Friday, August 9, 2013

Upgrading the Headlight Bulb on a Suzuki VX800 Motorcycle

I've got a Suzuki VX800 motorcycle, and like abounding earlier individual headlight bikes, the ablaze achievement on both biconcave or capital axle is poor. The low achievement banned arresting ambit at night, and so banned speed, and aswell agency that the blinding aftereffect of advancing cars is added pronounced.
I chose an Osram Night Breaker +90% ball with a H4 applicable acceptable for the bike. These bulbs affirmation to accord 90% added ablaze output, but still fit into the accepted fitting, and draw the accustomed 60/55 watts. This agency that they are a absolute backup to the absolute accepted headlight bulb. I did accede advance to a Xenon HID headlight, but a able advancement kit costs appreciably more, and requires abacus a balance assemblage and modifying the ball wiring.
Fitting the new Osram Night Breaker Headlight Bulb
The action for replacing the ball is absolutely the aforementioned as for a lot of individual lamp 'naked' motorcycles. Here's a quick summary:
First job was aggravating to get into the Osram Night Breaker packaging! Abolish all the cardboard cover, columnist on the top of the case to unclip it, and again boring plan the foreground bisected and aback bisected apart. They are captivated calm by tabs at the top and bottom, and yield a little force to get apart.
Alleviate the headlight assemblage application screws - on this bike, they are on the abandon of the headlight unit. The screws can corrode, in which case administer some biting oil and delay for 10 account to anticipate you rounding the active off. Yield affliction not to adapt the abate spiral at the front. This is acclimated to acclimatize the bend of the axle to anticipate admirable advancing traffic. Once unscrewed, the headlight assemblage will cull advanced out of the rear cover.
Disconnect the ability cables to the headlight bulb, and the parking ablaze bulb. Once this is done, you can abolish the elastic waterproofing cover, and alleviate the application ring by axis anticlockwise by a baby amount.
Now abolish the absolute ball and alter with the Osram Night Breaker +90%. Yield affliction not to blow any allotment of the bottle with your fingers, as clay or oil can could cause the ball to overheat and possibly shatter. The H4 ball will alone go in one way annular to ensure the biconcave and capital axle works correctly.
Backup is the adverse of removal. Abode the application ring aback on to the applicable and about-face a baby bulk clockwise to lock into place. Alter the elastic waterproofing cover, and ensure a abutting fit to the headlamp body. Yield the assemblage aback to the bike and reconnect the headlight and parking ablaze ability connectors. Put the headlight assemblage aback into the rear cover, ensuring the spiral holes band up. Alter the application screws, demography affliction not to over-tighten them.
The Effects
Now for the moment of truth: is the added amount for the Osram Night Breaker +90% ball account it? I can't appearance images here, but I took afore and afterwards photos. In both cases, the camera was bound to the aforementioned settings (1/500th at F4) so that I could analyze the ablaze output. There does assume to be a ample access in ablaze output. Yay!
In practice, benumbed through Dorset countryside on a aphotic night, the new ball gives appreciably greater afterimage at continued range, giving reflections from alley signs and bodies eyes for a massive ambit on beeline roads. Even on biconcave beam, the added ablaze gives bigger afterimage of the alley apparent advanced if adverse advancing traffic. No-one flashed me or contrarily adumbrated that the new lights were blinding them, so the axle arrangement has not been affected.
On capital beam, it's abundant easier to see added into corners. The ablaze is brighter and whiter, which allows for added scatter, so even altar not in the absolute aisle are added visible. For a amount of £17.50 for a brace of bulbs from AutobulbsDirect (I adored one as a spare), this has to be the a lot of cost-effective advancement I accept made!

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