Bandit Alley
FAQ TOPICS => SUZUKI BANDIT 600/650/750/1200 FAQ => Topic started by: Red01 on October 02, 2005, 09:23:32 PM
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This is touched on in the FAQ, but I was wondering if any 2G "S" models owners have followed through and swapped the 9005 (HB3) high beam, 9006 (HB4) low beam bulbs for 9011 & 9012 HIR bulbs (as found on Dodge Vipers before they went to HID lights). Found a couple of sources for these here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8004421757&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT) and here (scroll to the bottom). (http://www.offroadtuff.com/IPFbulbs.htm)
The first link seems like a much better deal, but was just wondering if anyone has gone this route and if so, what do you think?
EDIT:
Since the first link is an ebay link, and has expired, just search ebay motors for 9011.
Alternately, they can be purchased thru their regular website, http://www.finemotoring.com/
Keep in mind you need to buy two bulbs.
A 9011 (to replace your 9005 high beam) and a 9012 (to replace your 9006 low beam).
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Looks like I'm the guinea pig. Ordered them today. Turns out the guy is fairly local, so they should be here real quick.
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They've already been shipped! :bigok:
He said he's recieved several orders for Bandits in the last few days...
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Yup, they got here REAL quick. They showed up just before I had to leave for work. Had just enough time to open the box and make sure they weren't damaged. Will install them tomorrow.
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I took this opportunity to take the blockers out and check for the infamous black dust that seems to plague some 2G B6/12 S models. I didn't have any in the main housing, and a light coat in the projector housings. Some believe the dust is caused from the blockers rattling around inside the projector housings and this could very well be since the shiney was worn away where the blockers touched the reflectors. Anyway, the blockers are now out and the insides cleaned up.
To put the 9011/9012 bulbs in requires one tab on each bulb to be trimmed in length and width, but it was a piece of cake since the guy marks them in white where they need to be trimmed. A few seconds work with the little drum sander on my Sears copy of a Dremel and in they went.
Sorry, no before and after pics, the digicam is with the wife and she's out of town. The "in-the-garage-with-the-house-lights-turned-out" comparison says they are MUCH brighter.
:bigok:
The true night-time test will have to wait though... when I went out to do the bulbs, I discovered a flat rear tire. Further investigation found the nail. Oh well, I'm not too heartbroken over it, the Pilot Road had 9000 miles on it and was just about due for replacement anyway. (Got 10K out of the last one.)
Next step, while I have the fairing apart, modify the front blinkers for running lights.
OK, so I'm slow to get around to these things.
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Paul,
Sorry to hear about your tire. I have been monitoring this thread. Please let us know how you like your new lightbulbs.
Bill
02 B6
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From the looking at them in the garage part, I love 'em!
Will post another follow-up once I get to test 'em out at night on the road.
Should be in a week or so. Then I should be able to get a side-by-side photo of my bike next to another 2G with OEM bulbs for a photo.
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I am interested as well. Please post comparison pic when you get a chance. One of my gripes with the bike is the headlight. Anyway, thanks for being the guinea pig. Be sure and let us see the final results.
Already ordered heated grips which should be here tomorrow so I am looking for the next little project.
David
2001 Bandit 1200S
Helibars, Gel Seat, Holeshot 17" pipe, Stage 1 Jet kit, Busa rear shock
35k mi and still going strong :)
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From another thread: (http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=3022)
Wow! Those HIR bulbs are a big improvement over stock. They use the same wattage as the original 9005/6 headlight bulbs but they are way brighter. They do not have the "blue" tint but the lighting is so much better. If anyone is interested, go to:
http://www.finemotoring.com
The guy who sells them has great service and is very prompt with shipping. He's very willing to answer any questions you might have over email. They are a little pricey ($29.95 ea), but for me it was worth it to have better lights to see and to be seen. BTW - I'm not getting paid to advertise his stuff, I've just been really pleased with his product!
I also think I've figured out the weird shadows. The lights just needed to be adjusted up a little bit. I also think the next time I take the fairings off I will try to clean out the inside of the headlight assembly.
Keep the shiny side up,
Nerissa
This is the same source as the one I bought my set from on ebay.
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Paul,
Which place did you buy from? Was it the eBay link or the other site?
Thanks
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Paul,
Which place did you buy from? Was it the eBay link or the other site?
Thanks
In the thread I posted, just above your post:
This is the same source as the one I bought my set from on ebay.
The ebay seller IS http://www.finemotoring.com
The IPF bulbs from Offroad Tuff (http://www.offroadtuff.com/IPFbulbs.htm) are about twice as expensive - providing you can find someone to go in with you on a purchase since they only sell them in pairs of high or pairs of low beam.
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Thanks for the info!!
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Just waiting for a lull in the rain so I can go test these out!
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I was able to get some night time pics of the lights, but haven't been able to get together with Bobcat for a side-by-side of the stock 9005/9006 vs 9011/9012.
9012 low beam, from an angle:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCN2593a.jpg)
9011 high beam & 9012 low beam from the same angle as above:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCN2594a.jpg)
Both beams from almost head-on:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCN2598a.jpg)
9012 low beam shining on my garage door from ~20'
(There is a slight downhill to my drive where the bike was sitting.)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCN2599a.jpg)
Both beams from the same spot:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCN2600a.jpg)
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OK boys & girls, I finally got a chance to do a side-by-side between my Bandit with the 9011/9012 combo (and blockers removed) and Bobcat's Bandit with OEM 9005/9006 bulbs (and blockers still installed).
With both bikes lights on dim, stock bike on the left (with lurker Bobcat's smiling mug):
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCNBothdim.jpg)
Both dims shining on the door, stock on the right:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCNAbothDim.jpg)
With my bike on dim, stock bike on bright:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCNBrightdim.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCNAdimBright.jpg)
With both bikes on bright:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/dscnBothBright.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCNAbothBright.jpg)
One thing the pictures don't show as well as real life is how much whiter the light is from the 9011/9012.
Remember, the 9011/9012 bulbs have the same current draw on the electrical system. Think the 9011/9012 bulbs are worth $30 a piece? I sure do!
:bigok:
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Are the HIR bulbs available in an H4/dual filament style for those of us with old bikes?
I couldn't find them after a quick search.
Dave
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AFAIK, no, there's no HIR bulbs in the H4 config, but there's a ton of H4 upgrades out there that will give you more light than the stock bulb.
The IPF X51 "Fatboy" H4 bulb sounds pretty impressive.
Click here (http://www.offroadtuff.com/IPFbulbs.htm)
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Ok Paul, it's official, I hate you!
Well I have my Bandit ripped apart as I was going to do the Hella light upgrade and thought I would do a little comparison before performing surgury on my headlight assembly.
I compared the Hella lights to the stock configuration Bandit lights, and in both the high & low beams the Hella lights were brighter (and whiter).
Now the Hella lights use the new H9 65 watt bulbs, which put out 2100 lumens compared to 1700 lumens for the stock Bandit bulbs so just on that note, one would expect they would be brighter & whiter.
Then I removed the "Blockers" from the stock bug eye's and the result was that both the stock lights were almost as bright as the Hella setup. In fact the stock high beam was a little more concentrated than the hella bulb. (Now keep in mind that I am comparing 65 watt bulbs to 51 and 55 watt bulbs here).
I am convinced that the HIR bulbs Paul has installed would be brighter than the hella units with the stock blockers removed.
I think I will be ordering the HIR 9011 & 9012 bulbs rather than do the Hella mod. (Much as what Paul has done with the blockers removed)
Part of the reasoning is that I could not find a H-9 bulb anywhere in my local Canadian tire store, while the HIR bulbs could always be replaced with a standard bulb. Something to consider as I do lots of touring and would always have to carry an extra H9 bulb around due to lack of availability.
I will try to capture this all on pictures in the next few weeks so you can all see the difference.
Interesting note here, no black film was found on my stock bug eye units after disassembly.
So if anyone is wanting the Hella setup, send me an E mail!
Bazza
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Blockers?
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Blockers or deflectors (Deflector is a better word)
They are in the old units to diffuse light. The low beam's diffuser blocks light in the top half of the lense while the high beam diffuser blocks light in the bottom of the lense.
Sorry but I don't have a picture of these.
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Blockers or deflectors (Deflector is a better word)
They are in the old units to diffuse light. The low beam's diffuser blocks light in the top half of the lense while the high beam diffuser blocks light in the bottom of the lense.
Sorry but I don't have a picture of these.
How do you open the lights to get to the deflectors and other internal parts? I just took my whole fairing apart for winter maintenance and the lights are sealed. I can see no way to open them without braking something because the glass is glued to the rest of the casing. I desperately need to get to the internal parts because my lenses are fogged and the glass is dirty from the inside.
Any ideas will be much appreciated.
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Remove the headlight assembly from the bike and stick it in the oven on 150*F for 10-15 minutes. This will make the sealant used to seal the halves pliable enough to split the assembly apart.
(Alternate method - use a heat gun or really hot blow dryer aimed at the seam. - I have a heat gun, but opted for the speed and uniformity of the oven - just waited until the spousal unit was away... she tends to freak out when motor vehicle parts find their way into her oven, even when no harm is done to the oven)
Once warmed up, lift the little plastic loops over the locks and pry the thing apart. Have a few screwdrivers or popsickle sticks or other suitable items around to hold sections apart as you work your way around.
It's a good idea to warm it back up to reassemble.
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As Paul said.....
It's not pretty but it works!
I have the bulbs ordered today and I will compare the 9011 & 9012 bulb setup to the Hella H9 setup. Hopefully I can get some good picts. for all to see.
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There's a site somewhere that documents how to take the headlight apart.
(I think it's the one that does the Hella light swap - you got that handy, Bazza?)
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Thanks to Bazza!
http://cabuhs.net/headlights.htm
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Thank you all for the fast help guys. I would have never thought of the oven trick...
Update 1:
Bakin' the headlight to take it apart wasn't imposible, but it was far from easy. The plastic, not to mention the screws, got quite warm after about 20 minutes on 150F (75C), but the sealant was nowhere near the release point. After another 20 minutes on 200F (93C) it started to loosen up a bit. It was still not moving as easily as I would want, but I didn't dare to heat it any more, besides it was geting too hot to hold in my hands. After some struggle on the kitchen counter (make sure you cover it with a towel or even a blanket to avoid scratches on both the light and counter) I finally managed to pry it open without causing much damage. What I found inside proved this operation worth my trouble:
- Philips screws on one of the adjuster plates were loose and the whole low beam module was moving in the housing.
- The whole headlight housing was full of black dust. The reflectors, glass, lenses and pretty much everything else was dimmed at least 30-40%. That's why all those cagers were cutting me off at night - they didn't see me because of my dim low beam! But, I digress - the source of the infamous black dust were plastic parts rubbing at each other because of the poor design, drunk assembly worker or heat deformation. In my case it was the chromed plastic reflector rubbing against the gousing in the upper left corner.
Of course, I took everything apart to the smallest screw and gave it all a "heawy pans" round in the dishwasher (yes, glass lenses and plexiglass included). I didn't want to cratch anything by wiping first.
Next step will be to put it all back together and figure out how to prevent any future black dust, loose screws and other mishaps (I don't want to go through this hassle again, you know). I also need to find out how to re-seal the headlight housing again properly and with minimum mess. Any Ideas?
Update 2:
- Used helmet visor polish to shine and clean everything up.
- Removed blockers from both lights. If this becomes a problem I will use stickers on the outside to block beam(s).
- With blockers (shades) removed lenses were a little loose in their place, especially the short beam one. Put some thin rubber stickers under the rim of the chrome ring that holds them in place.
- Put a thread locker on all internal screws. Glued ones that go into plastic.
- Put some thin felt (not rubber) sticker pads in the places where plastic parts were rubbing against each other. That will hopefully prevent future black dust accumulation.
- Put everything back together and centered the beams as much as possible before reassembly.
- After much research and experimentation decided to re-seal the housing using the Nissan headlight sealant (Part# B6553-89915 "sealer."). I was very carefull not to put too much - just enough to fill the spots where the original sealant was thin.
- Back to the oven and reassembled. This is definitely not an operation I would ever like to repeat.
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Hello all:
Well I finally received my IR bulbs and was able to spend some time in the garage this weekend to compare all my options. Here is what I found.
IR Bulbs are better than stock with blockers in
IR Bulbs are better than stock with blockers out although I did not like the light pattern. The bike is more visable with the blockers out, but I feel you would blind oncoming drivers with them out.
I then compared the IR bulbs to the Hella units which use the new H-9 65 watt bulbs. They are almost compatable to the I.R. bulbs in light output.
Low beam.
The Hella Units put out a much crisper & wider light pattern than the stock low beam unit with the blockers in. A much wider & usable pattern with the blockers out with the IR bulbs installed. My wife says the Hella units were a much crisper light. (And technically, they should never get the black dust)
High Beam.
The Hella Units outperformed the IR bulbs hands down. In fact there appeared to be more light with the Hella high beam than both low & high beam units on the bike equipped with IR bulbs.
I plan on using the Hella units in my bike, because of the quality of light I saw with these units. Very crisp & clean compared to the stock units. Can I say much more focused?
One option I am thinking about here is using 2 high beam Hella units in the Bandit. The light would be absolutely huge. If properly adjusted, this would be no worse than having the blockers out I feel. (I am still debating this)
I also believe that the stock wiring needs work. I am pretty sure that you would obtain more light by increasing the gauge of wire on the leads. It appears that I obtained slightly brighter light using heavy gauge wire when I did this experiment using the Hella Lights. (I started out with the same gauge wire as on the bike & increased it) I will have my brother in law electrician advise on this one.
I did get pictures of all of this and will try to think of a way of positing them here.
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Thanks for all the details Bazza, I can't wait to see the pics. I'm quite happy with the results of my stock light output without the black dust and with blockers removed and I'm really interested to see how much better Hella is. Speaking of black dust, Hella replacement alone won't get rid of it as it comes from plactic chrome reflector rubbing against the housing (at least it definitely did in my unit). Better make sure ewerything is snug and padded before putting that bugger back together.
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So far it sounds far easier (and cheaper) to do the 9011 swap than the Hella's...well see how the light compares....looking forward to photo's if anyone has any... :thanks:
:beers:
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The I.R.s are defenetly a cheaper way to go.
The Hella units should not blacken up as they are seperatly sealed from the headlight housing unit. See photo below.
What convinced me to run with the Hella units, is that these things are being used in very expensive European cars right now, so on that note they can't be all that bad.
I am curious to hear from thos who have removed the blockers from their bikes if they get a lot of flashing from oncoming cars?
(http://www.rallylights.com/hella/hella%20images/90mm%20Front.jpg)
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Thanks for the pics Bazza.
Did you end up putting on dual Hi's?
Has anyone thought of having dual lows & hi's like on some other sports? Double the light all the time..... :bouncy:
:beers:
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I am curious to hear from thos who have removed the blockers from their bikes if they get a lot of flashing from oncoming cars?
I only have ~40 minutes of dark time on my bike since I removed the blockers and put in the 9011/9012 bulbs. No one flashed me in that 40 minutes of moderate (by city definition, it would be heavy by my island's definition) though.
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Thanks for the pics Bazza.
Did you end up putting on dual Hi's?
Has anyone thought of having dual lows & hi's like on some other sports? Double the light all the time..... :bouncy:
:beers:
Hey Scooter:
I am considering using two Hella high beam units on my Bandit. (This would be easy to do)
I am still playing in the garage with all the possible combinations.
Don't worry i will post some pictures!
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Here is the difference between the I.R bulbs in a Bandit (with the blockers in) and the Hella Units.
While it may be tough to tell with these pictures, the Hella units were definetly brighter. I had two witnesses and eveyerone agreed that the Hella units put out a clearer, brighter and wider light pattern.
I will be going with the hella units and may consider going with two high beam units (This will be as annoying to other drivers as removing the blockers out of the stock units)
Here is the IR Low Beam Bulb
Click here. (http://storage.msn.com/x1phWQzookYk-BBq9PZv6Gh_ZhJ4PSPT85TChG3rP7KTsmgseXXc3--E4jnSSqggfqsky4ctYoMXm3oDmZpZxjPKfbkXOKj-LZaDuXo6oYsJdStBmLF87C6zMKnAgFpsQLNh1iF8964yXkCO54dtcxIAQ)
Here is the Hella Low Beam Unit.
Click here. (http://storage.msn.com/x1phWQzookYk-BBq9PZv6Gh_ZhJ4PSPT85TChG3rP7KTskc6iGpl-ay1204d0C7HopdgBQF0PY4PTU4_34KGLM-N52qdzdJFrRB85jolXKKsmkZ-6D4dtui5KGhdrnkvt2WRJ4A-lLFXv4ppFNgk9pqpg)
Here is the I.R High Beam bulb in the Bandit
Click here. (http://storage.msn.com/x1phWQzookYk-BBq9PZv6Gh_ZhJ4PSPT85TChG3rP7KTskU7Vf6GreE9fHSJBFnIEEbKbsX4VAC0ECgazUbacuZaAlJI_QiVSn_BVv2hXZ8yijqzrlXyPqm9RhyGO3hApb8FMmhTLJoedZ0ODbrK-cDRg)
Here is the Hella high beam unit. (Note: I was not aiming this as high as the IR bulb)
Click here. (http://storage.msn.com/x1phWQzookYk-BBq9PZv6Gh_ZhJ4PSPT85TChG3rP7KTskmDaMIhd-Zv_91OdG8kMIijE8u1P_0aYP6JmFmiJvJsJdSBM8B55N-HGKy5J12ovzzdTmDlQWU7Wz3GscgS5HxCh1WFuqfsS6PVmJEjhoXNQ)
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It appears my phot links won't work!
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I was just wondering why! I have probs with em too at times. :beers:
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It appears my phot links won't work!
It's because they don't end with .jpg, .gif, .tif
They must end in a recognized picture file extension or they won't show.
Many sites don't allow their pics to be hotlinked - and MSN & Yahoo were some of the first to do that.
That's why we recommend sites like Photobucket for places to put pics you want to share on the board.
BTW - I edited your post to convert your pics to clickable links and deleted the links out of Daytona's post since they were so long they were stretching the screen so you'd have to scroll L-R to read posts.
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Thanks for the pics Bazza.
Did you end up putting on dual Hi's?
Has anyone thought of having dual lows & hi's like on some other sports? Double the light all the time..... :bouncy:
:beers:
Well guys after much debate I decided to go with the low/high Hella unit conversion. I took the hella units & wired them up and then stood back. The high beam unit would be pretty blinding to oncomong traffic so I thought I had better go the "legal" route for safety's sake.
I got down to the point of no return part where I must cut the stock brackets, and although I had just consumed a very fine bottle of Australian red (nothing more courageous than a drunken canuck) comon sense told me to wait until tomorrow.
I will do some comparison picts once I am done with stock vs Hella.
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Thanks for the pics Bazza.
Did you end up putting on dual Hi's?
Has anyone thought of having dual lows & hi's like on some other sports? Double the light all the time..... :bouncy:
:beers:
Well guys after much debate I decided to go with the low/high Hella unit conversion. I took the hella units & wired them up and then stood back. The high beam unit would be pretty blinding to oncomong traffic so I thought I had better go the "legal" route for safety's sake.
I got down to the point of no return part where I must cut the stock brackets, and although I had just consumed a very fine bottle of Australian red (nothing more courageous than a drunken canuck) comon sense told me to wait until tomorrow.
I will do some comparison picts once I am done with stock vs Hella.
Geez Baz, Youve had some time to tinker I see!, Glad you are my Beta test pilot, Let me know what your findings are and what ends up being the best overall, And I'll go with it too! (Thanks to your sweat and tears) :thanks:
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So Bazza...any news as of yet???? I'm anxious to know how it works....
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I am sealing up the headlight unit tonight so if I have enough time, I may have some photo's for you all next weekend.
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So Bazza...what's the word????
:beers:
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Yeah, I'm curious. :wink:
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Hey Guys:
While tinkering tonight in the garage I discovered something very interesting regarding the B-12's headlamp wiring. It is undersized.
Hooking up my volt meter to both the low & high headlight wiring I got a reading of 12.5 volts on either side. (The bike was not running) When I attached the old light units up & took another reading, with the lights in operation, I got 10.5 volts on the low side & 9.2 volts on the high side.
This explains the poor visibility with the stock headlights (black dust aside of course). According to the chart below, if your getting only 70-80% of the voltage required, the brightness of your headlights drops as much as 50%!!!!
I will be installing new wiring & relays with the Hella units.
(http://www.rallylights.com/hella/hella%20images/opvolt.gif)
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Baaza you are the man!
Please let me know this turns out....I'd certainly try this before sinking in some serious $$$ and messing it all up.
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Voltage has to drop under load - I wouldn't be surprised if id drops under 10V when the bike is not running. My Ohm's law knowledge is a little rusty, but someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
That said, there is no harm in re-wiring with thicker wires. I'd just make sure they are not considerably stiffer, i.e. use the wire with as many strands as possible.
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I will definetly let you all know how it turns out. I think someone passed along this site earlier, but I will share it also.
I priced everything to set up a relay system and it would not be a whole lot cheaper doing it from scratch with top quality relays.
I ended up purchasing a harness from this site. The guy had put it in the mail within two hours after I placed the order.
I have heard him recomended before by a few BMW riders.
I am going to do a little experimenting tomorror to see what type of load drop I get using thicker wire straight off the battery. I have the old units out, so this will be easily done in the garage. I can tell you though that when I compared the light off my new hella units (which I hooked up to a spare battery in the garage) compared to the stock units which where mounted on the bike (stock) There was a huge difference in light. I don't know if it was that the new Hella units are that much better, or that it was because they were hooked up to heavier wiring with less of a voltage drop occuring because of the way I had it jury rigged.
http://easternbeaver.com/Home/Main/main.html
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Ok, folks I am convinced.
I repeated this experiment today using the stock units, and a spare battery. I was only able to record a 0.3 voltage drop once power was applied to the bulb.
Now here is the thing, the voltage drop I experiance may not happen on every B-12, but if your headlights suck as much as mine did, you may want to check for a voltage drop at your headlight bulb connections.
I will repeat this once I install the new wiring harness.
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Yea, I noticed the smaller guage wires when I was tinkering with my headlights. I ended up installing 14 guage wires from the battery, via relay, to each headlight. Then, installed Silverstar high beam bulbs in each light housing. (low beam socket had to be changed out, of coarse)
Big improvement. Not blinding to other drivers. Took about an hour to do it. I still get the "dude, you got a headlight out". Oh well.
Getting the correct voltage to any appliance, whether a light bulb or a refrigerator, will make it run more efficiently and last longer. (most of the time :wink: )
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Yea, I noticed the smaller guage wires when I was tinkering with my headlights. I ended up installing 14 guage wires from the battery, via relay, to each headlight. Then, installed Silverstar high beam bulbs in each light housing. (low beam socket had to be changed out, of coarse)
So where exactly would I get this High Beam casing....direct from Suzuki or chance it on e-bay??
So many different ideas on how to modify the lights....makes it hard to decide what to do. :yesno:
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So where exactly would I get this High Beam casing....direct from Suzuki or chance it on e-bay??
If it is the socket you are referring to, I got mine from my local auto parts store. (socket for a 9005 bulb) The bulb itself will twist into the original low beam housing- but will be a little loose. I chose to use an o-ring on the base of the bulb to take up the difference. About 4,000 miles on this setup and doing fine, through all sorts of weather, too!
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As far as the relays & wiring goes, I could not find anything locally that matches the link above in quality & price. Most of the local relays that I could find were not waterproof and lets just say rather bulky. I have not yet seen the Headlight harness I purchased from Eastern Beaver, but he does come recomended from the BMW crowd.
The headlight bases are available at any parts store.
I just wish I would have discovered the Voltage drop before doing the Hella mod! (But I am certain the Hella units will be a bigger improvment).
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You'd still have had the black dust and the poor focus. Be glad you did it.
I'm probably going to order the relay kit tomorrow. It's a small price and time committment for even a 10% improvement. I'm guessing it will be more than that.
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I'm pretty sure the black dust comes from the deflectors... some bikes seem to have a bigger problem with it than others. I tore into my headlight assy for my bulb mod when the bike had almost 40K miles and there wasn't much dust in mine, but I could see where the deflectors had been rubbing on the housing.
I'm real happy with my headlight mod so far and it is a helluva lot easier to do than the Hella mod.
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As with me, I did not find a great deal of dust in my stock lights. On mine it apperaed that the reflective coating had come off in a few spots. (Wait for the picts) I am thinking it could be another cause of the dust. Maybe the reflective coating is not taking heat well.
But on mine I just did not have much light period. It was like I had a dimmer switch on both bulbs.
I may get the bike together this weekend (I now have all the parts) & will provide before & after picts of the Hella/Wiring mod.
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Well I am almost there! A nasty dump of snow cancelled my visit to the garage this weekend but I did manage to get the Hella lights, wiring Harness, and harness for my heated grips in place. I am hoping to get the beast all back together next weekend and will have some picts for you.
I had the bugeye unit with the Hella lights in place on the bench in my garage and I can't emphasize how much better focused the Hella units are compared to the stock lights. The light these things emit is much brighter and clearer than the stock units.
Photo's will follow shortly. I have before picts, of the stock units, the IR bulbs and will have the Hella units also as a comparison.
It's not that big of a job when you get into it.
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Ok finally I got out to the garage.
Here is a link to my web page for the before & after picts of the Hella Mod.
http://members.shaw.ca/zukeman/bandit_headlight_mod.htm
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I was hoping you'd have pics on there that showed the HIR bulbs, too. :sad:
Nice difference between the stock & Hella - and the wiring upgrade!
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Hey Paul:
I still have the IR picts somewhere in my puter so once I locate them I will post them.
But really I feel the most bang for the buck was the wiring harness.
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Hey Everyone:
I managed to locate the I.R. Hella comparison pictures and posted them on the same link as above.
My final recomendations would be the new wiring harness for starters, the I.R. Bulbs if you are happy with the focus and have no black dust issues on your stock projector units. I would do the Hella mod it this was the case.
I have to say that over all, the Hella units project the best light. Believe me I did lots of pondering before taking apart the bug eye unit.
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Excellent writeup Bazza, thank you very much. I only wish I saw it sooner, when my headlight was apart for black dust cleaning. The wiring harness efect is most pronounced so I guess I'll stick with that for now.
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Hey Vlad:
As was the case on my bike, it is probably the best thing you can do. Try to get us some before and after picts. It will be interesting to see what just the harness will do.
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Hey Vlad:
As was the case on my bike, it is probably the best thing you can do. Try to get us some before and after picts. It will be interesting to see what just the harness will do.
Thanks again. I'll take 'before' pics right away. The harness will have to wait a while because both me and my credit card are tired after a lot of winter work and just want to ride :). I'll do it together with the Stebel air horn upgrade. Maybe I'll even try the cheap route and fabricate the wiring myself. Will post results.
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Vlad:
Just to give you an insight on the harness, I origionally planned to build one myself, but the relays alone were 24 bucks each at Napa, and they are considerably more bulky than what was supplied to me. I could not find the type of high strand wire that he used in the suppled harness also. He uses a very high strand count, which they tell me is ideal for this type of application. It would have cost me far more to build one.
Just my 2 cents.
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Vlad:
Just to give you an insight on the harness, I origionally planned to build one myself, but the relays alone were 24 bucks each at Napa, and they are considerably more bulky than what was supplied to me. I could not find the type of high strand wire that he used in the suppled harness also. He uses a very high strand count, which they tell me is ideal for this type of application. It would have cost me far more to build one.
Just my 2 cents.
Thanks again Bazza, I'll take all these points under serious consuderation. I have a very good source of anything electrical and an expert support to build it, but may still decide to buy instead of build to save time and hassle. If I were to re-build the stock witing harness I may have to get by without relays. It looks like they are there just to facilitate easier switching when installed in parallel with the stock wiring. The original handlebar switch should be adequate enough - it was designed for the same load, after all. It's just a matter of how easy+messy or hard+neat you want it to be IMO.
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Hey Vlad:
If you are considering re-wiring the stock Suzuki harness, I would say good luck! My 1st thought was to just re-wire the stock harness with thicker wire, but when I saw the work that was involved, I would have sold the bike!
There are several quick connects along the length of the harness (wich propably add to the voltage drop. (each conector will add resistance) This combined with what you would have to disasemble, it would be much more work than it's worth.
With this add on harness, you still use the origional switching (this works the relays). You are just really adding a fresh source from the battery. Once it is all installed, all the origional switches work as before. You just have a new power source to the lights.
I just ran the new harness on top of the existing main harness, and to even the trained eye, you would have a hard time noticing this add on.
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If you are considering re-wiring the stock Suzuki harness, I would say good luck! My 1st thought was to just re-wire the stock harness with thicker wire, but when I saw the work that was involved, I would have sold the bike!
You convinced me Bazza, I'll go with the 'buy and install' solution :)
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Just an update here.
A few people have asked if you could convert Hella units to dual High/low beam configuration. (Both headlights on low/high beam).
I thought that if you had purchased 2 of the Hella high beam units, and then mounted dual filimant bulbs in them somehow, this could be made to work. At the back of the Hella units the bulb actually mounts into an add on adapter. I thought that it might be possible that Hella makes this add on adapter for some sort of dual filiment bulb.
I was informed by Susqahanna (a dealer that sells the units) that this is not possible. Their comments were that they do make a Bi-Xenon unit for this purpose, but the only catch is that two of these units would cost you $1076.92 USD. (needless to say, a very pricey Mod)
From the Dealer.
I was wondering if it would be possible to mount a dual filament (High/Low) bulb in the Hella units you sell.
Your part number HL68136
Not with those lamps, butt on the 90MM page we do have an HID Hi/Low beam called the Bi-Xenon.
Regards,
Wil
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After reading this thread, I immediately ordered the toshiba bulbs from Fine Motoring. I installed them tonight and went for a ride to check it out. The difference is astounding. My low beam is about 4 or 5 times brighter than it was and the high beam lights up the centerline of the road for about 1/2 mile.
I'm not kidding, I can see a stop sign 1/2 mile ahead. High beam lit up a pedestrian in dark clothes walking alongside a rural road at a distance of about 1/4 mile. Jeezus!!! I'm one happy camper with these bulbs. :-)
Blue
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After reading this thread, I immediately ordered the toshiba bulbs from Fine Motoring. I installed them tonight and went for a ride to check it out. The difference is astounding. My low beam is about 4 or 5 times brighter than it was and the high beam lights up the centerline of the road for about 1/2 mile.
I'm not kidding, I can see a stop sign 1/2 mile ahead. High beam lit up a pedestrian in dark clothes walking alongside a rural road at a distance of about 1/4 mile. Jeezus!!! I'm one happy camper with these bulbs. :-)
Blue
Did you just install them without modifying the blockers?
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yeah, just a plug and play. Blockers? Theres nothing blocking the bulbs?
From Paul's post, the "blockers' are inside the projector housings but I didnt see any kind of obstruction. What exactly should I be looking for? Maybe they have already been removed?
Blue
Did you just install them without modifying the blockers?
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To remove them, you have to tear the whole headlight assy apart so you can get to the projector lenses, remove them, and take out the blockers.
You'll know if you got blockers in by how the beam casts against a wall. If your beam has a distinctive cut-off, like the one on the right, you have blockers still installed. If there's no cut-off, there's no blockers, like the one on the left:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/DSCNAbothDim.jpg)
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Ah Haaa. thanks
Blue
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So after reading this and other headlamp threads I ordered the HIR lamps this past Monday. They arrived on Thursday and it literally took me 10 minutes to modify and change BOTH the low and high beams from the stock lamps to the HIR lamps. Using my Dremel the tab removal modification was a piece of cake.
Now if it would just stop raining and warm up a bit I would test them out. Its been raining in Kalamazoo since Tuesday night and has been windy and cold on top of it. Looks like it stays this way until next Tuesday.
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Is there any difference in the internal structure of the headlight... left vs. right side?
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The tabs that fit the bulb in the socket are different.
If you're asking because you want to run high beams in both, the answer is yes, it can be done. You just have to do a little more Dremel work. However, I don't want to blind folks at night, so I went with a hi and a lo bulb.
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I guess I should be more specific...
I'd like to run the HIR low beam 9012 bulbs on both sides, and leave the switch on 'high beam' (day & night) so both lights are on, and the left & right side look the same. (And I don't get the "You have a headlight out" comment all the time!)
But if the internals of the headlight unit is different, it might not look the same. I thought I read that there is an additional deflector or something inside the right side of the headlight unit. (?)
I think two 9012 bulbs would give me plenty of light at night - and I'd be able to forego having a high beam at all.
Whatcha think?
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There's only one deflector in each projector housing, but they are shaped differently. Yes, you could run two lows just as easily as two highs.
During the day, I run the highbeams on all the time to be more visable and to avoid the 'you have a headlight out' comments. Oddly enough, no one has ever approached me at night and told me of a headlight being out when just the low beam is on...
Just be glad you don't have a Ducati ST... they only illuminate one bulb on lo or hi.
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Cool... now all I have to do is figure out how to make a low-beam bulb fit in the high beam socket.
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You just dremel the tabs to match the socket.
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Threads like this are what make forums like this SO amazing. Thanks for the time and energy to share this. I'll start with the wiring kit and move from there. :thanks:
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You just dremel the tabs to match the socket.
No workee. It seems that the bulb base diameter on the low beam is too big to fit into the high beam slot. :sad:
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Hey Everyone:
Just a little update here on my theory that Suzuki supplied the 2001 - 2005 B-6 & 12's with undersized wiring. I was able to look at a new 2006 B-12 here today and the headlight bulb wiring is at least double the size of my 2002's at the headlight bulb. I wonder why Suzuki made the change?
After seeing this I would strongly recomend that if your thinking of doing anything to your headlights, look at a new harness & relays 1st.
Here was a photo of my B-12 with the new Hella unit in place with the stock harness. (These are both low beam only pictures)
(http://members.shaw.ca/zukeman/DSCN0630.JPG)
Here was a photo with the new Hella unit in place with the new wiring harness.
(http://members.shaw.ca/zukeman/DSCN0676.JPG)
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"Bazza" Hey Everyone:
Just a little update here on my theory that Suzuki supplied the 2001 - 2005 B-6 & 12's with undersized wiring. I was able to look at a new 2006 B-12 here today and the headlight bulb wiring is at least double the size of my 2002's at the headlight bulb. I wonder why Suzuki made the change?
After seeing this I would strongly recomend that if your thinking of doing anything to your headlights, look at a new harness & relays 1st.
HI BAZZA,
THANKS FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON THE HEADLIGHTS.....
I KNOW THAT YOU SAID THAT HELLA DOES NOT MAKE AN AFFORDABLE DUAL BEAM UNIT (HIGH/LOW BEAM TOGETHER).....BUT HAVE YOU SEEN OR HEARD OF ANYONE MODIFYING THE ORIGINAL LIGHT TO ACCEPT A DUAL FILAMENT BULB?....
I WANTED TO INSTALL THE HELLA UNITS IN MY BIKE, BUT I WANTED TO USE A DUAL BEAM UNIT, SINCE I DON'T LIKE THE ONE-EYED-BANDIT LOOK, AND I PREFER NOT TO HIGH BEAM EVERYONE ON THE ROAD.....
I WAS ALSO THINKING OF TAKING A HEADLIGHT FROM A KAWASAKI NINJA, THAT HAS DUAL HIGH AND LOW BEAM BULBS IN IT, AND CUT THE BULB MOUNT OUT AND ATTACH IT TO MY BANDIT HEADLIGHT HOUSING.....ANY THOUGHTS?....
THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION ON THE WIRING AND RELAYS, I WILL BE ORDERING THEM IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.....
I WILL ALSO BE REMOVING MY DIFFUSERS AFTER I MAKE A DECISION ON WHICH HEADLIGHT MODIFICATION I WANT TO DO.....
THANKS AGAIN.....
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Thanks for all the info guys! Bazza, :beers: for bringing the wiring issue to light (sorry had to say it)!
Friday was a rainy day home for me so, I got some quality garage time in.
So, NO MORE lighting issues here.
- Opened up the light housing to remove the blockers.
- Cleaned the plastic dust created from the vibrating blockers.
- Replaced stock bulbs with Silverstar bulbs. Didn't like the idea of waiting for the 9011/9012 at twice the price. I can get replacement Silverstars at any local parts store.
- Replaced sockets, and ran 14g wires (a little overkill but I had it) back to the fusebox. I stopped at the fusebox because the exsiting wire size increases. I replaced the sockets because they were only $2 each and it releaved the need to pull the wiring from the stock ones. I put slotted plugs on the end of the socket wires at the same place as the stock wire harness (just in case). Oh and an in-line splicer, just before in first harness conector for the high beam indicator lamp (yellow wire coming from the speedo group harness).
With this done the aux lights I put in last year and the year before (always make sure replacement bulbs are locally availaible :duh: ) are not really needed. They really only add a little to side lighting.
WOW!! NO MORE CANDLE LIGHT RIDES!
P.S. 1200S 2003, no relays, just switches.
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I ordered a Toshiba 9012 lo-beam bulb and put it in last week. No other modifications.
I would definitely say it's worth the investment.
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I ordered the Toshiba 9011 and 9012 bulbs last month. Well I finally did a night right last night.
I am pleased with the light output of the high beam . I can blast light way out there so as to see quite well. I like the high beam a lot.
But I am disappointed in the low beam performance. It is OK, especially in a straight line, but not sufficient for night time curvy road type of riding. The cut off just seems too short on the should side of the road.
Is this the fault of the low beam blocker?
If I were to remove it would I get a longer throw down the shoulder of the road?
Would this modification bother oncoming drivers?
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cb400bill: Is this the fault of the low beam blocker?
If I were to remove it would I get a longer throw down the shoulder of the road?
Would this modification bother oncoming drivers?
Yes, it's because of the blocker. You will get a full beam with much better lighting to the side with it out.
Both my blockers are out and no one has flashed me yet on low beam.
In the daytime, I ride with the high beam on, and I did notice a driver readjust his mirror when I pulled up behind him once. I'm not sure though if he was readjusting because of me though.
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"Bazza" Hey Everyone:
Just a little update here on my theory that Suzuki supplied the 2001 - 2005 B-6 & 12's with undersized wiring. I was able to look at a new 2006 B-12 here today and the headlight bulb wiring is at least double the size of my 2002's at the headlight bulb. I wonder why Suzuki made the change?
After seeing this I would strongly recomend that if your thinking of doing anything to your headlights, look at a new harness & relays 1st.
HI BAZZA,
THANKS FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON THE HEADLIGHTS.....
I KNOW THAT YOU SAID THAT HELLA DOES NOT MAKE AN AFFORDABLE DUAL BEAM UNIT (HIGH/LOW BEAM TOGETHER).....BUT HAVE YOU SEEN OR HEARD OF ANYONE MODIFYING THE ORIGINAL LIGHT TO ACCEPT A DUAL FILAMENT BULB?....
I WANTED TO INSTALL THE HELLA UNITS IN MY BIKE, BUT I WANTED TO USE A DUAL BEAM UNIT, SINCE I DON'T LIKE THE ONE-EYED-BANDIT LOOK, AND I PREFER NOT TO HIGH BEAM EVERYONE ON THE ROAD.....
I WAS ALSO THINKING OF TAKING A HEADLIGHT FROM A KAWASAKI NINJA, THAT HAS DUAL HIGH AND LOW BEAM BULBS IN IT, AND CUT THE BULB MOUNT OUT AND ATTACH IT TO MY BANDIT HEADLIGHT HOUSING.....ANY THOUGHTS?....
THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION ON THE WIRING AND RELAYS, I WILL BE ORDERING THEM IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.....
I WILL ALSO BE REMOVING MY DIFFUSERS AFTER I MAKE A DECISION ON WHICH HEADLIGHT MODIFICATION I WANT TO DO.....
THANKS AGAIN.....
Hey Getfurious:
Believe me, I inquired about doing a dual fillament conversion for both bulbs on the Bandit and have found no way of doing this properly using the stock headlight pots, as both of those are either focused for low or high beam. Installing dual fillament bulbs in those will still give you an un-ballanced look due to the lenses.
The only option is the HID units from hella which are very expensive.
So far I have not found any dual projector type units that would fit easilly into the Bandit other than the HID Hella's, which will run you over a thousand bucks.
The Bandit's stock headlight pod will not accept much alteration for other units. If you ever get it apart, you will see what I mean.
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Hi all,
Did anyone one ever try runing two high beams and not have problems with on coming traffic? I currenty just keep my stock high beams on all the time (even at night) and in a year and a half of riding I have never had any vehicle flash it's lights at me. I ride in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas almost exclusvelly on the freeways.
I am going to just order the bulbs and not do the blocker removel procedure or wiring upgrade.
Thanks for any info.
Lucas
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In my '04, I'm running Silverstar high beam bulb in the low beam socket (blocker left in) with upgraded wiring and one in the high beam socket.
During the day, I haven't been flashed by oncoming car headlights, but people I ride with tell me it's annoying to have the highbeam on behind them- so I keep the high beam off during the day only when I'm riding with others.
At night, yeah, I have to turn off the high beam when cars are approaching from the opposite direction.
When I was running the stock bulbs and wiring, it was high beams all the time and never got flashed by oncoming cars. Man that stock light and wiring sucked.
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Thanks for the response.
I just ordered two high beam bulbs. I believe one post said that you have to do a little extra Dremmel work on the high beam bulb that goes into the low beam socket. Was that your experience?
Thanks so much to Paul and Bazza for doing so much hard work on this project!
Lucas :thanks:
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I believe one post said that you have to do a little extra Dremmel work on the high beam bulb that goes into the low beam socket.
Just hold up a low beam bulb next to a new high beam bulb and you will see the little bit that needs to be trimmed.
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Hi all,
Well I ordered two high beams. The high beam side was easy and seems to work fine. But the low beam side connector will not except the high beam bulb. The high beam bulb socket that fits over the receiver connector has two rails on it's interior. The low beam bulb socket has one rail in it's interior.
Am I supposted to somehow remove the rails on the interior of the high beam bulb socket so it will slide in? :?:
Am I making any sense at all? If I had a camera I would take a picture of the interior of the bulb connectors.
Worst comes to worst I will just have a backup high beam bulb so no harm no foul, but I would still like to get the high beam bulb to work on the low beam side if I can.
Help?
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Just an update I should have added months ago. I am very happy with the Hella units (I can actually see at night) and the new wiring harness was indeed part of the answer to the Bandits crappy lighting.
And a further update... They are now making H-9 100 watt Xenon bulbs. which add an additional 900 lumens to the current 65 watt H-9's I am using. (a total of 2900 lumens vs my current 2100 lumins) I will be trying a pair of these.
The stock bulbs put out around 1700 Lumins I believe.
But to Prove my point, here are a couple of photo's with the new Hella low beam unit before & after the wiring harness change.
Stock Wiring Harness:
(http://members.shaw.ca/zukeman/DSCN0630.JPG)
Eastern Beaver Wiring Harness addition:
(http://members.shaw.ca/zukeman/DSCN0676.JPG)
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I finished my light kit upgrade and wiring kit upgrade and I've got two words...HOLY CRAP!!!!!
What a difference it makes. If any of ya'll with the 2G S model are thinking of your next mod, this is it. Bazza's directions were great and the directions the guys at Eastern Beaver provide with the wiring kit are pretty good too. I'll have to admit though, it took me quite a bit longer than 6-8 hours total for the light kit and wiring kit install but I get a little anal when I'm working on the Bandit.
Also, for those of you that are thinking, man, that's a lot of work and I don't know if I'll be able to get the lights wired up correctly, what if I wire the headlights up the wrong way and the turn signals come on when I hit the high beam switch, well don't fret too much, do as Bazza suggested and email him with questions (and the guys at Eastern Beaver) before you make that fateful snip and remember to look over your work a few extra times.
I'll also admit that when I firsted switched on the lights to see if they worked I was a tab nervous, actually, VERY nervous, but everything works and all I have left is to adjust the lights so I don't blind oncoming traffic. When any of you get ready for this mod, plan ahead and have fun. The rewards far outweigh the time spent working on it.
Matt
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Your not just talkin there! I thought my 1G was bad with a bit more watt bulb! And after my first ride in the dark with my 1299 Bandit on steroids bike! WOW! On a trip to the dragon last fall with a bud on an 01 Bandit we had to go up a dirt rock drive way to cloud nine ranch, after dark with spitty cold rain on the visor, he was in front and if i weren't in back he said he would have had to creep. My low beam was so much better than his hi beam even he admitted it! The bandit has crap H light and gets worse when all the vibration dust gets in it!! Still miss my bandit.
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But to Prove my point, here are a couple of photo's with the new Hella low beam unit before & after the wiring harness change.
Consider the point definitely proven Bazza. I'm totally sold on that harness now, thanks to your pics.
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Everyone, thanks for all the great ideas posted in the sticky. I decided to use the HIR lamps and the Eastern Beaver wiring upgrade, along with the necessary disassembly and cleanup of the headlight assembly. I did have 3 of the 4 screws that hold the low beam housing, loose and rattling around in the assembly. All screws were thread-locked back in. I also applied electrical tape to all places where parts touched. One thing I wanted to share. There was much discussion on the blockers as to whether or not to retain or remove them. I didn't like the low beam blocker in that when I would lean into a turn there was no light projected where the bike was heading. When I had the blocker removed, I noticed I could modify the blocker to eliminate that problem. What I did was I left about 3/4 inch in the middle of the blocker uncut. Then marked a lines at 45 degrees up on both sides to the outside of the blocker. I then used a dremel and cutoff wheel to notch out the 2 triangles. I didn't modify the high beam blocker. What this did was allow light to be projected thru the turns and really illuminates roadsigns well, and also does not blind cars directly in front of the bike. And note that both high and low blockers appear to be blocking the beam the wrong way. That is, the low blocker is mounted on the bottom of the housing. I took me a minute or two to understand that the 2 glass fisheye lenses invert the beam. I'm 100% happy with the mods. The light is bright and white. Hope this helps someone.