Headlight bulbs? What to use.

ab-buff

ab-buff

Joined
Mar 10, 2025
Messages
6
Age
71
Location
Tracy California
Bike
2004 ST1300
Hi, I bought some Sylvania bulbs on Amazon thinking that they would be great. They did not fit. The metal tabs were a different spacing. I would like to put the brightest best bulbs possible for night riding. I’d like them as bright as possible. Any recommendations?
 
Assuming that you are asking about your ST1300, other than the specific Honda OEM bulbs any H4 automotive bulb of your choice will fit. The two lower tabs need to be cut off to allow them to seat in the housing correctly.

LED bulbs will give you the most light at the cheapest price with added bonus of consuming much less power than halogen bulbs.
 
Interesting, this is what I bought you can see the picture below the two bottom tabs or index incorrectly. I don’t know if these are better than what I have in there now. The bike is new to me. I have not driven it in the night I hi, I have no idea how long these bulbs have been in there But for the last week I’ve been going through this motorcycle. Took it all the way down check valve clearances replaced disc brake pads, drained brakes and flushed with new fluids, new radiator coolant and a whole bunch of other stuff I guess. Anyway it’s starting to go back together. So I’m assuming there’s bulbs could have been in there for a very long time they are Phillips halogen 45/45 W bulbs.
Anyway, so you’re saying just cut the tabs off those? Or should I buy something different. I really want something bright so I’m visible and I can see. I’m old. I need as much light as I can get.
 
I would not use those. They draw more power and create more heat than the original bulbs and provide less light than LED bulbs. They are at limit of how much I want to push the headlight wiring.

I installed the below just an example to give you an idea.

ST1300 LED Headlight Bulbs? | ST1300 Related

Would these work? H4 Led Bulbs | Led Bulbs For Car | Cougar Motor – cougar motor (cougar-motor.com)
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
Last edited:
Cut the lower tabs off and go. The 60/55W Hi/Lo will be a nice improvement over the OEM 45/45W. Except for the US, Honda uses 55/60W bulbs as standard in other markets. The US DOT requires there be no more than 90W in single housing. Honda made those goofy bulbs with different tab locations for OEM compliance reasons.
 
Below is a post that details what tabs need to be cut off of a standard H4/9003 automotive bulb so that it will fit in to the ST1300 headlamp housing properly. It also explains why.

Headlight LED -- F2 vs F3 vs NB35 | Lighting / Visibility

Are the F2 bulbs you linked to above plug/play replacements for the stock bulbs? No, not a direct plug and play. The two lower alignment tabs must be cut off so these will fit in to an ST1300 reflector. Other than that very minor detail, the rest is plug and play.
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
I think the factory bulbs for the NA 1300 are Stanley 45/45W.

You can use those Ultras using the simple mod mentioned above. I used 55/60W bulbs for a couple years no issue. You'll see a substantial increase in vision. I also run my high beam on during daylight hours. I've never suffered a wiring failure do to the current extra draw.

That said I gave my 55/60s to a friend and moved on to LED bulbs. The two bottom tabs were removed and they fit well. On some bulbs the tabs are so thin they can be bent back to provide some stability for the bulb while closing the bale. LED bulbs provided much more illumination over the 55/60s than the 55/60s did over the 45/45s. As mentioned the LED bulbs draw much less heat than the 45/45s let alone the 55/60s.

With what I know now compared to then I'd return those incans if possible. Then I'd get some LED bulbs and mod them and ride happily ever after. If I couldn't return them I'd still not us them and get some LED bulbs.
 
I just installed these:
Seems much brighter than the Eviteks I had previously and much quieter--I can actually hear the fuel pump now. The thicker base does make it a little more difficult to close the wire bail. Have only had a chance to drive once at night, but it seems I can see further down the road,.
 
Re: The Terminator LED bulbs.

From the photos the source of the heat and the cooling fan appear to both be inside the headlamp housing. The cooling is being done by recirculating the hot air drawn away from the bulbs. On a hot day with the sun shining in to the housing and after having the lights on for several hours I wonder how hot it gets inside the housing and if that has any effect on the bulbs.
 
Here in UK these are a straight swap for the original bulbs. They don't have the non-standard tabs as required in the US Honda headlight but they work well. I don't know how easy it would be to buy them from USA but, perhaps there is a supplier/stockist there?
www.classiccarleds.co.uk

Pair of Compact H4 P43T 472 Hi / Lo Beam LED Upgrade Bulbs

This is a pair of top quality compact, H4 LED headlights made with the latest CSP chips and produce a clean white focused light with no glare and a very well defined beam that replicates the low and main beam pattern of a standard H4 halogen bulb. Each LED has 16 x CSP chips on it making them...
www.classiccarleds.co.uk
 
Andrew Shadow said:
Re: The Terminator LED bulbs.

From the photos the source of the heat and the cooling fan appear to both be inside the headlamp housing. The cooling is being done by recirculating the hot air drawn away from the bulbs. On a hot day with the sun shining in to the housing and after having the lights on for several hours I wonder how hot it gets inside the housing and if that has any effect on the bulbs.
Click to expand...
I guess we'll find out.
 
Just a question. I got our 1991 ten years back near the end of July, our 1300 five years back....my brother had it for three years, he bought it at a bargain because it had been on the dealer's floor for two years.
History lesson over.
ALL the bulbs are original, to us at least. All still performing their little jobs. My spares are still collecting dust.
Anyone else have this experience?
 
Oldbikefixr said:
Just a question. I got our 1991 ten years back near the end of July, our 1300 five years back....my brother had it for three years, he bought it at a bargain because it had been on the dealer's floor for two years.
History lesson over.
ALL the bulbs are original, to us at least. All still performing their little jobs. My spares are still collecting dust.
Anyone else have this experience?
Click to expand...

For the most part a regular bulb lasts a long time. I think the main reason for changing to LED is to increase visibility. My old Kawi also suffered from a low output alternator, so swapping to LED's gave me extra wattage for my driving lights, charging ports etc.
 
Replaced the LEDs in the car with incandescent bulbs, two reasons, one of the lamps the fan died causing the lamp to shut down. Reason number two, price $30 for incandescent bulbs versus $100 for the LEDs. Yes the LEDs were way brighter than halogen, but I found they make spotting pot holes and bumps difficult. So looking for a affordable LED light with no fans.
 
Obo said:
For the most part a regular bulb lasts a long time. I think the main reason for changing to LED is to increase visibility. My old Kawi also suffered from a low output alternator, so swapping to LED's gave me extra wattage for my driving lights, charging ports etc.
Click to expand...

Yep. spot on. I've got these fitted to all three of my 1100s.

www.auxito.com

H4 LED Headlight Bulb Motorcycle, 9003 HB2 LED Light 6000K White for High and Low Hi/Lo Beam 1860 CSP LED Chips

9003 LED bulb motorcycle is 200% brighter than halogen bulb. No dark spots, can see wider and farther. Motorcycle H4/HB2 LED bulb is wireless design, no external driver or connector, plug and play.
www.auxito.com www.auxito.com

On all of them for better lighting... and they do just that :) and are a straight replacement fit fot the OEM H4s . But also on the 1990 solo with the original 28 amp alt they also reduce the load, and on the outfit again to improve lighting but also to reduce the load given the sidecar items (radio/speakers/lights etc) plus trailer lights when it's fitted .

I'm also very aware about the impact of 'brighter' auto lights... never been flashed or moaned about and my wife has driven in front of me and said whilst she could see white light, they were not dazzling.
 
If you want bright, you have to swap to LEDs. You can buy the greatest, most expensive halogen bulbs on the market and they will never be as bright as the cheapest LEDs. Second, the LEDs will draw a fraction of the electricity of the halogens saving your alternator and battery. Third LEDs will outlast halogen many times over. And another point, if halogens are so great then why is everything automotive converting to LEDs....just sayin.

One of the first thing I did was swap every bulb on my bike to LEDs. The blinkers/driving lights are white until you turn the blinkers on then they flash amber. I purchased the headlights from www.superbrightleds.com It did take a little, and I do mean very little modifications to install them. I would go more into detail but its been so long ago I can't remember exactly what was involved. (If memory serves it was trimming the rubber)




1742914093000.jpeg
 
13ST1300PA said:
I would go more into detail but its been so long ago I can't remember exactly what was involved. (If memory serves it was trimming the rubber)
Click to expand...

The rear bulbs are straight LED swaps. Old out, new in.
The front running/turns need a switchback bulb (white & amber) as well as clear lenses to replace the OEM ones. Those clear lenses needed just a bit of cleanup with a razor blade where the bulbs go in, due to the mould being poor and the plastic a bit thinner.
You also need to replace the flasher relay with a digital one or the LED's will flash too fast.
For the front "peanut" bulbs in the headlight, make sure they are not any wider than the OEM bulb, or they won't fit.
Last bit of advice is to ensure the switchbacks for the front turns are not too long, or they won't fit.
 
True, the rear LED bulbs are a direct replacement for the halogens. So were the peanut bulbs. old out, new in.
I didn't have to do any "trimming" to get the new bulbs in the clear replacement housings. Everything went together like factory, direct replacement. Everything fit perfect.
The LED bulbs in the blinkers are longer than the halogens, as you can see the end if the bulbs through the front of the blinkers but they don't touch so no issue there. plemty of clearance.
The factory flasher is still installed on my bike, never changed, and no they don't blink any faster than the halogens did. Just buy the bulbs with the resister made in the bulb.
 
13ST1300PA said:
True, the rear LED bulbs are a direct replacement for the halogens. So were the peanut bulbs. old out, new in.
I didn't have to do any "trimming" to get the new bulbs in the clear replacement housings. Everything went together like factory, direct replacement. Everything fit perfect.
The LED bulbs in the blinkers are longer than the halogens, as you can see the end if the bulbs through the front of the blinkers but they don't touch so no issue there. plemty of clearance.
The factory flasher is still installed on my bike, never changed, and no they don't blink any faster than the halogens did. Just buy the bulbs with the resister made in the bulb.
Click to expand...

Bulbs with resistors give you brightness, but don't save any power. The resistors use up that extra power savings to make the bike think it's got regular bulbs in them.
As for the switchbacks, you can get ones that are too long. It's happened to others here. Mine are right up against the lens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom