Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 09:30:11 -0800 (PST) From: Kelly Cash To: gts-1000@elektro.cmhnet.org Subject: Lightbulb comparison Message-ID: <199911291730.JAA27407@mailhub.Cadence.COM> At long last, I've finally gotten my stuff together with Greg Christopher and Dave Biasotti and we compared the Tankmaster Stanley bulbs with the stock GTS headlight bulb. The Stanley bulbs tested were the blue/yellow "rainbow" bulb and the clear. I was a bit wary of the rainbow bulb, as there are writeups which state that the blue coating on non-HID bulbs actually block out some of the light, and scatter the rest it, rendering the light less effective. See the web site http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/info/blue_bulbs/ for more details. In any case, I put the clear Stanley bulb in my GTS; Dave already had the rainbow bulb in his. Greg's bike remains stock except for the Corbin seat, but we didn't feel that the seat would have much bearing on how bright the headlight was. :-) Dave and I trekked down to the Santa Cruz mountains where Greg now lives. This was a good place for the test. While there was a full moon, there was a lot of overhanging tree canopy which blotted out the light most effectively. Our first task was to get all three headlights aligned the same to ensure accurate comparisons. Unfortunately, we weren't able to really get them all adjusted the same. We tinkered on the bikes, turning the adjustment screws for what seemed to be thousands of turns, and the headlight beam patterns hardly moved. Oh well. They weren't TOO different in their adjustments, so we decided to wing it and do what we could. We lined the bikes up on a lonely stretch of road, and began comparing the bulbs on both low and high beam. It was immediately obvious that the Stanley bulbs were more effective than the stock bulb. The pattern of light was more or less the same as stock, so the same amount of road and peripheral scenery was illuminated. I felt the stock bulb paled by comparison (pun intended), but Greg and Dave didn't feel the difference was as dramatic as I did. There are two reasons for the Stanley bulbs being more effective: They're a little brighter than stock, and the color of the light seems to bring out more detail of the things illuminated. While the Stanley bulbs are brighter, they don't seem to be twice as bright as the advertisements would have you believe. But without measuring apparatus it's difficult to tell. I think we all expected to see a lot more distance than with the stock bulbs. This wasn't the case. I suspect the reflector of the headlight has a lot to do with this- The Road Star headlight shell I have on my Vmax seems to project the light further with the Stanley bulb than with the stock, so I suspect it's simply aimed higher. What surprised me was that the rainbow bulb was as effective as the clear bulb. They both seemed to have slightly different "personalities", but the rainbow bulb wasn't exhibiting light scattering or other problems that I'd expected after reading the web page mentioned above. The Stanley rainbow bulb is obviously much superior to the bulbs tested in the web page. The clear bulb had a more "warm" tone to the color of the light, whereas the rainbow bulb is more "cold." A warm light has a reddish or pinkish hue, and a cold light is more blue, like a fluorescent light. Okay, there are warm fluorescents too. Looking up, I see I have them in my office. But I hope you get my drift- I'm not trying to say that the rainbow bulb looked like a Christmas tree bulb. It didn't. The stock bulb was MUCH warmer than either of the Stanley bulbs, making the scenery look reddish by comparison to the whiter light put out by the Stanleys. Turning the bulbs onto high beam noticeably changed the light pattern. It seems as though the Stanley bulbs put out a more "flat" pattern which running in high beams. When riding at night with the brights on, there's less of a chance of overriding your headlight. But take care not to keep it on high-beam when there's oncoming traffic, or you'll no doubt make people unhappy (if not outright blind them). Greg mentioned that the stock bulb seemd to do a better job of lighting up the pavement, and that the light seemed to be more evenly reflected off of things in the light. This would make sense, considering the flatter light beam from the Stanleys. The funny thing is, on my GTS the high beam of the clear bulb takes away from the effectiveness. We didn't see this on Dave's bike with the rainbow bulb. I suspect I didn't get mine to seat properly, and therefore it's not adjusted quite right. One other thing about the rainbow bulb is that it also has a slight yellowish hue. This may be good at cutting through fog. The verdict? I like 'em. A lot. The bikes will be more noticeable in the daytime with these bulbs, and they provide better visibility at night. As I ride in the boonies where the deer and the antelope play, this is a BIG benefit. I also have a lighting disadvantage which is now offset through the use of the new bulb: I use a Ventura headlight rock guard (a piece of acrylic) which isn't quite optical quality. Sure, it keeps my headlight from being broken, but it also blocks some light. I also have a bra (rather, the GTS does). It has a fine black mesh (no, it's not a fishnet) which covers the headlight. This too blocks some of the light. All in all, I find these bulbs to be a good addition to the GTS, and the other bikes I've tried. I'll be installing a bulb in my Vmax and Venture too. After a little more experimenting with the rainbow bulb in my Vmax I'll know which I prefer. But for now, it's too close to call. One other thing to mention: Both Dave and I have auxiliary PIAA lights on our bikes. Mine are the smaller lights that can be purchased through Sport Touring Accessories (see them at http://www.dnet.net/~pemble/new_lite.htm ), and Dave has the larger, brighter PIAA lights. (not sure which model or source) Dave's are larger than mine, and are clear. Mine have a yellowish "ion" coating. They diminish the effectiveness in normal conditions a little. Hopefully they'll do well in fog. We all found that both auxiliary lights were MUCH brighter than either the stock or Stanley bulbs. Well, sure- First, there are TWO of them on each bike. Second, they have a reflector which is designed for the bulbs. So if you want SERIOUS extra lighting, get aux lights. Or a Stanley bulb AND the aux lights as Dave and I have done. The downsides to the auxiliary lights is that you have to add wiring, find appropriate mounting points, and they're more expensive. Many, many thanks to Alan Tooraen and TankMaster Lighting for the demo bulbs. He's not getting them back- I'll send him a check before I part with these bulbs! I also appreciate his extraordinary patience in letting me have enough time to put together the test. I'm too ashamed to tell you all just how long I've had these bulbs, saying "I'm still too busy to get the test going. . ." Thanks also to Greg and Dave for participating in the test and for helping me get the review to be accurate. Not only was it an illuminating evening, it was a lot of fun too. (of course, when has a group of GTSers ever gotten together and NOT had fun?) -K ========================================================================= Mr. Kelly Cash / Chief Technologist MITS Unix Phone: 408-576-3663 Cadence Design Systems FAX: 408-894-3400 2655 Seely Ave, Bldg 6, MS 6B1 Pager: 888-853-8860 San Jose, CA 95134 email: kcash@cadence.com =========================================================================