Replacement bulbs for headlights

[KAT6]

Can I go to a auto part store and get a different bulb I would like a brighter bulb these are halogen right?

[SweetLou]

Any H4 bulb will work. Sylvania Silverstars are supposed to be one of the brightest out there. Although they are about $20 bucks for 1 bulb. Also, you want to make sure you get the correct wattage. You want 55/60. If you got like 100/110, you would stand the good chance of burning your wires. There are a lot of cheaper and whiter light bulbs out there compared to the standard stock yellowish light bulbs. Some can even be had for like $12 or $16 bucks for the pair. Just make sure to get the correct wattage.

[Mojoe]

You want 55/60. If you got like 100/110, you would stand the good chance of burning your wires.

Take his advice on that. I tried it and melted the plug. I had to splice in a new one from an old ford.

[KAT6]

Thank you I am going at lunch to get new ones.

[WildKat]

Dont forget the pics

[SweetLou]

And let us know what you got too!!!

[The CyberPoet]

For more info on lighting upgrades, see:

CyberPoet's "Understanding Motorcycle Lighting technologies and Upgrades" at MotorcycleAnchor.com, providers of the world's best secure lock-downs for bikes

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[escahoe]

go to http://eurodezigns.com/ . I had these bulbs on my truck and they are amazing . I just orderd a set for my bike but have not installed them yet . I just got a set for the kat (2 Bulbs) for only 21 buck on ebay

[katana91]

i dont know but i must be lucky b/c i have been useing a 80/100 and havent had a problem with melting anything (knock on wood)

[The CyberPoet]

i dont know but i must be lucky b/c i have been useing a 80/100 and havent had a problem with melting anything (knock on wood)

Keep knocking. It'll come back to haunt you sooner or later...

Either that, or the bulbs aren't really 80/100 (is 80/100 imprinted on the metal ring around the base of the lens?) -- a lot of firms market higher output xenon bulbs at the rating they supposedly would be based on light-output, but they actually draw 55/60, and thus the ring is imprinted 55/60 even while the packaging says 80/100 or whatever...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[KatDan]

i still think the Sylvania Silverstars are the best for the $$$

[saygra]

Get a set of "Street Glow" H4's, they look like your bike has HID lighting. They are pricey, but make the Silverstars look dull. The downside, they are 55/60 watt but will burn the hell out of your wires and plug. I ran new, bigger and better wires and made my own plug, thank God for Radio Shack. I re-wired most of my bikes entire harness, some for performance reasons, some for looks. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY, GET THE STREET GLOWS

[The CyberPoet]

i still think the Sylvania Silverstars are the best for the $$$

+1 on the Silverstars.

Either that or the Hella's (which are hard to find in the USA -- try HELLA Part Number 8GJ 002 525-821, which are 55/60 draw with 105/110-equivilency output).

WTF on the "Street Glow"? They aren't DOT approved, and do draw 80/100 to 90/100 watts (at least the ones I saw)... which means overheated wiring issues... and only run 4k color temp (not that white compared to some of the other offerings)...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Redshift]

I just fitted a pair of Phillips BlueVision H4's and I'm pretty damn happy with the outcome. I made a trade off against the VisionPlus models. Phillips claim that the BlueVision gives "30% more light" than standard and that the VisionPlus gives "50% more" (marketing gibberish!?!), but I have always found the bluelight xenon bulbs to have a bit more "attention grabbing" power. I do a lot of night riding (cue Knight Rider theme song....) and it was more important to me to BE more visible than to HAVE more visibility.

Does colour temp refer to the "shade" (i.e. white/blue/yellow)?? And which way does the scale run (i.e. is a higher number whiter)??

Cyber - Ta for the great link. Never did understand what HID was until I read it . Mucho cool info on the site (your handiwork??).... especially the "10 important Katana modifications". Never would have suspected that the oil would make such a power difference!! (Must try it....) You da man! 8)

Back to the topic at hand..... I have looked at my Kat several different ways wondering if I could get a pair of driving lights on there without butchering her beauty. Anyone tried it?

[The CyberPoet]

Does colour temp refer to the "shade" (i.e. white/blue/yellow)?? And which way does the scale run (i.e. is a higher number whiter)??

In general, yes. Figure a candle (rather yellow-reddish light) is around 1850 degrees, indirect sunlight (i.e. - shade under a tree) around noon runs around 5400 degrees, and the sky at noon (looking up towards the sun) runs 9500 - 30k. Typical 100 watt incandenscent bulb is around 2865 degrees. These temps are actually temps in Kelvin; imagine a block of iron heated up -- first it doesn't glow, then it glows orange, then yellow, then finally "white hot"; the temperature of the iron relates to the glow color... For incandescent bulbs (including halogen & xenon filament bulbs), since the filament actually glows, the number is a "true" value. For HIDs, Flourescents and other gas-based lighting, the number is an approximation of comparable values.

Cyber - Ta for the great link. Never did understand what HID was until I read it . Mucho cool info on the site (your handiwork??)....

Ya, my handiwork. That section appears in the book as well, slightly expanded.

Back to the topic at hand..... I have looked at my Kat several different ways wondering if I could get a pair of driving lights on there without butchering her beauty. Anyone tried it?

You might want to look at fork-mounted ones... There are premade fork mounts available on the market to hold added lighting -- just be careful to consider the load added to your charging system (and test it after installation to make sure you aren't drawing too heavily).

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet