Zero Knievel Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I don't think I have a problem, but in early November 2007, I had my main headlamp burn out. High beam was fine. I bought replacement bulbs and changed both of them IIRC. Here I am in May 2009, and again I find my main headlamp burned out. That doesn't seem too long a life. Normally bulbs last for years and I'm wondering if I should be worried about this or does this just happen? I only got 13,000 miles worth of riding time between changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I don't think that's too short a life for a bulb on a bike. With the vibration, it's a hard life for a headlight bulb on a motorcycle. I usually get 18 months to two years out of a set of SilverStars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Bulb life is shortened considerably by voltage fluctuations in your bikes charging system, particularly from excessively high voltage from a bad regulator. It is also shortened by vibration, so if your front suspension is in need of a tune up or you are driving on poor roadways the filaments will take a physical beating. Certain "Extra Bright" aftermarket bulbs are actually designed to be "overdriven" by a typical running voltage. The bulbs are actually designed to run on 12 volts (or less) and will produce a brighter light on the 13.4-14.2 volts that your bikes typical charging system puts out, at the expense of bulb life. In 13,000 miles, your bulbs probably ran 300-400 hours (on typical city cycle riding), which is considerably shorter than typical halogen bulb life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 I'll keep an eye on it then. I can't say I haven't hit my share of bumps on trips, and I can see how some aftermarket lamps do overcrank for more brightness at the expense of lamp life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Try HID - have had mine for 45000km and no problems yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackStreet Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Try HID - have had mine for 45000km and no problems yet HIDs are supposed to last so long they may outlive your bike. >3000 hours * 50 miles / hour = 150,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndivita Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Try HID - have had mine for 45000km and no problems yet What HID bulbs work in the Blackbird? I have been thinking of swapping mine out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Try HID - have had mine for 45000km and no problems yet What HID bulbs work in the Blackbird? I have been thinking of swapping mine out. H7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I don't think that's too short a life for a bulb on a bike. With the vibration, it's a hard life for a headlight bulb on a motorcycle. I usually get 18 months to two years out of a set of SilverStars. I don't know if it means anything, but I had always heard to use MOTORCYCLE bulbs, because car bulbs burn out much faster... I did look at the filiment in my OEM Honda bulb vs. an aftermarket H7 for a car, and found that the car bulb had a thinner wire that was pretty short (less loops), and the Honda bulb had a thicker wire that had more loops... The longer/thicker wire would have the same resistance as the shorter/thinner wire, but would be more resistant to the vibration that is so much worse on motorcycles than cars... Try HID - have had mine for 45000km and no problems yet HIDs are supposed to last so long they may outlive your bike. >3000 hours * 50 miles / hour = 150,000 miles. The lamp hours are rated for 1 turn-on... The turning on and heating up cycle of (pretty much any) lamps takes more life away than running for X-amount of time (an hour, maybe?)... The HID on my 'bird was 100% for about 30k miles, then over the next 10k, would intermittently turn off while I was riding, and it got worse and worse unitl it would only stay on for a couple minutes before it would shut off (right after the hard-hitting warm-up cycle)... FWIW, I have a carb'd 'bird, so I always started it by holding the starter button while I turned on the ignition, so I only had 1 start cycle per engine start, instead of 2... I put another 1/2 of a $60 HID kit in it, and it's been 100% fine for the last 6k miles, anyway... (BTW, after 40k miles on the old one, the new one was MUCH brighter than the old one!) Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Read this thread: http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=60817 And buy your 55 watt kit from these guys: https://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?pcsid=4...ent=61&pg=1 'Nuff said! :icon_thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackStreet Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Try HID - have had mine for 45000km and no problems yet What HID bulbs work in the Blackbird? I have been thinking of swapping mine out. H7 but I could not use the base which helps hold our bulbs in place. What did other people do? Make sure you are getting the slim starters. One place sent me the large ones but there is room. I went with the 35w which throws a huge amount of light and should be easier on the rectifier. BTW I only took off the wind screen, the trim plastics, and the top speedo nut. High and low take an hour. Red wire went to green on a 2003. Don't confuse the sockets; high and low look the same. 4300K bulb look very white without the blue or purple color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 The lamp hours are rated for 1 turn-on... The turning on and heating up cycle of (pretty much any) lamps takes more life away than running for X-amount of time (an hour, maybe?)... The HID on my 'bird was 100% for about 30k miles, then over the next 10k, would intermittently turn off while I was riding, and it got worse and worse until it would only stay on for a couple minutes before it would shut off (right after the hard-hitting warm-up cycle)... FWIW, I have a carbed 'bird, so I always started it by holding the starter button while I turned on the ignition, so I only had 1 start cycle per engine start, instead of 2... I put another 1/2 of a $60 HID kit in it, and it's been 100% fine for the last 6K miles, anyway... (BTW, after 40k miles on the old one, the new one was MUCH brighter than the old one!) Mike I have a carbed Bird as well and start it the same way, my HID's have been in over 2 years/~50 000km+ of constant use HB and LB and are still going strong H7 but I could not use the base which helps hold our bulbs in place. What did other people do? I just got a thick foam rubber washer and put it under the stock clip, some people cut the stock holder down to a thick ring and use that but I wanted to keep the stock setup in case I moved the kit to a newer Bird at some time Make sure you are getting the slim starters. One place sent me the large ones but there is room. I went with the 35w which throws a huge amount of light and should be easier on the rectifier. BTW I only took off the wind screen, the trim plastics, and the top speedo nut. High and low take an hour. Red wire went to green on a 2003. Don't confuse the sockets; high and low look the same. 4300K bulb look very white without the blue or purple color. I went with the 35w/5000k McCulloch, they have large ballasts so needed a bit of bracketry made up in the nose cone but it works well I did have to remove the nose cone though which did take me quite a while but I got to know what was under there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 You can go to the hardware store and buy a few replacement garden hose washers for a few cents. 1 or 2 of them placed on the back of the bulb between the base and the retaining clip will do the trick. The DDM site I referred to warranties the HID ballasts and the bulbs for life! All DDM HID kits come standard with a FREE lifetime warranty. This is an important consideration. Many retailers charge extra for this. Also, Apexcone has been in business since 2001. So you can be assured that we will be there for service if you ever need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MATT37XX Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have a 1997 XX with over 36,000 miles on it and have never touched any bulbs on my bike yet... Maybe I'm just real lucky... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have a 1997 XX with over 36,000 miles on it and have never touched any bulbs on my bike yet... Maybe I'm just real lucky... Me too. Two 99 models. One with 39K and the other with 22K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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