Headlight Lens

[Old Rider]

Does anybody know if its possible to separate the headlight glass from reflector and also if its possible to do it without remowing the hole fairing?
I see 3 clips holding the glasslens but is it also glued ? and does the clips fall off when they are released ?
Many questions here =)  i want to separate the lens so i can clean the reflector because its dirty and someone used a 100w bulb in the lamp so its
brown dirt in top of the reflector.

[Ted Schefelbein]

I tried getting two of mine apart, I quit before breaking either. Not sure if it is glued or welded from use.

Ted

[ribbert]

Does anybody know if its possible to separate the headlight glass from reflector and also if its possible to do it without remowing the hole fairing?

Yes, it is glued and no, if you take the clips off it won't fall apart. In fact, you could take to it with a jack hammer and it wouldn't fall apart!

I have heard of it being done but the benefit of doing so doesn't warrant the trouble or the risk and certainly not in situ. I don't know whether the heat from the headlight cures the adhesive over time or what, but I'll venture more lenses have been broken trying to get them apart than have been successfully separated.

I'm sure if one persevered they could be separated, but why? The only reason for doing so would be to clean inside and the headlight is still going to be terrible anyway.

My suggestion would be to pour a detergent solution in there and swish it around vigorously, rinse and let dry for a couple of days or make a little articulated arm with a sponge on the end to mechanically clean it through the globe opening.

On my own bike, the solution was to ignore it and fit auxiliary lights.

Noel

[Bones]

I'm pretty sure it was on here where I read that someone had done it successfully, they put the headlight in an oven on low heat so as to soften the adhesive holding the glass and it pulled apart. I think he put a projector lens inside the housing and then sealed it back up again.

[Bones]

Found it, he used a heat gun to get the lens off.
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=10268.msg113294#msg113294

[Old Rider]

My suggestion would be to pour a detergent solution in there and swish it around vigorously, rinse and let dry for a couple of days or make a little articulated arm with a sponge on the end to mechanically clean it through the globe opening.

On my own bike, the solution was to ignore it and fit auxiliary lights.

Noel

[/quote]

I followed your suggestion used  steel wire wrapped with pieces of microfiberclots taped at the tip and hot soap water.worked very nice.I was sitting in front of bike with arms up in the fairing (remowed the horn) same as when replacing the bulb. The lamp
does not have the bulb or the bulbholder for the parkinglight so i think some of the dirt was sucked in .The brown spot over the mainbulb was easy to wash clean.Now the reflector and inside of glass is clean .I have replaced the bulb that was osram nightbreaker with a phillips racing vision
Now its just waiting  patiently  for the darkness to test it  

Rolf

[Old Rider]

Found it, he used a heat gun to get the lens off.
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=10268.msg113294#msg113294

Thanks for the link Bones.

[ribbert]

My suggestion would be to pour a detergent solution in there and swish it around vigorously, rinse and let dry for a couple of days or make a little articulated arm with a sponge on the end to mechanically clean it through the globe opening.

On my own bike, the solution was to ignore it and fit auxiliary lights.

Noel

I followed your suggestion used  steel wire wrapped with pieces of microfiberclots taped at the tip and hot soap water.worked very nice.I was sitting in front of bike with arms up in the fairing (remowed the horn) same as when replacing the bulb. The lamp
does not have the bulb or the bulbholder for the parkinglight so i think some of the dirt was sucked in .The brown spot over the mainbulb was easy to wash clean.Now the reflector and inside of glass is clean .I have replaced the bulb that was osram nightbreaker with a phillips racing vision
Now its just waiting  patiently  for the darkness to test it  

Rolf

[/quote]

Excellent. 

Noel

[Old Rider]

Yesterday i was riding in the dark the light was a lot  better but nothing to write home about.I adjusted the beam angles, but that did not help much.
I still have the old 100w/90w bulb that was there when i bought the bike ,but unsure if i can use it because the bulb connector was meltled i replaced the connector with a ceramic when i replaced the bulb (60w 55w )back then.
I heard that the wires and lightswitch can melt  or catch fire with a 100w bulb.
Next step is to try to do the headlight mod i found here at the forum ,but i really suck when it comes to electrical stuff
Or maybe i should try to put a LED bulb in ? is it possible to use a LED bulb without having to mess with relays and resistors ?

[ribbert]

Yesterday i was riding in the dark the light was a lot  better but nothing to write home about.I adjusted the beam angles, but that did not help much.
I still have the old 100w/90w bulb that was there when i bought the bike ,but unsure if i can use it because the bulb connector was meltled i replaced the connector with a ceramic when i replaced the bulb (60w 55w )back then.
I heard that the wires and lightswitch can melt  or catch fire with a 100w bulb.
Next step is to try to do the headlight mod i found here at the forum ,but i really suck when it comes to electrical stuff
Or maybe i should try to put a LED bulb in ? is it possible to use a LED bulb without having to mess with relays and resistors ?

Rolf, there are only 3 choices, Halogen, HID, LED. It costs 100's of dollars to try all three, as I and many others have done. Not surprisingly, everyone got the same result and the conclusion was that while you can make the light brighter, a better colour and easier to be seen, it will never throw a decent beam down the road.

Halogen globes benefit from a relay to deliver full voltage but the LED is not so voltage sensitive and doesn't need one. I have one because it makes the bike much more visible to oncoming traffic in the daytime, not only because it's brighter but also the white/blue colour (about 6000k from memory) is more striking.

To actually see where I'm going at night, I have fitted additional lights.





It's like riding in the daylight (...at night) with these.

Noel

[FJ Flyer]

One of the easiest and best mods most folks do is install relays for the headlight.  Instructions are on the site.  Gives full power to the bulb and bypasses the weak-ass factory wiring.

[Old Rider]

One of the easiest and best mods most folks do is install relays for the headlight.  Instructions are on the site.  Gives full power to the bulb and bypasses the weak-ass factory wiring.

Yes thanks for sharing that instructions i downloaded the PDF some weeks ago but I'm not sure i able to get the right size wiring and relays.I'm a little afraid starting a electrical fire because i done that before twice I got 10 thumbs when i comes to electrical stuff.
Not sure i understand the drawing at the old headlight connector .Is it supposed to use spade connectors into the old headlight connector and keep it ?. and the 3 wires from the old connector at the right side on the PDF picture are they supposed to be cut i guess not but not 100% sure.
And what about the thinner wires going from the old connector to the relays do they have to be thinner ?

Now i will first use a voltmeter in the headlight connector and see how much volt it is if it reads 12 volt there is no use to do the relay mod right  ??

[Old Rider]

Rolf, there are only 3 choices, Halogen, HID, LED. It costs 100's of dollars to try all three, as I and many others have done. Not surprisingly, everyone got the same result and the conclusion was that while you can make the light brighter, a better colour and easier to be seen, it will never throw a decent beam down the road.

Halogen globes benefit from a relay to deliver full voltage but the LED is not so voltage sensitive and doesn't need one. I have one because it makes the bike much more visible to oncoming traffic in the daytime, not only because it's brighter but also the white/blue colour (about 6000k from memory) is more striking.

To actually see where I'm going at night, I have fitted additional lights.


It's like riding in the daylight (...at night) with these.

Noel

I like the extra lights you have fitted i think i will do the same if they dont cost a million. are they foglights or high beam lights? I also have to check if they are legal here in Norway so i dont have to take them off again .

Rolf

[Old Rider]

I found some connectors and wire in the shelf can this be used ?  is the wire thick enough ? the 1 into 2 connection is that okay to use or will it reduse power ?

[Pat Conlon]

That wire looks small to me.....possibly a 14 gauge?
For a headlight relay circuit I would use *no less* than a 12 gauge (AWG) or the equivalent 2.0mm wire.
To give me some headroom in case I wanted to use a high wattage halogen bulb, I used a 10 gauge (2.6mm) wire on my dedicated circuit.
The 2 relays I used were rated for 30 amps.

Hope this helps.