Brighter Headlights

I've tried some of the fancy bulbs both blue and white available and didn't like them at all. Some claimed increased wattage but the blue coating on the bulb seemed to decrease visibility to a degree.
I have run these bulbs in many of my bikes as well as the guys I ride with and have had no problems at all with the wiring , excessive draw on...

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kardar

I ordered a pair of Osram bulbs from German Auto parts after reading about them on this forum. I know this is not a thread about dealer/vendor services, but I must say I am very impressed with the service of the folks at Germanautoparts. I spoke to Dave, he idetified the bulbs as soon I mentioned Harley Davidson and also had no problems shipping it on my account. I called in late afternoon and he made sure the shipment went out the same day.
Great service, keep it up.

glider

Dave is a good guy to deal with, I spoke to him a few times to get the proper number on the bulb to order.

bfmitch

I have the 80/100 OSRAM bulb installed. I love it.

After a 400 mile ride last week my low beam was out out the next morning. (I completed the trip just using the passing lights as my low beams.)

When I took the bulb out one of the connecting wires to the low beam coil (inside the reflector spoon) is melted away. There is also a bubble in the glass under the gray coating at the top of the bulb.

I just spoke with Nathan at German Auto Parts. I was a bit concerned that there might be some environmental issue causing the failure. i.e. riding into the sun, with the headlight on, for nearly eight hours, causing sunlight into the headlight to add extra heat to the bulb.

Nathan thinks it was probably just a defect in the bulb. He's sending another one to try again. If it happens again we'll revisit the environmental issue.

glider

That's a might nice thing for him to do. He gets plenty of business from us

Let us know how it goes.

bfmitch

I was all ready to buy another bulb. I just wanted to talk to somebody about how hot the bulb and headlight housing get to see if that might be a contributing factor.

In a few days I'll order a couple more of the bulbs anyhow and keep them on hand since my son runs the same bulb in his SuperGlide Custom.

glider

I have been usint those bulbs for a long time in a number of bikes including a few buddies too and never had one go bad so far .

bfmitch

I didn't think you would have recommended them in the first place if they were known to have heat problems. I've just got a bad case of "Engineer's" disease. I've always got to question things when stuff like this happens. Usually, when I get a couple answers (like from you and Nathan) the disease goes into remission for awhile.

joeandsarge

First, what a great site this is I have just found!! Thanks to all you "regulars".
I have an 07 sportster; does this bulb fit ALL HD models?
Thanks

glider

Fits all but the sealed beam bulbs. If you have the removable bulb inside the reflector, it should work, if not you can get the proper reflector and use this bulb.

wildspirit97

When I put my bulb in I bought 2 and gave one to a buddy. He rides an 08 Fatboy. The other day he got pulled over because his light was out. When he opened up the headlight housing the harness was melted to the bulb. He rides with his bright on ALL the time. (Very annoying when he's behind me!) I don't know if him using his high beam the way he does has anything to do with it melting down or not, or if he has a problem somewhere else, he has also been through a couple of tail lights in the past 6 months, but I chalked that up to the cheap bulbs we bought.

On the other hand I have been running the same bulb with not issues. I have put on a lot more miles than him and I just check my bulb and it shows no signs of overheating or melt down. I probably have 15 to 20 thousand miles with this bulb in, and he probably has around 5 to 10. I don't use my high beam all the time, because with this bulb there is no need to. I can see better in the dark with this bulb on low beam than I could with the stock bulb on high.
Anyway this is just a heads up. I still like the bulb and will continue to use it. My buddy on the other hand has gone back to the stock HD bulb and will probably continue to run his brights all the time, but at least now when he rides behind me I won't go blind when I look in my mirror.