2008 Headlight issue

Hi everyone.

Just wondered if anyone had come across this problem?

My right headlight bulb packed in (it was original) so I replaced both bulbs. The thing is, it's right headlight has gone again.

Is there an underlying issue to this or do I have a rubbish taste in bulbs? The main beam works fine.

Any comments would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

The climate you live in is horrendous on automotive lightbulbs anyways. If you do a lot of elevation changes, it is even worse. I eventually went to the HID lights on mine. An expensive alternative but I do not regret it at all. If you don't want to go that way, pay a fe bucks more and get a better bulb. When mine was new, I seemed to be changing at least one a season if not more.








Be warned though. If you go HID, do not start your bike with both highs and lows on at the same time. HID draw far less power while they are running (or so I am told) but during the warm up, they daw a hell of a lot more. You will blwo a fuse every time and fuses are a little pain to replace. Sure as hell, it will happen when you are without a spare. You would think that Honda would have put the high beams and low beams on a separate fuse so that you are not totally without lights. Let your low beams warm up about 20 seconds or so before you ignite your high beams.

 

That sounds totally reasonable.

Can you recommend a HID kit? I had one on my GS when I had it and I was very impressed with it.

 

Mine are Nova. Great Life Time Warranty. But that is available many plcaes as well. But the guy who distributes Nova seems to often be away from his business and I have to deal with someone who works another part of the business who gets caught between the distibutor and I None the les, they have replaced two or three ballasts for me.









SOunds like a lot, but I have two pair of lights on the bike, and three pair on the truck so that may put it into perspective for you.

Nova HID

Scubalong here appears to be the Guru on these lights. He likely has a better option to recomment to you. Keep in mind, we are posting up what is available on this side of the world. You will need to find what is available over there. Good luck.

 

if your touching the bulb with your fingers then expect it to blow fairly quick. The oils and acids (salts) on you skin will cause the bulb to get tiny cracks in the thin glass. sometimes you get a bulb thats a little thicker and it never blows but most of the time you never want to touch the glass of a headlight bulb. This goes double for HID and halogen bulbs.

I just use GE nighthawks for the H4's and a pair of silverstar for the H7's (H7 nighthawks are almost always sold out where i am).

If you want a bulb thats both bright and lasts then HID's are the way to go, just remember that they do draw a few extra amps when warmin up (about 30secs for initial and another min to full brightness).

 

Silverstar are good but a bit pricey might well just go to HID
You can pretty much find a decent HID kit in europe for under $100 us dollars

 

I also have an '08 - I installed the HID kit from Wiremybike.com. I've been very happy with it - it's specifically designed for the VFR. I went with the 5,000 color temp - very white compared to the high beams but not blue. The kit has 2 relays which delay each bulb's lighting after the engine been running for a bit to let the charging system voltage stabilize - also has people scratching their heads why the headlights come on well after the engine's started.

 

To be honest, two bulbs failing in short order could be just bad luck.

But other factors like touching the glass bit whilst installing a bulb can seriously shorten the bulb life. Ages ago I went through a heap of "value own brand" car type bulbs from Halfrauds on my old Suzuki, and was convinced they were naff bulbs, only to discover the retaining clip in the headlamp was slightly bent and as a result although the bulb fitted OK and worked fine whilst the bike was parked, the bulb was not being held firmly in place, and was very quickly shaking itself to pieces once I started riding. If bulbs are repeatedly failing in the same bulb holder then its perhaps worth checking carefully to ensure the bulb is firmly seated in its bulb carrier, and that in turn is held securely in place by the fastening spring. (Obviously if both dipped beam bulbs were failing regularly, then its probably worth getting your charging system checked, as excess volts will also shorten bulb life).

Nowadays I have opted to spend a bit more on light bulbs, and fit heavy duty motorbike bulbs made by Phillips, which so far have never failed and are specifically designed to handle the much higher vibration levels found on a motorbike, and are a bit brighter and more visible than standard car type bulbs.

I do a fair bit of nightime riding on unlit roads, and after reading the manual and spending time to get the alignment just right, I think the VFR vtec style headlights are amongst the best fitted to any motorbike, hence I have never been tempted to invest in Hids. But each to his own.

If you do decide to go that route, make sure you get a quality brand, as some budget conversion kits don't last for very long either. Most Hid conversion kits will claim impressively low failure rates of around 0.3% per year compared with nearer 15% on normal bulbs. However a search will find reports of some cheaper Hids with actual failure rates nearer 10%, which tends to negate a lot of the case for fitting them, and unlike conventional bulbs, few garages will carry Hid spares, so if your Hids fail you may have to abandon the bike or risk riding without lights.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

I would highly reccomend checking out wiremybike.com they have a plug n play kit for the 6th gen and I am absolutely impressed with the ease of installation and the quality. Check out my Youtube video and i'll link to the guys vid i origionally saw it on.

6000k HID kit for vfr800 - YouTube <-- my bike

Motorcycle specific HID kit VFR800 VTEC - YouTube <-- This video wet my appetite

 

Ringoss, did you find a solution to your problem? I also have an '08 and have replaced my "LOW BEAMS" at least 4 times since I bought it in 2010. I am positive I do NOT touch the glass when I am installing them, so I'm not sure what the heck is going on. Seeing your thread tells me I'm not the only person with this issue, so I am hoping to find the solution. I am absolutely willing to add HID's to my bike just so I don't have to keep replacing my headlights. (I had my old CBR for 4 years and never replaced the bulb once.)

I'll take advice from anyone on what could be the issue.
Thanks.