Just picked up a 2013 Thruxton, love the look, including chrome headlight, but the light output is weak with what I assume is the stock H4 bulb. What options should I consider to give me more lumens while retaining the original headlight and remains compatible with my stock alternator and battery. How about LEDs? Seen some with embedded fans and elaborate cooling.
I've heard of people upgrading the wire size feeding existing h4 utilising a relay as cables are undersized and therefore drop volts, many have swapped to led, myself included but the Dury is out at mo as not really managed to try out in darker weather, some have gone with the likes of Philips etc with there brighter options
A more powerful H4 bulb will improve things but not to the extent possible. This is because the rather thin wires and other components in the way of the current getting to the bulb itself will only get worse with a greater headlamp load. DEcosse's headlamp volt-drop improvements, lumen chart, etc is worth reading:
I modified my headlight after trying Phillips Extreme H 4 in a IPF semi headlight and this is the best by far ......it lights the road signs in daylight ha ha HID projector 55w extremely flat cut off beam no blinding oncoming road users with a wide bright flat beam. It's a ripper I will take some pics of beam at night and post
Before you spend a lot of $$, try a brighter bulb like the Sylvania Silver Star Ultra. And since you want to retain the original headlight, if the new bulb isn't sufficiently to your liking, look into a pair of LED driving lights that mount to either the brake calipers, or the front forks if you have a Triumph with only 1 front brake. LEDs will only draw a tiny amount of wattage and won't stress any bike's alternator output.
My lighting on high beam is the HID 55watt projector with 2 x 3100 lumen led driving lights which are 63mm dia. On high beam I have better light than my car. And the same on low beam with the HID projector it works fantastic and I've compared it against the following:
Philips Extreme H4 globe
IPF semi sealed reflector
Phillips high power Led globe
The HID is the brightest, widest and longest beam, best low beam light cut off ( so not to blind on coming traffic) light beam.
I will take some pics tonight of low and high beam and post.
Ps only cost around $50 and then your labour to customise and fit...
*********Please note modifications are required**********
However if you ride at night in dark country roads which I do this is a good solution so you can see
Wow...thanks all. Lot's of options to explore. Hadn't considered the restrictions of the stock wiring harness. Clearly a more complex solution than anticipated ...will keep you posted on progress.
I went HID. $40 shipped and they see me coming from miles away....Plug and Play, no fiddling with the bucket or Modifications etc... The Ballast keeps the OEM wiring from overloading and frying like over the counter Super Brights will ( I know this as I have run them on other bikes and had the sockets and wires get brittle and fail) and fits inside my small OEM bucket
I have alos dealt with a LED compamy that sends me their bulbs to test and none have ever come close to throing light well (and they cost 2-3x's as much) http://www.triumphrat.net/air-cooled-twins-technical-talk/520681-upgrade-your-headlights.html
Same here in NJ. When I was a LEO and teaching other officers how to detect drunk drivers, one statistic stood out. After midnight 1 out of every 43 drivers on the road is over the limit alcohol-wise.
Thanks all for your good input. Along with the previous post there appears to be a general consensus that upgrading my wiring should be my first step to improving the headlight performance on my 2013 Thruxton while retaining the existing headlight/shell. Didn't want to wait too much longer before acting as the source, Beaver Power, is in Japan. (Thanks for the recommendation Forchetto.) Ordered the H4 upgrade with the longer wires so I can locate the relays outside the shell and under the tank, perhaps where the AI solenoid was previously located. Cost was about $60 plus shipping ($12).
Interstingly I emailed Beaver Power about upgrading the wattage to a higher wattage H4 and was advised I am likely to overheat the connections and fixtures around the bulb and should stay with the same spec lightbulb. So we will see how we do once it arrives. Expect to have it delivered within two weeks. Stay tuned!
Seeing the light - took the advise of several to first upgrade the wiring. After examining the stock wire to the H4 bulb, couldn't believe how light weight it is. Went with the Eastern Beaver external relay kit. This provides waterproofed relay and 20" wiring to install relays outside headlight shell under the tank, leaving space in the headlamp shell should a further upgrade to bulb (like LED) be required. (LED bulbs with fans/heat sinks tend to be bulky).
Major difference in output. Will see how it goes before further upgrades. Thanks all for your good input. Would never have thought it necessary to upgrade wiring first!! See pics of relays located on frame. I used a large rubber washer to provide some vibration relief plus zip ties. Only concern may be the heat rising from the engine below, but no problems so far.
Seeing the light - took the advise of several to first upgrade the wiring. After examining the stock wire to the H4 bulb, couldn't believe how light weight it is. Went with the Eastern Beaver external relay kit. This provides waterproofed relay and 20" wiring to install relays outside headlight shell under the tank, leaving space in the headlamp shell should a further upgrade to bulb (like LED) be required. (LED bulbs with fans/heat sinks tend to be bulky).
Major difference in output. Will see how it goes before further upgrades. Thanks all for your good input. Would never have thought it necessary to upgrade wiring first!! See pics of relays located on frame. I used a large rubber washer to provide some vibration relief plus zip ties. Only concern may be the heat rising from the engine below, but no problems so far.
I modified the headlight bucket so I could mount a Hid projector into it in which I had to relocate most of the wiring to make room for it. It was quite a bit of work however the headlight is fantastic not blinding others on the road just a wide flat excellent cut off on low beam light.
Greg, out of curiosity do you have any night shots without the LED's on too? Don't know that I want to put driving lights on my bike (admittedly due to aesthetics) but am still seeking more light out output that's less scattered with clearer cut off points.
Not at this stage however will take some pics with the led lights covered as they come on with high beam and post some pics. However if you look at the low beam that shows you how bright they are only difference is the cut off beam (low beam) is not activated on high beam so the beam is a fuller beam of light
It's called voltage drop. Measure the drop in voltage from the battery to the headlight bulb with it turned on. It shouldn't be much. Maybe .2 volts. So it needs larger wiring. Then you can go up in bulb wattage. I use 100 watt bulb. I've done this relay and wiring change to all my cars too. Then all the stock wiring and switches have to operate is the low wattage relays.
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