Light bulb replacement - recommendations

Hello again you Oilheads.

Well....seems as though I'm full swing again with myriad of projects with Der Bimmer. It's been awhile, so perhaps my bike just felt the need to bring me back to the garage to keep my mechanic skills fresh. Seems like one project begets another and before you know it, your 3 projects deep in to something else that you had no intention of starting. Nothing like owning a BMW motorcycle to make you a better mechanic. LOL!

As I had been trying to sort out my electrical gremlins and that my bike was half torn apart, it seemed like the appropriate time to try and diagnose my electric windscreen which had been working intermittently. On the advice of m_stock10506, I removed the nosepiece from the bike and inspected the two grey relays that control the up/down function. I was able to determine that one of the relays was bad by switching them and now my windshield will go up, but now down. Previously it would only go down, but not up. So I've got that part on order.

So now with the nosepiece off the bike and with unfettered access to the light bulbs, it seems like the perfect time to replace those old, ugly, yellow hued light bulbs with something much whiter. I'm not necessarily looking for brighter higher wattage bulbs, but I would prefer something definitely higher up on the light spectrum in terms of color band. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Geez, why don't you ask which oil to use while you're at it?

I've been happy with Phillips ExtraVision bulbs. Whiter, brighter, last a reasonable amount of time. Oh, and they aren't expensive. All the bulbs in my bike are H7.

tangoalpha said:

Hello again you Oilheads.
............................
So now with the nosepiece off the bike and with unfettered access to the light bulbs, it seems like the perfect time to replace those old, ugly, yellow hued light bulbs with something much whiter. I'm not necessarily looking for brighter higher wattage bulbs, but I would prefer something definitely higher up on the light spectrum in terms of color band. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Click to expand...

Are you asking about your headlight bulb (H4) or the miniatures in the gauges and warning lights?

Personally, for the headlight H4 bulb, I stick with 55/60w spec bulb. Higher wattage can melt the socket or burn out the headlight switch on the left control. If you add relays to power the bulb you will get more of the voltage at the bulb resulting in brighter beam and won't risk the switch. There are 55/60 H4 bulbs with higher lumen output.

I haven't swapped out any of my instrument bulbs, but need to so I'll watch for other suggestions. Folks, please give specific model numbers for recommended bulbs. I've visited too many web sites with thousands of different bulbs for sale.

BC1100S said:

Geez, why don't you ask which oil to use while you're at it?

I've been happy with Phillips ExtraVision bulbs. Whiter, brighter, last a reasonable amount of time. Oh, and they aren't expensive. All the bulbs in my bike are H7.

Click to expand...

BCS1100S-

There would be absolutely no need to ask for recommendations on what OIL to use because everybody knows that Mobil-1 Advanced Full Synthetic is undeniably the best motor oil in the universe....but light bulbs on the other hand, that's a different story. . LOL!

But seriously...I'll look in to the Phillips ExtraVision bulbs to see if they fit the bill. I'm in desperate need of upgrading the headlamp and factory fog lights. I may as well do the high beam as well and just call it a day. I don't want to get crazy with LED's or HID's, although I will admit I do like the aspect of low voltage draw of the LED's. Mainly I want to upgrade the factory bulbs to something as bright or slightly brighter, but as white as possible for what I can accomplish with a H4 bulb.

m_stock10506 said:

Are you asking about your headlight bulb (H4) or the miniatures in the gauges and warning lights?

Personally, for the headlight H4 bulb, I stick with 55/60w spec bulb. Higher wattage can melt the socket or burn out the headlight switch on the left control. If you add relays to power the bulb you will get more of the voltage at the bulb resulting in brighter beam and won't risk the switch. There are 55/60 H4 bulbs with higher lumen output.

I haven't swapped out any of my instrument bulbs, but need to so I'll watch for other suggestions. Folks, please give specific model numbers for recommended bulbs. I've visited too many web sites with thousands of different bulbs for sale.

Click to expand...

Excellent question! I was referring only to the low/high beam and factory fog lights, but now that you mention it, it sure would be nice to have better night visibility with brighter instrument bulbs. As you suggest, I plan on sticking with spec bulbs here. I've seen the damage that can be done to wiring, sockets, etc. by running too high wattage bulbs. Not a good idea. Hopefully I can find a 55/60w H4 bulb that has the higher lumen/color output that I'm looking for.

tangoalpha said:

But seriously...I'll look in to the Phillips ExtraVision bulbs to see if they fit the bill. I'm in desperate need of upgrading the headlamp and factory fog lights. I may as well do the high beam as well and just call it a day. I don't want to get crazy with LED's or HID's, although I will admit I do like the aspect of low voltage draw of the LED's. Mainly I want to upgrade the factory bulbs to something as bright or slightly brighter, but as white as possible for what I can accomplish with a H4 bulb.

Click to expand...

On my R1100S I installed a Cyclops LED high beam, used the Phillips ExtraVision for the low beam and it worked really well. I'm unsure of the low beam/high beam configuration of your RT but here's the website for Cyclops. Good people there. I'm sure they'll make it easy to spend your money.

https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/

I have a Cyclops' LED headlamp in my R1100RT and it is certainly much brighter in the daytime than the PIAA that it replaced. Fortunately I no longer do much nighttime riding as I don't find it too much different than the stock bulb. My additional lights are a must for night riding.

Paul_F said:

I have a Cyclops' LED headlamp in my R1100RT and it is certainly much brighter in the daytime than the PIAA that it replaced. Fortunately I no longer do much nighttime riding as I don't find it to much different than the stock bulb. My additional lights are a must for night riding.

Click to expand...

Paul,

Does the Cyclops LED bulb you installed on your bike have a fan or hear sink? Also did you have to make any modifications to the panel in order for the bulb to fit inside the housing?

I saw a YouTube video where somebody had to create a round cut out in the plastic panel in order for the bulb to fit because it protruded too much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

tangoalpha said:

Paul,

Does the Cyclops LED bulb you installed on your bike have a fan or hear sink? Also did you have to make any modifications to the panel in order for the bulb to fit inside the housing?

I saw a YouTube video where somebody had to create a round cut out in the plastic panel in order for the bulb to fit because it protruded too much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

No fan, no cutting, no modifications,
just a lot of time and nasty thoughts as I installed it.

The rear end is longer and greater in diameter than the OEM. Took a lot of patience to install it. Installation was two years ago. Once installed, I did zip tie the rear section to something to keep it secure.

tangoalpha said:

I saw a YouTube video where somebody had to create a round cut out in the plastic panel in order for the bulb to fit because it protruded too much.

Click to expand...

Assuming that your '02 RT is very much like my '03 RT, here's the LED bulb I installed in mine:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKRKN5B

It fits entirely within the headlight enclosure and I did not have to cut any panels to make it fit. Here are some photos of the beam pattern this bulb produces. One photo with my fog lamps on, one with them off. (I also replaced the fog lamp bulbs with amber LED and run with them on all the time for added conspicuity.)

The improvement in nighttime illumination over the stock halogen H7 is nothing short of remarkable.




Edit: Seeing Paul_F's comments about installing the Cyclops I wanted to add that the LED bulb I used has a removable collar. It is this collar that clips into the headlight housing and is held in place with the spring clamp. Once you get that in place you can put the bulb in and turn it 1/8 turn to lock it in place. It then rotates in small click-stop increments to allow for fine tuning of the beam pattern.

Since you have things apart you should look to replace instrument panel lights.
These are what I used and they are much better, white not yellow.
The bulbs that were used the most were blackened.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XIQGR8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

tangoalpha said:

Excellent question! I was referring only to the low/high beam and factory fog lights, but now that you mention it, it sure would be nice to have better night visibility with brighter instrument bulbs. As you suggest, I plan on sticking with spec bulbs here. I've seen the damage that can be done to wiring, sockets, etc. by running too high wattage bulbs. Not a good idea. Hopefully I can find a 55/60w H4 bulb that has the higher lumen/color output that I'm looking for.

Click to expand...

Your signature shows an 1150RT. If that's the bike in this discussion, my mistake. The 1150RT has H7 high and low beam bulbs, not a single H4 like the 1100RT. Sorry for throwing in a confusing comment.

jnrugg - those Amazon sourced LED wedge bulbs you pointed to are no longer available with no info about any future resupply.

m_stock10506 said:

The 1150RT has H7 high and low beam bulbs, not a single H4 like the 1100RT. Sorry for throwing in a confusing comment.

Click to expand...

And the rider's manual for my '03 RT is wrong on the high beam bulb, stating that it's an H1. In reality it's an H3. I've not had any success finding an H3 LED bulb having both the required brightness and the required physical construction to produce a good beam pattern (that being a very thin LED chip mounting substrate that locates the LEDs very close together and therefore accurately simulates the coil filament of a halogen bulb).

Some really good suggestions. Thanks Guys!

Roger, I usually run with my fog lights on during the day also, for the same reason as you. Anything to be more conspicuous to inattentive drivers. I would imagine the yellow fogs really do stand out during the day and have an added benefit at night. that may really come in handy where I live on the Central Coast. We get quite a bit of fog and other times the marine layer. The yellow fogs would come in handy for that. Thanks for the idea.

As far as the Hikari's LED's are concerned, I like those a lot compared to some of the other bulbs I've seen. The price seems very reasonable and the white color is spot on. I noticed Hikari also offers an Ultra model that claims to put out 12000lm at 6K (Cool White). At $90 they are a bit spendy, but I suppose that would also be something to consider.

rogerc60 said:

Assuming that your '02 RT is very much like my '03 RT, here's the LED bulb I installed in mine:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKRKN5B

It fits entirely within the headlight enclosure and I did not have to cut any panels to make it fit. Here are some photos of the beam pattern this bulb produces. One photo with my fog lamps on, one with them off. (I also replaced the fog lamp bulbs with amber LED and run with them on all the time for added conspicuity.)

The improvement in nighttime illumination over the stock halogen H7 is nothing short of remarkable.

View attachment 74893
View attachment 74894

Edit: Seeing Paul_F's comments about installing the Cyclops I wanted to add that the LED bulb I used has a removable collar. It is this collar that clips into the headlight housing and is held in place with the spring clamp. Once you get that in place you can put the bulb in and turn it 1/8 turn to lock it in place. It then rotates in small click-stop increments to allow for fine tuning of the beam pattern.

Click to expand...

jnrugg said:

Since you have things apart you should look to replace instrument panel lights.
These are what I used and they are much better, white not yellow.
The bulbs that were used the most were blackened.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XIQGR8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Click to expand...

I think I may as well replace the instrument bulbs as well. Was it very difficult to do? Are the bulbs easily accessible?

m_stock10506 said:

Your signature shows an 1150RT. If that's the bike in this discussion, my mistake. The 1150RT has H7 high and low beam bulbs, not a single H4 like the 1100RT. Sorry for throwing in a confusing comment.

jnrugg - those Amazon sourced LED wedge bulbs you pointed to are no longer available with no info about any future resupply.

Click to expand...

Yesiree! My bike is an '02 R1150RT and at the rate I'm going I'm slowly spending my way to a, R1250RT. LOL!

tangoalpha said:

I think I may as well replace the instrument bulbs as well. Was it very difficult to do? Are the bulbs easily accessible?

Click to expand...

Windshield, dash cover, dash have to come off.
It's a pain but if I can do it.
Even though the guys in the link don't sell them, just do a search and you will find others selling them.

I also have an 02 RT and just had the final drive rebuilt again.
I also test rode a 1250 GSA at the MOA rally and fell in love with it.
Maybe in a couple of years when used ones come on the market.

tangoalpha said:

I think I may as well replace the instrument bulbs as well. Was it very difficult to do? Are the bulbs easily accessible?

Click to expand...

Not difficult. If you have the windshield assembly removed you may be able to get to the instrument bulbs without removing anything else. When I replaced mine I removed the four screws from the front of the instrument cluster at the corners and pulled the whole assembly back. The rubber bulb holders simply push into the holes; no quarter turn locking or anything like that. They'll likely be stuck tight in the holes so twist them back and forth to break them free, then just pull them out. It will take some force.

I replaced mine with LED 74 equivalent bulbs from superbrightleds.com. I used colored bulbs to match the color of the lens. The fog light indicator is now actually a bit too bright; at night it dominates everything else in the instrument panel.

If you're switching to LED, do not switch out the alternator bulb. It has to be an incandescent bulb for the charging system to work. (No first-hand experience with this, just repeating what I've read.)

Roger,

I need to look in to this a bit further...but to clarify, when you say remove the windshield assembly, I assume that you're referring to the metal frame that contains the windshield motor, gear assembly, arms, etc. Is that correct? I looked at this assembly closely and I saw that there appear to be 5 screws in total, 1 on each of the 4 corners and 1 more screw mounted upside down near the motor itself. At this stage, I think it would be a shame to get this far in the game and not replace those instrument bulbs. By the way, does the RID (Rider Information Display) have a bulb that can be replaced or is it not user serviceable? Also what about the speedo and tachometer lights? Do I have to open up the back of the gauges to access the light bulbs or are they accessible like the instrument cluster bulbs? eg...neutral light, high beam indicator, low oil light, etc.

rogerc60 said:

Not difficult. If you have the windshield assembly removed you may be able to get to the instrument bulbs without removing anything else. When I replaced mine I removed the four screws from the front of the instrument cluster at the corners and pulled the whole assembly back. The rubber bulb holders simply push into the holes; no quarter turn locking or anything like that. They'll likely be stuck tight in the holes so twist them back and forth to break them free, then just pull them out. It will take some force.

I replaced mine with LED 74 equivalent bulbs from superbrightleds.com. I used colored bulbs to match the color of the lens. The fog light indicator is now actually a bit too bright; at night it dominates everything else in the instrument panel.

If you're switching to LED, do not switch out the alternator bulb. It has to be an incandescent bulb for the charging system to work. (No first-hand experience with this, just repeating what I've read.)

Click to expand...

Roger,

I've decided to go with the Hikari H7 LED (low beam) per your recommendation. All the online reviews and Youtube videos I've seen rate these as the best and latest in latest LED chipset technology and seem to have better build quality than many of the others on the market. I also like the 2 year warranty which is always a plus. So with that sorted out, I've moved my attention to the H1 high beam and the two H3 fog light bulbs. Are you running LED's for your high beam and yellow fogs as well? Any recommendations for those? Hikari does sell an H1 (high beam) but no H3 (fog light) bulbs. Like you, I run with my fog lights on whenever I ride. I also have a set of PIAA's mounted underneath my oil cooler for added visibility.

rogerc60 said:

Assuming that your '02 RT is very much like my '03 RT, here's the LED bulb I installed in mine:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKRKN5B

It fits entirely within the headlight enclosure and I did not have to cut any panels to make it fit. Here are some photos of the beam pattern this bulb produces. One photo with my fog lamps on, one with them off. (I also replaced the fog lamp bulbs with amber LED and run with them on all the time for added conspicuity.)

The improvement in nighttime illumination over the stock halogen H7 is nothing short of remarkable.

View attachment 74893
View attachment 74894

Edit: Seeing Paul_F's comments about installing the Cyclops I wanted to add that the LED bulb I used has a removable collar. It is this collar that clips into the headlight housing and is held in place with the spring clamp. Once you get that in place you can put the bulb in and turn it 1/8 turn to lock it in place. It then rotates in small click-stop increments to allow for fine tuning of the beam pattern.

Click to expand...