Author Topic: Very poor headlights. (Read 7185 times)

taurus66 · « **on:** 25 September 2013, 06:24:37 pm »

Evening fellow riders.

I have a Fazer with shit headlights... To pt it simply.. they are the worst headlights i have ever seen on a bike. I have changed the low beam from a 55w to 100w and the other from 60/55W to 100/90w and a 125 still has better lights at night. The earths apprear to be solid and soundly ground.
Are these headlights as piss poor as this or is there a remedy for this.

ChristoT · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 September 2013, 06:52:02 pm »

Quote from: taurus66 on 25 September 2013, 06:24:37 pm

Evening fellow riders.

I have a Fazer with shit headlights... To pt it simply.. they are the worst headlights i have ever seen on a bike. I have changed the low beam from a 55w to 100w and the other from 60/55W to 100/90w and a 125 still has better lights at night. The earths apprear to be solid and soundly ground.
Are these headlights as piss poor as this or is there a remedy for this.

Piss poor.

limax2 · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 September 2013, 06:56:33 pm »

Yes they are poor and yes mods are possible.
Click on "Articles" at top of page and then under FZS600 is a very good illustrated description of how to get both lights on with dip beam. It does nothing to help when on main beam though. For that do a search on the forum to see what others have done.
Other owners will be along soon to give suggestions.

Fazerider · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 September 2013, 07:11:59 pm »

With 100W bulbs you not only risk damage to the switchgear but the extra heat will damage the reflectors.
Good quality bulbs of the correct wattage together the modification to enable the right hand dip filament to work will improve the light to adequate levels (assuming your diet includes plenty of carrots).

Punkstig · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 September 2013, 07:19:14 pm »

Quote from: Fazerider on 25 September 2013, 07:11:59 pm

With 100W bulbs you not only risk damage to the switchgear but the extra heat will damage the reflectors.
Good quality bulbs of the correct wattage together the modification to enable the right hand dip filament to work will improve the light to adequate levels (assuming your diet includes plenty of carrots).

Yep, you're going to end up melting the shitty reflector making your shitty lights even shittier!

taurus66 · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 September 2013, 07:19:41 pm »

Thanks for passing the info along. The higher wattage bulb were to see if anything improved.. But sadly not. The mod seems simple enough.. But for life of me why would Yamaha wire this up so that the lighting was insufficient.. Totally spoils an otherwise cracking bike..

Punkstig · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 September 2013, 09:37:18 pm »

Don't get your hopes up, although the twin light mod helps moths will still flock to a candle quicker!

Geordi Sussex · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 September 2013, 10:25:24 pm »

Ive just got a pair of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Brighter-Upgrade-Headlight-Headlamp/dp/B005ZSS7UM

going to install them at the weekend
Apparently the draw is the same
its just the gas that make it burn brighter

I have been recomended i change the plastic plugs to ceramic ones

Fazerider · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 September 2013, 12:08:13 am »

The brighter 55/60W bulbs are that way because they use a slightly smaller filament so it runs at a higher temperature. There are two downsides to this, firstly the lifetime is reduced... they can compensate to some extent by fine-tuning the gas mixture in the bulb.
The second thing to bear in mind is that the higher the filament temperature, the more UV gets produced. The brightest ones may, if the envelope doesn't include a suitable filter, affect plastic lenses. I don't know about those Ring bulbs, make sure they're "plastic safe" or you might find your lenses turning brown.

Dead Eye · « **Reply #9 on:** 26 September 2013, 09:50:18 am »

I've recently fitted some Osram Nightbreaker bulbs after recommendations on here and they are a huge improvement - I could actually see where I was going the other night on the A420... that was until the fog reduced visibility to about 20ft on the M4... not fun...

loadeddice · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 September 2013, 11:22:07 am »

I've just noticed this thread as I've only recently joined up. My MOT tester suggested HID. Is there any reason it not an option? Can dual beam types be used?
Someone somewhere, also suggested cleaning the lenses.

Fazerider · « **Reply #11 on:** 26 September 2013, 12:34:20 pm »

Quote from: loadeddice on 26 September 2013, 11:22:07 am

... My MOT tester suggested HID. Is there any reason it not an option?

That's rich, your MOT tester should be failing bikes with HIDs. They're not legal, simple reason is they're too bright so can cause dazzle. They're legal on cars with self levelling headlights, bikes don't have these and have a shorter wheelbase so pitch more over bumps... they also bank to go round corners so a self levelling headlight that could correct for that would also be needed.

loadeddice · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 September 2013, 04:22:04 pm »

Hmmm, maybe I should stop by & ask the MOT fella again. I recall he looked up HID, I believe on the DVLA site whilst I was waiting. He then confirmed he could see nothing from the DVLA that indicated HID, on bikes, was not legal.......?? Most confusing!

richfzs · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 September 2013, 05:35:23 pm »

There have certainly been more than a few people on here, one of whom I believe is a mot tester himself, saying that while retrofit hids are illegal on cars, the same doesn't apply to bikes...

Fazerider · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 September 2013, 07:56:05 pm »

Gawd. I think you are right.
I was sure they'd brought in strict requirements last year specifying self-levelling systems, but all I can find on the DVLA site is "where fitted, the self-levelling system must work", i.e. if your vehicle doesn't have one it doesn't matter and you can have anything you like in there... and there is nothing new referring to motorcycles.
I was also certain that there was a maximum power limit on headlight bulbs, hence all those "not for road use" warnings on ebay listings for 100w bulbs... can't find anything in the MOT inspection manual for those either.
I think it's stupidly lax, no wonder I keep getting dazzled (as a shift worker, half my riding is at night). I certainly wouldn't fit them myself, I'm sure that it would only be a matter of time before I'd be part way round a left-hand bend and meet a little old lady in need of a cataract operation coming the other way.

Punkstig · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 September 2013, 08:08:54 pm »

The important thing with HID lights or the projector lights is to keep the lense clean, although the reflector aims the beam direction a dirty lense can affect the dispersion of the light!

otis · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 September 2013, 10:05:17 pm »

HID is the way to go, I went down the route of upgraded bulb and all were shit. Fitted HID kit and wow I can see the road and more. I live in a very rural area where 90% of riding is without street lights.
I happen to have a new HID kit for the Fazer for sale, 1 H4 & 1 H7 plug and play

Frosties · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 September 2013, 11:37:56 pm »

Quote from: Dead Eye on 26 September 2013, 09:50:18 am

I've recently fitted some Osram Nightbreaker bulbs after recommendations on here and they are a huge improvement - I could actually see where I was going the other night on the A420... that was until the fog reduced visibility to about 20ft on the M4... not fun...

Totally agree with above - transformed my bike to nearly the same as my Tiger.

For a max £20 outlay for new bulbs with the headlamp mod, it's got to be worth a try before forking out for a full HID setup. Just saying!

Punkstig · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 September 2013, 11:48:34 am »

Quote from: Frosties on 27 September 2013, 11:37:56 pm

Quote from: Dead Eye on 26 September 2013, 09:50:18 am
I've recently fitted some Osram Nightbreaker bulbs after recommendations on here and they are a huge improvement - I could actually see where I was going the other night on the A420... that was until the fog reduced visibility to about 20ft on the M4... not fun...

Totally agree with above - transformed my bike to nearly the same as my Tiger.

For a max £20 outlay for new bulbs with the headlamp mod, it's got to be worth a try before forking out for a full HID setup. Just saying!

It's only a couple of quid extra for the HID'S off eBay, and personally I've had no problems with the cheap ones.
One thing to look out for however is to make sure the kit being ordered is full HID as there's a lot out there that have a twin bulb system where the dipped light is actually a normal bulb and the high beam is the HID which is nearly pointless for the Boxeye .
You could quite happily only buy a 1 bulb system for the right hand side and still do the dual headlight mod, this makes it cheaper than buying 2 seperate HID'S!

otis · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 September 2013, 06:20:05 pm »

For a max £20 outlay for new bulbs with the headlamp mod, it's got to be worth a try before forking out for a full HID setup. Just saying!

My full HID kit is new and will do the dip and main lights, one H4 & one H7 £30 including p&p

anzacinexile · « **Reply #20 on:** 29 September 2013, 12:52:43 pm »

Problems with simple HID bulbs is the warm up time. Not an issue with the dip beam because its on all the time but for high beam, there's an appreciable delay before you get full brightness.

I fitted projectors with mechanical shutters. Both on all the time but no delay between dip and main and BTY, HID's on bikes IS legal