I have read all your reports on why you all purchased the K100 bikes with its strengths. Now, I am not sure whether I have found a fault in the design of this bike, or whether it is just mine. Why would anyone design a superbike and then give it headlights with a strength of 3 glow worms. Now it could be just my bike, it could be my eyesight, as I admit I am now an old git and might need to visit SpecSavers, so would appreciate some feed back on this. I know I am old but I am still young enought that I don't want to die yet.
Thanks
Joinyman

The stock bulb is about as bright as a room-full of skinheads.
Get a 100/55 and you'll be fine.

[quote="Saxon7"]The stock bulb is about as bright as a room-full of skinheads.
Get a 100/55 and you'll be fine.
Thanks a lot Saxon 7 for the reply, I thought putting a none standard bulb with a higher wattage puts excess strain on the wiring. To do that should you fit a different relay?
thanks
joinyman

Always good to pop in a relay!

hi joineyman

there are lots of posts about this stuff

try using the "search" feature

but in essence ...the switchgear and wiring is made to handle the standard stuff ...anything "extra" and you would be well advised to look at installing relays

to overcome cable losses , to bypass the switchgear of high currents, to bypass possibly corroded connections under the tank and the list goes on

"eastern beaver" is a brand that we recommend for a relay solution with a few kits to suit our machines

i run slightly higher wattage globes as a mater if fact ....but as you say, were all getting older , funny that i dontt remember it being any better when i was a kid on quite a few other bikes with standard options .

good luck

Hi Joinyman, I noticed when riding to Guyra with Sean that his headlight was much brighter than mine. Mine also currently is about as bright as a kero lamp, not having much electrical nouse I purchased a brighter globe Narva H4 12v 60/55 Plus 50,
rather than a higher wattage ( sorry Sean, you did offer some helpful info)
The packagaing says " 50% more light , 20 metres longer beam, with longer life, no increase in power consumption or heat"
the expected difference will be like driving on high beam.Which is what I do most occasions anyway.
There were other optional globes available at the counter , but I thought I might try this one first.
I'm hoping to do a swap over of globes at Klompy's next weekend, and with luck will post some before and after pics.
Will keep you, posted.

Just been informed by my WIFE ( household Manager) , she has already taken said globe and installed it into her Boulie, her friends also commented on the lack of light coming from the standard 60/55 globe.
So I'll be out shopping tomorrow for another , Grrrrrrrrrrr...

I would recommend first get the relay kit from Eastern Beaver and install it then find out if you want more light.
The relay kit will make an enormous difference and you may feel that you don't need more light. The kit will also save your handlebar switches from self destruction in the future by cutting the load to about 1/10 of what it was.

Rick G wrote:I would recommend first get the relay kit from Eastern Beaver

I have been putting off the purchase of one of these myself for too long. Ordered today.
Fingers crossed I can work out how to fit it.
Might give RT a call

Has anyone put an HID in? I have installed them on both my cars. They apparently draw less current but pump out a s**t load more light.

Footnote. Might not be legal in your state.

'm keen to see the improvement, and do the same Rossco, but have no idea where to start. I've seen some of those bluey globes at Pro Parts, supposed to draw same current but run cooler.

beware guys ...there is 50+ and 50+

you get what you pay for ...but please dont go and buy them from autobarn ...you will be paying at least $20 more for the privaledge ...look around you will find them cheaper from just about anywhere else

dont try and go high k (kelvin 5300 really blueish ) lamps try the 4300 series and such ..they have more "punch" through rain and stuff

The EB kit with the ceramic bulb holder will take higher wattage globes without the risk of melting the holder

Need to bear in mind that anything bigger than 55/60w bulbs may be an MOT failure as they are illegal on the road in the UK.
I would go for the relay kit and a GOOD quality high output bulb.
Plus go to Specsavers!
If you do a search on the forum ref HID there has been a lot of discussion on it in the past.
By the way, it's also illegal to convert a headlamp to HID in the UK. Back to the MOT.

Comberjohn wrote:Need to bear in mind that anything bigger than 55/60w bulbs may be an MOT failure as they are illegal on the road in the UK.
I would go for the relay kit and a GOOD quality high output bulb.
Plus go to Specsavers!
If you do a search on the forum ref HID there has been a lot of discussion on it in the past.
By the way, it's also illegal to convert a headlamp to HID in the UK. Back to the MOT.

and for good reason cj ....i have seen quite a few ...erm i guess undocumented exchanges of hid into the standard type of reflector assembly

and i have to say ...its dangerous ....to every other driver on the road

the effect of the hid globe is to illuminate the whole globe envelope ...not just the filament ./..which on the standard h4 globes is hidden behind a sheild built on the front of the globe

what this does is a bit like a floodlight on the standad setup ..masses of uncontrolled light escapes the reflector assembly because of point of light charactristics have changed dramatically

of corse there are cowboys out there who really dont give a (insert expletive here )... toss about blinding other drivers as they approach .....as long as they have clear vission, is all that matters to them

if your doing an "hid" fitup ..please do some research

rant over ....!!!

Don't get me started

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I'm planning on installing road lights on the Beemer since we have a great many unlit roads here in rural New Hampshire. On my truck I always turn its road lights off when driving around town because a) they're not needed, and b) they're a distraction to other drivers.
One of my pet peeves are fools who drive around well-lit streets with high intensity headlamps, road lights, or more frequently, fog lights. I turn the other way! Do they actually expect me to peer through that maze of lights to find a turn blinker?

---

More to the point. Having a brighter headlamp is not as effective as adding more lights to illuminate different areas of the pavement. For example; on my bike on a typical 50mph rural highway I need the high beam to see everything clearly. But, in my truck, I never need high beams because road lights do such an effective job.

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The only problem I'm having now is coming up with an effective bracket design for road lights, but that's a subject for another thread.

Nobody's mentioned it yet, but the reflector can become 'cloudy', which wouldn't help the light output. Worth checking, Joinyman.

Paul.

I have this problem to some extent. I'm convinced its mainly due to 20 year old and switches and connections in the wiring loom. My present plan is to clean the connections and contacts in the switchgear before I try anything expensive.

If that doesn't give me the result I want I'll try an HID and a relay. An H4 replacement like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170572956318?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

has a good shield and tiny bulb which hopefully will keep me from attracting the attention of the plod.

GerryP wrote:I have this problem to some extent. I'm convinced its mainly due to 20 year old and switches and connections in the wiring loom. My present plan is to clean the connections and contacts in the switchgear before I try anything expensive.

If that doesn't give me the result I want I'll try an HID and a relay. An H4 replacement like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170572956318?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

has a good shield and tiny bulb which hopefully will keep me from attracting the attention of the plod.

Hi , will this system pass the mot?

Nope, they're not that stupid over here anyway.

hmm i can see the crows falling out of the trees already

Hi JOINYMAN

No it won't pass an MoT, but neither should a 'big' 120/100W halogen bulb. In practice, MoT tests are conducted in daylight and as long as the light doesn't burn the paint off the alignment board you stand a good chance of getting away with it.

Or you could always pop a standard bulb in for the test.

I'm just off to wash my mouth out with soap.

GerryP wrote:Hi JOINYMAN

No it won't pass an MoT, but neither should a 'big' 120/100W halogen bulb. In practice, MoT tests are conducted in daylight and as long as the light doesn't burn the paint off the alignment board you stand a good chance of getting away with it.

Or you could always pop a standard bulb in for the test.

I'm just off to wash my mouth out with soap.

A HID with a standard reflector wont show a defined cut off with the Lo beam. The HID has a very big light source IE the whole bulb is the light and the normal QI bulb has a small light source ie the filament only and that preventd correct focus of the light so the standard reflector doesnt give a defined beam and the shield around the bulb like a QI has wont work.
For a HID to work so that it meets the laws of most countries it needs a special reflector and when it is put on the light board to check alignment it screams HID and it wont pass. It still looks like Hi beam to oncoming trafic even on Lo to be quite honest I find them a PITA. You do get a very bright light but they are not legal.

I have tried the HID hi/lo unit.........light was fantastic, it did have a shield under the bulb to replicate the low beam spread, and magnetic/solenoid drive at the rear of the to "pull" the globe in and out to achieve the hi/lo spreads. like I said the light was fantastic, way better than any normal bulb I've tried, but the balast kept playing up (yes, I admit it was bought off fleabay...) and found that the light would go totally off when switching from low to high or vice versa. Not a good feeling when riding in the country at night! Maybe try again with a better quality unit one day, I've left the wiring up to the front of the fairing in, so I can just place in new ballast and bulb, but for the moment happy with the EB dual light kit (low stays on with high) with the ceramic connector and a PIA special anti vibe bulb from the US.
cheers

I have just fitted a 100/90 headlamp bulb, operated via relays, and a pair of 55 watt spotlamps wired to come on with main beam via relays.  Every terminal has been crimped on and then soldered for as good a connection as possible.  All joints have been insulated with heat shrink tubing, and it is all protected by inline fuses. It has taken a little while to do this, but I wanted to do it once and do it right.  It all works, but before I put it back together I am going to fit a ceramic bulb holder, as I do not want the holder to melt.  I have also changed the blackened sidelight bulb in the headlamp for an array of LEDs.

Although MOT testers could fail the bike for a high wattage bulb, it is highly unlikely.  They are not allowed to dismantle bits of vehicle to examine parts, so they cannot know for sure whether an off-road bulb has been fitted.  They might mention it as an advisory.  The ill-defined cut off of a dipped beam HID conversion is a dead give-away, however.

I am a fan of extra lights as well as high-power bulbs.  If one adjusts most modern lamps to have a horizontal main beam, the dip is uselessly low.  When adjusted so that the dipped beam lights a useful amount of verge, the main beam is then good for only UFO spotting.  The answer to this is to have dipped beam set so that it lights the correct amount of verge, and then have extra lights to see properly on main beam.  I have had this set-up on a number of my past cars, and it really is a joy to drive behind an array of properly adjusted lights; I usually have the extra lamps set at a small angle to better illuminate around slight curves in the road.

There are other jobs to do, like fitting a cut-out for the TPS and an oil change with sight glass replacement, but once it is all back in one piece I shall give a progress report.

I had 5 Hours on the k in the dark last week. Crap light so adjusted beam. Was less crap. Decided against wiring relays and ordered LED H4 bulb. It is lower wattage too!

I have never used LED bulbs - please give us an update of how it performs.