BLAIR1200R wrote:I've always replaced stock bulbs with aftermarket and have found that they do in fact provide better performance depending on the model bulb you purchase. This includes cars and bikes.
I would qualify that as "SOME" provide better performance. I did a long bunch of tests of all sorts of bulbs for a BMW Car Club Roundel magazine article - and found that many of the expensive bulbs put out less light then a stock brand new bulb. A few did put out more light - at the expense of bulb life (there is no free lunch).. but most of those bulbs aren't actually available in the US. They can be purchased from a company called "Powerbulbs" in the UK (
www.powerbulbs.com) - who offers excellent service and free delivery to the US.
They are expensive, so the VALUE has to be determined by the rider. Running a portion of my ride home on back country roads, I value the minor, yet perceivable increase in lighting… and yes, brighter/whiter beam.
I do agree with deilenberger regarding the blue coating on some, but not all bulb models have this.
My comment was on PIAAs - and most of their bulbs do use a dye coating on the bulb. Some use an evaporated dichroic coating, which gives the pretty-colors effect as you change angle to the bulb. Neither are a good idea IMHO.
I recently looked at OSRAM SYLVANIA (owned by the German company Siemens), having bought PIAAs for awhile, but the reviews on these seem to indicate that they have a short bulb life on their claimed, “brightest and whitest”.
Again, is the money spent on a short lived bulb worth the illumination I get while driving through deer country?... what’s the return on investment?
The numbers on the OSRAM "Power" bulbs from Europe - measured - do show they put out more light then a standard bulb. Measuring the same NAMED bulbs from Sylvania sold in the US show them putting ot no more (and sometimes less) then a standard Sylvania bulb. Again - the victim of a blue coating.
As I mentioned the downside to the brighter bulb is shorter life - usually by about the amount of the claimed increase, ie - a 50% brighter bulb (drawing the same current as a standard bulb) can be expected to fail in about half the time of the standard bulb.
That all said - my suggestion to anyone seeking better lighting is auxiliary lights. I wrote an Owners News article on mounting Hella FF50's on an R12R - they provide outstanding lighting at a reasonable cost.
So I pulled into a rest area and pulled out the manual. I was very relieved to learn the cause was simply my low beam headlight was out. I normally ride with the high beam so no biggie. Blessing in disguise really as I wanted to upgrade to a better burning bulb anyway. So seeing as I want to do more work on the bike myself, this seems like a good place to start. So the burning question for my most knowledgable friends here is.....
