Can one open the headlight

[Tomchri]

24 minutes ago, docc said:

Is that a complete LED unit or LED "bulbs" installed in a new factory headlamp?

Factory headlamp with a Vintage car led bulb.

Cheers Tom.

[docc]

1 hour ago, Tomchri said:

Factory headlamp with a Vintage car led bulb.

Cheers Tom.

+1 on the VintageCar LED !

https://vintagecarleds.com/shop/bulbs-only/vcm3-bulbs-only/

[stewgnu]

12 hours ago, PJPR01 said:

After removing the old diffuser did you also replace it or just leave the headlight without the diffuser?

No, i’ve just run them without (it’s happened on both my v11s, due to hitting potholes i think!).

I haven’t noticed much difference at nighttime, but i suppose there must be a reduced effect?

[motortouring]

13 hours ago, stewgnu said:

No, i’ve just run them without (it’s happened on both my v11s, due to hitting potholes i think!).

I haven’t noticed much difference at nighttime, but i suppose there must be a reduced effect?

Same here.

[p6x]

On 5/5/2022 at 10:10 AM, PJPR01 said:

Dank u wel....thanks all for the insights.

Will take out the headlight and see if the light can be opened up and diffuser repaired, since it's a black outer shell, I presume it's the outer plastic bucket.  Looks like the diffuser has a broken tab.

Interesting that the new Stein Dinse replacement does not have a diffuser, wonder if that is a brighter headlight than the OEM one.

I had the exact same problem on the Le Mans last week, when I attempted to replace the H4 lamp with a LED light in the head light.

I followed the manual's instruction, requiring to remove the little "access trap" underneath the fairing, to get access to the screw that enables pivoting the assembly upwards, and removing the diffuser/reflector.

What I did not know at that time, is that the clip on nut was attached to a plastic tab inside, and the plastic tab was no longer holding the nut. @Tomchri suggested to take off the entire fairing, which I did, and this is when I realized what was happening.

I repaired the plastic tab with modelism plastic glue. That saved me from purchasing a replacement bucket.

I did notice that a lot of the hard plastic parts become brittle with time, especially when exposed to so much UV light.

[PJPR01]

Good to hear...I have still this task on my To do list...so far, I haven't been riding at night, so it hasn't been a major concern...but I'd like to get it fixed shortly.

Have a few other fun projects also on the other bikes, replacing the handle bars on the Stock Griso to Aprilia Mana bars (less wide, slightly pulled forward) and need to do the TPS adjustment on the Scura now that I know what/how to adjust it physically.  Just waiting for the temps to go down to a tolerable level so the garage is not a sauna!

In fact, just this weekend I decided to install lightweight insulation panels on the garage door which makes quite a bit of difference I am pleased to note, and today will be replacing the rubber gasket on the bottom of the garage door in the evening.  Now I'm seriously considering putting a Daikin Split A/C unit into the garage.

Once that's all done, I can work much more comfortable on the bikes even during the summer months.

[p6x]

25 minutes ago, PJPR01 said:

ust waiting for the temps to go down to a tolerable level so the garage is not a sauna!

Working on my head light last week.... three showers and complete change to carry out the task....

My biggest problem is vision.....

I am short sighted, so I need to remove my glasses all the time to alternate near sighting and far sighting. It is only with old age that I no longer have glasses that do both. At least, I don't need so-called reading glasses.

Do you  have a bench with a vice?

[PJPR01]

That is very similar…especially on the glasses situation.  Off and on constantly…. Once I’m in the heat I just keep going for the duration and keep hydrating until I’m done.  It takes a big mental commitment however to want to start to work in 100F+ conditions…perhaps that’s why my summer projects take longer to get done.
 

Funny thing…I bought a vice a few years ago, it’s still sitting in the box new and uninstalled, my work bench is unfortunately not set up to clamp it down on on a permanent basis in a safe manner and I don’t want to drill into the bench just to install the vice, so I live w/o.

[Chuck]

Quote

I bought a vice

Hmm, I could use a few more..

[footgoose]

4 hours ago, Chuck said:

Hmm, I could use a few more..

define vice Chuck

[PJPR01]

Today's fun project...opened up the headlight and took the broken diffuser out - super easy to do.  Have now re-glued it with Loctite glue as the diffuser had just cracked about a quarter inch down from where it's anchored in, we'll see if it holds or if vibrations break it again.  I may try a bit of extra JB weld on it as well to reinforce a bit.

Will also call Stein Dinse next week to see if they just sell the diffuser as mentioned earlier here...upgrading the small bulb to a brighter LED...we'll see how that works, but leaving the main bulb alone.

Hard to find any after market headlamps that have the exact plug and play wiring, so worst case scenario, will spring for the upgraded Stein Dinse version...I wonder how much brighter it is than stock.

 

[guzziart]

On 4/7/2023 at 8:13 PM, PJPR01 said:

Today's fun project...opened up the headlight and took the broken diffuser out - super easy to do.  Have now re-glued it with Loctite glue as the diffuser had just cracked about a quarter inch down from where it's anchored in, we'll see if it holds or if vibrations break it again.  I may try a bit of extra JB weld on it as well to reinforce a bit.

Will also call Stein Dinse next week to see if they just sell the diffuser as mentioned earlier here...upgrading the small bulb to a brighter LED...we'll see how that works, but leaving the main bulb alone.

Hard to find any after market headlamps that have the exact plug and play wiring, so worst case scenario, will spring for the upgraded Stein Dinse version...I wonder how much brighter it is than stock.

 

Hey PJPR01,

So, did you go any further with your headlamp situation?  My super cheap, brand X, led bulb failed after a couple months, I presently have no operable headlamp but the (sylvania) led pilot works great.  Anyway, I was wondering if one of those 7" round led lamp assemblies will fit the lemans without having to do mods to the bucket or retaining bezel.

Thanks,

Art 

[Tomchri]

Vintage car leds again have a quite normal looking 7inch. I was tempted, but decided my reflectors was new and in good shape, so got the bulbs. Seems doable with the stock chrome ring.

Cheers Tom.

[PJPR01]

9 hours ago, guzziart said:

Hey PJPR01,

So, did you go any further with your headlamp situation?  My super cheap, brand X, led bulb failed after a couple months, I presently have no operable headlamp but the (sylvania) led pilot works great.  Anyway, I was wondering if one of those 7" round led lamp assemblies will fit the lemans without having to do mods to the bucket or retaining bezel.

Thanks,

Art 

Hi Art,

I was successful in opening the headlight...quite easy to do.  I did JB Weld the broken diffuser and it worked for a few hundred miles and then broke again from normal road vibrations, so unfortunately it's rattling around inside the headlight again. Opening the headlight is quite easy, not hard at all to do.  I will try again and see if I can find a better material to use to bond the piece together...barring that I may just leave it off.  I'm not doing much night riding on the Scura anyway, so it's not critical...but I think the Stein Dinse option is the better one for a long term fix!

One thing I noticed when taking the headlight out was the two bolts holding it in were different, so off to ACE hardware to get a nice new set of matching black bolts...