Author Topic: The great/rubbish light debacle... (Read 27317 times)

richfzs · « **Reply #75 on:** 11 August 2014, 09:01:58 am »

C'mon darrsi, you know better than that - do not feed the troll

dcurzon · « **Reply #76 on:** 11 August 2014, 10:21:21 am »

Quote from: keratos on 10 August 2014, 10:07:55 pm

Clearly a nonsense thread and a 'idiots guide' ... Literally. End of

Not entirely sure what you trying to say here buddy... Nonsense thread? Hmmm... one of the biggest gripes i read about is the poor (actually, dangerous) stock headlights on the boxeye. So does someone actually getting off his arse to do something about them make this nonsense? I dont know. I do know that the nights will be drawing in soon enough, and i'll be able to see where i'm going, without having to rely on tailgating a vehicle that has decent headlights

richfzs · « **Reply #77 on:** 11 August 2014, 10:38:37 am »

C'mon dcurzon, you know better than that - do not feed the troll

keratos · « **Reply #78 on:** 11 August 2014, 07:14:30 pm »

I meant.... if it isn't a legal modification (in relation to roadworthiness) then the price tag is a hefty one that can be added to a fixed penalty and points endorsement on ones licence not to mention the potential to affect law abiding road users. Only an idiot would thus implement this mod or... Are we now recommending members ride illegally and potentially affect other road users by means of unroadworthy modifications.. This hasn't even considered insurance company views. And if this is trolling then you arguably only serve to demonstrate to others Your disregard and maturity on what is a serious issue. I've been on the wrong end of boy racer HID car upgrades and spent a week in the local health authority hotel !. All I was asking us for the name and contact number of the MOT centre that deemed this roadworthy. It's not just about your safety but also the safety of other road users who may find themselves on the wrong side of these wonderful and exciting illuminations.
Of on the other hand VOSA/DVSA accepted this through their test then all is well. But there is no evidence of this yet and to my mind I feel the danger side of this mod needed to be brought out although referring to individuals implementing this as idiots may on reflection been harsh without providing the rationale, which I have now done and using my own experience of these ...'great mods'. Please be careful and considerate when modifying and always think safety!
By the way my lights with osram EU and CE approved bulbs are adequate. I have no problem.. nor do other road users . could be better though but we are taking a 14 yr old bike so the performance is upto 2014 standards albeit legal which is more than the emissions output was in 2003

I just got a sweet spot around all safety issues - I work in a safety engineering - organisation and naturally think of safety, and how our actions can impact on the safety of others - that's all.
Off soap box

darrsi · « **Reply #79 on:** 11 August 2014, 09:36:45 pm »

"Don't shoot the messenger!"

Wouter · « **Reply #80 on:** 13 August 2014, 09:05:49 pm »

Quote from: dcurzon on 31 May 2014, 01:35:54 pm

I've just spent a couple of hours fitting Wouter's loom, it's made it a much neater install.Relay bolted to the horn mount on the left, with the trigger connected to the left light fitting.I put the ballasts behind the battery section and ran the extension cables nicely under the tank. 12v feed for high beam taken from the rhs light fitting.Job jobbed! I've lost the 'flash to pass', unless the lights are switched on anyway (they usually are), but has made a nicer install and a better power source, and I now have dual high beam.Will grab some video footage tonight when it gets dark.Wouter - some feedback for you - make the ballast to bulb extensions 12" longer then the ballasts would comfortably fit in the luggage section under the seat. Also, the H1 bulb used by the fazer seems to have a h4 or h7 connector (not sure which) so I had to make a connection rather then plug n play.

Thanks for the feedback Darren! Will definitely add that length, we're having a new batch manufactured pretty soon. You're right about the connectors. Most bikes use H7 bulbs, at this time we only have H7 connectors on the wire harnesses, but in the future we will also add other connectors, or adapters to our product line.

Quote from: keratos on 11 August 2014, 07:14:30 pm

I meant.... if it isn't a legal modification (in relation to roadworthiness) then the price tag is a hefty one that can be added to a fixed penalty and points endorsement on ones licence not to mention the potential to affect law abiding road users. Only an idiot would thus implement this mod or... Are we now recommending members ride illegally and potentially affect other road users by means of unroadworthy modifications.. This hasn't even considered insurance company views. And if this is trolling then you arguably only serve to demonstrate to others Your disregard and maturity on what is a serious issue. I've been on the wrong end of boy racer HID car upgrades and spent a week in the local health authority hotel !. All I was asking us for the name and contact number of the MOT centre that deemed this roadworthy. It's not just about your safety but also the safety of other road users who may find themselves on the wrong side of these wonderful and exciting illuminations.
Of on the other hand VOSA/DVSA accepted this through their test then all is well. But there is no evidence of this yet and to my mind I feel the danger side of this mod needed to be brought out although referring to individuals implementing this as idiots may on reflection been harsh without providing the rationale, which I have now done and using my own experience of these ...'great mods'. Please be careful and considerate when modifying and always think safety!
By the way my lights with osram EU and CE approved bulbs are adequate. I have no problem.. nor do other road users . could be better though but we are taking a 14 yr old bike so the performance is upto 2014 standards albeit legal which is more than the emissions output was in 2003

I just got a sweet spot around all safety issues - I work in a safety engineering - organisation and naturally think of safety, and how our actions can impact on the safety of others - that's all.
Off soap box

I'm not exactly sure what UK rules are, so can't really argue on that one. Here in the Netherlands it's no problem to have aftermarket xenon in your motorcycle, even if you do it the wrong way: xenon bulbs in halogen reflectors.

From your experience, I can really understand that you think these kind of 'great mods' is dangerous for other traffic. But in fact, this (projectors) is the only correct way to perform a xenon upgrade. If you would spend some time to study the characteristics of light sources, halogen and xenons, you would find out that these projectors generate the perfect beam pattern since they are designed for a xenon light source. There is absolutely no glare, making it 100% safe for other traffic.
Of course there are the authorities who might not like it, but are speaking from the same experience you probably have: xenon bulbs in headlights designed for a completely different light source. In fact I'm 100% sure that if these authorities would really take a proper look at beam patterns etcetera, they would have to conclude that there is nothing wrong with an upgrade like this. But the "boy racer HID car upgrades" (I like the way you put it

) made things complicated.

Anyway. This evening I finished the video, uploaded it to Youtube, and the kit is available for order now on our website!

Yamaha FZS600 Fazer Bi-xenon retroquick kit


Yamaha FZS600 Fazer bad headlight fix (Bi-xenon projector kit)

MarkWales · « **Reply #81 on:** 17 August 2014, 11:35:39 pm »

Great video

darrsi · « **Reply #82 on:** 18 August 2014, 06:43:17 am »

Is it just me or does anyone else have the same feeling that "something" is gonna foc up if i attempt to do this, whether it be breaking one of those little clips that need taking out with pliers, or just having trouble removing the sealed headlight unit?

I get the impression it's worth buying a used headlight unit to work on so you can take your time and at least have your bike in working condition, then when all is well sell your old headlights on for the next person to try on, if they're in good enough nick.

Wouter · « **Reply #83 on:** 18 August 2014, 02:28:09 pm »

Those plastic clips will not break very quickly, pretty good quality material.

But of course you could try it with a spare headlight. After finishing the headlight you can sell your original headlight, so you'll have no extra costs

darrsi · « **Reply #84 on:** 18 August 2014, 03:05:57 pm »

Quote from: Wouter on 18 August 2014, 02:28:09 pm

Those plastic clips will not break very quickly, pretty good quality material.

But of course you could try it with a spare headlight. After finishing the headlight you can sell your original headlight, so you'll have no extra costs

It's just things like the heat gun (i presume) for instance which most people aren't gonna have to hand..
The video's great and really informative, but i sense that it wasn't their very first attempt at it, which for everyone else it would be.

Wouter · « **Reply #85 on:** 18 August 2014, 03:33:54 pm »

That's right, we've done it a lot of times. If you do not have a heatgun, you can use your oven as well. Yes I would say that for 95% of our customers it's their first time opening a headlight, and I can tell you that a lot of people have succesfully opened and retrofitted headlights which are a lot harder than this headlight. This one really is not so hard.
If you want you can also send us your headlight and we can perform the retrofit for you completely. http://www.retrofitlab.com/retrofit-service.html

darrsi · « **Reply #86 on:** 18 August 2014, 08:32:48 pm »

Quote from: Wouter on 18 August 2014, 03:33:54 pm

That's right, we've done it a lot of times. If you do not have a heatgun, you can use your oven as well. Yes I would say that for 95% of our customers it's their first time opening a headlight, and I can tell you that a lot of people have succesfully opened and retrofitted headlights which are a lot harder than this headlight. This one really is not so hard.
If you want you can also send us your headlight and we can perform the retrofit for you completely. http://www.retrofitlab.com/retrofit-service.html

I was wondering if there was that option, that's good to know, thanks.

adeejaysdelight · « **Reply #87 on:** 18 August 2014, 10:22:28 pm »

Quality video. Great, if you have the money...

Cheap option.

Yesterday I baked my headlight unit in the oven (20 minutes at 70 degrees C). I did this a couple of years ago, but this time I was fitting 10k HiD units upon reassembly. I also sealed the unit to stop any water ingress. I have not had it out on the road yet, but its working

Here is a couple of pictures.

darrsi · « **Reply #88 on:** 19 August 2014, 01:03:53 am »

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, more realistic, i can just imagine some people having a headlight chocolate cake and thinking "Oh foc!"

darrsi · « **Reply #89 on:** 19 August 2014, 02:39:28 am »

More impressive pictures though......it's gonna have to be done.

adeejaysdelight · « **Reply #90 on:** 19 August 2014, 11:31:10 am »

Quote from: darrsi on 19 August 2014, 01:03:53 am

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, more realistic, i can just imagine some people having a headlight chocolate cake and thinking "Oh foc!"

Unless your a chef, use a timer. I can't stress this enough. An independent thermostat too.The one built in to the oven won't even be close.

darrsi · « **Reply #91 on:** 19 August 2014, 12:34:05 pm »

Quote from: adeejaysdelight on 19 August 2014, 11:31:10 am

Quote from: darrsi on 19 August 2014, 01:03:53 am
I don't mean to sound pessimistic, more realistic, i can just imagine some people having a headlight chocolate cake and thinking "Oh foc!"

Unless your a chef, use a timer. I can't stress this enough. An independent thermostat too.The one built in to the oven won't even be close.

Noted, cheers fella.

apage16 · « **Reply #92 on:** 22 October 2014, 08:13:20 am »

Anyone having reservations about baking their headlight, check this out.

I know it works, because i made it!

Incidentally, another great mod is to uprate and shorten your headlight wiring, and then use relays being tripped by the original wiring to turn the lights on.

Apparently a 10% voltage drop from battery to light can cause as much as 30% reduction in brightness.

I checked my setup out before and after this mod and I was getting just over 11V at the headlight. 3V lost!! It's because the thin, poor quality wiring needs to go from the battery, to the switches on the handlebars, back to the loom and then out to the headlights. And then BACK again!

So I wacked a big fat cable (Slightly smaller than the main battery cables, I wanted headroom for extra lighting!) from the battery (via a 30A Maxi Fuse) to the front fusebox. In there I had 2 relays which, through various routings, mimic the operating of the standard setup, and then carried 2 more not so fat (but still way fatter than standard) cables to the headlights. The relays are operated by the original lighting wiring that comes from the switchgear. But these crappy thin, corroded old wires no longer carry any real power.

Now, the headlights are getting a healthy 13.9V!! QUITE an improvement. So now my Osram Nightbreaker plus bulbs are running at FULL capacity and they are a lot brighter than with stock wiring. And to make sure, I popped on a spotlight between the forks with another nightbreaker in it!

You can see in this video that when it gets totally dark, I can actually see. And this is after I've gotten rid of the HID Projector headlight for EU reasons.

Skip forward to 14:45 if you just want to see the headlights in the dark.

http://youtu.be/5TzYfKdm8SQ

pilgo · « **Reply #93 on:** 22 October 2014, 07:12:23 pm »

thought your'd sold the Fazer mr page ?

apage16 · « **Reply #94 on:** 22 October 2014, 07:37:47 pm »

Sadly, yes. But I've got shed loads of footage backlog from the good times! Plus the existing videos serve as a reminder of when I was happy!

useless.anguish · « **Reply #95 on:** 25 October 2014, 04:21:27 pm »

I've got Andy's old bike "Polly" now and she's a dream. The lights are absolutely superb!

apage16 · « **Reply #96 on:** 25 October 2014, 04:30:35 pm »

Hello David!

Glad to hear she's serving well! Unless you've changed the bulbs since you took her away from me, then a set of nightbreaker unlimited or Phillips extreme vision will yield yet further lighting improvements. I was sadly too poor/tight to replace like for like when the bulbs last went!

Keep her shiny!