Changing headlights
- Thread starter boars
- Start date
Everything ordered... now to play the waiting game 
I got an order number less than 10 from Max Vision Australia... and text like:
Checkout Success Sample Text�...
A few words about the approximate shipping time or your processing policy would be put here.
This section of text is from the Define Pages Editor located under Tools in the Admin.
Hope that's not a bad sign :spank: haha
I got an order number less than 10 from Max Vision Australia... and text like:
Checkout Success Sample Text�...
A few words about the approximate shipping time or your processing policy would be put here.
This section of text is from the Define Pages Editor located under Tools in the Admin.
Hope that's not a bad sign
:spank: haha
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
Everything ordered... now to play the waiting game
I got an order number less than 10 from Max Vision Australia... and text like:
Checkout Success Sample Text�...
A few words about the approximate shipping time or your processing policy would be put here.
This section of text is from the Define Pages Editor located under Tools in the Admin.
Hope that's not a bad sign
Looking forward to seeing your project finished/being build!!
Could you give a breakdown of all the parts you've ordered? And have machined?
This could help possible other people interested in this kind of headlight swap
And it will definately make a great howto
Grtz,
Degake
I'll do a complete breakdown after this is finished and I know for sure there's not something else missing from the equation haha!
In addition to what you suggested/listed I got some LED parking lights New led park lights - ducati.org forum | the home for ducati owners and enthusiasts
There are some awesome coloured ones available but I just went with white, due to legal reasons more than anything - I'd have loved some red ones, angry eyes!
The change to LED is dead simple, only need to do a simple modification to one of the parking light connectors... with a easy to find tool... a paperclip
As for the HID's I went with 4300k to get somewhat close to white light, I've read that it's best for visibility (whether that is true or not... I wouldn't know).
Additionally, the closer to white, hopefully the less that cops will pay attention to me!
The HID conversion is for my visibility and cars noticing me on the road... just awareness, not a "what the hell is that?!" kind of effect.
As for the brackets, the bloke on the ducati forums, vfrman, had a spare aside from the spacer things so I haven't had to have one fabricated as he's organised it all for $15. He's getting the extra bits made and sent from the UK to him... then to me. Threw him some beer money on top because frankly, what a champ!
This was my intention to be a cheap headlight mod... oh ho ho ho ho... :spank:
I was half keen on some white angel eyes... not sure I'd fit them in...
I haven't got the fabrication of an actual mounting system factored in yet either... but at the end of next month I'm taking a couple of weeks off and I intend to visit a guy to see what he can do... and how much he'll leave me out of pocket. If only I knew how to weld Something to add to my list of things to learn.
PS Degake, you have to send me a pic of your completed light! I'm really keen to get a look in at it!!
In addition to what you suggested/listed I got some LED parking lights New led park lights - ducati.org forum | the home for ducati owners and enthusiasts
There are some awesome coloured ones available but I just went with white, due to legal reasons more than anything - I'd have loved some red ones, angry eyes!
The change to LED is dead simple, only need to do a simple modification to one of the parking light connectors... with a easy to find tool... a paperclip
As for the HID's I went with 4300k to get somewhat close to white light, I've read that it's best for visibility (whether that is true or not... I wouldn't know).
Additionally, the closer to white, hopefully the less that cops will pay attention to me!
The HID conversion is for my visibility and cars noticing me on the road... just awareness, not a "what the hell is that?!" kind of effect.
As for the brackets, the bloke on the ducati forums, vfrman, had a spare aside from the spacer things so I haven't had to have one fabricated as he's organised it all for $15. He's getting the extra bits made and sent from the UK to him... then to me. Threw him some beer money on top because frankly, what a champ!
This was my intention to be a cheap headlight mod... oh ho ho ho ho... :spank:
I was half keen on some white angel eyes... not sure I'd fit them in...
I haven't got the fabrication of an actual mounting system factored in yet either... but at the end of next month I'm taking a couple of weeks off and I intend to visit a guy to see what he can do... and how much he'll leave me out of pocket. If only I knew how to weld
Something to add to my list of things to learn.PS Degake, you have to send me a pic of your completed light! I'm really keen to get a look in at it!!
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Have to say, extremely pleased with my dealings with The Retrofit Source online: headlight upgrades for all applications so far.
Accidentally ordered only half of what I wanted from them, then put in a second order to get the rest. :spank:
I'm not one to cause a fuss over getting charged postage twice when it's my stupid mistake... I could have contacted them and asked for them to merge the orders but let it slide.
Got a refund yesterday and they put all my orders in one package and shipped it.
Thanks RS!
Accidentally ordered only half of what I wanted from them, then put in a second order to get the rest. :spank:
I'm not one to cause a fuss over getting charged postage twice when it's my stupid mistake... I could have contacted them and asked for them to merge the orders but let it slide.
Got a refund yesterday and they put all my orders in one package and shipped it.
Thanks RS!
skyworm
Member
Yes, it is :cheer:
It really looks bad-ass
Grtz,
Degake
Degake,waiting for your headlight mod thread.Would it be possible to post your avatar pic in better resolution?
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
I'll do a complete breakdown after this is finished and I know for sure there's not something else missing from the equation haha!
In addition to what you suggested/listed I got some LED parking lights New led park lights - ducati.org forum | the home for ducati owners and enthusiasts
There are some awesome coloured ones available but I just went with white, due to legal reasons more than anything - I'd have loved some red ones, angry eyes!
The change to LED is dead simple, only need to do a simple modification to one of the parking light connectors... with a easy to find tool... a paperclip
As for the HID's I went with 4300k to get somewhat close to white light, I've read that it's best for visibility (whether that is true or not... I wouldn't know).
Additionally, the closer to white, hopefully the less that cops will pay attention to me!
The HID conversion is for my visibility and cars noticing me on the road... just awareness, not a "what the hell is that?!" kind of effect.
I think it will be a rather long tutorial
As for colour temperature; I've also mounted 4300K in my projector, because it gives the best/most useful light
But 6000K is almost identical, with a minimal loss of light output (It just colours a bit bluer, but you'll only notice it when you can actually compare the light with a 4300K bulb output)As for your LEDS: what colour temperature did you go with? If your LEDs are 6000K, it will be quite alot bluer in comparison to your projectors (I know; I have the same for now in my headlight
).It could be it gives a nice effect, but if you don't like the white light <> blue light combination, you could go with some 4500K LEDs or some xenon look halogen bulbs (Philips Blue Vision or preferrably Osram Cool Blue (4000K). These will 99% match the 4300K hid projector output
I am gonna see what it gives with a 6000K bulb in it (I've just got some Philips Ultinon 6000K D2S bulbs rather cheap on eBay :rockon
to match the LED.If I don't like it, well than the Ultinons go into one of the cars
, and I'll switch to an Osram Cool Blue bulb (or maybe not, as the parking light will get covered sooner or later with a DPM headlight fairing )As for the "paperclip mod" you're referring too; is that the reversed polarity of one of those parking lights? If so, you won't have to switch the polarity, as you will have to wire everything new, so you can get it from your original parking light wires
There are actually nice guys riding ducati's???
It's great that you can get all those parts allready fabricated for you for such a low price :thumbup:
That will make that part - at least
- plug and play I was half keen on some white angel eyes... not sure I'd fit them in...
I haven't got the fabrication of an actual mounting system factored in yet either... but at the end of next month I'm taking a couple of weeks off and I intend to visit a guy to see what he can do... and how much he'll leave me out of pocket. If only I knew how to weld
Don't go with the angel eyes
They are a PITA to mount (using fishing wire etc. ) and won't last very long (The converters aren't the most reliable parts in such environments )As for the fabrication: try it yourself first
Just use some cardboard/scrap metal plate to make some testing frames to mount your headlight.
It will require a lot of time, but you will get it done at some time
And it will look SWEET When you have all your brackets designed/measured, take the whole setup to the fabricator and see if he has any suggestions to get the whole as solid as possible (as that headlight will get a lot of pressure when riding).
Have to say, extremely pleased with my dealings with The Retrofit Source online: headlight upgrades for all applications so far.
Accidentally ordered only half of what I wanted from them, then put in a second order to get the rest. :spank:
I'm not one to cause a fuss over getting charged postage twice when it's my stupid mistake... I could have contacted them and asked for them to merge the orders but let it slide.
Got a refund yesterday and they put all my orders in one package and shipped it.
Thanks TRS!
The Retrofit Source is an absolute amazing company!! :thumbup:
They have a perfect customer service and they actually know their stuff
Grtz,
Degake
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
I should have anything back together this weekend!!
(If I don't have other things coming up though )I've got some wiring that needs to be routed through the frame, to look as stock as possible
The pics will be with the colour mis-matched bulbs (4300K HID and 6000K LED), as the new bulbs won't come in untill next week or so
So, the thread will follow somewhere next week
skyworm, here is my avatar in greater resolution, as well as a pic of my new helmet :rockon:
(click to get full image)
Grtz,
Degake
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I think it will be a rather long tutorial
As for colour temperature; I've also mounted 4300K in my projector, because it gives the best/most useful light
As for your LEDS: what colour temperature did you go with? If your LEDs are 6000K, it will be quite alot bluer in comparison to your projectors (I know; I have the same for now in my headlight
It could be it gives a nice effect, but if you don't like the white light <> blue light combination, you could go with some 4500K LEDs or some xenon look halogen bulbs (Philips Blue Vision or preferrably Osram Cool Blue (4000K). These will 99% match the 4300K hid projector output
I am gonna see what it gives with a 6000K bulb in it (I've just got some Philips Ultinon 6000K D2S bulbs rather cheap on eBay :rockon
If I don't like it, well than the Ultinons go into one of the cars
They were just listed as something like "White Xenon LED's - Metal socket BAX9S / H6W"... so god only knows what they are. They only cost $16 so not overly concerned... yet.
Out of curiosity, are you happier with the 4300k or the 6000k?
As for the "paperclip mod" you're referring too; is that the reversed polarity of one of those parking lights? If so, you won't have to switch the polarity, as you will have to wire everything new, so you can get it from your original parking light wires
That's a really good point... not that I'd done anything other than put them in the sockets so far anyway!! Not all of parts have arrived yet... the LED's, the HID extension leads and ballast.
There are actually nice guys riding ducati's???
It's great that you can get all those parts allready fabricated for you for such a low price :thumbup:
That will make that part - at least
Wish it was all plug and play
He hasn't sent it to me yet ... so he might not be all that nice :don'tknow:
Don't go with the angel eyes
As for the fabrication: try it yourself first
Just use some cardboard/scrap metal plate to make some testing frames to mount your headlight.
It will require a lot of time, but you will get it done at some time
When you have all your brackets designed/measured, take the whole setup to the fabricator and see if he has any suggestions to get the whole as solid as possible (as that headlight will get a lot of pressure when riding).
I've done angel eyes before in my car, it was quite painful indeed, not exactly at a nice integration level yet... lots of people glue there's in :ban:
They do look awesome when done well however... but it's unlikely that I'd bother at this stage.
Not sure I'd be the best person to be making a mount haha, cardboard, I could do... don't have the tools to mock anything else up sadly... If I could do metal working, heck I'd do it all myself :thumbup:
I don't have anything that'd cut metal... or weld it for that matter... let alone have the experience. ANOTHER thing to add to my ever growing list of things to learn heh.
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
They will probably be 6000K and be a tad bluer than your HIDs, but maybe you'll like the loon
(and if not, you can always convert them to turn signals )As to choose between 4300K and 6000K, I'll definately have to say the 4300k give the best light output while driving (and look the best to me as well
).Now is the hardest time; waiting for all the components to get started
Wish it was all plug and play
It might take some time to get everything fabricated, checked and shipped. Just hang on!!
I think that adding angel eyes as well as the led running lights will be overkill and could possibly give a cheap look to a rather stunning headlight!
Cardboard and some tape will work just fine with mocking everything up.
When you have al your cardboard templates made, you could try some thin sheetmetal and a simple angle grinder or metal saw to get the sheetmetal to the right shape.
Bending sheetmetal can easily been done without any tools (maybe just a vice, or some pliers) and will give hou a good look at what parts can be joined or should remain seperate to install.
If you can't weld, you could also use some metal glue to get diferent parts of the mock up together.
Or you could just make some holes and use nuts and bolts to connect the parts
Grtz,
Degake
p.s. My headlight and wiring is completely finished!! :cheer: The wiring only took me 4 hours, but is definately worth it!!
Thread will follow today/tomorrow :rockon:
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It might take some time to get everything fabricated, checked and shipped. Just hang on!!
I know, it'll probably be the thing that takes the longest too
Probably - I'm still torn between using the light naked or getting the CF front plastic and cutting it down to size... gah.
Cardboard and some tape will work just fine with mocking everything up.
When you have al your cardboard templates made, you could try some thin sheetmetal and a simple angle grinder or metal saw to get the sheetmetal to the right shape.
Bending sheetmetal can easily been done without any tools (maybe just a vice, or some pliers) and will give hou a good look at what parts can be joined or should remain seperate to install.
If you can't weld, you could also use some metal glue to get diferent parts of the mock up together.
Or you could just make some holes and use nuts and bolts to connect the parts
I don't even own a drill... or a vice... not to mention a grinder... haha! :ban:
Cardboard... I could do
p.s. My headlight and wiring is completely finished!! :cheer: The wiring only took me 4 hours, but is definately worth it!!
Thread will follow today/tomorrow :rockon:
Awesome
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
Carbon front!!!
It will cost a lot tough
I don't even own a drill... or a vice... not to mention a grinder... haha! :ban:
Cardboard... I could do
Now you have a good excuse to buy everything you need to "redo the house"?? :BLAA:
Cardboard will be enough for the first 10 tries
Grtz,
Degake
Carbon front!!!
It will cost a lot tough
About $300 shipped to me.
The question would be whether i could integrate it well into the aesthetics of the bike... Hard to know without having one to begin with!
I need to take some better photos of my bike... using a side shot to mock up at the moment... need a front shot, a 3/4 shot and equivalents of an 848 so I can photoshop them together... a task for tommorow :thumbup:
Note the bottom cowl is completely wrong!! I just pulled a bit of plastic off the 848
I couldn't find a good picture of the cowl I have so yeah, place holder item there.
Now you have a good excuse to buy everything you need to "redo the house"?? :BLAA:
Cardboard will be enough for the first 10 tries
haha yes... tho the more tools I buy, the less I have to spend on the bike
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degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
That sounds good :thumbup:
The question would be whether i could integrate it well into the aesthetics of the bike... Hard to know without having one to begin with!
I need to take some better photos of my bike... using a side shot to mock up at the moment... need a front shot, a 3/4 shot and equivalents of an 848 so I can photoshop them together... a task for tommorow :thumbup:
Note the bottom cowl is completely wrong!! I just pulled a bit of plastic off the 848
I'd place the headlight a bit lower on the front forks, so the whole looks a bit beefier
Are you gonna go with a windscreen as well?
haha yes... tho the more tools I buy, the less I have to spend on the bike
But the more tools you buy, the more you can do yourself instead of a mechanic/fabricator, thus saving extra money for the bike
If you lived around here, I would definately help you out :thumbup:
Grtz,
Degake
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
A thing I just thought of: if you're (partially) going to use the front fairing of the ducati; why don't you get the fairing stay as well?
This should mount directly to the frame, with a couple of (minor) modifications.
This way you would have a "fixed" headlight tough (thus not turning along with your handlebar/wheels).
But I think it would look rather cool
Grtz,
Degake
This should mount directly to the frame, with a couple of (minor) modifications.
This way you would have a "fixed" headlight tough (thus not turning along with your handlebar/wheels).
But I think it would look rather cool
Grtz,
Degake
The stay you say... hrmn.
DUCATI 848 1098 1198 SUPERBIKE FRONT FAIRING STAY ALUMINUM HEADLIGHT BRACKET NEW - T-MOTORSPORTS Online Store
I'm not even sure how that mounts on the Ducati... heh.
One of the reasons I had the light so high was I wasn't sure how high I could have it without interfering with handlebar movement - dependant of course whehter it was turning with the bars or staying straight like the ducati does. Have not decided to go one way or the other yet.
:spank:
I don't think I'd have the screen on tho... it has been something I've been considering... altho I do like the naked look, and was musing cutting the carbon cowl down smaller... the full sized one is a bit bigger:
And for a laugh with a bit more ducati fairing:
Also worth noting that my scale is probably completely off!! Since I'm just grabbing random images and splicing them together haha
DUCATI 848 1098 1198 SUPERBIKE FRONT FAIRING STAY ALUMINUM HEADLIGHT BRACKET NEW - T-MOTORSPORTS Online Store
I'm not even sure how that mounts on the Ducati... heh.
One of the reasons I had the light so high was I wasn't sure how high I could have it without interfering with handlebar movement - dependant of course whehter it was turning with the bars or staying straight like the ducati does. Have not decided to go one way or the other yet.
:spank:
I don't think I'd have the screen on tho... it has been something I've been considering... altho I do like the naked look, and was musing cutting the carbon cowl down smaller... the full sized one is a bit bigger:
And for a laugh with a bit more ducati fairing:
Also worth noting that my scale is probably completely off!! Since I'm just grabbing random images and splicing them together haha
degake
Stop flashing!! G$*%£#
I think I might have an idea how you can mount the fairing to your bike
And it would rather OEMish
Let me get back on it tonight when I get home to give you some pointers
Let us say it can be quite easy to accomplish :thumbup:
With a rigid fairing, you would indeed need to look for clearance issues with your bars.
You could also try to use another bar (or some angled handlebar risers).
It looks definately better without the windscreen!!
But if you buy a CF front fairing, remember that you can only cut pieces of, but you can't add extra's to it (you can't go adding fiberglass on that beautifull CF
)Or you could buy a second hand front fairing, cut that up, fiberglass some extra parts/covers on it and get a CF version made of that one
Grtz,
Degake
skyworm
Member
That belly pan looks very sweet.A seat cowl would be another good addition
I'm sorry, when I said the engine cowl.. I meant the belly pan, it's not real. It's a peice of plastic off an 848. I just wacked it on there to give an impression of a belly pan. Couldn't find a picture of mine from side on.
I've got a seat cowl in the post... it should arrive this week - but once again, I've got no decent image of it for photoshop.
I will soon tho... :rockon:
skyworm
Member
I knew that it wasn't real.Using photoshop very often myself.I mean a pan like that would be very good looking.I'm about to order a CF kit for making parts.So i was looking for ideas.
