A few months ago I attached a fog light so that it would turn on with the main beam.
However in bad weather conditions I found that the light was still not enough.
So today I fitted a switch between the main high beam and low beam, so that all three lights would come on at once at a press of a Switch.
However I'm now concerned about the regulator for the battery being burnt out prematurely.



Any advice would be very welcome! As I have no knowledge about electronics or bikes for that matter.

Put in Xenon lights: 35W instead of 55W and a LOT more light and MUCH improved vision / visionability. Combine that with the light-switch-mod that keeps low-beam on while high-beam is switched on and you don't even need any extra lights.

HJ

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Riding the Mad Mule !! ... no more... went orange...

You'll be fine with all three on at the same time, provided that the additional spotlamp is not drawing current directly from the headlight circuit (wired through a relay and recieving power direct from the battery). However, you'll be using most of the "spare" capacity of the alternator, which is roughly 9A. You'll only really run into trouble if you're riding with all three lamps on and using other power-hungry kit, such as heated clothing, grips etc. all at the same time.

To keep an eye on charging state fit one of these. �12 well spent for peace of mind.

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This is a problem b/c when the visibility is bad is when i usually use the heated grips.

I noticed there are lots of xenon bulbs, can u remember which two i need for the low and high beams. I noticed in the store today that they have led bulbs for low beams, about the same as price as the bulbs you suggested. More confusion.

A word of caution: LED H7 headlamp bulbs are rubbish, a candle would be more effective!

I think SingleMinded means "proper" Xenon lights - ie: HIDs.

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Any parts number would be so appreciate,d so i can order on the web? going to the city is a more than a full days job for me and that requires permission?

Don't know exactly what to suggest as I haven't fitted HIDs, but essentially any H7 kit from ebay will do. It is just that the bike kits are more expensive, but include a slim ballast resistor which is easier to hide up.

Something like this would do...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/hid-xenon-conversion-kit-h7-12000khttp://

But I wouldn't get 12000K! It'll be very blue and be a nightmare in fog and wet weather. Go for a 4300K-6000K max.

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So i need to do some sort of conversion b4 i install the bulb

You can get high power led's in H7 - but they are not cheap and the also needs a driver circuit just like a HID. Only thing in it favor is that it turns on immediately.

Have a look at
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1711239045...84.m1438.l2649

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4005527007...84.m1438.l2649

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1811595572...84.m1438.l2649

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2011 Yamaha XT660Z ABS T�n�r�.

• Puig +8cm dark screen, Garmin Zumo 220, Scottoiler eSystem v2
• Barkbusters Storm with external weights, Noname 30mm bar risers & EzMoto alu. levers
• Kev's O2 Controller, Mccoi stepless controller with Hein Gericke heated grips
• TT +4cm seat, Pivot Pegs, Altech stainless sprocket cover

I think they’re designed for show cars and the like, rather than for practical road use? They aren’t going to be very effective for seeing in the dark, but I dare say will look cool.

The HP LEDs in the links are less than a third of the output in lumens of a 35W HID unit. 25W to get 900 lumens (36 lumens per Watt), as opposed to 35W to get 3000 Lumens (86 lumens per Watt) with HID. A bog standard H7 bulb is about 1650 lumens for its 55W (30 lumens per Watt). A +30% H7 will give 2000 lumens for its 55W (36 lumens per Watt), which is ironically exactly the same as the HP LED bulb (but only costs you �10). The huge advantage of sticking with a halogen H7 is it will be working at close to 100% optical efficiency (unlike an aftermarket LED or HID), because it’s sitting in front of a reflector specifically designed for it.

Lumens output is next to useless as a guide to light intensity, because it is a measure of isotropic radiation (scattered), not focussed light, and in an SMD LED arrangement (as in the ebay units) a well-focussed beam will be totally impossible to achieve, hence why their performance is less than adequate in retro fit applications. They will work at a significantly reduced optical efficiency when installed in a standard reflecting headlight that has been designed (and pre-focussed) for a filament bulb. Nowhere near all 900 lumens (for one bulb) is going to reach the road. Aftermarket HIDs are not ideal in this respect either (check out the annoying glare from your local boy-racer's retro-fit HID headlamp bulbs - which is of course all wasted light), but HIDs are significantly better than LEDs in this respect, mainly because they produce more than three times the light to compensate for the losses.

Besides the mind-blowing cost of HP LEDs, hiding the associated bits and pieces and the lack of focussed light; HP LEDs produce a ridiculous amount of heat. You can see from the images that the whole LED unit (bulb if you like) is one giant heatsink! The headlight shell must be able to dissipate this heat and I’m not entirely convinced the XTZ’s plastic affair would be up to it? The Ducati Panigale and the new BMW GS have LED headlight options, but they are purpose designed and if you take a look inside the fairing of each you'll see what lengths (and expense) Ducati and BMW have gone to in order to keep things from setting on fire!

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