new HEADLIGHT but now only 1 light in front !!

[FLATSIX]

I have a '97 standard European version - they have a glass headlight(no plastic) with 1 bulb H4 for low and high beam and 1 small bulb 4W just beneeth the H4.

When I bought my Baby new the mirror never was shiny, always a little muddy, should have gone back in warranty but I didn't.

Now finally after 12 years I have bought the bright glass (=plastic !) of the US-version : but to my great surpris there is only 1 hole in it for the H4-bulb, I had to disconnect the small 4W-bulb because I cannot mount it anymore !!!

This means that now when I am riding , I have on the front only 1 bulb that shines- when this one gets broken then I have no clearance at all.  At daylight I will not even see it that I am without light at the front.

ANY SUGGESTIONS TO USE THAT WIRE OF THE 4W-BULB BY CONNECTING 2 SMALL LAMPS AT THE FRONT. ???

The wire will not be thick enough (ir is he??) to connect more wattage then 4-5W ????

Thanks for your bright ideas.......

[BF]

Nope.  But most people add extra lighting such as a light bar that adds two extra headlights or add a set of running lights to your engine guard.  If you add both of those options, you'll light up the night even if your headlight burns out. 

[FLATSIX]

If you have examples of additional lights for the front - can you show them to me - I need some ideas, must be nice too !!!

The ideal solution would be 2 LED-lights , that way I simply connect the wires with the standard wires in my headlight that where connected to the small 4W-bulb.



 

[BF]

This is my light bar. Got it here.......

http://www.directlineparts.com/product.asp?pid=2403&str=2





If you look at the lower end of the sides of the radiator, you'll see a black running light.  It's a PIAA light (google it).  It's screwed on the side of the radiator chrome...I don't really like it there and plan on moving it out to the motor guard at a later date.  The black running lights were already on the bike when I bought it.  The lightbar, I put on my self.  It was easy.  They have easy to follow instructions included in the kit.

[FLATSIX]

It is more something like your small black running light that I look for.  The light bar is nice, but I ride 99,9% without the windshield, and do find it nice when windshield on , but not with it off.

The additional lamps I intend to place somewhere in the middle of the left and right front forks. But I need to see an exampe on photo of a member before I do it- now my LADY is exactly like I wished her, and don't want to spoil her look.....

[Brad]

This means that now when I am riding , I have on the front only 1 bulb that shines- when this one gets broken then I have no clearance at all.  At daylight I will not even see it that I am without light at the front.

What is the purpose of the 4w bulb.  Usually when the headlamp goes out it is just the low beam.  You still have the high beam to get you where your going.  I can't see where the 4w bulb would give enough light to see or be seen.

[FLATSIX]

Don't you have citylights in the States?  Here in each car, motorcycle etc. the frontlamps are equipped with 1 bulb for high/low beam and ALWAYS a small "citylight" or "parklicht" .

You are right about the light, when lowbeam of the H4-bulb gives up, then I can use the high-beam in that same bulb.  But only at night, in daylight I will not notice that I am driving without a lamp. With the samll 4W-bulb you have still a small light reflecting in those very shining US-mirrors.

Anyway, the law here requires that you have parklights - that must be the same in US, don't you have also small lamps which are always on when you switch headlight on ? I thought in your blinkers ??

[Brad]

your right, the front turn signals also act as a running light.  I usually notice that my headlamp is burned out when I stop at a light or stop sign and I don't see a reflection off the car or van in front of me.  I don't have a problem running the high beam during day light hours to help cars see me.  At night it pisses people off but it is better than running dark.  Here in the states many of the auto part stores are open till late at night and in some areas they have 24 hour part stores so getting a new bulb is easy.

[FLATSIX]

Yes, brad, but now in my case I lost the small light and I want to get it back by adding some small lights at the front and connecting them to the existing wire of thzt small 4 or 5W-bulb that I could not mount anylonger because I have put the US-Glass in it.

Here our turn signals only act as turnsignals, no additional lights - these additional lights that you Americans have in their turn signals, is replaced here in Europe by that small bulb 4W.

IF YOU HAVE PICTURES OF YOUR BIKE-LAMP REALISATIONS - please post them so that I can see and choose the best fir for my machine !!

[Madmike]

http://www.adjureinc.com/lighting1.html

These guys have lots of stuff, there is a seller on E-Bay that sells some of teh various Adjure lights as seconds at a discount

http://stores.shop.ebay.ca/Snappylights__W0QQ_armrsZ1

[junior]

how about this flatsix?

or are they to big for what you want to do?

[John U.]

Flatsix, you should use the low wattage wire to trigger a relay. Run a seperate hot wire to whatever lights you decide on. The relay can be mounted to one of the bolts in the headlight bucket. That way the lights will not create a draw on the battery until the bike is running, and the relay will reduce the load on your starter switch. You should hook the main headlight bulb to two relays, for high and low beams. Interstates come wired that way on the US models but not on the Standards and Tourers. Yours may be different.

[FLATSIX]

JUNIOR, I have been thinking about your solution, but I have o place + a little too big.

Here is like the Lady is now, here I must add 2 nice lamps as I don't want to disturb the look that she has now.




Dear JOHN U., about that putting relays - I don't know nothing about electricity, so what you are teling me is a bit of Chinese to me. But I thought that when putting relay the feeding of that relay should be a thick wire coming from the battery - when I put a relay on that thin wire from the small bulb, what do I gain???

[Madmike]

""But I thought that when putting relay the feeding of that relay should be a thick wire coming from the battery - when I put a relay on that thin wire from the small bulb, what do I gain???"

A relay is an electrically controlled switch.  It will usually have 4 wires.  Imagine it as 2 separate circuits.  One circuit is the control circuit.  The other circuit is the load circuit.  The control circuit is used to open and close the switch.  The load circuit carries the electrical load.

You use the thin wire that was originally for you 5W bulb as the control wire to turn the relay on and off, and you run a separate heavier wire from the battery to a fuse and then to the relay and then from the relay to your load (in this case the new lights that you are asking about).  The existing circuit willonly have the load of teh control of teh relay.  The electrical load of the lights will be on the main circuit wiring that you will have to install and which should be sized according to the amperage draw of the lights that you select.  If you put in 2 lights that each have 100 watt bulbs in them you will require heavier wiring than if you install 2 lights with 16 watt bulbs.

The advantage of a relay is that you are running low amperage amounts (small loads) through your switches and control circuits so can run smaller wiring to your dash and controls, the lighter loads on the switches mean there is less arcing when the switches open and close.


"here I must add 2 nice lamps as I don't want to disturb the look that she has now."

If you don't want to change the appearance of your bike can you make the front signals into clearance (marker) lights like the North American bikes have?  

Do you have an electrical schematic of the European bikes that you can compare to the electrical schematic for the North American bikes and see if the turn signal switches are the same?  

Alternatively, you could take the lenses off of the turn signals and see if they have 3 wires on the sockets for the bulbs.  Also check the front end - likely in the headlight bucket to see if there is an (orange wire with a white tracer) and a (blue wire with a white tracer) that are not hooked to anything as these are the wires that the North American bikes use for the front markers.  These wires may be in the harness and just left unhooked for the various countries that don't use front markers.

Do you know what colour the wire that was for your 5W front light is??  It would be interesting to look and see if that wire is on the NA bikes and just tucked into the headlight bucket.

[FLATSIX]

Do you know what colour the wire that was for your 5W front light is??  It would be interesting to look and see if that wire is on the NA bikes and just tucked into the headlight bucket

The one is green (grassgreen) and the other is brown.

When I put lights with more Watts, then I will do like you said : install relay and fuse, then take the thinner wires to open and close the circuit. Thanks for your explaination - I understood it very clear 

Another question :  I have installed the new US glass and the horizontal beam is O.K., but vertically I adjusted till the low beam reaches +/- 30 m (100 feet).  My car goes much further in distance with the low beam.

HOW IS IT DONE WITH MOTORCYCLES TO ADJUST THE LOW AND HIGH BEAM ?

[Madmike]

Did you check for the running light wires in teh front?? 

The Green wires run to ground. 

If the wires are in your headlight bucket for the NA application (they come from the turn signal switch, should be a 6 pin connector) but you do not have 3 wires going to each of the front signal lights )only have two wires??) you could just buy the NA turn signals which have teh marker light in them  and then you would have amber marker lights facing front. 

The NA bulb for the front turn signals has two filaments in it.

I have all my front lights off the bike right now but there is a brown wire in the bucket that is not in a multipin connector.  It looks like it is used to feed the dash lights, taillight, etc. It is possible that they split thison the European bikes and feed teh 4W white marker as well.  it would be a good source for a relay control wire for driving lights in either case.

[Madmike]

re:adjusting headlight

Sit on the bike with your weight on it and the bike upright get someone to measure from the floor to the center of the headlight.

Find a clear wall that you can park in front of and have the headlight 17 feet from the wall (5.18 Meters)

Make a horizontal line on the wall 2" (5cm.) lower than the measurement that you got for the center of the headlight.  If you don't want to draw a line on the wall you can use painters masking tape to mark it.

Position  the bike with the headlight 17' from the mark and upright.  Now adjust your headlight so that the top of the beam with the light on low is just at the height mark which is 2" lower than the center of you light. 

You can adjust the side to side so that it shines directly ahead of the bike.

[FLATSIX]

O.K. MADMIKE , I will control the adjusting of my headlamp according to your instructions.

As concerns the lights in my turn signals : I cannot do this as it will become to dangerous as people are not used to see this here + against the law.

I will search for :

1) a set of 2 big lamps at the front - a lightbar- style Cobra, but they don't make it anymore and I have no intention to pay 500 dollars or more - my moneytree is dead............

2) a set of small lights to mount somewhere but must be esthetically beautiful. An ideal solution would be to find chromed LED-lights, mounted at the place where now the reflectors are at both sides of the chromed radiator. But they must point forwards the bike when mounted - so 90° lights. I have not seen this type of white LED's....


Anyway, I have light and I am happy with the clear US-version glass in my headlight, the rest will come when I keep eyes open.

Thanks for the input !! 

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

Try these people they care all kinds of cool lights  http://www.customdynamics.com/