Head light

[hdroyer]

Is there a brighter head light you can install in 83 Std. Witch will put out more light.

Dale

[tiny84]

you can get an HID kit for the bike which puts out more and cleaner light then any halogen bulb can produce. looking at around $150 for the bulb and balast

[Condor]

A few of the '83-'85 owners have converted their headlight assemblies over to the 86-93. Most of the stuff can be found on Ebay. Upper frame assembly, and light assmbly. i thought about it, and then went ahead and installed a set of aux. driving lights. No more problems with lighting things up at night.

[Guest Vermincelli]

I went by Autozone and picked up a brighter bulb for mine. 14 bucks and really brightened things up.

 

Forgot the brand name but it was the middle priced one of the 3 they had.

[bongobobny]

GE NightHawk or Sylvania SilverStar are two good bulbs, but along with a brighter bulb what you want to do is remove your black rubber liner, remove the glass, and paint it white. Black absorbs light, white reflects light. Makes a huge difference! Just clean the rubber really good to remove any oily film first and prep the surface with rubbing alcohol. If you want to get fancy, you can mask off the area that is outside of the glass...

 

Marcarl has a Silverstar in his scoot and lined his inside rubber with metalic tape, and I still have the stock light. This spring mine and his side by side they were pretty much equal in brightness and definately brighter than stock, and beat out another scoot with just the stock light and silver tape covering the inside rubber. We did a little test this spring at WOWSkunk's bondfire.

[hdroyer]

Is there a brighter head light you can install in 83 Std. Witch will put out more light.

Dale

 

 

Thanks for the info I will try the bulb and paint then aux lights.

The more the better out here in deer country.

Dale

[Venturous Randy]

I did what condor suggested on my 83 and have been very happy with the light improvement. I also put in a PIAA bulb with 100/110 watt output. Mine is much better than it was.

RandyA

[Guest Flash]

I've installed aux lights 55W now I find the voltage being drained after 1 hr of use and have to turn them off to recharge the battery. Would this be a stator problem or a rectifier problem? Battery charges under normal running conditions though riding slow at walking pace also sees the battery being discharged at an alarming rate. Any thoughts

[Condor]

I've installed aux lights 55W now I find the voltage being drained after 1 hr of use and have to turn them off to recharge the battery. Would this be a stator problem or a rectifier problem? Battery charges under normal running conditions though riding slow at walking pace also sees the battery being discharged at an alarming rate. Any thoughts

 

The aux lights on mine are rated at 35watts, and draw was a concern on mine too. So I run my lights directly off the battery. I used a 25amp switch from Radio Shack to tun them on and off independantly. I only flip the switch when I really need them. Unlit streets, dark highways, or when i get paranoid as to whether the on coming or side traffic can see me. The rest of the time they stay off. So far... so good...

[Rocket]

Is there a brighter head light you can install in 83 Std. Witch will put out more light.

Dale

 

I will be putting in a combination headlight modulator & relay soon (after it arrives), it will be interesting to see if low beam will be better at night, drawing from the battery Vs the normal wiring harness. Then, might try other bulbs too.

 

Here is a link to what I am putting in

http://www.comagination.com/relay-kit-headlight-modulator.htm

[Guest Popeye]

The headlight on my '86 VR isn't impressive, but it's decent.

I have 2 sets of AUX lights on the rear + a trink light.

 

About a year ago, I removed the 2 front [rectangle] AUX lites & put on a set of small, round, 55W AUX "driving" [not fog] lights from Wal-Mart for $20.

 

They are blazing Blue-White, on a separate 25 amp switch & I always run them.

I've seen too many bikes that just don't show up well with a single headlight, especially when the sun is behind them.

 

The rear AUX lights are also on their own 25 amp switch, but I only run those after dark.

 

My battery is a few years old, but handles e/thing just fine, but I do keep RPMs up when fully lit.

[Guest Vermincelli]

I have a couple of those bluish walmart driving lights on the front as well. Bought a couple L brackets from Lowe's and mounted them right above the horns.

 

With those and the GE H4 bulb I was able to see very well on my trip. Spotted coyotes on the side of the road way off and got brights flashed numerous times.

[Gearhead]

"what you want to do is remove your black rubber liner, remove the glass, and paint it white"

 

 

Is this only on the 83-85? I can't figure where this would be on my 87.

 

Condor, are your 35W lights MC specific? Where'd you get 'em? Most car ones I see are 55W which concerns me, although some of you obviously have no problem with them.

 

Does anyone else find the light pattern to be funny? The light cutoff at the top of the pattern is very sudden, and I have a hard time with the compromise on the height adjustment. On low beam in corners, the upper cutoff is a big problem; I can't see very far around the corner. If I adjust it higher, then hi beam is ridiculously high. I have a Silverstar bulb but it's hard to say if the helped. It wouldn't change the pattern at any rate.

 

Jeremy

[Condor]

Condor, are your 35W lights MC specific? Where'd you get 'em? Most car ones I see are 55W which concerns me, although some of you obviously have no problem with them.

 

I picked up a set of 'el cheapos' off Ebay. DRIVING LIGHTS I don't remember where I got the 35watt rating from. I might have been halucinating, or read it on the installation instructions which I tossed?? They're not bullet proof like some of the other lights I've seen, but they do the job, and the price was right.