Headlight power

[Guest gavin]

Does anybody have any suggestions, experience or even an 'old wifes tale' as to improving the headlight power.

My main options seem to be:

 

1: 100w/8ow bulb. Will this be ok on standard wiring or will I need to wire it direct and use a relay? Will it last (thin element + vibration = £££££!!)

 

2: 'Blue neon' (?) bulb. Are these any better - the adverts sound too good to be true - but then they are trying to make you buy a buld at least 4 times more expensive !!!!

 

3: Spotlamps - NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Any more???????????????

[Guest tmartin]

I have used a 100/80W bulb for two years on my Sport with no problems. I did not use a relay to power it as the voltage drop at the light indicated that the stock wiring is OK. 100W sure works great on Maryland country roads at night.

 

You can get a 100/80W bulb for abour $7 at Susquehanna Motorsports at www.susquehanna.com. Stay away from the "blue" lights as they don't put out as much light as white--just advertising hype.

[Guest Tenni#099]

Hi,

 

Look into my discussion on safety lights. I have good experience with the dimmer on the high beam and the Philips Gold bulb. It provides bright yellow light in this combination on dimmed high beam. It makes you stand out in traffic somewhat more. All little pieces help.

 

Bye, Gerco

[Guest Guest_Allan56]

My MkIV's healight couldn't attract a moth but after having a relay fitted and heavier wire (?) the bloody thing now attracts aircraft. My mate is the autoelectrician so if you want more info let me know

 

Allan

[callison]

I replaced the wiring harness connectors in line with the headlight bulb on my Sport 1100i, and even that improved the quality of beam a noticeable amount. You can read about that escapade at: http://www.guzzitech.com/Headlt-Fail-Carl_A.html and there are a lot of other tips at http://www.guzzitech.com as well.

[Guest Squashed Nose]

I cannot argue with the amount of light the blue bulbs put out as I am not in a position to do so but whenever I have encountered a vehicle on the road using these (and a fair few cars are now fitted with them as standard) they glow VERY brightly and stand out from the crowd because they are a different colour.

 

I will be fitting one of these to my bike very soon. And, of course, the wattage is legal (I don't know if there is an issue with this stateside).

[callison]

Blue lights are pretty obvious to other vehicles, but there is more than a little documentation available to indicate that the blue and ultra-violet spectrums of these lights is less effective at illuminating the road surface. In fog or rain, the specular radiation is much higher with these lights, returning even more reflected light back to the source than a standard bulbs, reducing their effectiveness even more and creating additional glare in the drivers eyes. Yellow lights do the best job, and that's why fog lights are yellow. A lot of it is still how many lumens you through down the road though. The Paia bulbs move the filament to concentrate more beam down the center and less in the side-lobes to gain more distance with the same wattage. The headlight on my V11TT is much better than the one on my Sport 1100i and that one in turn is a magnitude better than the one on my California. Driving lights would be a good addition, but I'm always wary of the meager output of the Guzzi alternator as I already run electric grips, vest ad infinitum. The best headlight I ever had was on a Yammerhammer 650 Seca. An 8 1/4" monster that when upgraded with a 100 watt bulb, bestowed the light of the sun on the road.

[Guest gavin]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've now fitted a 130/90 bulb - was surprised to find this power so readily available (from Halfords!!).

 

The difference is fantastic and although illegal in the Uk (I think???) I have taken great care about the alignment, the lens has really good defination and on dip does not 'scatter' any light onto other vehicles.

 

Lets hope the wiring and generator holds up!!!!!!!!!!!

[dlaing]

Ouch, 130/90 is Hot! Especially if you flash and hold the high while the low is on. I would definately run a dedicated line for that. I think all you need is two 15amp relays and some 10gauge wire/

But then again it could be fine for a few years...