Headlights and visibility

[Guest freeman]

I am starting to use my V11 Lemans as a daily commuter. One thing I have noticed (or been reminded of) is that the headlight sucks!!! Is there a better headlight or lamp I should be using or is it possibly just an adjustment?

[Guzzirider]

I replaced the standard headlight bulb with a 100/80w. Some doom and gloom merchants mentioned at the time that it will drain too much power out of the charging system but that has not happened.

 

Transforms the lighting at night.

 

Guy

[gargoyle]

I just bought a LeMans but I don't pick it up until Saturday. Is the headlight a standard size that can replaced with a better bulb or is it unique to the LeMans?

[Guest freeman]

I just bought a LeMans but I don't pick it up until Saturday. Is the headlight a standard size that can replaced with a better bulb or is it unique to the LeMans?

87422[/snapback]

Don't know, I'm learning myself. It works just fine, its just a bit dim, that's all

[docc]

It is a standard H4. Let us be reminded that the current goes through the switch and doubling the voltage doubles the current doubles the heat and doubles the smoke that is so hard to get back in the wires.

 

The Sylvania Silver Star has gotten good revues here before and is around 77 watts. Wiring the lamps direct with 16 guage wire and separate relays is good medicine. Look HERE

 

Aiming the lamp higher is certainly a good trick if you don't scare the squirrels.

[Ouiji Veck]

Hey guys..

Do a search on HEADLIGHT..

There's plenty of info here..

The hot setup (that I've been putting off) is to put in a

a direct relay ...taking the load off the switch and getting

alot more current to the lamp. I guess this is pretty true of

all MCs

[Guest trispeed]

It's all relative; what are you comparing it to? Compared to a car, a single headlight sucks. Compared to most other single lens motorcyles, this thing shines like daylight! I have an Aprilia with 3 headlights ( 1x55 and 2x35 watt) and this 7" Bosch lays out more light on the road.

The Bosch 7" round lens is the best of the lot. You may argue for the Hella replacement, however. You won't find a better one; the so caller' blue' or 'ultra white' etc. bulbs do have a different hue but don't put more light on the road.

Higher wattage bulbs may help a 'little' but it's negligible. I've tried all of them myself and judge critically. If you simply pop in a 90/100 watt replacement, you're not getting much benefit unless you upgrade the wiring and use a relay, to avoid loss due stock elements designed for the standard wattage.

Proper aim is crucial, you should experiment at night if you can find a dark section of road where you can safely ride slow and stop occasionally. Loosen the bolts on the side of the headlamp shell and by trial and error find the best aim/ check both high and low beam to make sure you're not too high' you'll want the low beam to meet a car in front of you at about halfway up the bodywork, for a rough starting point.

[tikkanen]

I am starting to use my V11 Lemans as a daily commuter. One thing I have noticed (or been reminded of) is that the headlight sucks!!! Is there a better headlight or lamp I should be using or is it possibly just an adjustment? 

87399[/snapback]

 

Oh boy how right you are.....

I changed to a Philips bulb (you know, the ones with a blueish light) and it's definitely better than the stock one. It's quite cheap too - just 5-6 US $ - and they are obtainable at all gas stations.

 

Cheers

Søren

[gargoyle]

So if this a standard 7" headlight I should be able to install the HID type bulb and lamp contained in the link. I would get better lighting and use less power. Correct or not?

 

http://www.jwspeaker.com/catalog/forward_l.../model_8100.htm

[Greg Field]

To get good lighting out of the small-reflector headlights of the LeMans and Ballabio bikes, you need to run a direct feed from the battery through relays for hi and for low and use the best available bulb, which is the piaa xtreme white bulb.

 

There is just room for two microrelays and the extra wiring inside the small headlight bucket.

 

All the stuff to do this is available at our shop (Moto International) or from other sources.

 

I just made one of these harnesses for my Billy Bob. Not difficult at all.

[Guest trispeed]

I've tried all that stuff and I don't see any MORE light on the road. It is whiter but it sure seems like there is less of it. You can only get so much out of a single round 7" shell. Why not just add a couple Hella off road lamps like I did. Beats the hell out of the car's lighting, too !

[beauchemin]

All these blue and ultrawhite bulbs are just marketing crap. A standard yellowish light will give you the best depth perception on the road at night.

 

PIAA makes fantastic lights, but I think their bulbs are nothing special.

[v50man]

All these blue and ultrawhite bulbs are just marketing crap.  A standard yellowish light will give you the best depth perception on the road at night.

 

PIAA makes fantastic lights, but I think their bulbs are nothing special.

87528[/snapback]

 

 

Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[callison]

Compared to my 97 California, the V11 Sport is a friggin' lighthouse! I have to drive the California carefully at night lest putting on the brakes dims the headlight too much to see the road. I really, really, need to do the up-gauge and relay routine with that bike. Especially since I just wired it for a trailer and there will that much more current draw.

[Greg Field]

Chris and all:

 

He has the smaller headlight, which is nowhere near as good as the larger Sport headlight. It throws a weird eliptical beam pattern and needs all the help it can get. Relays are the place to start. Piaa bulbs will net him even more.

 

Why? Voltage. All halogen lights work much better at the upper limit of their voltage range.

 

Give a piaa full voltage (especially 14.5 volts and higher, as on my Eldo), and I'll wager your opinion of them would change. At the 12.4 volts a stock Guzzi system gives delivers to the headlight, no bulb works that well. With a relay fed directly through the battery, I get 13.6 volts on Billy Bob. That makes the stock light a bit brighter, but really lights up the piaa.

 

Spotlights are good, too. I run piaa 1100x lights (with round beam pattern, which is important) on the Eldo, and with them on in addition to the piaa headlight, I ride through a tunnel of light, like in that old movie Tron. I doubt the Billy Bob alternator would keep up with the electrical demand of this system, though. Still, I'm gonna try it, and then switch to 35-watt bulbs if the system can't keep up to the standard 55-watt bulbs.