Stella 4T headlight upgrade?

slotrod65 · Post by **slotrod65** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:53 am

After converting my tail and signal lights to LEDs, I was wondering if I could do anything to upgrade the performance of my headlight. I have searched several threads, and they are all several years old. The most common idea was to change the bulb to a PIAA 70473 Super Plasma GT-X HS1. (links below) The idea being that this bulb delivers 60/60 watt light while drawing the stock 35/35 watt. has anyone done this on their 4T who can report results?

Also, while I had the headset open, I thought it might be worth upgrading the lame-o parking light to an LED. Does anyone know what bulb type this is? I really do not want to open the headset more than once...

Thanks in advance!!

http://www.amazon.com/PIAA-70473-Super- ... PDKIKX0DER

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIAA-SUPER-PLAS ... c9&vxp=mtr

gar1013 · Post by **gar1013** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:34 am

Have you considered maybe adding some spotlights/driving lights/fog lights up front with some LED cluster bulbs?

slotrod65 · Post by **slotrod65** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:32 am

Yeah, once I screw my guts up enough to add the Cuppini front crash bar, I will be adding a few lights Mod style, but the intention there will mostly be for show, or some additional visibility. I would really like to add that halogen bulb if people have tried it with success.

gar1013 · Post by **gar1013** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:37 am

slotrod65 wrote:Yeah, once I screw my guts up enough to add the Cuppini front crash bar, I will be adding a few lights Mod style, but the intention there will mostly be for show, or some additional visibility. I would really like to add that halogen bulb if people have tried it with success.

I actually just got that bar installed along with some other goodies... Photos coming soon.

misterbrackets · Post by **misterbrackets** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 5:24 am

I installed a PIAA HS1 a few months ago. It's better than what was in there, but still not as bright as I'd like. An improvement, though. I think upgrading the headlight involves more than changing the bulb on the Stellas. I think the whole assembly needs to be changed out, since it's plastic and -- from what I was told -- would possibly melt from the heat. Eventually I am going to upgrade the headlight beyond the PIAA HS1, but most of my riding is during the day. Of course, before we know it, it will be getting dark at 5:00 again and I'll be riding home from work in the dark

fatcharlie · Post by **fatcharlie** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:35 am

You could look into doing an HID upgrade... I've done it in the past (but not on a Stella). Most likely, this would give you the light you want.

A couple issues if you go this path...

Clearance and space... HIDs require a ballast that has to be placed somewhere. If you opt for a high/low HID, then there is some more space required behind the light housing for a solenoid that moves the bulb forward and backwards to change the focal point.

Power- According to the Stella 4T schematic, the power going to the headlight is regulated 12v, instead of a dedicated lighting coil in some older bikes. If this is the case, then the stock wiring should be fine, you may even be able to find a "plug and play" HID kit.

If the headlight isn't regulated, and is run by AC voltage from the stator, then you will have to run wire from the battery to fire the light off, and you should incorporate a relay in the mix that will trigger off the ignition switch or somewhere that indicates stator output. If there is a dedicated lighting coil, then you can add a rectifier and feed this power into your battery to make up for the loss that you would end up having. (More on this if needed)

Most HID kits are 35w, same as the factory headlamp, so your stock wiring should be fine (There is a bit of a spike when initially striking the arc on a HID lamp, I don't know how much current is pulled during the strike, but it shouldn't be an issue since it is momentary).

Most likely an HID will give you plenty of light, but there are some warnings beforehand...

- If your bulb or ballast dies, installation isn't as straightforward as swapping a regular bulb.

- Most HID kits are made in China, and while I've installed maybe 10-15 in cars and bikes over the years, I've never had a failure, but I know several people that have... the difference is that I pull apart the connectors in the kit and re-solder/re-crimp bad connections. This seems to be the weak point in the kits. (an arcing connection can spike voltage into the thousands of volts range, and this can destroy sensitive components in the ballast)

- Your reflector is not designed for an HID, this means that the light on the ground most likely will not be the same pattern... I don't know if you can adjust the headlight alignment on a Stella (Probably can - but I don't own one - so I can't go look)... but if you can, you can compensate somewhat for this.