LED Driving lights, Light up your life.

[MindWebs]

I'm hearing that our 1100's have a commmon downfall....

the charging curcuit.

i am a HUGE fan of driving lights to light up the road at night.
and the problem is.... it will drain the battery.

so i dug up a few links and would like some feedback.

#1, it appears to be a work in progress.. but may have merit.

http://www.panoptesled.com/

#2, a bit pricy at $277 but seeing a deer sooner IS better.

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/High-Intensity-LED-Driving-Light-p-20786.html

#3 Hmm, save money? do-it-yourself? any engineers around here???

http://www.plasmaled.com/3w_high_power_led.htm

no, serious, is there any engineers that would consider tackling our lighting
problems?? for less then $200
i do alot of night driving, i've alway's had bikes with stronger charging sys.
now i have a BIG problem, i like the 11SF but i've got NO light

or is there an upgrade that can be made to the charging system???

let me know ladies and gents!!

[tw1980]

You can install led tail lights,and license plate lights that draw less power and turn signals if you use a two prong electronic flasher.(this will delete your auto shut off function)Also there are some hotter regulator/rectifier units available.Try search function and tech tips if my memory serves me correctly. Terry

[psycoreefer]

you could always switch out the headlight for one of those HID ones, they have a transformer you'd hove to hide but you'd get more light with less power.

[MindWebs]

more questions then answers..

2 very good tips..

The HID is a good idea, but WHAT A PRICETAG.. wow.

i guess i'm a bit to much of a cheapskate, and i like modifing stuff..

no other tweeks?

i take it nobody has tryed finding a swapable stator assembly?

i KNOW other bikes have stronger stators.
on my 250 ninja, I'm running:
100watt high beam 90watt low beam headlight
2- 35watt driving lights
heated handgrips
and yes i've run all 3 for hours at a crack.
I have yet to see any problems with a weakened battery.

is this just a yamaha problem? or just our 11's?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Mindweb,

It's our 11's. They use a brushless ALT and it only cranks out about 20 amps at 5Krpm, the XJ's brush unit puts out about 26 amps at similar rpm.

Due to the limited space, as well as $$ factor, putting more windings were not really financially feasible. Thus, using LED's for the running lights, even the dash lights can free up many AMPs that can then be used for the AUX lights. I have a standard 55/60 watt headlamp and use 2 35 watt driving lights, and as long as on the highway or maintaining 4K + rpm, no problems, and no dimming of the headlight even when slowing to idle or hitting the brake lights.

A few threads have discussed this, a search should reveal them.
But feel free to experiment, let us know if you find an alternative that either fits inside the OEM case, or mounting one with a pulley and such!?
T.C.

[Crazcnuk]

My hi/lo HID was about $60.

Brightest headlight I have ever seen. My friend's will not drive in front of me at night.

I also have all LEDs everwhere else, including the dash.

I do have a problem aiming my headlight, as I can't get it low enough. I run out of screw.

[psycoreefer]

Craz, what light did you get and where from?

[Crazcnuk]

I got mine off Ebay, similar to the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BI-XENON-HID-Complete-KIT-HI-LO-H4-Motorcycle-Bike-MOTO_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a10Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3ef5755eeaQQitemZ270406082282QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

However, you have to watch shipping. Mine came out of china.

You have to make sure your getting a genuine HID, telescopic hi/lo beam.

HIDs don't have an element, so they use a solonoid to move the bulb in or out of a cover to simulate hi lo beams.

[psycoreefer]

Did yours include the lens/reflector part that the bulb goes into? I've never changed my headlight but I'm pretty sure its a sealed beam on my bike. I've read that the reflector is critical for the HID lights to be "aimed" correctly so they don't blind other drivers.

[Crazcnuk]

No, I used the lens that was already on the bike (Yamaha vetter fairing). The kit just comes with a replacment bulb.

I can't lower my headlight quite enough to aim it properly, but oncoming traffic doesn't seem to have an issue, they aren't 'flashing' me very often.

It is more annoying, I think, to the people I am following.

[Chuckster]

If you go with the HID conversion for the headlight, do you also need to do LED's for the remaining lights on the bike in order to have enough power for all the lights?

[psycoreefer]

HID actually uses less power, they are a more efficient form of lighting, I think the ones that Craz linked to on e-bay are rated at 35watts, your normal halogen headlights are in the range of 55+ depending on what you get. So a HID uses less power and produces more light. Kind of like a flourecent bulb for your house, they use less power then a normal bulb because they are better at converting power to light.

[Crazcnuk]

Exactly, Psyco. The HIDs draw 35 watts Hi or Low beam.

Most Halogen are 55/65 or somewhere in there.

I have a stereo system and satelite radio on mine, so I wanted to scrounge as much power as I could. Plus with the Vetter trunk lights, and all 4 marker lights lit all the time, any savings are good.

I also colored my guages a funky green.

The only downside is losing the auto-cancel on the signals. I still think it should be possible to wire those load resistors into the signal light lines to be able to use the stock flasher.

[psycoreefer]

If you wire in a load resistor you might as well just switch back to standard bulbs for the flashers. The resistor just makes LED's look like bulbs to the flasher by burning up some extra current.

[WMarshy]

Hi guys,
I have a pair of driving lamps I was thinking about using (not sure the size) and was wondering how much is too much? Should I stay below 35 watt lamps? All electronics are stock right now except for a fuse box conversion and 2 small aditional break lamps... The head light already dims slightly when breaking, nothing serious but it doesnt make much sense in adding more light if its going to be overall dimmer! Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks