Headlight for k100rt, 1986

[pfetter]

Does anyone know of a aftermarket replacement for the original headlight on the K100RT, the original really sucks here in deer country. I am also looking for some extra driving lights that can be added. Thanks a lot.

[Gilly]

Headlight relay helps the older K Bikes.
http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/headlight-relay/index.shtml

Here is a site with some higher output bulbs that aren't some gimmiky "blue glass" bulbs that will actually HELP you see (yours is I believe an H4 bulb):
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

Or you could go with HID Xenon.

Of course you could add more lights, it's up to you. I'd rather keep the bike clean-looking, but that's me. Work with what it came with first I would recommend, why add extra switches and so forth?

Gilly

[bikerfish1100]

that headlight is not designed to run HIDs, so you would never see the real benefit of that system (lens and backing plate need to be properly focused for HID usage).
Motolights, PIAA 110Xs or Autozone Specials are your best options.
Or do like my buddy ended up doing when he wanted to add better lights to his R1100RT- he walked out of the store with a new 1150RT!

[lostboy]

The headlight used in the classic Ks is the best light BMW ever put on a motorcycle. You may need to clean it internally, or it needs adjustment.

[bikerfish1100]

The headlight used in the classic Ks is the best light BMW ever put on a motorcycle. You may need to clean it internally, or it needs adjustment.
:scratch :dunno :scratch :dunno :scratch :dunno

you get your tongue surgically implanted into your cheek, or are you serious? if serious.... what you smokin'? It must be somre really powerful chit!

[pfetter]

I have been in the process of checking out lighting options. I see here by the posts there are some varying opinions on lighting.. The one problem I see with the stock light is it seems the brights are too high and it already seems like the dims are not sufficient or too low, so I did not feel lowering the headlight would help as I would probably be riding with the brights on most of the time. I know sounds crazy. I appreciate the ideas, keep em coming.

[Kayseventyfive]

If you look into a replacement bulb, you will run into Sylvania and Osram H4 units.

There is a difference between Sylvania and Osram Silverstars. The Sylvania seem bluer, and tire me out more on long night rides. After switching to Osram Silverstar, there seems to be less glare and I see better. I think the blue tint of the Sylvania Silverstars gives an illusion of clarity that is not borne out in reality. My unscientific cateye reflector counting indicates they are of equal brightness, with perhaps a slight edge to the Osram. When riding in wooded areas, keeping an eye out for deer who are not looking at me, I give the edge to the Osram, as it seems that there is a little more depth to what I see beside the road. With the Sylvania, everything seems flat, like a set in a stage production or something like that. If the deer is looking at me, both seem to pick up the eyes equally well, although this is just observation, as it is difficult to be objective with different deer and conditions each time. As far as looking straight down a paved road, the difference is not as noticeable.

Keep in mind that my elderly, lens-assisted eyes might be different than yours. One riding friend who has had Lasik really hates the Sylvania, and loves the Osram. His preference for the Osram is much stronger than mine. Says MUCH less glare.

[Gilly]

I would try getting your existing headlight up to snuff (including as a previous poster said, making sure your reflector is clean and also instide of the lense. If the outside of the lense is especially pitted or cloudy, you might try finding one in better shape.
Think about the relay.
Get a higher performance bulb in place. Even going to a new stock wattage bulb can help, "they" say that the bulbs performance does diminish with useage and time. Avoid a bulb with a tinted glass, like these blue colored bulbs.
I would disagree that there would be a problem with Xenon. BUT I also know there is much debate about it. Might see if you can locate an owner with this particular headlight style and see what their experience has been.
Additional lighting IS available in hid/Xenon.
Gilly

[bikerfish1100]

I would try getting your existing headlight up to snuff (including as a previous poster said, making sure your reflector is clean and also instide of the lense. If the outside of the lense is especially pitted or cloudy, you might try finding one in better shape.
Think about the relay.
Get a higher performance bulb in place. Even going to a new stock wattage bulb can help, "they" say that the bulbs performance does diminish with useage and time. Avoid a bulb with a tinted glass, like these blue colored bulbs.
I would disagree that there would be a problem with Xenon. BUT I also know there is much debate about it. Might see if you can locate an owner with this particular headlight style and see what their experience has been.
Additional lighting IS available in hid/Xenon.
Gilly

if the lens is not properly focused for handling HID, you will get very bright lights- but very diffused beam pattern. doesn't help so much at all, other than to make you more visible to oncoming traffic, and to really piss people off at night. and does nothing to help you see better.
for a K bike, there are MUCH better choices.

[Beemer01]

I installed a relay from Eastern Beaver and went to one of the blue tinged H4 bulbs at the same rating as the OE bulb.

I've also added driving lights - not especially good ones, just amber lights at 50W each.

The combination works for me - the entire setup cost $100 or so.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/Beemer10/BigSmokeandbike008.jpg

[Gilly]

I would maintain that if the xenon arc would end up in the same location as the tungsten filament, that focus shouldn't be altered. YMMV. Best to find someone running this style headlight (RT and possibly LT?) with a xenon and see what they think. Again only IF the arc is in the same location. Biggest factor would be if the stock bulb's filament is longitudinal to the bike, as the xenon bulb will be longitudinal.
I would tend to agree that it might be irritating to oncoming drivers. I think the xenon bulb really should have a shield in front of the bulb. I am investigating doing this with my GT, The GT has a free-form headlight (clear outer lense) and really should have a shield.
Like I said though, I know there is a lot of opinions pro and con on this, more debate than an oil thread!
Gilly

[Gilly]

Actually on a H4 bulb conversion, you would need to go to a bixenon to have high and low beams. Also a shield to block glare.

[deilenberger]

Actually on a H4 bulb conversion, you would need to go to a bixenon to have high and low beams. Also a shield to block glare.Correct - and a bi-xenon will never have the arc discharge in the same place and as important - the same shape as a dual filament bulb.

FWIW - I did a lot of detailed measurements for a series of articles for the BMW-CCA Roundel magazine (car club..) As mentioned the Sylvania Silverstar is not the same bulb as the Osram Silverstar - and it puts out less light, and has a shorter lifetime. The euro +50 bulbs generally DO give more light (at the cost of shorter life) than the same wattage standard bulbs.

General rule: If it's blue - it's bling. Your eye doesn't like blue tinted light. Blue causes scattering (it's why the sky is blue actually..) - and your eye cannot focus it well. Try a little test - if you can find a blue and a red neon sign - see which one has a halo around it, and which color you can easily focus on. Same reason BMW uses orange/red for the instruments on their cars.

Also - new bulbs put out more light than old bulbs. As much as 50% more. And voltage drop reduces the light output by the square of the voltage drop - so.. relays REALLY make a big difference.

My answer is also to use auxillary lights. I prefer Hella FF50's (Hella has been in business about as long as BMW - and has made many light systems for them.) - LOTS of light, very reasonable cost, very durable. Using a good set of aux-lights allows you to aim them to light up what you need to see - critters in the puckerbushes are much more easily seen with a good set of aux-lights.

[lostboy]

No, my tongue was not in my cheek when I responded. I've put something over 400,000 miles, many of them at night, on a K100RS and K1, which use the same headlight. The only thing that comes close is the /6-/7 headlight.

[Gilly]

You could probably up the wattage a little bit too, especially with the relay
Yes avoid the blue bulbs!
http://store.candlepower.com/64206.html
http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html

[bikerfish1100]

No, my tongue was not in my cheek when I responded. I've put something over 400,000 miles, many of them at night, on a K100RS and K1, which use the same headlight. The only thing that comes close is the /6-/7 headlight.



i know you have a ton of experience and knowledge, so it was why i was perplexed. my experience does not coincide with yours at all.
i've had a few K75s, a K11RS and a few /6 & /7 airheads, and even with upgraded bulbs NONE had a headlight even close to my stock R11S. Swapped out the stock H1 & H7 bulbs on that bike for HIDs, and now there is no such thing as "dark". From all reports, the stockers on the R12ST are even better than the R11S.

[pfetter]

This is all really great stuff, you guys never fail to give more than is asked for in information. You have me doing a lot of information searching myself.

[pfetter]

If you look into a replacement bulb, you will run into Sylvania and Osram H4 units.

There is a difference between Sylvania and Osram Silverstars. The Sylvania seem bluer, and tire me out more on long night rides. After switching to Osram Silverstar, there seems to be less glare and I see better. I think the blue tint of the Sylvania Silverstars gives an illusion of clarity that is not borne out in reality. My unscientific cateye reflector counting indicates they are of equal brightness, with perhaps a slight edge to the Osram. When riding in wooded areas, keeping an eye out for deer who are not looking at me, I give the edge to the Osram, as it seems that there is a little more depth to what I see beside the road. With the Sylvania, everything seems flat, like a set in a stage production or something like that. If the deer is looking at me, both seem to pick up the eyes equally well, although this is just observation, as it is difficult to be objective with different deer and conditions each time. As far as looking straight down a paved road, the difference is not as noticeable.

Keep in mind that my elderly, lens-assisted eyes might be different than yours. One riding friend who has had Lasik really hates the Sylvania, and loves the Osram. His preference for the Osram is much stronger than mine. Says MUCH less glare.

I appreciate your info on the osram and sylvania, at first I thought they would be the same because Sylvania owns Osram but through some diligent digging I do see there is a difference in Osram and Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, they also say there is a slight difference in the base for the H4 to be used on motorcycles, Sylvania says to order a H4ST from what I understand it is just the way it fits into the plug. Did you run into that with the Osram. Also where did you purchase the osram and how much. I believe that is what I am going to go with for right now.

[deilenberger]

I appreciate your info on the osram and sylvania, at first I thought they would be the same because Sylvania owns Osram but through some diligent digging I do see there is a difference in Osram and Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, they also say there is a slight difference in the base for the H4 to be used on motorcycles, Sylvania says to order a H4ST from what I understand it is just the way it fits into the plug. Did you run into that with the Osram.
Nope. Used the Osram H4 bulbs in K75's for years.. Also where did you purchase the osram and how much. I believe that is what I am going to go with for right now.www.powerbulbs.com - in the UK, but they ship for free to the US - the shipping is fast (less than a week) - they have currency conversion right on their website and they usually toss in a freebee of some sort. Good people - I've been using them for years and have been very satisfied. Oh - besides the Osram Silverstars - the Philips VisionPlus +50% bulbs are also good.

[Gilly]

Posting new reply, forgot these are H4 bulbs.

Especially if you are installing a relay, I would really consider the Rallye bulb by Osram. The only "good" way to get more lumens out of an incandescent (IMHO)is to increase the wattage, and with this bulb it is manageable, even without the relay.
http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html

That said, I think the Osram Silverstar WILL help, if for no ther reason than it will be a new bulb:scratch

Gilly

[deilenberger]

Posting new reply, forgot these are H4 bulbs.

Especially if you are installing a relay, I would really consider the Rallye bulb by Osram. The only "good" way to get more lumens out of an incandescent (IMHO)is to increase the wattage, and with this bulb it is manageable, even without the relay.
http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html

That said, I think the Osram Silverstar WILL help, if for no ther reason than it will be a new bulb:scratch

GillyI would suggest using ANY higher wattage bulb in a K bike without a relay WILL lead to failure of the hi/low switch in rather a short time. It's a well documented failure point (see the IBMWR K-tech pages). It isn't a "maybe" - it's a "will"..

As far as "good" ways to get more light from a bulb - Google a bit on "HIR bulb"... a clever design that gave almost HID output lumens from a filament bulb drawing the same wattage as a standard halogen.. Unfortunately - no BMW bike used the right bulb (a few of the cars do..)

I did measurements between brand new bulbs - standard halogens and the various +50 bulbs. The +50 DO give more light. Not always 50% - but none measured less than +35% in very controlled measurements (done in reflectors, projected on a wall, measured with a precision incident light (foot-candle) meter, powered by a lab power supply at exactly 12.6V) vs the standard halogen bulbs.

As I mentioned - there is a downside - the life of the bulbs is shorter, but not drastically shorter as some of the PIAA bulbs appear to be.

The other upside of installing a relay setup will be getting full battery voltage to whatever bulb you have in your headlights. I've personally measured numerous K bikes for voltage drop (it's easy to do - run a voltmeter between the + battery terminal and the + bulb connection with the filament on..) Voltage drops in excess of 1V are common, and the output of a bulb decreases as the square of the voltage, so 1V can be a significant drop. I did measurements on this drop using my test setup for the magazine articles and found ~40% drop in light output with 1.5V drop to a bulb.

That all said - I'll repeat - I suggest auxiliary lighting. Aside from adding redundancy to your lighting, it allows you to position the additional light where you want/need it. I've had Hella FF50's on my past few bikes and wouldn't want to ride without them. In addition to better night lighting - they can be used during the day to increase you conspicuity - apparently a triangle of lights is much more noticeable than a single light source.

[Kayseventyfive]

For those who want to save a little money, Autozone is advertising a $5 and $10 rebate, respectively, on Sylvania Silverstar and Silverstar Ultra bulbs until 9/23.

Rebates usually come from the distributor, so check other places, as well.

[deilenberger]

For those who want to save a little money, Autozone is advertising a $5 and $10 rebate, respectively, on Sylvania Silverstar and Silverstar Ultra bulbs until 9/23.

Rebates usually come from the distributor, so check other places, as well.As was pointed out - the Sylvania Silverstar are not the same bulb as the Osram Silverstar. When I tested it - it put out less light than a standard halogen did. A bit more blue, but I don't think that is really a good idea. I also saw multiple reports of very short lifetime with them when they first came out.

Dunno what the Ultra bulbs are.

[pfetter]

Nope. Used the Osram H4 bulbs in K75's for years.. www.powerbulbs.com - in the UK, but they ship for free to the US - the shipping is fast (less than a week) - they have currency conversion right on their website and they usually toss in a freebee of some sort. Good people - I've been using them for years and have been very satisfied. Oh - besides the Osram Silverstars - the Philips VisionPlus +50% bulbs are also good.

I have the Osram H4 bulb on order. It has come highly recommended. I will post the results once I get it and have it installed and go out and chase deer off the road.
Thanks for your help.

[Gilly]

I was considering getting the Osram Silverstars for my high beams (H7 bulb though on my 07 GT), I think you'll like having that, and again make sure the inside of the bulb looks clean and if not, try to clean it out.
Check your voltage drop and install a relay if neccesary or consider a new dimmer switch.
10 extra watts isn't going to ruin the switch, unless my 87 S had an uncommonly swell dimmer switch, I ran this same bulb (10 watts higher on low and high beam) for years before it eventually burned out on me in Canada. I kept the stock bulb in the tail, put that in and ran it that way til i sold it.
Driving lights are an OK idea if you want the extra lumens, I would do what you are doing first and try to get the most out of what you have first.

Gilly

[bikerfish1100]

I was considering getting the Osram Silverstars for my high beams (H7 bulb though on my 07 GT), I think you'll like having that, and again make sure the inside of the bulb looks clean and if not, try to clean it out.
Check your voltage drop and install a relay if neccesary or consider a new dimmer switch.
10 extra watts isn't going to ruin the switch, unless my 87 S had an uncommonly swell dimmer switch, I ran this same bulb (10 watts higher on low and high beam) for years before it eventually burned out on me in Canada. I kept the stock bulb in the tail, put that in and ran it that way til i sold it.
Driving lights are an OK idea if you want the extra lumens, I would do what you are doing first and try to get the most out of what you have first.

Gilly

Gilly- if you want better lights for your GT, go for an HID kit. Cost has come down significantly in the past few years. I've been running a Polarion setup (at the time the price was great, it's now been surpassed by others) for 5+ years, haven't replaced a single component yet, and the output is amazing. (I'm guessing that your lens is correctly fluted/angled for a HID system)

[pfetter]

I just removed the bulb that was in my bike and it was a PIAA Clear White, dunno how old it is. Can somone give me a idea of lumen depreciation on these types of bulbs.

[Gilly]

Bikerfish
Yes i am in the process of doing that now, there is a thread in the "Wedge" section. (I come over here too since I started out on Bricks).
So yeah the Xenon I hope will work fine, but the high beams on the GT are a pair of H7 incandescent bulbs, the Xenon, even factory, is just the low beam, which is on constantly, the H7s come on along with the Xenon for high beam. The non-Xenon lense and reflector does look identical to the Xenon, but the Xenon does have a glare shield in front of the bulb which I am going to attempt to replicate.
Gilly

[pfetter]

I received the Osram bulb from Candlepower, excellent service, received it in two days. Went with the 70-65 watt +50 Ralley bulb. I went for a ride last night to test it out, an amazing difference. I am making a trip downstate tonight I did not think the bulb would come in soon enough so I went out and purchased a cheaper Wagner bulb for $10.00 put that in, and it was an improvement over the old bulb but when I put in the new Osram it was a tremendous difference. I did not get any feedback from oncoming cars when it was on low beam either so I think I am good to go. I am also getting things together for installing a relay in the headlight system.
Thanks for all the great information.

[BeachGuy]

Hello to the group,

Just wanted to give a few notes about the install of the HID kit sold by Xerayusa. This link http://www.xerayusa.com/hid/motorcyce-hidkit-6000K.php is the kit I ordered.

Now for part two. Luckily I had my bike undressed and looking very naked. Let me state that this bike is a straight BMW K75, not much to remove. After spending 2 hours fitting the wiring harness and getting everything tied down and then testing the light before I re-installed the head lamp fixture, I ran into a problem that no one has mentioned before on any forums.

Before you start trying to install this kit or one like it please, do this. Install the new HID lamp in the lamp housing then try to install the lamp housing back into the lamp fixture (this is the complete assembly). I hope yours fits, mine didn’t. The new H4 bi-xenon bulb was about 1.5 inches longer than the stock H4 bulb. There is not enough room between the new bulb and the metal bucket with all the wiring for it to fit together.

I just rewired the lighting system using two new relays and 12 gauge wiring to reduce the voltage drop through the BMW switch. Before the new wiring I was losing 1.7 volts between the battery and the bulb. Now it’s a .2 volts drop. This is a 1995 K75 that has never had the glass lens separated from the reflector. I took it apart and cleaned the lens. It needed it after 14 years. The black rubber seal looked pretty good; however I added a small amount of black silicone to make sure I had a good seal when putting it back together.

They say experience comes from failure.

BeachGuy

[deilenberger]

I saw one of these kits just last week. A friend had ordered it for his K75 and another friend (his mechanic) was trying to install it, and asked me to look at it. I assume from the photo you show that it was the "bi-xenon" H4 kit.

Problem immediately that came to light - it was a dual bulb setup, with a wiring harness made to use with dual bulbs, not a single bulb. With some hacking away it might work, but that would undoutably void any warranty.

More concerning to me - was how wobbly the HID capsule was in the mount. The end of the capsule could easily move around 1/8" or more, just by gently moving the base of the assembly. It appears the magnetic solenoid that moves the capsule has much more play in it than I'd find acceptable. This sort of movement will result in a light pattern that dances around as you ride down the road - distracting for the rider and dangerous for oncoming traffic.

On a general note - the link to the website you gave didn't work, so I ended up going to: http://www.hidcountry.com/index.php?se=XerayUSAad where besides selling HID kits, they apparently sell lots of seat-belt-extenders (for VERY fat people?) and smokeless cigarettes. Somehow the website failed to inspire trust in me.

YMMV - but best bets for an older K: (1) auxilary lighting which can be aimed where it does some good, I like Hella FF50 lights, great bang for the buck (2) optimize the existing system with relays, a clean reflector and one of the real +50 bulbs from powerbulbs.com (or danielstern.com)

[BeachGuy]

On the HID kit that I purchased for my K75, which I was unable to install without way to many modifications to the headlamp housing; I installed it on my KLR 650 with little problems. Definitely more light after dark.

My 1995 K75 would still have had one problem if I had been able to install this HID kit. It would still have the factory wiring from the handlebar switch providing 12 volts to the lamp. On my bike it was more like 10.65 at the lamp and 12.35 volts at the battery.

So with new 12 gauge wires and two relays I now have 12.15 volts at the factory bulb. Yes it has more light in the dark.

The web store where I purchased the HID kit has since changed their home page and I have found two other webs sites owned and run by this company. The product I purchased does work as stated, now only time will tell if the kit will hold up and perform as promised.

BeachGuy

[Kayseventyfive]

Thank you, Dan, for the cautionary alert on the HID. It looks like a good idea, poorly executed. Perhaps a little later, they or someone else will produce a reliable unit with proper clearances.

In the meantime, the Osram is doing fine. The time change and advancing Winter have given me a double whammy on getting adjusted to night riding. :(

[rmarkr]

I'll enter the HID fray.
First off, the head light can be easily disassembled and cleaned - looks like new again.
I went through many bulbs and liked the Sylvania top end bulb ($$$)
Also used a 130/100w regular halogen bulb (with relay), with similar results to the Sylvania.
The HID bi-xenon setup works for me. There is a little scattter but the dipped beam is cut off quite sharply, and it's really bright and lights up more length of road than the other setups. In fact, the glare from reflective road signs can be an issue. One benefit I perceive, is that I'm more noticable to the cages.
The kit was about $70 and I chose the white (4000k?) lamp. The components appear to be nice quality with healthy, waterproofed connectors. The ballast may interfere with some electronics (eg radar detector)

:D

[Beemer01]

Since there seem to be quite a few on eBay, can someone link me to oone that will fit and work in a K100 RS fairing?