Modern Buddy

Anyone else here feeling the need for a better headlight on there 110? I've done way too much research on the headlight on my Buck Ten and think I have a solution. The problem is the solution costs money. I'd be willing to take the initial risk of modifying my Rattler to see if it works but would like an partner in crime if it works. A HID bi-level xenon light upgrade should work. 35w... high and low from the same bulb... and with a ballast should cure the light dim/flicker. May need to up the main fuse due to a startup draw of approx 15 amp (ignitor). A pair of lights run about $400 (singles run over $300) for a GOOD set. I'm talking a 50/50 split on parts for a set if it works on my scoot first. If it doesn't work I'll take the loss. Let me know either here or yahoo group genuinerattler


Dan

So a $20 halogen bulb won't do the trick? (That's a serious, sincere question...)

Pfft. Just be glad that you don't have the 50's headlight.
-K

The Halogen bulb is a H4 bulb, a 65w/50w. The stock bulb is only a HS1 35/35. Adding that much wattage to the bulb would most likely melt the housing or the wiring harness plugged into the bulb. A Xenon H4 bulb is still just a 35/35w bulb with the same base (for mounting purposes) as ths HS1. I wish a $20 halogen would do the job right... the Xenon should also cure any flicker (ballast) and prove to be very weather and vibration resistant. I've had a little time to read up on the headlight stuff, a little too much time.

I've got a Rattler 50 and the light is killing me. I'm getting a Halogen and hoping that does the trick for me. And then I found some PIAA's that might fit in the housing with some mod work. I got this scooter because it's legal to drive in NC with a DUI. I've done a ton of work to my cars but this is all new to me, on the scooter. Don't like the fact I've got a limit on my power supply. The work I'm getting done and lights well be done by the end of next week. I'll let you know and I'll be happy to split the light cost if I can't figure it out on my own. By the way I'm up around 1500 miles and it's running great, one night around 22 degrees it didn't start right up, but once it did it was fine. No vibrations, but the rear break is not that strong. That's my only complant about it. Looking forward togetting my prima muffler on this week, just hate it's going to be loud. oh well to hit 60 I'll deal with it.

http://www.autobarn.net/xxx1192.html page I found the PIAA's
http://www.autobarn.net/piprila.html Another pair

While the Prima pipe is a bit loud, it's not unbearably loud.
I just made sure to start the bike in the garage whenever I would decide to ride to work (early in the morning) as to keep peace with the neighbors.

Oh, one time I did arrive at an outdoor wedding a little bit late. A lot of heads turned as I pulled into the parking lot.

Keep us updated on everything.
-K

Silly, but the 110 and the 50 have different headlight setups. The 110 runs a single HS1, not sure of what the 50 has. If it is a HS1 a H4 Xenon setup shoud work for it too.

wOOT! It took nearly a month but my Xenon is in and functioning! What a darn task that was. When I catch my breath I'll post more on the whole story

nissanman wrote:wOOT! It took nearly a month but my Xenon is in and functioning! What a darn task that was. When I catch my breath I'll post more on the whole story

You must do a serious amount of night riding to shoulder that much effort and expense? Pictures too with the whole story please!

I added some pics to the gallery at genuinerattler, still need to re-size them to fit here I'm procrastinating on that one. I do ride a bunch at night since I commute to work frequently and I'm usually out after 8pm. There's one spot in particular where deer like to cross too and I'd like to see them before it's too late. But the expense may prove it's easier to use a PIAA Extreme white H4 (about $50) I had a set in my old truck and they work great too. Or the Sylvania Silverstars work great too. All said it was $250 for the HID, $25 for the relay (they send it in a set of 2 so I've got a spare now), $75 for the stator rewind, $31 for the flywheel puller and the time and effort to figure this job out. You can say I exceeded my budget, just about doubled it. The good news is anyone else trying this should start with the relay kit for $25 instead of a flywheel puller + stator rewind for $106. The stock stator may have had enough power but now I'll never know

Grrrrr Not too happy right now. After about an hour or so of riding the light will finally drain my battery to dead. According to the website the ballast needs 3.2A... my bike is making 4A+ at idle, should be enough for a dashboard, the little location light and the ballast. Let alone under power it's up to 5A+. Voltage was never a problem. So unless I can figure out a way to limit the power consumption of this light I may have to go to plan B Since I'm going through a relay setup if there were such a fliter available I could wire it inline to the ballast... but I have no idea if such a filter exists

nissanman wrote:Grrrrr Not too happy right now. After about an hour or so of riding the light will finally drain my battery to dead. According to the website the ballast needs 3.2A... my bike is making 4A+ at idle, should be enough for a dashboard, the little location light and the ballast. Let alone under power it's up to 5A+. Voltage was never a problem. So unless I can figure out a way to limit the power consumption of this light I may have to go to plan B Since I'm going through a relay setup if there were such a fliter available I could wire it inline to the ballast... but I have no idea if such a filter exists

There's got to be a better way than to spend nearly (at least) 15% the price of the scooter on better lighting...I think auxiliary lighting is your answer. Maybe some pencil-beams inside those two "nostril" holes on the front? (The ones on either side of the "Genuine" badge on the front, smooth plastic)

They would require power too. It's not making any sense at this point. I replaced a stock 35W headlight with a different 35W headlight... the amperage draw should be the same. Voltage requirements are the same too. If the wattage of the bulb went up the necessary amperage would also go up. wattage=amps x volts in DC headlight applications. It means the ballast is pulling excess amperage to maintain a constant output to the light, amperage it doensn't need. That's why I wish I could find a filter to limit it's draw to somewhere in the 3.5A range. If I tried to run any aux type lighting it would just add about 35Wx2 lights... so about an additional 6Amp load on the system. This is why I hate electrical mods

I'll definitely keep y'all posted as I get to the bottom of this. I'm trying to get a real answer out of the company I bought the setup from but I have a feeling that's gonna take some work. I feel like I'm getting ready for a fight on this Let me at 'em!

Still in the process of finding out why exactly a 35W Xenon would draw more power than a 35W halogen (they should be the same, like a pound of feathers and a pound of gold weigh the same). It's highly unlikely, but I may have a ballast that's too hungry for power, I'm going to send back my ballast for a replacement and see if that works out. If not (since I can't find any aftermarket flywheels) I'll just have to return the HID setup and hope a Halogen won't melt anything if I install it. Once you ride with that much light you can't go back to stock

I just stumbled upon an alternative to my HID. It appears PIAA now makes a HS1 bulb in their GT-X style. Wasn't looking for a 5000k bulb (a bit bluish/purple) but a 35W/35W that puts out the equivalent of 60W/60W with no other modification necessary. Sounds good to me. Just google PIAA HS1 and you'll find it. Runs about $40 plus S&H.