Auto Driving Light on a Bike?

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jc7622
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Auto Driving Light on a Bike?

Post by jc7622 »

Ok, I'm thinking outside the box here so this may be a stupid idea. I'm sure you have seen the 8" race lights on bikes that are mounted in a round, metal frame. If not I can post a pic. It got me to thinking about whether or not it would be possible to fabricate a frame and mount a driving light (maybe a Hella or some brand) on the front of my KDX.

I used to have them on an old Land Cruiser I had and they were extremely bright. Most of these lights are 55w. If I upgraded my stator to 65w or 75w would it run one of these types of lights? Is there anything I may be overlooking. I'm good at building stuff but suck with electricity.
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Post by KarlP »

Why not?

With the stock stator your options are somewhat limited. After I busted my OEM headlamp, I foolishly "upgraded" the headlamp to 55w but not the stator. It didn't work very well. I think the stock stator will support a 35w lamp and no more.
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Post by Indawoods »

Doesn't amperage matter?
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Post by jc7622 »

>|<>QBB<
Indawoods wrote:Doesn't amperage matter?
Like I said, I am pretty stupid when it comes to electricity. I dunno.

The link below is a light that is kind of like what I am talking about. I could fabricate some mounts to hold this frame. Unfortunately this light is 100w and as far as I know the KDX stator can only be upgraded to about 75w. Maybe I could find a lower wattage bulb to fit in it.

BTW, I just learned that the Trail Tech lights are in fact Hella lights. Someone who has one told me that if you peel the Trail Tech sticker off Hella is etched in the light underneath it.

http://www.sidebysidesports.com/solahaspordr.html
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Post by kawagumby »

"By the definition of the units of ampere and volt, work is done at a rate of one watt when one ampere flows through a potential difference of one volt."

Front light @ 30w + rear @ 10w = total 40 watts min available (the generator may provide more power than that)
40 watts/12 volts = 3.3 amps minimum

If you don't need the tail light you'll have a little more power for the front light. Also, you may be able to find lower voltage bulbs that can handle the 12 volt system getting you even more brightness. If the bulb can handle the voltage it'll be brighter but not last as long. Here's a link to an outfit that sells various kinds of bulbs, including headlite types of varying voltage spec: http://www.taillightking.com/light_bulbs.htm
Last edited by kawagumby on 11:50 am Sep 18 2008, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Ogre »

FWIW I have a 130W Baja design stator in mine.
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Post by kawagumby »

>|<>QBB<
Ogre wrote:FWIW I have a 130W Baja design stator in mine.
That's the ticket! :supz:
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Post by jc7622 »

>|<>QBB<
Ogre wrote:FWIW I have a 130W Baja design stator in mine.

Holy crap, I didn't know you get get one that powerful for the KDX. Was it one that was just swapped out for the stocker?
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Post by Ogre »

The change was done by the PO, but I am pretty sure the original was sent off.

I have a revised wiring schematic for the bike from Baja Designs that calls it out as 130W.
I have run 2 55w bulbs up front with tail & brake lights working just fine so I don't doubt the rating.

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Post by jc7622 »

>|<>QBB<
Ogre wrote:The change was done by the PO, but I am pretty sure the original was sent off.

I have a revised wiring schematic for the bike from Baja Designs that calls it out as 130W.
I have run 2 55w bulbs up front with tail & brake lights working just fine so I don't doubt the rating.

Unfortunately Baja Designs no longer does the 100w stator rewind. He said that it requires the use of a thicker armature, which they don't have any more and even if they did have them it didn't matter because they don't have any techs there now that knows how to do it. They said the best they could do now with the parts and employees they have is 75w. That sucks. I need to figure out some way to do one of these up to 100w.

They said if I wanted brighter lights I would have to use one powered off a battery with a run time of 3.5 hours.
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Post by Ogre »

Hmmm... My bike gets more and more "Special" every day :mrgreen:

That is a bummer, I have seen lot of folks talk of 75W and I just did not undertand that thats all you can do now.
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Post by jc7622 »

Rickystator said they could get about 80w out of a rewind for $100. I am now searching around to see if I can learn how to rewind one myself. How can I see how much wattage is being put out?
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Post by SVandal »

Use a multi-meter and then you will need to use the multi meter to measure as a part of the circuit on the output from the stator where it connects into the harness in order to get the number of amps in the system. Then multiply this by 12 volts and you'll get a close approximation of the number of Watts put out by your stator. The regulator should hold the voltage around 12 volts. Anyways, thats how I would do it. Please correct me if I am wrong, it has been a while since I have had to do anything other than resistance.
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Post by september9 »

I got mine done by Fredette last winter. It is at 85 watt. It runs my 60 watt Acerbis and the stock tail light/brake light fine. When I was looking around, they were the highest wattage that I could find.
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