Headlight upgrade question

Bergini · Jun 26, 2011

hey guys,
i have a 1997 fe600e, it has a #7351 40W/45W headlight that is better than nothing but thats about it.
for electrical loads i have two 4"x4" cooling fans that draw 1.7 amps total for both, and a tusk dual/sport LED lighting kit( brake light and turn signals) and added jumper wire factory headlight so high beam was enabled through signal switch. also of course electric start and horn
it has the mk1 stator with two 70w lighting coils that produce 140W total
my questions:

what is th highest headlight wattage for high beam and low beam that can be ran safely and still not dicharge the battery?

doe one coil charge battery and the other power the headlights or due they just provide 140w and whatever is not used after electrical loads satified goes to battery charge?

does HID use less power? if one went with HID is a converter or boster box or something required?

ideally i could modify the housing and install an automotive bulb and connector which would also save precious room behind the faring

Bigblue · Jun 28, 2011

Check out Cyclebuy.com, they have some LED lights ($135.00) that only use 10 watts of power and they put out twice the light of the stock headlight, they work off of 12 VDC so you do not need to mount a ballast anywhere and at only 10 watts you could mount a couple of them on and still not have to upgrade the stock electrical. I have not used these lights so I do not know if they work as well they claim but it is definately worth looking into.

Bergini · Jun 28, 2011

thanks for the reply Bigblue!
i dont know why i didnt think of led headlights

i guess i always thought of them like more of a foglight for
some reason, probably because i work on cars fir a living, although i still should have known because in recent years even some have started coming with factory led headlights, i will have to check out my options,

thanks again!

maKe · Jun 29, 2011

How about HID retrofit? No, I don't mean cheap chinese kits stuffed inside your current headlight. In other words you build a true HID lights using oem HID projectors, bulbs and ballasts. Like in modern new cars that have outstanding light output and beam pattern.

I did that to my GSX-R headlight. Used Lexus RX-AFS projector, oem matsushita ballast and 5000k D2s bulb.
Baked my headlight apart, cutted stock halogen reflector apart and fabricated brackets and put the projector inside.

Costed only about $150 for parts and I have better low beam output than my dads -08 320CDI Mercedes bi-xenons.

Here is the headlight project that I did and few pictures: http://make88.wippiespace.com/retrofit/
Place where I bought everything: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

Your berg has 12v electricals? If so, HID's use far less power and heat than stock 40,45 or 55W halogen bulbs. They only draw pretty big current when you warm 'em up, but only for few seconds.

For my 570 berg I'm thinking of getting this bi-xenon projector as it's very small and should fit nicely inside the headlight housing. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=236

Bigblue · Jun 29, 2011

maKe, if you put the HID system on the Berg wouldn't you still have to rewind the stator? I know guys that use the single 8" Baja Designs HID light still need to have the stator rewound because the stock electrical system can not handle it. I think the stock electrical system on your GSX-R puts out more power than the Berg does.

maKe · Jun 29, 2011

Bigblue said:
maKe, if you put the HID system on the Berg wouldn't you still have to rewind the stator? I know guys that use the single 8" Baja Designs HID light still need to have the stator rewound because the stock electrical system can not handle it. I think the stock electrical system on your GSX-R puts out more power than the Berg does.

I don't know bout older bergs, but new FI bikes should have decent electrical system to withstand single 35W ballast and bulb. It draws far less current than halogen when warmed up completely.

Bergini · Jun 29, 2011

the factory bulb wattage is 40w low 45W high the stator lighting circuits total output is 140w,

i had asked one of my freinds that works on motorcycles and atv's his thought and said that he would not suspect i would have a problem if even increase the high beam up to 75w or so, and the low beam wattage up to 55w

a 9004 55w/65w automotive bulb fits in the housing perfectly but due to the filiments being farther away from reflector the light is not as intense as even the factory bulb,

wouldnt a 35 watt HID or LED system still have the same power draw as a 35 watt halogen?

i would assume they would be brighter than halogen of the same voltage and is why newer higher end vehicles have them? of course thats only an assumption thats why i asked the question in the first place lol,

thanks a lot guys appreciate both of your ideas, definatly will have somethings to look into

Bigblue · Jun 30, 2011

Bergini,, the single 8" HID Baja Designs light that I referred to requires a DC charging system (rectifier/regulator & battery) and a stator capable of at 100 watts, now the Vision X LED lights that I have seen on Cyclebuy.com only use 10 watts of power and they put out 900 lumens of light compared to the 35 watts and 450 lumens of the stock bulb so you could run two of the LED lights and get 4 times the light output of the stock bulb and yet use only 20 watts. Now as far as what maKe is proposing with the HID retrofit kit I don't know how that would work. My son wants to start doing some night rides so if I do get some of those LED lights I will let you know how they work.

Chief Lee Visceral · Jun 30, 2011

Drawing 70W it might work on your FE600 but for 70 degree Burgs I am ordering the Trailtech X2 HID. Plug and play.

steve · Jun 30, 2011

I have apair of LED driving lights on my DR650, along with a 35w H4 HID. The LED units put out 1500 lumens each @ 30w each and are very useful at night, BUT, there is no reflector to speak of, so there is not a lot of depth to the beam. There is good spread, but no real range/penetration.

You will need DC for any LED or HID too.

FWIW
Steve

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