAA has light closer to what an HID is like.
Thanks guys, yes I'm running Silverstars have them in the car as well. Had to replace the ones in the car about about 14months so maybe it is just the bulb and with the bike being a little harder ride it just shortens their life.
Voltage check was the first thing I checked, but my Fluke meter on the bike in log mode and went for a ride, peak was a around 14.7vdc. And its the only bubs I've having issues with so if the voltage was high you think it was kill other bulbs too. And I've got gloves ment for handling light bubs for changing them so I know its not a dirt issue.
At $50 a set maybe I'll just go back to the el-cheap-o's from wal-mart, people still flash their lights at me with those ones :biggrin:
[image: View Post]fastrc46, on Sep 5 2008, 07:40 PM, said:
[image: View Post]wera803, on Sep 5 2008, 07:10 AM, said:
I seem to go through both headlights once a year on my 5th gen since I switched to Silverstars. I haven't found the cause yet, but like the brightness of the lights, so I keep replacing. Yesterday I actually ordered a set of PIAA's though to see if they were any better.
I've had PIAA's. They are great. Except they last about half as long as the Silverstars. For the price I'll stick with Silverstars. They are very close in performance. The PIAA has light closer to what an HID is like.
Man, I heard the Piaa's, were great , but I've seen too many early failures on silverstars, $40 for bulbs that blow quick would kill me>G<
I wonder if the ultrastars last longer, than silverstars?
I hear the best bulb on the market for durability is the Wagner Halogen gold, they have beefier springs and filaments, for offroad use.
[image: View Post]fastrc46, on Sep 5 2008, 08:40 PM, said:
[image: View Post]wera803, on Sep 5 2008, 07:10 AM, said:
I seem to go through both headlights once a year on my 5th gen since I switched to Silverstars. I haven't found the cause yet, but like the brightness of the lights, so I keep replacing. Yesterday I actually ordered a set of PIAA's though to see if they were any better.
I've had PIAA's. They are great. Except they last about half as long as the Silverstars. For the price I'll stick with Silverstars. They are very close in performance. The PIAA has light closer to what an HID is like.
Well that sucks. Silverstars are about $40 a set and the PIAA's were $65. I was hoping for the extra money I'd get some extra life.
One thing I started doing last year which seems to help is running high beams during the day, which I've never done before. Of course now I have a high beam burnt out instead of a low beam, but I think it did extend the life of my low beams somewhat. :biggrin:
Have you tried the Osram (European) Silverstars? They seem to last longer than the Sylvania (US) branded lights. I've had mine (low beams) in for 2 years and no problems.