| Author | Message | ||
     Paul_in_japan |
I was sick of my slowly dimming headlight so i thought i would try aluminum tape. I washed the remaining silver paint off with some water and my thumb (it doesn't take much). I bought the shiniest tape I could find. Said is was rated to 360C ( i hope that is enough.) I cut the tape into long rounded triangles and stuck them in the light. It came out much neater than i expected, its quite easy to push the kinks out of the tape with the back of your nail. Anyway I tested it tonight and its much better. Its still not great (Im not sure how good a XBR headlight can be), but its better than it was. I didnt do the highbeam as it still seems to be OK. heres a few pics, Ill do an update in a while after I see how it pans out.   (Message edited by paul_in_japan on December 27, 2007) | ||
| Jaimec |
Paul, I had suggested something like this in one of the hundreds of "Firebolt Headlight" threads here on BadWeb, but it was pretty much ignored. Glad to see you not only had the same idea, but actually TRIED it too. | ||
| Mikexlr650 |
keep a very close eye on it, saintly's light housings actually caught on fire. he had stock bulbs and housings, they had never been opened. the heat generated must be substantial. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Paul, That stuff should work fine. You might even be able to polish it to a higher shine for better reflectivity with a little work using rubbing compound or metal polish. | ||
| Deadduck |
I ran the aluminum tape in mine for a while and it did good....but then I went into a local autozone and there is a company that makes chrome metal tape (look around in the sticker section). The roll is about 4 inches wide and has enough on it to do about 50 lights probably. I've been running it for about 3 months now and it made a huge difference. I would recommend that above any other tape out there if you are wanting to do a cheap upgrade on some crappy lights, also opted for the silverstar bulb to run in my low beam and a 100 watt bulb for the high beam, worlds of difference. Good job on the taping though, very clean with few wrinkles, hard to do on that housing. | ||
| Court |
>>>>saintly's light housings actually caught on fire. he had stock bulbs and housings, they had never been opened. the heat generated must be substantial. Interesting and I am not disputing that. But . . . as a student of mathematics, I confess utter amazement that 46,896 motorcycles are built, ostensibly identically, and ONE bursts into flames. I'm wide open to explanations. If I were him, I'd damn sure buy a lottery ticket. Again . . I am not questioning the accuracy of the report but I am suggesting there is either much we do not know or this is one of the damnedest coincidences I can imagine. Court | ||
| Jaimec |
I'm thinking "electrical short" for the flames, NOT the bulb itself. | ||
| Saintly |
I'm thinking "electrical short" for the flames, NOT the bulb itself. I'm thinking that you're WRONG! The fire started inside the low beam housing. You can see where the melted glass from the bulb is still "splattered" all over the inside of the housing from this picture:  It burned through the housing and then flames came out of the hole shown in this picture:  Here's a link to the original thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/4062/249692.html?1170945540 Yeah I guess I'm so lucky that I should buy a lottery ticket! With the problems I've had with my Buells, I guess I'm lucky to be alive. It's ok though, I'm glad everyone thinks it's funny, and that nobody at Buell takes this problem seriously enough to do any thing about it. (Message edited by saintly on December 27, 2007) | ||
| Old_man |
Court, An explanation may be an imperfection or something embedded in that particular piece of plastic that absorbs heat.--- The clear plastic lens on my XB9S low beam melted. I surmised that the plastic must have contained some impurity that absorded heat, causing the plastic to melt. This is the only explaination I can think of as to why this doesn't occur in all the headlights. Jack | ||
| Jaimec |
YOWZA, Saintly! But from your description I'm thinking "Defective bulb" and not an inherent problem in the light fixture (otherwise you'd be hearing a LOT more about this problem). Only thing I've heard even REMOTELY like this involves those people with K1200LTs who replaced their original bulbs with higher wattage halogen bulbs, without making any other changes to their headlight housing. The higher wattage was enough to MELT the OEM headlight housing. If you wanted a brighter bulb, you had a bit more to do than simply swap out the OEM bulb. Doesn't apply in your case though, as I see everything was factory original. | ||
| Ducxl |
It's ok though, I'm glad everyone thinks it's funny, and that nobody at Buell takes this problem seriously enough to do any thing about it. It's too bad we don't get a solution.BMC does indeed know about this quality defect.It's the question of the ages>>>> Why won't they take responsibility for their quality defect? No Fritz...it isn't funny | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
It is an EASY question to answer.... I said it once..I will say it again.... THEY DON"T GIVE A SH!T!!!!!PERIOD!!!!! Prove me wrong if you feel different..Not something from 12 years ago either...  Take YOUR life into YOUR OWN hands....Change them lights out.....Buell will do NOTHING to help you!!! (Message edited by FIREBOLTERIC_MA on December 27, 2007) | ||
| Tailspining |
I believe the issue might be the lens plus the Sun that is causing the burning. The old magnify glass trick. I was re-painting my housing with chrome paint; while I was waiting for the paint to dry I recalled my youth and the thousands of ants I terrorized. So, I took the lens and tried to burn a leaf. Because of the shape of the lenses, I had to angle it … curiously enough about the same angle as the lens sits in the housing in relation to a late afternoon or mid-morning sun. Just an idea mind you, cause man, when I got the angle right that leaf went up … in flames … rather quickly. If this is indeed the case, how would one correct it? | ||
| Court |
No one . . myself included. . . ever said anything about it being funny. I did say I am completely baffled by the fact that this is the SINGLE reported such occurence. I remain baffled and ALL CAPS bar room bravado does little to advance the ball. Court | ||
| Saintly |
Not for nothing my friend, but this particular ball is glued to the floor! | ||
| Damnut |
Court I hate to say this but this is not an isolated incident. I gave a set of headlights to an investigator from the DOT that were melted from the inside. I called him for an update recently, he told me that he met with HD about this problem. I asked him if HD was going to do anything about it, he said it was 50/50. I also sent a burnt set to Buell back in February, haven't heard anything from them. I think I'll call them for an update tomorrow. | ||
| Court |
Let me preface this by saying, based on the information I have personally, I think there is a real concern. Nothing I say is meant to minimize this. However . . there's also been a lot of "hot air" come from the headlight thread. I am aware of only ONE report of "bursting into flames". If you know of others let me know. I have some problems with some of the statements attributed to the "Government Investigator". I'm not willing to invest th e time to debate them but If I had an investigator working for me who had made the statements attributed to the instant guy he'd be summarily discharged for cause. Right or wrong an attorney doesn't go into court saying "I think my client may be guilty". If the Fed said the things he's reported to have he has committed serious indiscretions. There are ethics and procedures. Don't bother calling Buell or HD today. HD, one of America's top employers to work for, sends everyone home with pay from the day before Christmas to the day after New Years. A few folks working, shipping parts, at Franklin pretty much represent the entire staffing. You're piquing my curiosity into what is going on to . . . heck, I may call. Court | ||
| Bombardier |
Guys, Get the HID kit available on ebay for just over 100 dollars. I have installed the car version in the high beam only and it produces about three times more light with less current draw and less heat. No more bad lighting. | ||
| Saintly |
Bomb, The HID kit still installs into the stock housing. So if the housing is flaked, faded, burned or blistered it will be to no avail. Although the HID is a ton brighter than the bulb, the main problem is in the housings, not with the bulb. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Or just buy my Hella kit... Well, When I'm done with it, and am a Badweb sponsor.  It's a permanent solution. | ||
| Bombardier |
You are right Saintly. I guess I put mine in as the bike was nearly new and figured that if I can get more light with less heat the problem may not rear its ugly head. They are seriously bright with the kit in! | ||
| Ducxl |
Bomber...you said "less heat". Do the HIDs' produce less heat? If so,maybe they're an answer to the problem of too much heat generation oops,i didn't see Steve's post....I'm too anxious for a solution Steve.....HELP!!!!!! (Message edited by ducxl on December 28, 2007) | ||
| Bombardier |
Yeah they do burn cooler. I have left the low beam ala natural ( just in case) and you can definitely feel the difference in heat. Way cooler from the high side. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Once the silver coating is gone the black plastic material that the housing is made of absorbs an awful lot of heat. Frankly after seeing my first low beam reflector's condition I'm very surprised we haven't seen more tales of flaming headlights. The fact most bikes see VERY few miles each year is a major contributing factor in the low number of catastrophic failures IMO. The people that get out and really ride the bikes are seeing the problem crop up very quickly, and in some cases repeatedly. There is no need for overstating the issue at hand. It is quite bad enough as it stands with the reflectors degrading and the headlight efficiency following suit. I am anxiously awaiting Steve's retro-fit kit for the 90mm Hella lamps. I just don't see a factory replacement effort on the horizon and I'm about as optimistic as a person can be. | ||
| Socalbueller |
Most of the things about my Buell I am impressed with like how well it is designed and the fit and finish are above average. However the wiring harness, taillight and headlights they really cheaped out on. The lead going to the headlight has some of the insulation burned off because of heat. The taillight doesn't have a seal on it and gets dirt inside regularly. I feel the headlights on the bolts are a poor design in general. Even when new they did not give a decent spread of light mostly just one spot in front of you. What the hell is with that stupid spoon thing in the low beam? First thing you should do is take that out. There have been a couple of times I have been stuck on back roads/canyons at night and couldn't even do the speed limit because I could not see what was around the corner. Buell seemed to design these headlights just to give off enough light to get you home. My 1988 Honda Hawk GT has a better headlight than the Firebolt’s. It's not brighter but at least it throws some light to the sides. Now the top part of the reflector on my low beam is burnt and is pretty much useless if I actually needed it but living in Los Angeles the streets are lit up pretty well it is not an issue. If I did live in a more rural place I'd be pretty pissed and looking for a solution but I'm more worried about when my charging system is going to fail again. I do hope Buell comes up with a fix but it looks like that is not going to happen. Bertman has some nice lights on his Bolt but had custom made brackets to make it all fit. So I'll wait to see Steve's Hella kit when it is done. | ||
| Spatten1 |
I do hope Buell comes up with a fix but it looks like that is not going to happen. No, but it appears that they will be working very hard on any 1125 problems you might have.... | ||
| Stretchman |
I think the question I'd be asking right now is Are there any suitable substitutes for the headlight assy. on the Bolts?" As far as issues are concerned, the factory, before they will do anything, needs to reproduce the problem. A lot of what is happening may not be duplicateable at the factory side, and as such, they may be hesitant to say anything until they know for certain what is causing it. In the meantime, the best thing that you can do, for your bike, and your own safety, is to find a good replacement set, or simply go to the dealer and reorder another set of headlights. There may have been a flaw in your particular assembly that caused your issue, and it may be unique. Headlights on motorcycles are required by DOT regulations. Therefore, any issues with the headlights may turn into a recall issue, since they are mandatory equipment. Since your bulb exploded, there is a possibility that water or moisture got inside the housing. Normally, bulbs will not do what yours did unless there is an issue. Did you buy the bike new or used, and from a dealer, or private party? Were there any modifications to the assy or the electrical system that may have sparked the issue? Could it be that you and a handfull of others are the only ones suffering? It may have been a monday morning housing. Believe me, we fellow riders care about you and your safety. Best thing to do at this point is to do what you can to correct the problem. If it's as bad as you say it is, then you need to strongly consider taking the bull by the horns, and fixing it yourself. That is not a cop out by any means, but prioritize first, and complain second. Whatever the issue is, think that they will have to address it if it is a safety issue. But above all, you need to take control of the issue and put your own safety first. | ||
| Saintly |
Could it be that you and a handfull of others are the only ones suffering? Hey Stretch, it sounds to me like you're not familiar with this issue at all. If you do a search on Badwebs "quick" & "X" boards for firebolt headlights, I think you'll be BLOWN AWAY by how many threads/posts there are, how many riders on this forum are affected, how many photos of burned, flaked, melted, blistered, faded, and heat cracked housings there are, and most sadly, how LONG this has been going on. It is certainly not just a "handfull" of unfortunate souls, the problem is quite widespread. P.S. For what it's worth, I bought both of my firebolts brand new from Buell dealers. No mods, bone stock. My 2007 bolt has already had one set of housings replaced under warranty for heat blisters and delamination of the housing coating. It's now in need of its 3rd low beam housing as it is heat cracked and blistered. | ||
| Stretchman |
OK, I get that. I am an Ss rider. I guess the point I am trying to make is to make certain that you put your safety first. Some of the posts came across as saying " Since I called Buell about it, then they have to do something about it and I won't." The scary part of that is putting your safety and well being into the hands of vapor. IS there another avenue you can take that will fix the issue? Aftermarket perhaps? I think that fixing it first should be the priority, not getting someone else, especially someone like me who is wholly unfamiliar with the issue, to take responsibility. Once you know the problem is there, and if it affects your riding, then it's up to you to decide if it's worth it to risk it. Sorry if I am being redundant. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I think you're right , Saintly. It is a widespread problem, albeit one that has a "visibility" problem itself. I don't have any demographics for Firebolt owners, but I bet they are heavily concentrated in urban/suburban areas... that have frequent streetlights. I had an '03 9R and barely noticed the lights were dimming. I even got in some growling here, accusing the louder/stronger posters of being drama queens or worse. For that I deeply apologize. My baby brother has the bike now(he's 42) and i'm very concerned with a solution. I still believe the best solution for now is a personal fix like what Steve Mackay is working on. I know something was realized at BMC, because the 1125R's lights are 1000% better than the 'Bolt's. Hopefully when BMC makes a decision, they'll reimburse owners for their private fixes or fix them under warranty for those that CAN wait. Don't be like that guy in New Zealand I read about in "In the news" here that took out a cow. Save your receipts! Court, this is a good cause to chase. Z |
