FXR150 lights

[danielle]

Hey, may be a stupid question but im looking to put new lights in the headlight that a better, brighter, etcetc. Butttt i dont really know what im looking for as i am aware that not every light bulb will fit the socket :doh: So if some one could point me in the right direction that would be great!

[CookMySock]

The fast way to do it, is take the bulb out and take it into Repco and ask them what type it is, and what are your options. You are looking at $15-45 to upgrade it.

Keep the old bulb, un case the poor thing cant cope with the extra loading, and you have to put the old one back in. It's important not to touch the glass envelope, so find a little box or a plastic bag to put it in.

The most powerful upgrade option is a "High Intensity Discharge" system, but there is some question about the legality of them and they are expensive ($100plus) and inconvenient to fit, but they are damn bright, and your bike stands out really really well, even in bright daylight. Search youtube for "HID headlights".

HTH
Steve

[huff3r]

The fast way to do it, is take the bulb out and take it into Repco and ask them what type it is, and what are your options. You are looking at $15-45 to upgrade it.

Keep the old bulb, un case the poor thing cant cope with the extra loading, and you have to put the old one back in. It's important not to touch the glass envelope, so find a little box or a plastic bag to put it in.

The most powerful upgrade option is a "High Intensity Discharge" system, but there is some question about the legality of them and they are expensive ($100plus) and inconvenient to fit, but they are damn bright, and your bike stands out really really well, even in bright daylight. Search youtube for "HID headlights".

HTH
Steve

Some question about the legality of them? Nope, no question. They are illegal if retrofitted to a vehicles headlight. The only time a HID is legal is if it comes as a new headlight unit, reflector and all. And like that, they are VERY pricey!

Personally i'd recommend the Phillips range of white/blue ultrabright bulbs. They dont fail when they get splashed with water either like a conventional halogen :D

[danielle]

Thanks guys. Im tempted to get the uber bright HIDs becuz i like the idea of being seen, but i dont so much like the idea of being fined.....

[danielle]

Went to repco, the two blondes behind the counter had no idea and shipped me off and i couldnt really figure it out either for also being a blonde....so i went to anza and they said that there were no bulbs from one supplier to fit th base. So any help from you guys?! im really stuck but i really want brighter bulbs

[CookMySock]

It's no different to having an excessively noisy exhaust, which of course is illegal, but the exhaust is approved by KB society in general, whereas HIDs are despised. It's more a social experiment than anything real, and the reader will of course do as he or she chooses. :cool:

There ARE safety issues with HIDs, and that is when there are twin lamps for high and low beam. Switching between low and high beam will give at least a full second where there is little or no light. This is a little unsettling to say the least, and is a good reason why to leave the lowbeam bulb as a conventional incandescent lamp. It will be a lot better with a single lamp system such as a magnetically dippable H4, as once they have warmed up they stay nice and bright.

If your headlight uses an H4 bulb, you could adjust the headlamp so that the dipped beam cutoff is quite high, and this way it flickers constantly and is particularly obvious to other motorists, but you can do this regardless of what bulb you have fitted. Ironically, it is illegal and won't pass a WOF like this either.

Also with large diameter reflector type headlights, HIDs should not be used on fullbeam with oncoming traffic at any time, as they are horrifically bright. Different story with crap projector type headlamps, which just do not have the same ability to focus the beam.

Steve

[koba]

Went to repco, the two blondes behind the counter had no idea and shipped me off and i couldnt really figure it out either for also being a blonde....so i went to anza and they said that there were no bulbs from one supplier to fit th base. So any help from you guys?! im really stuck but i really want brighter bulbs

The bulbs are probably not the problem, they should be plenty bright enough.
You will probably find the earth wires to the headlights on these are shit. Try and find a reputable auto sparky or real good bike meachic to have a look at them.

If you know someone who can help you get them to measure the voltage at the headlight. Be wary here because well intentioned "assistance" could leave you in a worse spot.

The bulbs are a pain to get, you will need to go to a bikeshop or specialty bulb place and even then you may have trouble.

Don't listen to Dangerous bastard on this, he is talking shit because he has never seen seen the bulbs or headlights from an FXR, if he had he would know he's talking about a round peg in a square hole.

[CookMySock]

You will probably find the earth wires to the headlights on these are shit. Try and find a reputable auto sparky or real good bike meachic to have a look at them. If you know someone who can help you get them to measure the voltage at the headlight. Be wary here because well intentioned "assistance" could leave you in a worse spot.You don't need a real good bike mechanic, or a reputable sparky, to measure the fucking voltage at the light bulb, and your disparaging remarks serve only to make yourself look like small.


The bulbs are a pain to get, you will need to go to a bikeshop or specialty bulb place and even then you may have trouble.

Don't listen to Dangerous bastard on this, he is talking shit because he has never seen seen the bulbs or headlights from an FXR, if he had he would know he's talking about a round peg in a square hole.I agree. I have no idea what these bulbs are. You might never find a HID bulb to fit it, and if you did, it will never be legal, and on top of that you will never be able to re-fit the original bulb into the housing just to get a WOF, so you would be up shit creek. For myself, I am not beaten so easily, but hey, we all choose our own path.

Steve

[F5 Dave]

ok time for an answer having done this myself. (on my 750 which has an FXR150 headlight)

Go see the bike shop & tell them you want 2 bulbs for a Yamaha Blaster (some sort of horrible quad). They are Halogen & of a similar (same) wattage to std. They also have the same fitting as std (which is like a tail light fitting, not H4 or similar).


ok here is an example link. These are 45Ws, but you want 35W. Price will be a whole heap more than on this site, but not really that much.
http://www.mfgsupply.com/m/c/01-6245J.html

They will not be too hot that they melt the backshells of the lights - which can happen if you go crazy with watts in plastic shells (+ the charging system won't cope anyway).

Check that the contacts are clean. Do not touch with fingers the glass of the new bulbs (finger grease not good for them).

This will give you okish lights. Not serious, but a whole world better than std.


Seems to be my day for giving Steve heaps, but HID lights on an FXR?? Sheesh, have you priced them up?

hmm [has a look, ohh they've come down in price] actually you could get one for $110 USD + shipping + the effort or paid $ of rewiring & fitting the kit.

Still -No way worth it on a cheap bike.

[danielle]

thank you so much! i had actually given up, but not anymore. so your sure those exact bulbs will fit the same base? i had a bit of trouble actually putting the headlight i had initially took out back in so any tips for that?

[F5 Dave]

Yeah that's what I ordered bulbs for, they came from Darbi which every bike shop will buy from. I'd done the same upgrade with my RG50 so it was just double with the FXR. So just ask them to look at Blaster bulbs in 35W & that is what you should get. If they get all confused tell them to ring Darbi or where ever they get their bulbs & explain you want halogen 35W bulb in the same J type fitting.

The fitting just twists out & the bulb has to go into the bayonet the correct orientation or it would swap high for low beam so they key it so you can't push it in wrong. They are pretty cheap & nasty connectors but once you've got the hang of them they are fine.

Headlights fit the 750 fairing quite well. Very light weight as all plastic.