Alternative headlamps...

[jerry]

finally replaced the excellent suzuki headlight with Bosch shell with the adapter ring (painted Red) and a Wipac 6072 reflector £24.50 from JLR and same phillips extreme bulb, result is superb as good if not even better than the suzuki reflector the main beam goes for miles and its very good dip cutoff both very brigh white ,, totally awesome , The his unit will be going onto my S4 in Thailand as night riding there is common and lighting on roads minimal the suzuki unit will go back on the 750 , both units are much improved over old Bosch reflector

any more adaptor rings being produced ???

[Mr Gazza]

Thanks for the review on the Wipac Jerry..

I looked it up and it sounds like an effective unit, but I'm not too sure about the polycarbonate lens?

I found it for £18.72 here; http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/S6072.aspx
Not sure what the postage is on that though. (Edit.. Comes to £23.10 with postage.)

Utopia and I are interested in the Cibie H180 unit, but at the thick end of £60 we're not diving in just yet!

More rings are imminent, just need to clear my bench.... Should be some news in 2-3 weeks.

[utopia]

Yes, dead interesting on the Wipac unit.
If I remember correctly, the reflector on those is moulded plastic rather than metal.
Although that sounds cheap, it did have many more facets in its surface than the steel reflectors in the Autopal units that Gazza and I are using currently.
I saw that as a positive design improvement, though other factors (like reflectivity ?) may suffer .. I dunno.

The Cibie unit looks like a cross between the older and newer styles in that it has some areas which are clear/crystal type design with faceted reflector and others which are the old "fresnel lens" design.
It seems to me that there would be little point in going to all that trouble if there wasn't some advantage to be gained by having the mixture.

From your report though, Jerry, the Wipac looks to be a pretty cost-effective upgrade.

Its the testing season, I guess.
I've been busy at other stuff lately.


edit..
Having looked at a few more pictures, there may not be any faceted areas on the reflector of the Cibie after all.
Its a complex lens and I think it fooled my eye.
I still quite fancy it though.

[Mr Gazza]

I have found the Cibie unit for sale here http://www.larkspeed.com/basket for £45.
Unfortunately there is £10 carriage so it's £55 total.

It's not made specifically clear in this ad that it is the H180 unit that we're after, but the picture looks right.

I saw that the new Nortons use a nice looking 7" crystal unit when I was in Krazy Horse with freinds the other week. (possibly a Wipac?).
I emailed them a while ago to see if this was available as a spare part or if they could identify it for me, but they are clearly far too busy being hipster twats to reply.!!

[utopia]

Is this the one ? ... it looks like it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-Cibie-He...8AAOSwCWFY8duc

£45, postage free.
That might be cheap enough to spark my paypal a/c into action.

[Mr Gazza]

That's the one.
Valeo 82439 = Cibie H180

Larkspeed are selling the same thing on Ebay for £38.99 + £5.80 postage.. About a tenner less than on their own site?

[Mr Gazza]

I finally finished a large batch of adapter kits.
http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=56038
Available in Satin Black or Gloss Gold.
Also available in bare Tricoya© ready for your own finish, such as hydro-dipping or a vinyl wrap.

The new rings are now super light from 9mm Tricoya© and weigh in at 35gms. (less with no paint)

They all worked out a lot more money than I really wanted to charge my club mates, but still not too painful compared to the 100 dollars before shipping and taxes from the US!

Also found that the Bosch headlamp was fitted to loads of BMWs, Pantahs, Darmahs and others. So the adapters should fit those too.
Check out the fitments listed on this site selling the Bosch lamp units. https://www.ebay.com/itm/11274248699...84.m1558.l2649

[jerry]

strange but true ,, i have one of Gazza rim adaptor which has a Wipac unit fitted its excellent

i also have a suzuki reflector headlamp 7'' which when used on my M750 in uk is awesome but when fitted to my S4 in Thailand is only average has same phillips extreme bulb in ..

it seems and even i find it difficult to believ that ambient air and dust and temp in UK allows for better beam than in Thailand weird ,, ??? its almost as if penetration is lacking


next trip i will bring the wipac unit and see if that works better

A bit off thread I know, but what I want to know is :-

Is there a minimum height from the ground that headlamps have to be?

Do they have to be mounted on, or near, the centre line of the bike?
(ie could mini lights be fixed under the handlebars near the ends, or on the bottom fork yoke like indicator stalks sometimes are, or at front axle level?)

[jonzi]

Originally Posted by Taff666

A bit off thread I know, but what I want to know is :-

Is there a minimum height from the ground that headlamps have to be?

Do they have to be mounted on, or near, the centre line of the bike?
(ie could mini lights be fixed under the handlebars near the ends, or on the bottom fork yoke like indicator stalks sometimes are, or at front axle level?)

Surely the lower you have the lights, the less distance they will be able to project their light?

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by Taff666

A bit off thread I know, but what I want to know is :-

Is there a minimum height from the ground that headlamps have to be?

Do they have to be mounted on, or near, the centre line of the bike?
(ie could mini lights be fixed under the handlebars near the ends, or on the bottom fork yoke like indicator stalks sometimes are, or at front axle level?)

I looked into this a while back and things may have changed since then. But the main legislation is "The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989" and here is a copy of the relevant page regarding low beam; the minimum height is/(was) 500mm.



There are separate, sometimes different rules for main beams and position lights.

Single low beam lights must be on the centerline or, for two lights, symmetrical across the centreline or vertically on the centerline.

Here's a copy of the current MOT testers' guide that you might find helpful.

Originally Posted by jonzi

Surely the lower you have the lights, the less distance they will be able to project their light?

Hopefully not too much as I've dropped my light / clocks 25mm as always thought as stock they were too high and looked slightly awkward

[Darkness]

Originally Posted by jonzi

Surely the lower you have the lights, the less distance they will be able to project their light?

True in principle, but if the light unit was designed for a car fitment they would have been optimised for a lower mounting height than most bikes use.

Higher mounting would tend to reduce the light intensity on the ground, but would also depend on the mounting angle relative to horizontal.

My guess is that the H180 Cibie should be fine so long as you don't go below the front mudguard!

Thanks for that Luddite - excellent.

[Jez900ie]

Headlamps tha compensate for leaning!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/J-W-Speaker....c100005.m1851