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Message started by Kris01 on 07/13/14 at 14:20:11

Title: Headlight upgrade
Post by Kris01 on 07/13/14 at 14:20:11

Found an interesting website at http://www.joe-freeman-personal.blogspot.com. Mr. Freeman added a larger (7"?) Marauder headlight to his Savage. Has anyone done this? Is the light pattern broader, brighter, better, etc.? Anyone have any pics of this setup? Looks interesting.

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Fishbulb on 07/14/14 at 06:37:02

This is the exact page in the blog, I read it several times myself:

http://www.joe-freeman-personal.blogspot.com/2011/05/suzuki-s40.html

I tried to source one of those lights, had a hard time finding a nice one at anything lower than $100-150. Plus, I didn;t know how good the pattern would be...

I decided to go with a 7" chrome bucket and side mount arms from Dime City Cycles and add in a 7" Hella E-Code headlight.

This one WITHOUT the bulb (about $50 or so):

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-customer-motorcycle-lighting-parts-7-inch-chrome-british-headlight-bucket-6635-26.html

We used to have real good luck with those lights in the pop-up headlight miata's, and turns out it works great on the bike as well. MUCH better beam pattern than the little factory light. Just using the 55/60W bulb that it came with and it is a very nice upgrade in light. I feel a lot safer at night (I am a lighting enthusiast...HID's and Hella 500's on all of our MINI's!)

I still have to add in the relay so the light gets all 12V right to the bulb, hopefully that will be soon!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Good luck!

Jac

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by WD on 07/14/14 at 08:39:14

Kris, I'll be home today (14th) and tomorrow (15th). Do have to run to Brighton and Covington this afternoon for a couple hours, should be around after supper.

You want to run a side mount. They are easier to aim, and can actually be pinpointed to right where you want/need the light pattern. Bottom mount lights are extremely inflexible and unforgiving.

Feel free to drop by if you want an in the flesh comparison of stock to 7 inch side mount or 7 inch bottom mount lights. Not hard to find, it's the old plantation 1.5 or so miles south of the Dunlap Retirement Home on Deadfall. Can't miss the orange and cream junk Savage under the ginormous poplar tree...

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Kris01 on 07/14/14 at 19:13:38

Fishbulb:
So it's not exactly plug and play? Why wouldn't the bulb receive 12V without a relay?

WD:
So the 7" light is what I'm looking for? I want more light/better pattern but I don't want a headlight that looks too big for the bike. After all, it's not a 700 pound Gold Wing! ;D

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by WD on 07/15/14 at 09:05:17

The difference in the stock piece of junk and a cheap aftermarket 7" side mount is phenomenal. The 7", with the bulb out of the stock housing, throws 3x the usable light.

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y490/mphsgal/LISA-HP/Photos/Savage/rkb3_zpscc7026e5.jpg

And the bigger, higher, side mount headlight looks 1000x better. The bike is a vintage knock off that desperately needs a traditional headlight.

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by WD on 07/15/14 at 09:11:15

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y490/mphsgal/LISA-HP/Photos/Savage/bigbags_zps78b2dfad.jpg

I ran that headlight on my VN800A, when I blew the bottom end out of that bike I sold it and kept the headlight shell, knowing I would need it for the Savage.

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y490/mphsgal/LISA-HP/Photos/Vulcan/currentchindii_zps994a7ec1.jpg ... Still miss this bike, and would trade both Savages straight across for another good one. I have the bags still, a VN800A Mustang seat cover (enhanced), even the rear full fender conversion I ran for awhile on the one pictured above.

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Dave on 07/15/14 at 09:14:37

516873692A2B1A0 wrote:

I want more light/better pattern but I don't want a headlight that looks too big for the bike.;D

I'm not sure I know what you mean?

BBH...Big Beautiful Headlight! ;D

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by jman on 07/15/14 at 09:16:28

7C534952584F56583A0 wrote:

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-customer-motorcycle-lighting-parts-7-inch-chrome-british-headlight-bucket-6635-26.html

Do the mounting brackets come with the light?

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Dave on 07/15/14 at 09:27:12

576E756F2C2D1C0 wrote:

Why wouldn't the bulb receive 12V without a relay?

The headlight wiring in any car or motorcycle makes a long path from the battery, through the switches, and various wiring. Along the way there can be some reduction in the voltage and current supplied to the headlight, and some folks believe that it is enough to justify using a relay to supply a shorter path from the battery to the relay to the headlight. Since the Savage has a dual filament bulb you would need a relay for both the low and high beam - unless you only wanted to supply the higher voltage to either the low or high beam alone. If you are doing this - you should increase the wire size in the circuit, as well as run a ground directly from the headlight bulb to the battery ground, as the ground wire is shared by a lot of accessories and could provide a voltage/current restriction as much as the power wires can.

I have never felt this extra 1/2 volt ....was worth all the work. The headlight bulb makes adequate light.....the stock headlight reflector just doesn't direct the available light in a way that lights up the road.

Dave

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Fishbulb on 07/15/14 at 09:30:42

No, in my case they did not.

Pretty sure these are the ones I went with:

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-lighting-parts-mediumweight-dimpled-chrome-headlight-brackets-60-1440.html

They do work, but I needed to pick up some rubber washers/spacers to cushion the headlight a little. also, I think they are a little long, and the forks are spaced a little wider then the bucket.

These might work a little better, but not sure if you have to drop forks to install:

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-lighting-parts-chrome-headlight-brackets-66-35850.html

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Fishbulb on 07/15/14 at 09:33:55

Dave summed it up 100%! It works fine without, just going for that extra 5-10% of awesome.

I have this kit (which does high and low) waiting to install:

http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Wiring_Kits/H4_Kits/h4_kits.html#h4single

I am sure you can roll your own, I din't feel like sourcing all the small relays, etc.

0B303D2A3B372C2A3139342B580 wrote:

[quote author=576E756F2C2D1C0 link=1405286411/0#3 date=1405390418]Why wouldn't the bulb receive 12V without a relay?

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Dave on 07/15/14 at 09:42:32

Fishbulb:

Wow...Those are pretty tidy looking kits.

Dave

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by verslagen1 on 07/15/14 at 10:03:34

Might be worth it if they had an auto off while starting option, not just the manual off.

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Fishbulb on 07/15/14 at 17:21:13

Dave: Yeah, the hardware and workmanship is very nice. Lot's of rave reviews on ADVrider, etc. Felt pretty confident with the order!

5F64697E6F63787E656D607F0C0 wrote:

Fishbulb:

Wow...Those are pretty tidy looking kits.

Dave

Title: Re: Headlight upgrade
Post by Dave on 07/16/14 at 05:08:22

If you wanted to install a switch to turn the headlight off, you would only need to place the switch in the ground wire for the headlight. If you switch the ground ON/OFF it will operate both the High and Low beam.