bulbs
 

just changed and road tested new light bulbs.
wow what a difference.
fitted the phillips x-treme power H7 's to my dipped and full beam.
so much better

Good advice. Will keep this in mind.

BTW did you change to improve, or were they already broken?

Thanks Tenyamman, I was just thinking about it the other day to get a brighter bulb. Brilliant.

I fitted Osram Nightbreakers to my dipped bulb on my Ten (have delayed the main beam in case there was a problem that might then have prevented me getting home if they both went).

I'd also agree it's a very worthwhile upgrade if you do any night riding (and helps keep you a little bit more visible if the bulb is aslightly hue than normal)

while we're on the subject of dipped/main beam, does anyone else find that main beam is a waste of time?
i find i can see more with the dipped lamp, and when i switch to main it's no higher/further, it just lights up a patch roughly in the centre of the dipped bit. i've changed the bulb, then changed it back, and checked as many times to make sure both bulbs are in properly but i can't figure it out. thing is i don't remember it being like this when i first got the bike.

its a real pain cos i ride on quite a few country roads so good lights can be quite handy....

Yes and no. I do ride frequently on roads without streetlight. I notice that the main light from my previous bike only helped with lighting up traffic signs and other road signs. I did not get the good view that I expected. This is even more true for the Tenere head light.

I have seen that auxillary lights (think Touratech) are a big difference. I could switch to Xenon, but I do prefer the auxillary lights. The more lights one have, the higher chance that at least one is burning (in case of problems). I am saving some money for the TT stuff because they are expensive.

bulbs all ok and changed them because i found the OE. lights so poor compared with another bike i had.
still contemplating additional aux. lights that Jmo has surrgggested but not so important now that i've changed the bulbs.
i paid �29.35 from powerbulbs.com if anyone beat the price and also got 2 new sidelight bulbs free.

Not sure if its the same company, but cheaper via ebay:


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PHILIPS-X-TREM...mZ260365020837

I've ordered a set to try them.


Nick.

I had those aux lights on my GS before. They are good, solidly built, and I am considering again for the Tenere. However, I am unsure how much juice it would suck from the puny Tenere battery. Would it affect other gadgets etc. or lengthen the amount of time that the battery needs to be charged? The dealer told me that the bike needs to run for 20 minutes in order to recharge one START. May be a bit extreme, but a couple times after I started the bike, I forgot something so I had to turn it off and turn it back on again. On the second START, it does feel the battery was trying to give me the little it's got.

same company and cheaper on ebay......damn wish i'd found that page

Unless I'm missing something they don't give the wattage though?

The bulb wattage just tells you the power consumption of the bulb rather than power output. A standard filament bulb is only around 5% efficient, whereas a halogen bulb is around 7.5-10% efficient (these figures are rough). As a result the halogen bulbs give you twice as much light for a given amount of electrical energy.

I tried the Philips X-treme out yesterday, have to say i can't see thats theres much difference...


What were the bulbs you took out?

Mine were Osram 64210.


Nick.

hi i've gone through trying different bulbs and found only a slight improvement ,i settled on ring allweathers they give a yellowy/blue tint to the light as peatbog says the main is just not up to the job,no fore ground and not enough spread.the usual design style over function

aux lights imho are the way to go,i'd love a set of TT lamps but not at that price, i opted for a set of ring micro cruise lamps. fabricated a bracket,wired in via fuse and relay to work off the mains.instant success,really impressed,personally if you ride at night on A-b roads it's a must!

i will try and post a few pics later bye

you able to post a picture of how you've mounted these?

these ones ?

hi sorry it's taken so long to get back with photos. the bracket is basically a straight rod with tangs/plates welded on.i have to remove it to paint it,when i do i will measure and photo it,anyone with access to tools grinder/welder will have no bother reproducing for yourselves.when i finish the pannier brackets i will paint the lot at the same time.
i got the lamps from a local supplier, halfrauds do them as well,it was really peatbogs[i think]idea to use these lamps, he has photos elsewhere on this site
a looking forward to the lakes stoic,bye

hi just adding a few more photos it's not really about how well the daffodils that me and the kids planted are doing but the effectiveness of the lamps

i hope the photos come out in order,the bikes on side stand ticking over,first on dip plenty of fore ground little distance,next main more distance no foreground then main inc auxiallary no arguement i think.

i have them fitted about 3 weeks now and no battery problems,i never seem to have the heated grips off either what do you recon?

Now I really like that! Just what I need , I will pinch the idea if that's OK. I do have all of my own MIG gear etc so making up some brackets will be a breeze. Thanks for the info and excellent pics.:hello2:

That looks a great improvement! :thumbsup:
I found that main beam was like looking through a letterbox at fifty paces!

What have you fixed the brackets to?

Barry.

the brackets fix to the two lower bolts on the headlamp, the bolts go through the lamp then the bracket then into the cowl mounting.the angle was nessasary to make it fit easily,i stripped the frount end apart to work out but you should not have to.the rod is mostly hidden by the headlamp surround.i will now get on and paint it as im happy
the measurements are A=185mm B=124 C=37 D=84 E=210 rod diameter 8-9mm

hope this helps

great improvement. did you do with a seperate switch or come on with main beam?
did you also buy the wiring kit they do for these lights at halfords?

I have purchased a pair of microDE and mounted in the same way. Not yet succeeded in connecting; I am planning to find a decent switch for that and connect it direct on the batterz#y with a relay in the middle.
Here is a couple of photos.

http://s472.photobucket.com/albums/r...hoto216_tn.jpg

http://s472.photobucket.com/albums/r...hoto217_tn.jpg

http://s472.photobucket.com/albums/r...hoto222_tn.jpg

I will appreciate if you can advice about the switches.

not sure how i managed to miss this thread lately, Nice job Stoic, thats exactly what i've been planning to get around to - and with the same lamps too.

here you go afair bit cheaper the toura****

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/produc...ode=HEL090-821

But the Hella Micro DE is a fog lamp with a 35 degres beam.

What about 20 degres beam lamps to complement dipped beam ?

I intend to fit a Ultra35 kit from www.HID50.com
A mate of moine has bought a kit with 2 ballast/lamps and he's only using one.

Be interested to hear how you get on with these zOU. I've been wondering about HID spotlamps, but had heard that there is a few seconds delay while they come up to temperature when switched on, which may be a problem if you have to keep knocking them off and then back on again due to oncoming traffic. Be chuffed if this is not so!

Guys

I need a little help here, i want to put some auxillary lights on my TEN and want to know the way to do this. I have seen some of you guys have already fitted them but there is not a description on where you hooked it up ETC.

I am thinking on getting these parts and would like some advice from you guys to avoid disaster
http://www.trailtechproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Switch_Gear.html
http://www.trailtechproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Single_HID_MR16.html

any help would be great

thanks in advance

Jim

mines are here

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?p=106635#post106635