Riding at night / and HID  By  jdmsoldier (Read 3,664 times)

What make, model and year bike do you have? Some have lamp housings that won't take the heat and others have the lightest available stator and charging system in them and won't be able to keep up with the demand for extra power without burning out the stator on the bike.

When I had my Lance 150 since the lamp housing was chromed steel I took a chance and upgraded the bulb from the original 35W to a 45W halogen and while the housing and lens held up and it was better at night the lamp housing was not vented and caused the bulb to overheat and burn out monthly so I had to go back to a 35W.

When I chose my next bike one of the requirements was that it used a min of 55W automotive halogen headlamp bulbs and had a very well designed lamp housing. My daughter say they are like lasers burning into the back of her head when I follow her.

If your headlamp seems extremely yellow be mindfull that most scooters have a 5 or 7 watt daytime running/parking light bulb in the headlamp housing that lasts much longer than the headlight bulbs and fools people into thinking that their headlight is just dim when it is really burned out and they are running the daytime/parking light..

One of the issues I had to learn while driving at night was making a turn. On a bike you're suppose to look to where you want to go....the problem is, at night on a bike, the place where you want to go remains in the dark because your headlight has yet to light up that area.

late night no traffic riding is amazing. now heavy traffic at night is scary. most chinese scooters will take more than a bulb switch out to get better lighting cause like they stated it either cant support the wattage or some other stupid reason.

That depends. I have a Znen (a 250) that I run dual 55 watt bulbs in, but it's made for the H4 bulbs, and I ran tests with the housing off the bike to make sure there would be no overheating issues. I also put in ALL LED's so I could afford the increased power drain.

I will get some pics and put together a night-riding post this weekend. First I swapped out my 35w bulbs for 45w ones, which helped a lot but were still pretty weak. I recently purchased two 10w cree flood lights and now I light up the night. The difference is, well, like night and day.

Night riding really needs to be considered before you purchase your bike. Headlamps that are mounted on the handle bars help on turns since the headlamp gets turned into the corner with the front wheel however they tend to be less bright especially in scooters. Faring mounted lamps tend to be brighter but on the less expensive bikes the lamp housings may not be as well designed and don't diffuse light to the sides very well for cornering.

Then there is the rider of which too many never figure out that they have a moderate case of night blindness and unless they install incindiary lasers on their bikes they are going to be challenged with riding safely at night. Others just over-ride the headlights on their bikes regardless of how good or bad they are.

If you need to ride at night then you need to access your vision and at what speeds you will need to travel at to keep up with traffic and stay safe. Then you need to choose the bike that most closely matches those requirements.

It's all about compromises and such. You will either spend the money on the initial purchase price of the bike or on upgrades afterwards. Many find that to really support the headlamp they need to ride safely at night they need to upgrade the stator, regulator, wireing harness and reduce the load from other lamps on the bike by purchasing expensive LED's before even being able to run the HID lamp with a ballast or high output Halogen bulb they desire.

It may be cheaper to just choose your next bike more wisely based on what you learn from you current bike and just slow down at night for now.

My TaoTao ATMa the headlight was so weak I could not see good at night in the country . My Echarm has a single 35w bulb with two two helper lights that widen up the side of the beam a bit and I can see quite good and seldom use the hi beam . I try to use the lights on cars that are ahead of me to look for any hazards like a pothole . Yes clean the headlight lens with eyeglass cleaner as it works better than Windex ETC . I also apply Scotts Anti -fog after making sure it is streak free to prevent fogging since it is often humid here in SC .

My Jonway Magnum has a handsome boy body like the Peace VIPs and others share with twin 35w headlights that both work at the same time where some with dual headlights one is the low and the other the high and only one works at a time . The tail light bulb went out right after I bought it and it uses a 1157 like many cars also use . Instead of getting a bulb I went to Cycle Gear and bought a 1157 LED which was red instead of clear and had a metal housing instead of plastic . The salesman at CG told me that the plastic ones tended to crack and they were no longer going to sale them after they sell out of em . A clear one would light up the tag better but I can see it just fine . The tail is usually 5w and brake light 25w when the brakes are applied . I did notice just a hair more brightness out of the headlight as at low RPMs sometimes they would dim when I put on the brakes but did not at high RPMs . You can replace your running lights , dash lights and blinkers with LEDs which use less wattage . LED blinkers will need the blinker relay replaced with a new type where the others you just install like a bulb with no mods . I can see better at night on my Magnum in some cases but the Echarm has a much further beam . One night a Harley was behind me and it had additional running lights that were so bright I would not need any light if he was behind me .

In some cases you may go up ten watts . If you do put in a higher wattage bulb it will pull more watts and put off more heat so I have read where some drill two holes to allow venting .If one tries this I suggest going to any auto part store and buy a 99 cent packet of bulb grease to protect against corrosion from humidity and rain . Some have replaced their 8 pole stator along with voltage regulator with an 11 pole stator since they put out more watts .

My scooter dealer put HIDs on his scooter that have a halo around the bulb and he wired it up some the low is always on even when he switches to hi beam instead of one at a time . CFMotos like we both have use a 12 pole stator with DC headlights that come on with the key and run off of the battery instead of stator like most that brighten and dim as the RPMs go up and down . It looks neat at night but the blueish white hue is glary to my eyes compared to mine that have a slight yellow hue . The HIDs really blind me on oncoming traffic and I have ridden in cars with them and the glare seems to be worse in heavy rain . I had my retinas burned when I was 18 but a plasma cutter and after that they are more sensitive to light . I am also very nearsighted and have strong prescription eyeglasses . My ophthalmologist ( higher end eye doctor than optometrist ) said if my lenses were any stronger I could see 3 minutes into the future LOL .

Long ago when I wore contacts I bought some copies of the popular Blue Blocker sunglasses that have dark amber colored lenses and also had a much lighter tinted pair for night time driving . It was amazing how much crisper lights were at night as I see halos . I bought two pair of glasses over glasses on Amazon for night driving that have yellow lenses like those used in target shooting with guns . In some cases they were ok but they did limit visibility in dark areas like in the country that did not have pole lights . A nearby town uses amber pole lights instead of metal halide which has a light blue and white hue like most do . The amber lights make it much easier to see without the glare .

I talked to my dealer about handlebar vs body mounted headlights since I had 3 go out on me . He said those in the body seem to last longer since the handlebar type took more of the impact from bumps on the road . Handlebar is nice that you can point it where body is fixed . Having both types on two scooters it is hard to say which is better as they both have variables . The Echarm is better on long highways and the Magnum with dual headlights has a wider beam so it works better in dark curves for me .

I have a few that added LED cornering lights that most auto part store sells but I only saw them during they day . I have seen a couple of guys where a miner style light that is on a headband so they can point the beam towards the direction they look . I had my hi/lo switch break on my Geo Metro one night so I had to use a 2MCW spotlight for headights since I had none for a bit and after hitting a bump the low beams came back on . I left in in low for 3 years since it was so finicky to change and the part was expensive and a hassle to get to . It sucks that some parts on cheap cars cost so much .

Last night I saw a guy riding a scooter at night with no tail light and he had a red flashing LED clipped on the back of his shirt . I am pretty sure it was illegal unless only used in an emergency to get home rather than full time use since it did not light up when the brakes were applied . One night when I was 14 I was riding a Motobecane which is pedal type of moped and the tail light burned out and I did not know it . A car came up from behind and almost ran into me . I could see and smell the smoke from the front tires that had locked up with me at WOT just narrowly ahead of him . Ever since then I always do a light inspect and always chase down anyone on two wheels to warn them when I see their tail light is not working since I hate to hear about people getting hurt and killed where a 3 dollar bulb could have prevented a tragedy . I have also seen many with no headlight which is a federal law that it must burn 24/7 to help others see you better . I almost ran into a tweaker at night who was riding with no lights on his scooter . Unsure if it just went out on him or if he stole it . I like to carry a spare headlight bulb in a protective box lined with foam to have handy for a roadside fix . I had a YugoGTY that had a spare lightbulb box which gave me the idea to use on my scooters too .