| Author | Message | ||
     No_rice |
was messing around in the garage yesterday and decided to take a look at my low beam. i have never really worried about it even though i know it is dim. well when it was to the point were if someone was behind me i would think my light wasnt even on i decided to look. it was fried. the reflector is more black then silver, and had a big heat crack in it. i happen to have what was left of a high beam that the lens had fallen out of and i had lost during a ride. so i took the back half of my old high beam and stuck the low beam lens on it. i have yet to ride it at night but it should be a vast improvement. | ||
| Hkwan |
Hey man, come back with some feedback on that after you've ridden at night, would you... thanks. | ||
| No_rice |
maybe i'll get to ride it a bit tonight. spent all night lastnight in the garage working on the gf's car till about 3 this morning | ||
| Ducxl |
Please let me know No_Rice.I've been offered a high beam assembly from my friend FireboltEric_MA.He's using Hella 90mm assemblies now and has no need for his old high beam assembly.Maybe i should take a look at it? Again,let us know how it runs with two high beam assemblies.Of course i know that both assemblies use 55w bulbs. | ||
| Cereal |
The only real difference between the high and low beam cup is a metal T on the inside. You can take it off of your fried one and put it on the new high beam cup. | ||
| Saintly |
The only real difference between the high and low beam cup is a metal T on the inside Nope! They're totally shaped different, high beam is cone shaped while low is more of a bowl shape. | ||
| Ducxl |
Right'O Saintly. | ||
| No_rice |
i had originaly heard you could take the reflector out of the low beam. i did, and it did not help at all. in fact i think it was worse. it dispersed(sp?) like it had no direction. i will have to see how it works. i also adjusted the light down and to the right so it wasnt so annoying to oncoming traffic. may have to change it back depending.. even though normally i can ride with the high on, once and a while some one does flash there lights at me. | ||
| Tintin74 |
One of the solutions I've read about (still have to do it on my bike), is to buy a new low beam reflector AND switch to HID. HID's are no different than the "economic" bulbs we use in-house. In particular, they provide the same amount of light for less power consumption. Drawbacks are the same as the in-house stuff we got used to: they don't turn instantly on, they are more bulky as they require both the ballast and longer "tubes" to handle higher power and light output. Back to my Firebolt, the HID should be at least 36% cooler as it uses 36% less energy than the stock halogen bulb. I still have to compare with my in-house bulbs but I believe the 35W should also pump out more lumens than the 55W halogen. I would stick to the stock high beam, it should wear much slower as it's not turned on during daylight riding, and I still need it to turn on instantly. | ||
| Poondogger |
I went with 2 high beams about 3 years ago and haven't looked back for riding at night. Even during the day with both on you can't miss me coming. I let a friend take the bike for a spin and couldn't believe how bright those things are during the day. To order a brand new high beam housing costs like 50 bucks with the bulb in it and takes about 1/2 hour to put in if you know what you're doing. I wouldn't fart around with the low beam thing at all, I did all that, spoon removal, bulbs, etc. but replacing the whole housing is the way to go. | ||
| No_rice |
i looked at doing the HID lighting, but never have done it yet. now i dont have room for the ballasts and stuff anyway so thats not really an option anymore unless i switch the fairing back to the original one. i'm not to worried i rode this whole time with the stock low beam and always have my black shield on night or day. i have pretty good night vision so i guess i just make it up that way. i'm sure this will be way better though! | ||
| 07xb12scg |
Which lights are brighter? The lights on the Lightning or the Firebolt? | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
No Rice, There are NO ballasts with the hella 90mm units. | ||
| No_rice |
I LIKE IT!! it is extremely better than it was. even though i have the light aimed down and to the right as far as it would adjust it is still so much brighter all around. should have thought of using that old light long ago! | ||
| Buelltroll |
I switched to 2 high beam assemblies about a year ago and they are better except for now its like 2 spot lights instead of one flood one spot. Also the high beam I ordered has textured glass in the center I guess to help diffuse the light You can tell the difference between the 2 patterns when they both aimed at a wall. They're both still spot patterns but the one with the texture is Like a big O and the non textured one is a solid spot.  Can't see it but this is what I mean. I don't know how it looks coming tword you and I don't ride at night so I can't even say how much better it is. But it is DEFINITLEY brighter. | ||
| Cgocifer |
Sorry, couldn't resist.  | ||
| Terribletim |
What is different about the high beam that it doesn't dim over time? I've been running my high beam at all times since getting my bike. Is the real answer to just install a high beam housing where the low beam housing currently sits and have two high beams? I started running my high beam because I got tired of cagers telling me "hey, you have a headlight out" at EVERY redlight or stop sign. | ||
| Saintly |
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