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Osram bulb

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Dave T

Member
I love the light the bulb produces, but I just burnt out my second one in a year. Low beam went first, then the high went out in the middle of nowhere on a very dark night, drove 10 miles to civilization with my flashers as my only light. (not fun) Has anybody else had this problem, is there something I need to do to prolong the life of these bulbs?:(
 
If you look through this thread, you might find that towards the end, there seems to be some issues with reliability. It appears that early on, this was the way to go, but as of late, the longevity of the bulb has diminished.

Brighter Headlights - Harley Davidson Community

I'm glad you made it back okay with no headlight. That could not have been any fun.
 
There are some things that will cause premature "death"...shock/vibration and overvoltage or overheating/temperature shock. Headlamp mounting secure and not "bouncing around"? Check the charging/output voltage, should be 13-14 VDC, and rise a bit at higher RPM. Also, make sure you handle the base of the bulb only, and your hands protected from contact with a paper towel.
 
All that was mentioned above plus check the tightness of bulb to socket, a loose connection can also the cause bulb to live a shorter life... I also carry a spare headlight bulb as part of my kit that goes with me everywhere.
 
I had installed one and it also only lasted about 6 months. Went back to the stock bulb.
 
Me too, me too!

Mine went out the same way - low beam first followed by the high beam. Thought it had something to do with all the rain I had ridden through that knocked out one of my turn signals. However, no sign of moisture in the headlight housing and now reading the afore mentioned thread, I suspect it's just a reliability problem with this bulb. Perhaps they've changed factories or something.

Anyway, I'm back to being satisfied with the stock bulb, especially since my night riding is very limited.
 
Mine low beam went out last month after less than a year. I had the stock bulb in the garage so it went back in. I'll pick up an HD xeon bulb next time I'm down by the stealer. It is a lot brighter than stock, but I lost the low beam on one of those also after about a year. I average about 11K a year which may be a better measure of bulb life than just months of service. Someone who only rides 3K a year should be getting more months of service.

Street Glides look nice, but the lack of auxillary lights leaves you dead in the water if you loose your headlight.
 
Mine about 1 year. emailed german ap they said its a bulb it can go out any time. not desined to be in bike. but very popular because of there lite pattern..
 
It really is strange so many people experience the early burn out. It is almost like the manufacture changed some process in building the bulb that is not working out. Hopefully it gets back to the original manufacture (may not actually be Osram) and they look into it.

I have had some issues with Osram HID capsule bulbs in the past. I went to Phillips and the problems went away. Everyone says Osram bulbs are Great etc etc. I myself have not had good luck with their products.
 
I get about 8,000 miles out of one before it burns out.
I think they burn hotter in oder to be brighter and that makes them have a shorter life. Just guessing though.
 
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