Today's "What Gets My Goat" - NO POLITICS!

[BBROWN1664]

Just to be clear I am talking left and right as sitting on the bike

So was I

I always thought the continental units were exactly the same and it was just in this country we only used the left kerb side light and over there they only used the right -their kerbside light and in each case the light is biased to the kerb. Cars are the same and that is why a car sitting on the right (your left ) looks brighter cause the lights are pointing to the left and now at you.
I might be getting confused 

you are confused. they use the left bulb for dipped just like we do. the reason it looks brighter is because it was never meant to be a dipped bulb in there which is why it is not cabled up from the factory.