light bulb type

[jjrho]

hi, have a 2005 SS 800...

what is the type of L/H beam bulb in the housing?

also, there is another small incandescent bulb in there...what type is it?

i am trying to do HID xenon change over....looking for a descent low -HID and high- halogen bulb but need to know what exact type it is first....

pls advise..

james R

[Punch]

In most countries, apart from the US, it is an H4 bulb.

As per the first link, US authorities did not like the tolerances of the H4 bulb and introduced the 9003/HB2 spec, which is legally what you should use in the US.

Have a look at the second link to see info about bulbs and HID. Also enter HID as a search in this SS forum for info and opinions.

The H4/9003/HB2 headlamp shell requires the low and high beam filament placement to be very accurate to work correctly. HID bulbs as replacements struggle to achieve good high and low. In my experience, low has been amazing, but high has been crap as the mechanisms to move the discharge to the correct spot usually are ineffective. I have used the mechanism where the "bulb" is moved backwards and forwards for great low and crap high. I have read that others have had more success with the type that flips up and down (maybe forwards and backwards as well - dunno)

There is also the legality of HID in a housing/lighting system not designed for HID. HID is amazing and superbright, but without the correct housing can dazzle oncoming vehicles and pedestrians.

http://candlepowerinc.com/pdfs/H4_9003.pdf

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

I have quite effective lighting by using heavy duty slave wiring and a white Phillips bulb.

Richard

[Punch]

The small bulb is a T10 - wedge type.

You can get LED versions which look much better, particularly if you upgrade your lighting to get a whiter light.

Richard

[jjrho]

ok, so the us SS800 i have from 2005 has a 9003/HB2 bulb ? and nonUS has H4.... just wanna make sure...

i know it's a single bulb with both low and high....

know what u mean re: HID with low/high from single element...i've had various ones i used in my gmc and other cars....they suck... low is fine but on high; some use solenoid to pull back the HID element or move it up a bit but result sucks.... i am actually looking for a good HID low with another element in incandescent/halogen for the high side....

the issue here is; when we flash HIGH , its fine; but if we switch to high, then low goes OFF; and when we go back to LOW, it takes some good 10 sec for full brightness on xenon side and it can be dangerous in pitch dark when u r coming down the canyon, like we just did tonight....

tnx re: t10 bulb...will get those super bright CREE led 6K temp for it too....

i am also thinking of changing all the 4 turn sig bulbs to LED... am i gonna get fast rate of flash ? i dont' mind.... as long as it doesn't blow something on the electrical....

what type of bulb is the red/stop bulb...it's gotta be 2 element since it's ON with bike ign ON and brighter when brake on...


thanks guys for input....


james R
2005 SS 800 in US

[cs363]

Originally Posted by jjrho

ok, so the us SS800 i have from 2005 has a 9003/HB2 bulb ? and nonUS has H4.... just wanna make sure...

Correct, though as both the 9003/HB2 and H4 bulbs have the same base it won't matter for your purpose.

Stop/tail bulb is a 21/5w BAY15D, changing the turn signal bulbs to LED will most likely change your flash rate, but you can sort that by using resistors in the wiring or changing the flasher relay to suit.

[Punch]

Originally Posted by jjrho

i am actually looking for a good HID low with another element in incandescent/halogen for the high side....

I have seen them but looking at the "geometry", the incandescent filament will be way out of position to be effective.

Originally Posted by jjrho

the issue here is; when we flash HIGH , its fine; but if we switch to high, then low goes OFF; and when we go back to LOW, it takes some good 10 sec for full brightness on xenon side and it can be dangerous in pitch dark when u r coming down the canyon, like we just did tonight....

That can be fixed with relays to keep low (HID) on when flipping to high, but as above, I think the incandescent will be crap.

Originally Posted by jjrho

i am also thinking of changing all the 4 turn sig bulbs to LED... am i gonna get fast rate of flash ? i dont' mind.... as long as it doesn't blow something on the electrical....

Your flash rate will be wrong. I have done the resistor option on a few friends' bikes with success, but then on a 2001 GSXR1000 it did not work. Maybe the electronics were different.

Nowadays I would just head to eBay and buy a cheapo flash fixer for $15 or so.

Richard

[cs363]

have you looked at the complete HID/projector inserts which seem to overcome all the common problems and in theory are legal: SUPER HID BI-XENON MOTORCYCLE PROJECTOR LEN KIT H7 H1 H4 ANGEL EYE NEW | eBay