BMW Motorcycle Bulbs? W5W/T10 Question

I'm purposely posting here to ask if any other BMW MC has this wedge base W5W/T10 halogen bulb in the HL/parking light area of the bike? My 2012 G650GS uses it for the parking light(why a parking light on a bike?)which has it's own reflector. I'ts beside the HL reflector in the same unit & side by side. It puts out a paltry 64 lumens I'm searching for a way to add some conspicuity(besides my aux lights) & maybe some down the road light too.
There are super bright T10 style LED bulbs for sale with 700 lumens,(as much as some small aux lights) drawing 12 watts/1 amp and measure 30mm,barely longer than my halogen oem bulb which is ~23-24mm.The chips are on the side of a blade so should get reflected OK. Some have chips on the tip and only seen at end of tip & not reflected well.
Have you got a MC that uses the same oem bulb? Have you tried the led's I mention?

All BMW have parking lights, at least back to '70s Airheads. Legally required ... BMW doesn't reconfigure for USA.

Normally if you want a light to provide illumination suitable for driving/riding, you take into account the lens and reflector and not just the bulb. Not the design intent here.

Hey, I'm not into designing reflectors,etc. here!
Trying to wring some practical use, i.e., light out of whats a useless parking light on my G650GS. That model has a reflector for the parking light(beside HL & same unit) that appears to me will reflect a brighter bulb and help conspicuity at the very least and at best outcome maybe add to downroad lighting.
The bulb I'm looking at is on ebay,auction #321258450479 , a "superbright" led W5W/T10 bulb that draws 12 watts and said to have 700 lumens. The OEM halogen is a regular W5W @ 5 watts & 64 lumens.Length is very close to the same for both. 700 lumens is much like many smaller aux lts used on MC's, so a significant light source at low 12w=1amp draw.

The trouble with LEDs is that they do not emit light in all directions as an incandescent bulb does (more or less). The incandescent radiates light directly out through the lens, which may or may not be designed to focus the light, and backward to reflect off the reflector and out. An LED can't do that and most automotive applications are designed for the incandescent lamp, so far. You may note that the super-bright LEDs now being used on some cars are not mounted in reflectors since that would be pointless (pun)

You could experiment with yellow bulbs as "parking lights" which might be more conspicuous but will also give your headlights a slight yellow tint (actually a good thing but not very trendy; bluish tint is so in)

pete
Sometimes I wonder "Why is that Frisbee getting bigger?" And then it hits me.

You could experiment with yellow bulbs as "parking lights" which might be more conspicuous but will also give your headlights a slight yellow tint (actually a good thing but not very trendy;

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now now, but they were wayyyy trendy in the seventies, like H4s were hi-tech.

I could also opt for red,blue,green,real blue,purple-the Chinese sell lots of choices but the ones I'm buying to try are the 700 lumen WHITE bulbs.
FWIW, I have some genuine Philips Extreme Vision H4's(more light,same watts, normal hours of burn time) coming from Latvia to make some brighter light outa the pissy HL on this thumper.

Even if the 700 lumen LED didn't really throw any light to help your visibility, it will certainly help in the conspicuity department. White is a good choice as other than yellow, the others are either illegal in many states, or don't stand out as well, though I wonder about a 700 lumen green.... Red lights or reflective material are not allowed on the front in CA, because is confuses people into thinking it is a tail light? Blue is out because that is LEO colors. While one would rarely get pulled over for either just for that, no reason to tempt fate if you don't have to. But I definitely notice all these new BMW/Audi/Mercedes/Tesla's with the bright LED running lights as I approach them. I gotta believe a little extra spot can't be bad for you. I have the yellow first run PhotonBlasters at my front axle...very eye catching w/8 LEDs per side. (http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/PB_Features.shtml)

The 700 lumen W5W is not sold in the colors I blabbed about-the white is the one with the cajoles!
On another "bulb note", I was just looking at buying a spare for my indicators & the RY10 amber 10w is a pricey little feller-saw a pair on ebay for $24.95 from China! Also some from India also sorta high.Still shopping on that one...

I have the G650GS, also, so I know exactly what you are talking about. I've considered the same thing, putting a brighter bulb in that socket. The problem with putting a wedge-based LED in there could be heat. Since it shares space with the halogen headlamp, it gets HOT in there. I'm not sure an LED would stand up to that for long.

geisterfahrer said:

I have the G650GS, also, so I know exactly what you are talking about. I've considered the same thing, putting a brighter bulb in that socket. The problem with putting a wedge-based LED in there could be heat. Since it shares space with the halogen headlamp, it gets HOT in there. I'm not sure an LED would stand up to that for long.

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Not sure about LEDs in other usages but my LED flashlight bulb (@ 230 lumens) burns HOT. One light I had even had a !WARNING! on it at the lens area. LEDs may withstand more heat than you think. Also, aren't headlight shells/enclosures vented to allow for heat escape?

The heat generated by the LEDs has been a topic of some other threads, especially one that burns continuously in an enclosed area such as the turn signal housings. Can't remember if I read that someone melted theirs or just that they predicted an issue. But we have them for tail lights, so something must be working....

Not having studied the heat issue all I can say for now is that many modern vehicles have various OEM LED lights. FWIW, I was behind an Audi A4 sedan yesterday in traffic & it had one (of a series) in a TL that was inop. I have had them from a large online led source-Superbright leds- that were being used to augment rear red lighting on 1150R that quit. If past their wrrty period, buy another. My point is this stuff about how they last for 50,000 hours or similar claims is to be taken with a reality pill.

Its an interesting idea that I've never tried. I replaced the parking lights in my RT with some brighter and whiter halogens.

I'd expect the biggest problem to be the quality and design of the LED bulb. And whether it actually does anything in that configuration.

Then there is the problem of lack of separation between the lamps. At distance it will look like one to those with crappy vision. The ideal setup is still the large triangle effect because it gives those looking at you the most visual cues to judge distance accurately.

I use Photon Blasters or a set of low mounted LED driving lights or both of those on the bikes I own.

Be interested to hear what you think of the result if you try it.

WSWT10 LEDs

I Installed a set of the wsw t 10 in the parking lights of my RT. They are very bright and visible. Make sure you get the ones for canbus, or you will get an error message. The light they produce only lights up areas close to the bike. I did it for conspicuity. I don't think they would help with night driving, but I don't get as many pull-outs as I did before. It was the same with the PIAA 1100x, but they also really light up the road.

I installed the 700 lumen led bulb in parking light spot on MC. Length is OK but will need a warmer day-actually I'll check to see how the light projects vs the stock 5w bulb. No question that the four 3watt led chips-two per side of bulb blade are much brighter. On a warmer day I'll play more and see the facts. It is sure not as bright to look into(hard on eyes to do that!) as my 10watt cree auxillary lights which are more lumens too. You feel no heat when you place your hand on the lens a short while in front of the new led light.
The real star of the show in my lighting is the Xtreme vision Philips HL bulb-that thing burns! It is also rated for normal hours of life. Available to you from your friendly Latvian bulb dealer!
On my quest for a reasonably priced indicator bulb spare it is a bust. pay your BMW dealer the money or buy from Europe & pay the shipping. Philips USA doesn't even distribute the bulb in the USA! There is no substitute other than cheapo Chinese or Indian bulbs! If they still sold the amber lacquer as years ago when amber bulbs were a fad you could go to AP's store & buy a 10w bulb and paint the glass and get cheaper name brand bulbs. You will have to files off one pin-bulb is still real tight so that parts no big deal!

I bought these LED's on Amazon 2 years ago...

NO issues at all, color 6000k & cheap!







AGT 2 pcs Canbus Error Free Warning Wedge T10 W5W, 168, 194 5050 SMD LED Light for Audi, BMW, Benz


by AGT


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?2 x CANBUS AGT Brand LED Bulbs using Highest quality Grade A Components and soldering for 50,000 hours
?White Color 6000K
?Will not cause errors or shutting off on most cars, but we cannot guarantee this because of the amount of cars on the road.
?High Quality SMD LED Chips. All AGT products come in a static sealed bag with AGT original sticker.
?8 LEDs Per Bulb (may not work on some VW) - Designed to fit various placed on european cars. These are not for BMW halo rings or complete HID headlights as some customers confused from the pictures.