Maybe last opportunity to get best H4

[deltarider]

Some years ago Philips had already announced, the multinational would withdraw from the consumer goods market and gradually concentrate on medical equipment. You will still find consumer goods like televisions with the name Philips on it, but they are now produced by other companies that have bought the name. We can regret Philip's departure - the company has not only been a great innovator (compact cassette, CD to mention a few) but also has, from its very beginning in the 19th century shown an exemplary social responsibility. Workers and their families have been housed, were taken care off and their children were educated in schools, which was not the habit in those years. Workers could permanently educate themselves to a higher level. The result: the city of Eindhoven which nowadays is regarded as the silicon valley of West Europe. Personally I have had the pleasure, in my student years, to show films on Philips' legendary DP70 that came with aa hundred years guarantee!, btw, the only cinema projector that has been rewarded an Oscar.
Some 30 years ago I had bought the Philips Vision Plus H4, after it had performed best in a test, offering 30% more light than the competition. A truly excellent H4 that still serves in my headlamp. Just the other day however, I could not resist a later model, the X-treme Vision Moto, when it came on offer for a reduced price. Now one can argue € 13,50 instead of € 17,50 is still a hefty price, but who knows how much longer they will be obtainable. This H4 was especially designed for motorcycles and even riders on the fiercest trembling British bikes can rest reassured: after a ride your kidneys may have switched places, your Philips will still live, as it can withstand up to 10G!

[Seabeowner]

I've stuck with lower wattage bulbs as the 500s only had a max 50W light (dependent on market) and think of 50yr old wiring and switches. But having just had two incidents on the M4 where cars drifted across into me....maybe.
And they are £9.52 (11.26 Euros) from Amazon and my free Prime runs out in a day or two. If I fit will probably fit a relay to spare the switches.

[deltarider]

Amazon is absolutely the opposite of the kind of enterprise Philips was and - who knows - maybe still is.
I mean, when even our pensionfunds withdraw from Amazon (and Walmart), we know enough. I got mine from mailordercompany Louis. I also ordered a Dyneema* enforced pair of jeans (Vanucci Dyn) from them. Now for € 129,- (reduced from € 229,-)
*Dyneema happens also to be a Dutch invention.

[JezzaPeach]

Hi Deltarider
I have a Bosch Xenon 60/55, do you think the Philips X-treme +130 would be much hotter, or brighter? I’m just wondering if heat would be an issue. I see they also do a + 100.
I haven’t really tried the Bosch properly at night yet but I stopped using led as, for me at least with my lens, the dip pattern cut off wasn’t showing, but was nice and bright for being seen.
I think +10w is only +0.83amp?
Kind regards. J
(CB500/4)

[heli_madken]

I followed Ken's  lead and bought the same LED, worlds apart from any Halogen and uses less power

[deltarider]

Brightness in itself is not a quality. Too bright and reflective road signs will hinder your eyes adapting again after you have passed them. Xenon lamps are known to cause irritation with oncomers and can even trigger epileptic attacks, reason why the automotive industry has abonded them altogether.
Although led is promising in specially designed lamps - Mercedes-Benz in particular is making good progress - aftermarket kits that will be fit in standard projectors, is not a good idea. Specially designed LED projectors may offer good results however. So far I have not seen independent tests (by ANWB or ADAC for example) that substantiate promises made in advertisements.
Looks. Personally I prefer the looks of the original flat face Bosch H4 projector* over the sully, alien looking LED projectors, but that's a matter of taste ofcourse. Even with the now 30 year old Philips Vision Plus, I never felt the need for extra light. I've bought the X-treme Vision to put to a comparative test and do some readings (amps drawn and all that). Heat by halogen is not a known problem.
Extra lamps. The Goldwing GL1100D Interstate I had in Canada and the US, had two extra big lamps mounted at the crashbars. Strangely enough they added nothing but distraction. The area that counted, proved already well lit by the headlamp. I never used them.
*Cibié, Marshal and Hella also have good ones.

[Sesman]

Are we confusing luminous intensity of the source with lux level at the task point (road)?

It used be the saying that LED is good to be seen, but not good to see with. I suspect however that most modern LED automotive LED sources produce a higher lumen output and better qualify light (CRI colour rendering index) than most conventional lamps.

[deltarider]

Personally I don't make decisions on suspicions, let alone reviews, unless the source of the latter is a known reliable one like ANWB or ADAC, that have a repuation to loose.
In practice there's so much that can play a role. Which light is overall better, meaning in all conditions, including rain and/or hazy conditions and which light will give annoying reflections? Which light will produce distracting shadows? All this is to be tested in practice. In Holland ANWB and in Germany ADAC are bodies capable to carry out such tests.
A sidestep, if you will allow me. Lots of people are tempted to fit a gel instead of a conventional battery these days. Actually I am one of them. But... just five minutes ago, I checked what's on offer. Mailorder company Louis is an honest exception: they clearly state 14,35 is the max. voltage gel batteries can handle without a risk. My bike sees 14,5 V routinely. A friend of mine had a gel battery fitted in his CB350F and had problems. This model sees routinely 15V. No, nothing wrong with the charging system; it was designed so by Honda...
Most suppliers of gel batteries, unlike Louis, choose to remain silent about this.

[Sesman]

Yes, indeed. In the context of ‘suspect’ I meant the seemingly overwhelming evidence provided on Oddjobs LED report.

Interesting notes on the gel battery voltage.

[Sesman]

Thanks Oddjob. Nice to know we have a viable alternative to the H4.

[heli_madken]

I have only been out a couple of times on the 550 at night Ken. The majority of roads around here have no street lights and often no cats eyes. Riding my GL1000 which still has Halogen fitted (case is a little too tight to take the P43T bulbs without some work) the difference as I said is worlds apart. I think the colour of the light helps a lot as it seems to penetrate the dark better, I really cant see any difference in beam pattern and I dont seem to be upsetting other road users.

No night time rain riding as yet which was my biggest issue with the old setup so not sure what difference there will be.

Power wise I have the lights on dipped all the time now and the power system is coping without any issues, I would have 'worried' before and just used the position light during daylight.

I dont think I would go back to Halogen. I will need to alter the connectors on the GL1000 as the P43T bulbs are a little deeper and foul the casing but I will do it when I get a chance.

[Bryanj]

On the "shop" GL1000 back in 75 we fitted a marchall reflector which had two seperate halogen bulbs, got overwattage bulbs from a rally shop and wired the dip to the sidelight consequently there was over 200 watts on main beam, if somebody upset you you just melted their eyeballs

[Seabeowner]

Dark days (and Christmas) is coming and the price is going up.
Bulb is now £13.21 at Amazon (although they do list a slightly cheaper marketplace outlet) a 40% increase in a week.

[K2-K6]

Agree with OP that they are very well made bulbs, also from using halogen lamps in highly monitored systems that Osram make comparable items.

PIAA of Japan are also technically excellent.

[deltarider]

Maybe I was too pessimistic and will they remain on offer. The Osram Nightbreaker has also performed well in independent tests. Chinese products are to be avoided. Longtime agp I had an unbranded 100 Watts H4 fitted, but it performed less than a standard Narva H4. Never had a charging issue, btw. Later I realised Watts only informs you on how much energy is consumed.
Next spring I will do some tests. Amps can simply be measured as my model has a separate fuse for the headlight. Before I mount such an expensive bulb, I also want to be sure Volts at the fitting will not exceed 14,4. If too high, I could fit a diode ofcourse, to reduce the voltage somewhat.