Wilsons Sandbox

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2004 12:50 pm**

I HAVE A 98 KLR650 AND TO ME THE HEAD LIGHT IS TERIBLE. I HAVE HAD ENDURO'S AND ROAD BIKES IN THE PAST BUT NOTHING THAT LIGHTS THE ROAD SO POORLY AS MY KLR650. I SEE SOME PEOPLE REPLACE THE STOCK LAMP WITH A 55/100W H4. ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS, IS THIS PROBLEM UNIQUE TO MY BIKE? THANKS IN ADVANCE, RICH.

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2004 12:59 pm**

On Tue, 2004-02-17 at 13:26, relemcke wrote:

> I HAVE A 98 KLR650 AND TO ME THE HEAD LIGHT IS TERIBLE. I HAVE HAD > ENDURO'S AND ROAD BIKES IN THE PAST BUT NOTHING THAT LIGHTS THE ROAD > SO POORLY AS MY KLR650. I SEE SOME PEOPLE REPLACE THE STOCK LAMP WITH > A 55/100W H4. ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS, IS THIS PROBLEM UNIQUE TO MY > BIKE? THANKS IN ADVANCE, RICH. >

I'm having difficulty controlling the VOLUME OF MY VOICE! Please don't shout, it's loud enough in here as it is. The reflector was designed before the discovery of the photon, so it's not the greatest, especially in comparison to the new computer designed reflectors. Best bet is to first up the bulb wattage to determine whether or not it's an intensity of light problem or if it's a beam pattern problem. If the beam pattern is what is bothering you, then the solution isn't as simple as putting in a new bulb, you'll have to explore adding driving lights (might be too much for electrical system), or spending the bux on a replacement for the main headlight (ala BD's HID system). I don't have a problem with the KLR headlight, so I can't speak as to what is the best solution for either problem. Z DC A5X A12X

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:07 pm**

Your bike is still fairly new, but you might remove the reflector to see that it isn't dirty inside or that the reflective material hasn't gone south. That happened to my A1 after about 10 years. I bought a new reflector for about $60 and had light again. __Arden

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "relemcke" wrote: > I HAVE A 98 KLR650 AND TO ME THE HEAD LIGHT IS TERIBLE. I HAVE HAD > ENDURO'S AND ROAD BIKES IN THE PAST BUT NOTHING THAT LIGHTS THE ROAD > SO POORLY AS MY KLR650. I SEE SOME PEOPLE REPLACE THE STOCK LAMP WITH > A 55/100W H4. ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS, IS THIS PROBLEM UNIQUE TO MY > BIKE? THANKS IN ADVANCE, RICH.

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:16 pm**

Tuesday, February 17, 2004, 1:26:26 PM, relemcke wrote: r> I HAVE A 98 KLR650 AND TO ME THE HEAD LIGHT IS TERIBLE. I HAVE HAD r> ENDURO'S AND ROAD BIKES IN THE PAST BUT NOTHING THAT LIGHTS THE ROAD I just replaced mine with a 80/100w. There is more light for sure but I'm going to work on adjusting the light so it hits farther down the road a bit as well. What would be nice is a switch so that during the day I could knock the wattage down by half to get 40/50, and then at night I could bump it up. Is something like that doable? (The only thing I know about electronics is that it hurts when I stick my finger in the socket.

I'm a bit concerned about using my electric vest with the higher wattage bulb. I may switch back to the stock bulb in the winter when I'm less prone to ride at night anyway. jim

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2004 2:02 pm**

> What would be nice is a switch so that during the day I could knock > the wattage down by half to get 40/50, and then at night I could bump > it up. Is something like that doable? (The only thing I know about > electronics is that it hurts when I stick my finger in the socket.

Tammy has a Plug and Play headlight switch that would allow you to turn the headlight on and off: http://shop.dualsportrider.org/catalog/ I don't "do" electricity either, but I wonder if some sort of rheostat type of thing would allow you to raise and lower it. The thing is; would it increase / decrease the wattage, or just the "visible" output? Mark My KLR650 Motorcycle Website: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ Our HomePage: http://home.adelphia.net/~msaint/index.html Check out Geocaching: http://www.geocaching.com

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2004 6:08 pm**

Check the aim of the light first. TK

----- Original Message ----- From: "relemcke" To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 1:26 PM Subject: [DSN_klr650] KLR650 HEADLIGHT > I HAVE A 98 KLR650 AND TO ME THE HEAD LIGHT IS TERIBLE. I HAVE HAD > ENDURO'S AND ROAD BIKES IN THE PAST BUT NOTHING THAT LIGHTS THE ROAD > SO POORLY AS MY KLR650. I SEE SOME PEOPLE REPLACE THE STOCK LAMP WITH > A 55/100W H4. ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS, IS THIS PROBLEM UNIQUE TO MY > BIKE? THANKS IN ADVANCE, RICH. > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > >

Posted: **Wed Feb 18, 2004 4:37 pm**

On Tue, 17 Feb 2004, Jim wrote:

>What would be nice is a switch so that during the day I could knock the >wattage down by half to get 40/50, and then at night I could bump it up. >Is something like that doable? (The only thing I know about electronics >is that it hurts when I stick my finger in the socket.

Adding resistance in series will reduce the overall current draw but it will make the lamp very inefficient. Reducing the current by only 25% or so will reduce the light output by 1/2 or more. It will also shift the color temperature towards red (this is bad). In addition, a fair amount of energy will get pissed away in the form of heat (in the resistor). Rigging up an external daytime running lamp that uses a lower wattage bulb and cutting the main headlight off would work better. It's probably illegal, though. RM

Posted: **Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:32 pm**

Why in the world would you run down a public road esp with any chance of a cager around with anything less than full bright on during daytimes? I check my headlight with my hand a few yards into the ride. On the occasions when the bulb burns out, usually the bright during daylight hours; I can tell the bulb is off by the lack of attention I recieve by the cagers. esp the ones wholl pull out in fornt of you making a right turn, and never even look up into the rearview; my bright does get attention. Some times I flash other bikers in a attempt to get them to turn on the brights.(daylight) I hear people run heated vest, gloves, and even chaps with no problems.

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, rm@r... wrote: > > On Tue, 17 Feb 2004, Jim wrote: > > >What would be nice is a switch so that during the day I could knock the > >wattage down by half to get 40/50, and then at night I could bump it up. > >Is something like that doable? (The only thing I know about electronics > >is that it hurts when I stick my finger in the socket. > > Adding resistance in series will reduce the overall current draw but it > will make the lamp very inefficient. Reducing the current by only 25% or > so will reduce the light output by 1/2 or more. It will also shift the > color temperature towards red (this is bad). > > In addition, a fair amount of energy will get pissed away in the form of > heat (in the resistor). > > Rigging up an external daytime running lamp that uses a lower wattage bulb > and cutting the main headlight off would work better. It's probably > illegal, though. > > RM

Posted: **Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:43 pm**

Wednesday, February 18, 2004, 7:32:27 PM, klr6501995 wrote: k> I hear people run heated vest, gloves, and even chaps with no k> problems. That is no problem with a 55/60w stock bulb but I'm running an 80/100. For now I'll just be cold

but the question was if I could somehow 'dim' my bulb and save some wattage. Great ideas so far! I'm also digging the auxiliary light idea - and damn the law! I mean if I got a headlight I have a headlight

Then I could also run the aux lights off-road as well. And it looks like the aftermarket switch with the headlight on/off is about the same price as a HeatTroller... "Look officer - I have THREE headlights!" jim

Posted: **Wed Feb 18, 2004 9:14 pm**

I haven't been able to get my headlight to work since I dropped my bike a few weeks back. Replaced the bulb, checked the connections and inspected the fuses. Any other ideas on what might be ailing my lights? Blinkers, horn, other electrics work fine, BTW. Cheers, Erik A15-Miami

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