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Cb550f blowing main fuse

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deltarider:
60/55 Watt. Best in the market is the Philips Extreme Vision Moto or its predecessor the Vision Plus. Osram Nightbreaker is also good. Best LED is the expensive Osram Night Breaker Led Pro, but I don't know if there is enough space in the bucket.
Or if you worry about that not existent problem and provided your reflector has a Ba9s socket you can opt for what I have suggested our friends across the pond.
That 'park light' aka 'city light' or 'pilot light' or 'position' light has little use, but... can be made useful. This is what I tried out for you guys.
In the headlamp bucket I disconnected the brown PLUS wire from the position light and replaced it by a black wire to a spare black connector. Yes, there are.
I then put a switch in the green MINUS wire to the position light. I can now bring on the position light without the tail- and instrument lights. The added switch is hidden in between the speedo- and the tachometer, where it is hardly seen, so the classic looks of my bike are preserved.
In the headlight reflector I replaced the OEM Ba9s 4 Watts position light bulb by a dito 21 Watts halogen one (see pic), which you can now use as DRL. The bulb is a bit yellowish which is better noticed and highlights you're a biker.
During the day you can switch to your new DRL. All the rest remains off. Saves fuel and extends lifespan of bulbs. Realise that especially the little instrument lightbulbs do not live long and it is quite a hassle to replace them. With the taillight off, brakelight will be better noticed. The same goes for high beam flashes when you slide the PA switch. On entering a tunnel you simply slide the stock RH switch from . to 'P', which adds tail- and instrument lights. Exiting the tunnel you slide the switch back to ..
The rest remains the same, so when darkness falls, just sliding the standard switch to 'H' (headlight) brings on the 60/55 Watts H4 and switch off the DRL (or leave it on).
The arrangement is simple and the cost minimal. Some prefer a LED for that Ba9s socket. Problem is I have not seen a Ba9s LED that spreads its light as nice as a halogen bulb. The ones I have seen are just disappointing dots (see pics).

McCabe-Thiele (Ted):

--- Quote from: Towsejames on August 12, 2026, 01:40:59 PM ---What wattage h4 is best to use?

Also I like the idea of the led option but hate the colour of anything blue or white and want the traditional halogen output colour, is this possible?


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--- End quote ---

Not all LED lamps are blue, once you have tried a decent LED lamp the traditional  lights look quite yellow.
I have used Night breaker bulbs on our previous cars, great light output, they often fail quite early.
This is anecdotal evidence, I'm not saying it's a fact, just my experience, my dip beams would fail after about 18 months.

K2-K6:

--- Quote from: Towsejames on August 12, 2026, 01:40:59 PM ---What wattage h4 is best to use?

Also I like the idea of the led option but hate the colour of anything blue or white and want the traditional halogen output colour, is this possible?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

--- End quote ---

If you do want to stay with non LED bulbs, this Hella unit has a good lens structure and beam pattern.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176287167008?shprz=EBAY_GB_131090&_ul=GB&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&toolid=20006&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338986375&loc_interest_ms=&loc_physical_ms=9217597&adtype=pla&customid=CjwKCAjws_DTBhB_EiwAXZknGZp9yeIu73BosllX1NNQBEwuJtNOBgUwcyk7j1ycp0IDeOvmdfzvqBoC_YwQAvD_BwE|null|null&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24080271004&gbraid=0AAAAADcddnaPOX4iO0eJ7xZQG9SjrQ134&gclid=CjwKCAjws_DTBhB_EiwAXZknGZp9yeIu73BosllX1NNQBEwuJtNOBgUwcyk7j1ycp0IDeOvmdfzvqBoC_YwQAvD_BwE

The focus of good quality and verified manufacturing for LED bulbs is almost entirely toward the more blue part of spectrum, that I can see.

The yellow offering appear on temu etc I'd not bother with.

McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
I've always rated Hella headlamps.

The best 7" headlamp units I ever owned that would fit in a Lucas bowl were Carello Pajods, they were fitted to E-Type Jaguars as an upgrade by enthusiasts.
Back in the late 1960s-1970s the fashion was for Concave lenses like Cibie.
The Pajods were convex outer glass to the point of being almost bug eyed with a parabolic reflectors, fantastic dip beams cut off.
Carello Biode were very similar if not the same - used pairs fetch over £300 on flea bay.

Oddjob:
The best headlight by far and tested by magazines back in the late 70s was the Cibie Z beam. The beam pattern was really good on dip but like a laser on high. They used light meters to get the beam pattern and on full it was extremely long, right down on the floor and shaped like a pencil, very narrow. Even with a normal H4 bulb in it it was phenomenal. I put an LED bulb in mine for a comparison test. The beam pattern was almost identical but the light output went through the roof. From a dingy sort of yellowish light to a pure white light. I did some pics if you want to see them. The LED bulbs were around £50 a pair a few years ago. All my mates converted to them after seeing one in my 1300. They went from struggling on dark country roads on their Harleys to being able to travel at whatever speed they wanted.

Oddly enough I just bought another 7” Cibie Z beam unit the other day, just in case mine gets broken or stone chipped.

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