Anyone Add More Lighting?

[dlaing]

From Daniel Sterns FAQ on lighting:

 

PIAA's wattage equivalence claims ("55w = 85w", etc.) are very misleading. They cannot be verified with proper laboratory equipment, and they CERTAINLY aren't true when compared with real overwattage bulbs on the road. Here's the full scoop:

CLAIM: PIAA "SuperWhite" bulbs produce 85W of light from 55W of electricity

 

REALITY:

 

PIAA "Superwhite" bulbs produce exactly the same amount of light as any other bulb in a given bulb format (9004, 9005, 9006, H4, etc.), plus-or-minus 15 percent (which is the US FMVSS 108 Part 564 tolerance for variations in luminous intensity from headlamp bulbs).

 

snip

There is no way to get "85 watts of light for 55 watts of electricity", unless the light meter you use happens to go spastic when hit with blue-tinted light.

snip

So if there is a difference of plus or minus fifteen percent, I can see why someone would want the plus 15%.

Bulb engineering and quality does make a difference, especially in the quantity of light many hours down the road.

The less oxygen in the bulb the better.

When halogen bulbs first came out and 99% of the cars were still using incandescents, I remember being offended by the whiter light, but they were clearly more efficient, everyone wanted them and everyone got them. I cannot imagine going back to incandescent vacuum bulbs.

The HID is the next logical step, but the price is too high, so we are left with the "HID like" bulbs that burn at a higher temperature to produce an arguably brighter light.

People who buy the PIAAs that I have heard are happy.

Personally I'd rather just aim my low beam higher.

But I did buy some squirrel chasers. Just not sure when I'll get around to mounting them.

I want to wire them through the high beam flasher so that they do not draw to much current away from the battery, though I might give them a shot full time, as they are only 25watts times 2 lamps.

EDIT 02.16.07 brackets broke on the cheap squirrel chasers before I ever got them wired

[moto pierre]

Daniel Stern Lighting used to have a great web page with an ind-depth FAQ about all of these things. He still has a great web page, but the FAQ is unlinked for "updating". Basically, what I remember from reading it is that the PIAA bulbs merely shift the filament further (forward?) which concentrates more beam intensity into the center of the beam pattern. After that, they make lots of high claims with no substantiation. Still, for a bike like the Sport 1100i, which has a miserable beam pattern from the rectangular bulb, concentrating more light in the center is an improvement. If you think the headlight on a V11 Sport is bad (which I don't agree with), you should try riding the Sport 1100i at night. Or my California - even the V65 has a better light than that one. Best light I've ever seen on a bike? The 8 1/4" flamethrower that was on the 1982 Yamaha Seca 650. Big headlight, works very well indeed. I'm totally turned off by the appearance of the projector lights, and I really hate the blue arc lights when I see them, but if someone really wants the things, they can take a look at some at http://www.spieglerusa.com/body_pages/mig_lights.cfm.

 

 

Carl is right about the Yamaha lights. I have a 650 Seca and an XV-920, both with that lovely great headlight. It looks cool, it's all metal, and both electrical systems can easily handle 100/60 aftermarket bulbs. I don't have enough time on my 2000 V11 Sport to assess its headlight, but it will have to go some to beat the Yams. I routinely replace the stock bulbs on my bikes with the aforementioned flamethrowers, but now I'm nervous about doing so with the Sport, especially after seeing those incredibly skinny wires.

[dlaing]

Carl is right about the Yamaha lights. I have a 650 Seca and an XV-920, both with that lovely great headlight. It looks cool, it's all metal, and both electrical systems can easily handle 100/60 aftermarket bulbs. I don't have enough time on my 2000 V11 Sport to assess its headlight, but it will have to go some to beat the Yams. I routinely replace the stock bulbs on my bikes with the aforementioned flamethrowers, but now I'm nervous about doing so with the Sport, especially after seeing those incredibly skinny wires.

I enhanced my headlight wiring with relays.

See this thread for before and after photos and details

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...c=9673&st=0

Thanks again to Gary Cheek for his assistance with the wire harnass crimping and diagram.

If you go that route you only have to worry about how little power the alternator produces.

Plus the line from regulator to battery is not the most robust.

You may find the boost from the better wiring to be sufficient. If not, there may be some better 60/55 bulbs that will meet your needs.

[Greg Field]

relays are a big help. FWIW, I use the piaa Xtreme White bulbs in all my bikes, even a 1967 V700, and in each case the bulb produced noticably more light than the bulb it replaced. The light from the Billy Bob's little headlight has now imporved to be pretty good. The light from my Eldo headlight is astonishing. It's like riding through a tunnel of light. Part of that is because it's seeing 14.5 volts (that's what its add-on alternator regulates at). Halogen bulbs like voltage.

[callison]

If you haven't ridden a Norge with its high beams on at night, you've never seen headlights. Friggin' awesome. Better than my Prius even.

[Bill Hagan]

If you haven't ridden a Norge with its high beams on at night, you've never seen headlights. Friggin' awesome. Better than my Prius even.

 

You are right, Carl.

 

Probably the most remarkable difference between my EV and Ballabio. It certainly doesn't make me want to ride at night, but I sure am less scared to do it. The light out front is impressive enough, but it lights up out to the side in a stunnning way. Deer are always a menace, but I see them way off and way top the left and right.

 

Only down side is having drivers flash when I only have "dim" on ... and they are properly adjusted.

 

Bill

[Greg Field]

Really, I'm sure the Norge's lights are good. But when I turn on my Eldo's high beams and piaa 1100x spotlights in the country, it's like being in that old movie "Tron." Shoot, Guzzi now uses basically the same alternator that I use on my Eldo. That's progress, I guess.

[g.forrest]

If you haven't ridden a Norge with its high beams on at night, you've never seen headlights. Friggin' awesome. Better than my Prius even.

 

man thats making a statement! i did own a prius and to me it had the best lights i've ever driven with. my interest grows in the norge.

[callison]

Really, I'm sure the Norge's lights are good. But when I turn on my Eldo's high beams and piaa 1100x spotlights in the country, it's like being in that old movie "Tron." Shoot, Guzzi now uses basically the same alternator that I use on my Eldo. That's progress, I guess.

 

True enough maybe, but your spotlights aren't OEM, without them the Eldo would probably just be very good. The Norge really lights up the countryside and the beam pattern is excellent - it doesn't need any additional lighting. Better than "Tron", it's more like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". "The sun came up and it sang to me." And of course, a Guzzi sings when it's in its element, but the Norge has the "sun" as well. MI is breaking in that red Norge for Matt, take it out some night where you can light up the countryside on high beam and see what I mean.

[raz]

Only down side is having drivers flash when I only have "dim" on ... and they are properly adjusted.

That's because they think you are a car with one broken light

[callison]

That's because they think you are a car with one broken light

 

That would make me look like about half of the cars out here in the boonies where I live.

[dlaing]

That's because they think you are a car with one broken light

One thing I would like to do is activate my signal lights so that they stay on as marker lights, but blink off as turn signals. It should be pretty easy to do with relays, but it would add more clutter to the growing nest of wires.

[raz]

Just putting in higher wattage bulbs will give worse results since it will emphasise the voltage drop over bad connections and cheap relays. It's imperative you get rid of the voltage drop first (and when you're done you may not need any higher wattage!!). The maths behind it is pretty simple. I plan on putting in some relays with power fed straight from the battery.

 

One thing I would like to do is activate my signal lights so that they stay on as marker lights, but blink off as turn signals. It should be pretty easy to do with relays, but it would add more clutter to the growing nest of wires.

You might want to have a look at http://thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/turn_si...ning_lights.htm

[dlaing]

You might want to have a look at http://thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/turn_si...ning_lights.htm

Thanks for the link!

It is good to know that he had problems doing it without diodes.

[raz]

Thanks for the link!

It is good to know that he had problems doing it without diodes.

I'm more concerned that whenever I turn on the flasher, it starts in "off" mode, so the first flash is delayed more than a second (that's 30 meters at Moderate Speed[tm]). It's a bad thing as I tend to turn on the flasher pretty late. I can't understand how a guy who does this for a living has come up with this crappy design. I'm searching for a replacement flasher relay that will start its work with a flash, not a delay. In my head this is obvious. Maybe I'll do some running light when I'm at it. I will keep you informed.