Bugeye Headlight Issues

[Red01]

Bugeye Headlight Issues
(from the old board)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B12Teuton
(8/9/02 7:48 am)
Bug-Eye High Beam

Anyone else think the high beam on bug eyed Bandits SUCKS??
Is there something wrong with mine??

The light seems to work (comes on), but it is so dim that the only thing I notice at night is LESS light when I switch it on because of the power drain on the low beam, which works well.

I can literally kneel in front of the bike at night and look right into the high beam without squinting. I think it used to work better, but can't understand what happened.

Bike has 13k miles and I keep the high on during the day, so the bulb has a lot of hours on it. It is not out of adjustment, either.

If I do have to replace it, I want a real squirrel burner. Any suggestions that won't break the bank or bike?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B12Teuton
(8/9/02 7:51 am)
Bug-Eye High Beam

And what are some prices of replacement bulbs?
I don't want additional lighting hanging off the side of the bike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red01SuziB12S
(8/9/02 7:09 pm)
Re: BuG-Eye High Beam

My high beam is BRIGHT! I also run it during the day and have ~15K on the bike. I'd say you have a problem somewhere (lame bulb or some electrical glitch going on).

Pretty sure the replacements are fairly common 9000 series (I forget the exact #'s right now) bulbs available at most auto parrts stores - even the discount chain ones.

Paul W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PeteSC
(8/9/02 7:28 pm)
Re: BuG-Eye High Beam

I'm wondering if you just have a sickly bulb!

The fake "HID" bulb I bought on ebay for $10 seems pretty bright.
The light is very white... a little blue.... takes a little getting used to.

II'd try an OEM spec bulb as a replacement, first... can't be too expensive. Maybe the bulb is shot.
I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a voltage check with your bike revved up at cruising speed...
Not sure what else would drop the brightness... without it flickering.
(Corrosion... bad connection or something...)
Splurge and spend $8 on a new bulb at AutoZone...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red01SuziB12S
(8/9/02 7:53 pm)
Bug-Eye Bulbs

OK, I found the bulb # info!

High beam = 9005
Low beam = 9006

Don't forget, the beam is adjustable. Not just the pattern placement either. You can adjust the canister back and forth to accomodate most bulbs. Since you are experiencing poor light output, you might want to try making adjustments to the canister placement.

To clarify a little, the headlight adjustment bolts found in the owners manual are the ones I'm talking about. Each canister has 3 adjustment nuts. The book says to use 2, but if you turn them all equally, you can move the focus or gain more room for the bulbs.

PIAA and Sylvania are a couple of vendors that make higher output bulbs that will fit in the bugeye projector canisters.

Paul W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PeteSC
(8/9/02 8:38 pm)
Re: Bug-Eye Bulbs

The Sylvania 9005 High Beam is $6.99, at Autozone...
Put a firm grip on your wallet, then click www.cbtimports.com/piaa9005bulb.htm for the PIAA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red01SuziB12S
(8/10/02 1:43 am)
Re: Bug-Eye Bulbs

YEEEOOWWW!!!
Bend over and grab your ankles! :moon:
Better be prepared to be bent over and loaded from the rear like a shotgun if you want those PIAAs!
(Or find somewhere that sells for less)

Paul W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PeteSC
(8/10/02 6:47 am)
Re: Bug-Eye Bulbs

May be tough! I think my 'hid' bulb is also rated at 60w. It came in
'no name brand' blister packaging.
All the writing was in Chinese, or Japanese. (All greek to me)
Since I was skeptical, I put the still working OEM bulb under the tail section for later emergency use. Still working.

One thing. I noticed at 'Boss' that a lot of the bikes had 'off colored' headlights... ranging from purple to green to amber.
No biggy... just NOTICEABLE in my vibrating Emgo mirrors.
Manny, for that price, I think I'd buy a Sylvania one, and try one of the
aftermarket bulbs from Ebay, or check a big autoparts store.
I've seen some of these fake HID bulbs at Pep Boys....autozone, etc.
Stupid question. Are both bulbs on with the high beams on the bugeyes?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red01SuziB12S
(8/10/02 7:00 pm)
Re: Bug-Eye Bulbs

 

Stupid question. Are both bulbs on with the high beams on the bugeyes?

Yes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B12Teuton
(8/12/02 9:12 am)
Lights

Hey, Thanks guys. I'll pick up a new bulb tonight.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
llcool
(8/19/02 12:35 am)
Re: Lights

Thanks for the bulb info. The dealer charged me 13.00 dollars a couple of months ago. I won't do that again.

Thanks, Tim
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blacbeard
(8/23/02 1:45 pm)
New lights

If your willing to drop that cash and can find someone with the same motorcycle bulb go get an H.I.D. set. tons brighter, you do lose your brights in most cases but you dont really need them with hid's. but they run around 450-600 for a set
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B12Teuton
(8/23/02 5:26 pm)
Headlight failure...HELP!

Ain't this a pisser!?!?
So I took out the bulb and turned the ignition on. Bright as can be!!!
I stick my finger in the highbeam bulb hole, and feel around. My finger comes out COVERED in this fine, black dust, which has coated the entire inside of the highbeam light. I've never seen anything like it!

After much cursing and contemplation, I removed the entire headlight assembly and front fairing because I was going to try to somehow wash or clean it out. No sooner do I have it removed, do I hear something rattling around in there. The metal reflector inserted into the headlight assembly is just flopping around. It has somehow detached itself from the rest of the housing. ...and the bulb still looks brand new and totally clean.

Does this make sense to anyone??

I assume I have to now buy an entire, new headlight assembly, which will surely cost me big bucks. Anybody got one??
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red01SuziB12S
(8/23/02 7:59 pm)
Re: Headlight failure...HELP!

You can disassemble the projectors by softening the sealant with a hair dryer or heat gun and splitting it open and re-sealing it when you're done. A couple of guys on Max-Suz have taken their projectors apart and removed the deflectors for increased light output.

Paul W
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B12Teuton
(8/25/02 9:31 am)
lights

Thanks Paul. I'll do that tonight (hopefully) and I'll let you know how it went.

Manny
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B12Teuton
(5/6/03 11:56 am)
Bug Eye Mod

Well, eight months and thousands of miles later, it is still working great (and still the original bulb with now over 15K miles on it)

Even if you don't have a dust problem, I would say to do this mod for the additional light output. It's 10-15% more light!
Only catch is that it's a little bit of a pain to aim the lights correctly, but not enough to prevent you from doing it.

Manny
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Owen1200s
(5/6/03 7:38 pm)
Re: Bug Eye Mod

my bug eye has those super whites and if i look into them too long all i see is a dot and it follows me everywere i go LOL  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Red01]

While surfing today, I came up with this interesting tidbit.

HIR lamps - an affordable and easier alternative to HID.

This applies to the 2G "S" models.
(There may be an equivalent to the H4 used by 1G's and "N" models, I haven't looked.)

The 9005 (HB3) high beam and 9006 (HB4) low beam bulbs can be replaced with 9011 (HIR1) high beam and 9012 (HIR2) bulbs such as those used in pre-HID Vipers, BMW Z8, Infiniti I30, Chevy Avalanche and new Nissan Maximas.

The beam pattern won't change, just more light within the pattern of the beam.

The comparison:

High beam:
stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens
new: HIR1, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens


Low beam:
stock: 9006, 12.8V, 55W, 1000 lumens
new: HIR2, 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens

If you can't find them for a good price locally, there is a guy on E-Bay that's selling them:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33710&item=7946895053

(I haven't tried this mod yet, nor the vendor above, but it does look intriguing!)

[Red01]

Here's something new I ran across the other day.

Click here for a bugeye headlight transplant