timgray Posted March 6, 2009 #1 Posted March 6, 2009 (edited) I was Messing with my project car when something inside my head clicked. My bike is still disassembled and I ran into the house all greasy to grab my headlight housing and run back to the garage... I am upgrading my Fiero GT from using a single ugly 80's headlight to dual Hella projector headlights. Guess what, they will fit in the Venture's opening and I believe there is enough depth for them to fit completely. Problem is, this will delay my getting the bike on the road so I am looking at another option.... Does anyone have a front headlight assembly they are willing to sell cheap, give or loan to me so I can have a metal bracket designed to upgrade our 1gen headlights? I have a machine shop at my disposal as well as a laser cutter to design a bracket that can slip into the existing assembly and hold the two Hella modules. I can get them set apart side by side just enough to fit in the rubber mounting ring. I have seen these lights in action and they would make a HUGE improvement and the way I am thinking of installing them they would still use the adjuster on the dash and even be removeable to restore the bike back to stock. Plug and play in a way. These are DOT legal lights so the upgrade would be 100% legal in the USA. and it would make a HUGE difference in lighting on the road and reduction of glare in the eyes of the oncoming traffic. The lamps are not cheap. I paid $69.00 each for mine (4 on my car) Edited March 11, 2009 by timgray Remove image that was broken.
friesman Posted March 6, 2009 #2 Posted March 6, 2009 If you would have some of those brackets made up, i beleive you might have a market for them! I know I would take one! I am a bit worried about heat on the rubber however. Brian
timgray Posted March 6, 2009 Author #3 Posted March 6, 2009 (edited) I dont think the heat on the rubber would be much of an issue, the lenses of these are polycarbonate and dont feel hot when touched after they have been on for 15 minutes. My glass sealed beam feels far hotter. I'll know more as I can move ahead with the project. Update: the new ones are glass and not polycarbonate. I will run them for an hour to find out how hot they get. Edited March 13, 2009 by timgray
CrazyHorse Posted March 6, 2009 #4 Posted March 6, 2009 I dont think the heat on the rubber would be much of an issue, the lenses of these are polycarbonate and dont feel hot when touched after they have been on for 15 minutes. My glass sealed beam feels far hotter. I'll know more as I can move ahead with the project. I have one you can mess with pm me but its for 86-93.
mother Posted March 6, 2009 #5 Posted March 6, 2009 i am interested also. what wattage are the hella projection lamps? cheers, Scott
MikeM8560 Posted March 6, 2009 #6 Posted March 6, 2009 keep us updated this sounds like a good idea:thumbsup2:
Lobo Hurfiano Posted March 6, 2009 #7 Posted March 6, 2009 DEFINATELY a worth while upgrade. I'd love to ride at night. Keep us posted.
Snaggletooth Posted March 6, 2009 #10 Posted March 6, 2009 Now this sounds interesting. My only question is the amp draw on the Hellas. Keep us informed as it comes along. Mike
Marcarl Posted March 7, 2009 #11 Posted March 7, 2009 Keep in mind that they 83..85's are different than the 86..93's And yes you have my interest.
timgray Posted March 8, 2009 Author #12 Posted March 8, 2009 Both the headlight and High beam lights are 65W bulbs. They can be replaced with a standard car bulb though. I neeed to investigate that further. I am hoping that the 83-85 and the 86-up uses some of the same components as to how the lens mounting. If so I may be able to make it more universal. I guess seeing two of them side by side on the bench is important. If I can design this I will see how much to get the bracket made. In fact if things go the way I think they will, there will be space below the lamps to put a set of small projector "fog" lamps as well. I'm going on simple eyeballing the assembly and I need to some real measurements.
timgray Posted March 11, 2009 Author #13 Posted March 11, 2009 Update: A set of these modules are going to my fabricator to see if he can get them closer together. I need to get some measurements or headlight assemblies from the 83-85 and the 86-up to see if it would be possible to make a universal one or if I need to make two different brackets.
timgray Posted March 13, 2009 Author #14 Posted March 13, 2009 Talked to my fabricator yesterday. I got a mock up to show everyone.... http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3351520924_1a282f901f.jpg?v=0 This is how it will look. I do not have any way of mounting it yet as I need to get measurements and my hands on headlight assemblies for the mk1 and mk2 1st gens. The rubber lightly touches the front glass lenses at the sides. there is plenty of room below the lamps for a set of bright yellow fog lights! I am looking for a source for incredibly bright and yellow 3Watt LED fog lights to fit in there not to light up anything but to produce a very distinctive color for daytime riding. If anyone is interested in cost, I can tell you that you are looking at $130.00 in light modules sitting there. These things are glass and metal and DOT certified, not cheap junk like the ebay ones out there. I get them from susquhenna motorsports in Canada. they are about $60.00 each with shipping that is a tad expensive. No idea on the bracket yet or wiring adapters to make it a no wire cut plug in setup. They take a standard automotive H9 bulb.
Pappa Bear Posted March 13, 2009 #15 Posted March 13, 2009 looks good so far, lookin forward to seeing it all toghether. What do you think the total amp draw will be if you run high beam and fog lights at same time?
nascarnutt Posted March 13, 2009 #16 Posted March 13, 2009 You got me interested, the reason I don't ride much at night is cause I don't see as well as I used to. The lighting on mine kinda stinks. I monuted some driving lights down low on the engine guards, but I get a lot of brights being flashed at me cause they are mounted so low it's hard to get much distance out of them without blinding oncomming traffic. Let us no how it all works out.
timgray Posted March 14, 2009 Author #18 Posted March 14, 2009 The main lights are 65 Watts each if I can find what I am after the LED fog lights should add another 6-10 watts. The way they are designed to work is that you switch between the high and low beam instead of trying to have both on. The draw of just the headlights should not be much more than that of the standard lamp. These low beams are like driving with the high beams on but with a really sharp fall off of the light so that it does not blind oncoming drivers at all. The high beams are like driving with 747 landing lights. on.
timgray Posted March 18, 2009 Author #19 Posted March 18, 2009 Got a lot of measurements from the 1983 1st gen. That one will be far easier to make the upgrade to. I am working with a couple of people to get a plate laser cut that I can try on a parts bike a few miles away. The lights will have to set forward closer to the glass than I thought they would because of how shallow the headlight area is and how much wiring is jammed behind it. Anyone know that the 83-85 bikes are identical as far as the headlight? I really hope so.
Evan Posted March 18, 2009 #20 Posted March 18, 2009 Got a lot of measurements from the 1983 1st gen. That one will be far easier to make the upgrade to. I am working with a couple of people to get a plate laser cut that I can try on a parts bike a few miles away. The lights will have to set forward closer to the glass than I thought they would because of how shallow the headlight area is and how much wiring is jammed behind it. This is another great example of how fabulous this forum is for new VR owners, such as myself. I do a lot of riding and I am very interested in this better lighting upgrade for my 88VR that I just acquied. Hope it will work for 86+ VR's and I will stay posted. Evan
friesman Posted March 18, 2009 #21 Posted March 18, 2009 I am 99.9 % sure that they are the same from 83 - 85 , the change came from 86 onwards. Brian
The Crimson Knight Posted March 18, 2009 #23 Posted March 18, 2009 Got a lot of measurements from the 1983 1st gen. That one will be far easier to make the upgrade to. I am working with a couple of people to get a plate laser cut that I can try on a parts bike a few miles away. The lights will have to set forward closer to the glass than I thought they would because of how shallow the headlight area is and how much wiring is jammed behind it. This is another great example of how fabulous this forum is for new VR owners, such as myself. I do a lot of riding and I am very interested in this better lighting upgrade for my 88VR that I just acquied. Hope it will work for 86+ VR's and I will stay posted. Evan I see that and raise you 2!! I'm extremely excited about this possibility. I'm currently looking into rear LED lights for my brake and this upgrade would be HUGE. I'm already making plans to save up the money to make the 1st purchase when available (respectively)... Please keep us updated, I'm very interested to find out how it looks for the Mk II, as that's what I have (88 VR).
timgray Posted March 19, 2009 Author #24 Posted March 19, 2009 The problem I see on a 86+ is that it will not be as nicely trimmed out. the 83-85 has a glass cover over an inset lamp and it looks to me that the 86+ has a shaped lens that sticks all the way out. I am sure I can make this work on both, but the 86+ will not look as good. I need to wait for photos of the 86 headlight assembly before I can see what is needed to be done to make it work for all 1st gens.
MiCarl Posted March 19, 2009 #25 Posted March 19, 2009 The problem I see on a 86+ is that it will not be as nicely trimmed out. the 83-85 has a glass cover over an inset lamp and it looks to me that the 86+ has a shaped lens that sticks all the way out. I am sure I can make this work on both, but the 86+ will not look as good. I need to wait for photos of the 86 headlight assembly before I can see what is needed to be done to make it work for all 1st gens. You are correct. The 86+ is similar to a modern automotive headlamp. It's a thermoplastic bucket with a reflector in it with what is probably a lexan lens bonded to the front, There is a hole at the back that the halogen bulb inserts into. The lens is the front of the motorcycle and the whole bucket moves when adjusting the aim.
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