| Author | Message | ||
     Corporatemonkey |
I know this is going to drive some of you through the ceiling. (say hello to ceiling cat)  I just finished washing my bike. I noticed my headlight reflectors were less than mirror like. In fact they were slightly hazy (like a bright silver). There are slight spiderweb cracking along the edges. I thought it might be dirt/dust intrusion, but they are still water tight. Here is the grabber. My HID lowbeam side is in better condition than my halogen highbeam. My highbeam maybe has a total run time of 5 hours since new. I am thinking this might be a UV issue. I tried taking photo, but none of them came out right. I realize that my bike is out of warranty, and by modifying them I am fully responsible for them. But I just wanted to give a heads up to the other lighting owners to be on the look out. | ||
| Bombardier |
HID runs cooler. As the reflector is basically plastic with a metallic coating they will expand at different rates. I believe the heat is causing the coating to separate from the plastic because of different expansion rates. I think this has some credence as the higher the kelvin rating of the light source the greater the UV strength. As HID are usually to the white/blue/violet side of the light range I believe they have the greater UV output. My 2 cents. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
HID runs cooler. As the reflector is basically plastic with a metallic coating they will expand at different rates. I believe the heat is causing the coating to separate from the plastic because of different expansion rates. I think this has some credence as the higher the kelvin rating of the light source the greater the UV strength. As HID are usually to the white/blue/violet side of the light range I believe they have the greater UV output. I know HID is cooler, but I have exponentially more hours on my HID lowbeam, than I do my halogen highbeam. I still can't find a cause/effect for the high beam being in worse condition. | ||
| Elf |
Jamie, WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAN OR WIPE THEM!!!! It's definitely heat damage from the halogen bulb. The "dulled" area will wipe right off at the slightest touch (I stuck a small lens cloth into the hole in a misguided attempt to see if I could "clean" it...). The plastic reflector is actually clear with a chromed coating (I might be able to provide pix...). A new headlight assembly is about $80 IF you can find one (thanks Liberty!)! Guess how I know  | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
So Matt you are telling me 5 hours of halogen usage has done this??? I really just think it was a flaw with the original coating. Maybe the material, and/or the process. It just took 2 years to show itself. So Matt fill me in on how/when yours got damaged. I am thinking we can't be the only ones. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
I managed to get a few better shots. Ignore the color, as I had to heavily edit these photo to make them more visible. Here is the HID light  Here is the halogen high beam side   You can clearly see the spider web cracks on the halogen side, and the overall haziness. Both are a bit hazy, but halogen is much worse. I still don't think 5 hours of use is enough time to do this sort of damage. | ||
| Elf |
OK - Long post... I really do feel that it's heat damage. It's pretty localized. Although I have another theory: the high beam's reflector pattern(reflector optics) concentrates the light to throw it further, right? This concentration could be a problem. This could lend credence that maybe it IS in fact U.V. damage. I'm no engineer. But, the fact that it's not happening to your HID side, which runs considerably cooler, seems to confirm the "heat" theory. And, light from halogen bulbs create heat, right? So, maybe it's concentrating the heat as well.  I have an '04, and I noticed it about a year ago when I was experimenting with trying to make my low beam yellow ( ended up using a yellow headlight film to get the "selective yellow" color I was looking for, but that's another story...). I noticed the "dullness" you spoke of in both reflectors, moreso in the low side. So, having the housing off in my experimenting, I tried to see if it would wipe off. BIG mistake!A considerable area of the coating just wiped away! I just sat there and scratched my head wondering, "If the actual plastic that makes up the reflector is really clear, why they don't coat it on the BACKSIDE like a mirror?" I do believe that the coating is not that durable, but this might be the only solution by this particular light manufacturer, for this particular light size, at this particular price point (see where I'm going?). Like I said, I'm no engineer! As to why yours took so long to show, I have another theory: As a heat-related issue, and Seattle is cooler and wetter than Denver, maybe this is why you're getting better longevity.  As always, YMMV. Maybe I'm just a kook, but the lights seem to be fragile things on these beasts (Firebolts even moreso...). Maybe that's why they went to such a different setup on the 1125R. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
oh I dont like the sounds of that.... Sumnabi@tch, I am one step closer to doing the Treadmarks Baja Designs Death Ray conversion. On coming traffic be damned. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Brian how are yours? You have had more hard miles than anyone else here. | ||
| Bombardier |
I have HID on both sides of my bike and will let you guys know if and when the reflectors go south. The average temp where I live is about 30 degrees C for the year down to 15 at times and up to 42 at others,so it seems to be a good spread for testing the overheating theory. Most of my riding is in darkness so the high beam is on a lot of the time as well. Another difference is that the rubber dust grommets at the back of the reflector are not fitted when the HID system is installed. This may be an outlet for what little heat is generated. Will keep you posted | ||
| Treadmarks |
I am one step closer to doing the Treadmarks Baja Designs Death Ray conversion. On coming traffic be damned. Woo Hooo....I famous.  That's the spirit City! Aaah double dog dare you.... | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
I was over at the Professors house today. He took a few better photos of my lights. I haven't seen how they turned. Maybe he will post them. While there I looked over his 03 xb9s' lights. They were cloudy too. Most of the parts on his bike are brand new, but I do not remember if his lights survived the "incident" | ||
| Prof_stack |
The "incident" was the crash last year this month that sent me to the ER and the bike to what should have been the morgue but it was rebuilt (new frame, wheels, airbox cover, swingarm, triple tree, etc.). But not the lights. Here is another view of Jamie's left headlight reflector:  I don't know how to describe it and would have likely never noticed it unless Jamie pointed it out. Is it a defect? I don't know. It does, however, raise questions for me. But the Lightning lighting is so poo-poor at night that I usually don't venture out past dusk, especially after the accident that has left me gun-shy, but that's for another thread. |
