tcmalker's dual headlight mod

[Boneman]

Perhaps tcmalker is, in reality, "jimmy" from Seinfield!!??

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KBtYG6BZrg&feature=related]YouTube - Jimmy George Likes Spicy Chicken[/ame]

 

[Motogiro]

Perhaps tcmalker is, in reality, "jimmy" from Seinfield!!??

:rof::rof: Motogiro loves the Seinfield shows!!! :rof::rof: Oh no! I'm turning into Jimmy!!!!

Actually, TC's mod would, with a few added components be good! I know that negates the simplicity he has in mind for it but......

 

[tcmalker]

tcmalker asked me to tell you (Motogiro) to erase his earlier post because it didn't make any sense and were confusing people, possibly contricbuting to skewed polling results. He also said he appreciated support for his mod.

 

[lazamus69]

tcmalker asked me to tell you (Motogiro) to erase his earlier post because it didn't make any sense and were confusing people, possibly contricbuting to skewed polling results. He also said he appreciated support for his mod.

Please explain why Motos post would skew polling results?..I have trouble understanding your line of thought...opcorn:

 

[ngsm13]

Thinking of doing this MOD, but replacing both of my headlights with 35W DDM tuning HID's so I'll have plenty of light output!

 

[Boneman]

Thinking of doing this MOD, but replacing both of my headlights with 35W DDM tuning HID's so I'll have plenty of light output!

You might have plenty of light output, but most of it wont be usefull light output...oh, and it's also illegal! It's not recommended to just stick in HID bulbs into your bike. The bulb reflectors in your bike are designed for hallogen light output, not HID. Simply sticking in HID bulbs will result in 'scattering' the light beam. The light output will not be focused at all and usually ends up just blinding and anoying oncoming drivers.

But don't take my word for it....
http://www.my-gti.com/734/retrofitting-xenons-hid-lighting-to-reflector-housings

Retrofitting Xenons (HID) Lighting to reflector housings

Retrofitting Xenon or High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights to replace the standard halogen reflector setup may seem like a good idea and a whole lot cheaper than paying the $1000-2000 premium for the factory Xenons / Bi-Xenons but in reality not only is it illegal but not a very wise move.

Firstly there are a number of different ways to deliver light, lens optics, reflector optics and projector (polyellipsoidal) however only the latter two are still used.

Reflector lamps which are used by the majority of cars and the other is a projector lamp which are used by cars with Xenons and some cars with Halogen globes. Projector housings have a few drawbacks and one is that there is a very sharp cutoff of light and the other is that due to the optics used some light is lost so using them with Halogen can result in a drop in light output. Some older cars came from the factory with Xenon’s fitted to a reflector housing but they used a bulb designed for this application and the reflector shape was designed for the Xenon however they still suffered from some light scatter.

Problem 1. Light scatter
The biggest problem is glare and blinding oncoming traffic, the reflector is designed for use with Halogen and not Xenon and you end up with a lot of scatter as the diagram below demonstrates. You could have a light source that measures 10,000 lumens but it would be useless because of poor reflector design, to utilise Xenon correctly you need to use a projector lense hence why every car on the market with an OEM Xenon / Bi-Xenon option uses projectors.

Xenon globes can output up to three times the light of a Halogen globe, this is a key issue with these retrofit kits as the reflector on the left is a standard reflector and the design is to send the light in one direction with some scatter whereas the projector housing on the right is designed to focus all the light on the projector lense, a cut off shield prevents most of the glare and gives the sharp cutoff.

With much of the light being scattered the performance of Xenon’s is generally nowhere as good as that of Halogens, the improvement that is seen is a lot more light in front of the car but a lot less in the distance on the road where you need it. Daniel Stern sums this up well “It’s tricky to judge headlamp beam performance without a lot of knowledge, a lot of training and a lot of special equipment, because subjective perceptions are very misleading. Having a lot of strong light in the foreground, that is on the road close to the car and out to the sides, is very comforting and reliably produces a strong impression of “good headlights”. The problem is that not only is foreground lighting of decidedly secondary importance when travelling much above 30 mph, but having a very strong pool of light close to the car causes your pupils to close down, worsening your distance vision…all the while giving you this false sense of security. This is to say nothing of the massive amounts of glare to other road users and backdazzle to you, the driver, that results from these “retrofits”.” (see link below)

At this point hopefully you’re having second thoughts about fitting that cheap chinese Xenon kit you won on the online auction site but don’t dispair because purchasing a projector housing could give your Xenon/HID lighting without blinding other users.


If you are going to go the HID route, go all way and do it properly by using and mounting HID projectors.

 

[Humperdinkel]

Not true. tcmalker's mod came 3 years after bd43's. If tcmalker introduced his mod earlier I'm willing to bet most people would do his. But since people didn't have that option and already did bd43's mod, hence the poll results. If the poll was for new FZ6 riders only, the result would be quite different.

OK then , on your theory if we all check on this poll in 3 years time then BD43's mod will be overtaken & tcmalkers mod will be KING OF THE WORLD

Humpy thinks not likey :thumbup:

Please never close this thread I wanna see this

Ohh yeah & these pretzels , are making me thirsty

 

[tcmalker]

OK then , on your theory if we all check on this poll in 3 years time then BD43's mod will be overtaken & tcmalkers mod will be KING OF THE WORLD

Humpy thinks not likey :thumbup:

Please never close this thread I wanna see this

Ohh yeah & these pretzels , are making me thirsty

in 3 years, bd43 will still have a 3 years advantage. Just because of that, tcmalker hopes the Steelers win. :Flip:

 

[Humperdinkel]

in 3 years, bd43 will still have a 3 years advantage. Just because of that, tcmalker hopes the Steelers win. :Flip:

Ahh yes it will but they are all votes from 'old' FZ6 owners & you say that 'new' FZ6 owners will pick you mod so it will catch up :thumbup:

Hope all you want about the Steelers , it wont help their cause The PACK have this one in the bag

 

[ngsm13]

You might have plenty of light output, but most of it wont be usefull light output...oh, and it's also illegal! It's not recommended to just stick in HID bulbs into your bike. The bulb reflectors in your bike are designed for hallogen light output, not HID. Simply sticking in HID bulbs will result in 'scattering' the light beam. The light output will not be focused at all and usually ends up just blinding and anoying oncoming drivers.

But don't take my word for it....
Retrofitting Xenons (HID) Lighting to reflector housings | my-gti.com

Retrofitting Xenons (HID) Lighting to reflector housings

Retrofitting Xenon or High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights to replace the standard halogen reflector setup may seem like a good idea and a whole lot cheaper than paying the $1000-2000 premium for the factory Xenons / Bi-Xenons but in reality not only is it illegal but not a very wise move.

Firstly there are a number of different ways to deliver light, lens optics, reflector optics and projector (polyellipsoidal) however only the latter two are still used.

Reflector lamps which are used by the majority of cars and the other is a projector lamp which are used by cars with Xenons and some cars with Halogen globes. Projector housings have a few drawbacks and one is that there is a very sharp cutoff of light and the other is that due to the optics used some light is lost so using them with Halogen can result in a drop in light output. Some older cars came from the factory with Xenon’s fitted to a reflector housing but they used a bulb designed for this application and the reflector shape was designed for the Xenon however they still suffered from some light scatter.

Problem 1. Light scatter
The biggest problem is glare and blinding oncoming traffic, the reflector is designed for use with Halogen and not Xenon and you end up with a lot of scatter as the diagram below demonstrates. You could have a light source that measures 10,000 lumens but it would be useless because of poor reflector design, to utilise Xenon correctly you need to use a projector lense hence why every car on the market with an OEM Xenon / Bi-Xenon option uses projectors.

Xenon globes can output up to three times the light of a Halogen globe, this is a key issue with these retrofit kits as the reflector on the left is a standard reflector and the design is to send the light in one direction with some scatter whereas the projector housing on the right is designed to focus all the light on the projector lense, a cut off shield prevents most of the glare and gives the sharp cutoff.

With much of the light being scattered the performance of Xenon’s is generally nowhere as good as that of Halogens, the improvement that is seen is a lot more light in front of the car but a lot less in the distance on the road where you need it. Daniel Stern sums this up well “It’s tricky to judge headlamp beam performance without a lot of knowledge, a lot of training and a lot of special equipment, because subjective perceptions are very misleading. Having a lot of strong light in the foreground, that is on the road close to the car and out to the sides, is very comforting and reliably produces a strong impression of “good headlights”. The problem is that not only is foreground lighting of decidedly secondary importance when travelling much above 30 mph, but having a very strong pool of light close to the car causes your pupils to close down, worsening your distance vision…all the while giving you this false sense of security. This is to say nothing of the massive amounts of glare to other road users and backdazzle to you, the driver, that results from these “retrofits”.” (see link below)

At this point hopefully you’re having second thoughts about fitting that cheap chinese Xenon kit you won on the online auction site but don’t dispair because purchasing a projector housing could give your Xenon/HID lighting without blinding other users.


If you are going to go the HID route, go all way and do it properly by using and mounting HID projectors.

Thanks. Though with the scattering, I may become more visible, improving my safety. :BLAA: jkjk

 

[lazamus69]

It cant get the fact that there are people that think its a good idea to remove your ability to use your high beam. So you dont use it at night, but what about the day? Any chance to increase your visibilty to oncoming cagers is a no-brainer to me. It literally takes less than an hour and a half to do a dual-light mod PROPERLY(meaning you arent removing a KEY function of your bike) for a complete moron, and even that time frame is insulting to the moron. Instructional vids on youtube...SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EASY!!!!!! rant over lol
I guess Ive watched too many youtube left- hand turner vids.....When I approach an intersection that has a left-turner entering his side of the intersection, I'll blip my highs off/back-on a couple times just to draw attention to myself if I'm not sure Ive been noticed...maybe Im paranoid/crazy/dum.
I'll re-read this thread and see if I can lock my mind around some of the logic presented...wish me luck

 

[ngsm13]

You might have plenty of light output, but most of it wont be usefull light output...oh, and it's also illegal! It's not recommended to just stick in HID bulbs into your bike. The bulb reflectors in your bike are designed for hallogen light output, not HID. Simply sticking in HID bulbs will result in 'scattering' the light beam. The light output will not be focused at all and usually ends up just blinding and anoying oncoming drivers.

If you are going to go the HID route, go all way and do it properly by using and mounting HID projectors.

These good, or junk?

2004-2009 Yamaha FZ6 Projector HID CCFL Halo Eyes Combo- Duel Projector *::*YAMAHA*::*HID Kits*::*Xtreme Discount Cycle

 

[Boneman]

These good, or junk?

2004-2009 Yamaha FZ6 Projector HID CCFL Halo Eyes Combo- Duel Projector *::*YAMAHA*::*HID Kits*::*Xtreme Discount Cycle

They look pretty much like most of the standard aftermarket HID Projectors I've seen people use (including myself). There is a HUGE stickey thread on Bi-Xenon HID Projectors in the Mods section with all the information and purchase links you could want.

 

[Boneman]

I'll re-read this thread and see if I can lock my mind around some of the logic presented...wish me luck

The only logic I can see is it's a "qucik & easy" shortcut. Why do something properly when there is a shortcut avialable!? I too don't understand how one thinks they are "improving" their bike but at the same time removing function?? But then again what do I know about mods.....

I never use my high beams a lot either, but I do use em. More for signalling drivers, other bikers, etc. The whole "I only drive in town" argument to me is pointless. To think people only use highbeams only in rural enviornments is kind of short sighted IMHO.

Personally when I do mods, I want them to enhance my bike and/or the function I was modding; not reduce it.

Bottom line, if you want a quick way to get dual low beams, you can do this mod with no problems. Would I personally do this mod to my bike; no.

I do give tc full props though for thinking outside the box and coming up with yet another new way to get dual low beams. Afterall, this type of thinking and exploring with your FZ6 is what founded this forum. I'm not trying to bash him or his mod, but I will point out what I feel are some legal and potential safety issues of not having high beams. As with everything, there are two sides to every story and I just want the readers of this thread to fully understand both.

 

[Chris_D]

OK, firstly, let me say, you guys are starting to take the fun out of this thread by over-analysing the mod, and as tcmalker might say, "tcmalker doesn't like what you are saying about tcmalkers mod."

Like I said in my original post on this thread, there are better long term mods for those who want dual lights with high beams. But I think having both lights on during the day not only looks better, but surely it's better than having just one? If we go back to the un-fun logic argument, isn't 2 brighter than 1? And you can still flash the RHS light on and off using high-beam switch.

Again, IMO this is an easy mod for daytime riding that makes your bike look better and gives you 2 lights on, nothing more, and is quickly and easily reversible for night time riding.

 

[DHoback]

I agree. I never use the high beam and have silverstar ultras in anyway. Can still signal by flipping the switch to low, thus "winking" at the oncoming driver. Bottom line.... Do what makes you happy and let others do the same. Ride safe.

 

[lazamus69]

But I think having both lights on during the day not only looks better, but surely it's better than having just one? If we go back to the un-fun logic argument, isn't 2 brighter than 1?

Yea, logic sucks sometime but while 2 lights are brighter, the second doesnt SHINE like a HI does...thats what would draw MORE attention IMO

quote "If tcmalker introduced his mod earlier I'm willing to bet most people would do his"

Dude, get over yourself and this mod.

 

[tcmalker]

[QUOTEChris_D]But I think having both lights on during the day not only looks better, but surely it's better than having just one? If we go back to the un-fun logic argument, isn't 2 brighter than 1?



Yea, logic sucks sometime but while 2 lights are brighter, the second doesnt SHINE like a HI does...thats what would draw MORE attention IMO

quote "If tcmalker introduced his mod earlier I'm willing to bet most people would do his" Dude, get over yourself and this mod.

If you have nothing nice to say please don't say anything at all. You are very rude and this is not acceptable in this forum. tcmalker would not approve.

 

[NearOn]

you are tcmalker!!!!!!!!!!

 

[koolcat]

Is there anyway to have both? dual low beams and dual high beams? how about the ability to cut the lights off all together? Id settle for dual low and dual high though...