| Author | Message | ||
     Steve_mackay |
Running 2 Hella high beams would give you an amazing amount of light as well  | ||
| Steve_mackay |
1324, thanks for the offer, but I think I can manage I draw 'purdy 3d pictures all day, being a tool & die designer. | ||
| Ccryder |
Austin: Balanced nature aside, you need to have both high and low beams for your safety. If you want the "balanced look" then do the hi and low running together during the day. At night, on low, you will just need to be a little unbalanced. Besides photons don't weight much and you would not be too far out of balance. Time2Work (B4 I get flamed LOL) Neil S. | ||
| Austinuu |
Besides photons don't weight much and you would not be too far out of balance.  I won't argue that point!! | ||
| 1324 |
No problem Steve. Shoot me a PM if you need anything my engineering degrees may be able to provide  | ||
| Diablobrian |
IIRC the shape of the reflectors in the high and low beams of the stock assemblies is different as is the lense so removing the plate from the low beam does not make it into a high beam. The high beam does not throw as wide of a pattern as the low does in any configuration. Unless they were aimed very low I would not want to be in front of anyone running 2 Hella high beams. Also, what ever happened to the rumor that while a Hella rep was in East Troy (They make the horn on the XB) that someone at Buell asked what kind of deal they could get for the 90mm Hellas? I know I read that on the board here, but not sure where. (Message edited by diablobrian on October 30, 2007) (Message edited by diablobrian on October 30, 2007) | ||
| Jandj_davis |
Replacing the lights on my 9r is on the long list of upgrades that I have in mind. However, I would much rather go with 2 "Buell" brights than the 90mm hellas. If the reflectors were $5, I would definitely stick with Buell. As it is, I will probably try out the Krylon paint first, assuming I don't have any holes melted in my housing. For $50 a housing, I can't afford to keep replacing them. For $5 a housing, I could replace them every year, much like an oil filter. While this discussion is usually "heated" it has brought out some unique solutions. A group buy on the 90mm Hellas, a bracket, and a good "how-to" would probably convince me to go that route. But, until then, I'll enjoy watching this discussion for more innovative ideas or simple solutions. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
WOW Woody, you've got it all figgered out! But, please, let us less knowledgeable folks inquire as to how you will achieve this 'better quality metal unit' in a one week period. Who and Where will this be outsourced to? What is the makeup of the new coating? Oh, and don't forget to have the new reflector units pass DOT approval. Since this is a new metal unit, who is going to be making the metal stamping dies for this? Who is going to do the stamping? How does Buell break the contract that pays for the tooling being used to make the current units? Don't forget to get this approved by accounting as well.... I'm sure I don't have all the questions for you at the moment, but being the expert that you obviously are on global sourcing, I'm sure you'll have answers for us in a very timely manor. While I will admit that Buell seems to be dropping the ball on this, it's not something that is fixable in several months, much less a week. But hey, what do I know? I just do manufacturing & design for a living. | ||
| Unibear12r |
My memory is a bit suspect anymore but if I remember right someone posted in one of the first of these light threads of where he had the reflector recoated somewhere and that stopped the problem. Sounded good at the time and I think he came on later saying the coating was still good two years later. Sorry I can't remember more guys. You might be able to dig that info up looking up the past threads. | ||
| Xb9 |
Wow, found my original post on this problem, I was the first to identify it and the Hella 90mm fix: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=32777&post=212600#POST212600 After reading THIS thread makes me wonder what I started.... December of 2003 and it's still burning..... My cheap ugly (even though you can't see the bracket) fix is still burning as bright as the day I installed them. | ||
| Diablobrian |
 I had seen reports back to 04 and 05, but from that thread it looks like it was a well known issue back in 03. Maybe the scope of the problem hadn't been realized, but it wasn't just one or two guys that had the problem, several chimed in and that was December of 03...almost four years ago. It really does not look like it was taken seriously and that does not make Buell look good. This is exactly the kind of thing that gets brought up by the anti-Buell nay-sayers. I LOVE Buell! but I have exactly no way of defending things like this. How many years does it take to research a problem with headlights? I agreed that it could take months, maybe even as much as a year for a "good, permanent fix". It's looking like it has been not only months since this "came to light", but several years now. Like I said, I LOVE Buells, and specifically MY Buell and I really really want to be happy with it. Having said that because of my life experiences I will not cut corners on safety and I cannot be 100% happy with my bike when there is a "glaring" safety concern. If it was an optional or somehow superfluous part I could overlook it, but the headlights aside from illuminating the dark are a major component in making me more visible to other traffic, and if my headlight looks "like a dim flashlight", kind of brown etc it is not going to get the attention of any of the brain-dead-cell-phoning-latte-drinking-big-mac -eating drivers out there. Come on guys, we are your customers, and your most ardent supporters...talk to us. If you can't post up on BadWeB contact the firebolt owners via the email addresses from the owners section of the Buell web site, something...anything... Sorry, this got away from me a bit. I fell on the stairs today and may have cracked a vertebra due to my graceless fall. Awaiting the results of the x-rays they took today. So I apologize for the ranting because I am hurting quite a bit. That does not mean that I do not stand behind what I had to say in this post because I do. We as owners and enthusiasts have let this slide for quite a while now in the belief that Buell would take care of us. Was this faith misplaced? I hate even having to ask that. I don't believe it was, but the evidence we have does not support that claim in this matter. Things may be happening behind the scenes, but that does not help keep us safe out on the roads today. I know that I'll be flamed relentlessly over this post, but I'm the same person whether you meet me on the street or I'm on the net. I am vocal in either medium, my skin is thick, and if you can prove me wrong by all means DO SO! I would dearly love to be entirely wrong about this and I will not be afraid to admit publicly and loudly that I was wrong. I've done so on several occasions. (Message edited by diablobrian on October 31, 2007) | ||
| Ducxl |
How does Buell break the contract that pays for the tooling being used to make the current units? Steve,(i'm tip-toeing here)hasn't the contract already been broken by the supplier providing defective product? | ||
| Saintly |
Bads1 said: "If you only knew how many desk top's in the engineer department are set right here on the Badweb....I know. " I truly believe that! I honestly do think that many a buell engineer HAS read these threads. Heck, we have mr "anonymous" posting here all the time. There's even a section on the 1125 board where you can ask buell/anony. a question or two. Having said that, it makes it all that more frustrating for me. The fact that they ARE here(the board), and probably HAVE read the threads, and HAVE seen the many photographs, makes it that much more unacceptable. Not once has "anonymous" or anyone chimed in and said anything to their customers(us) about this mess. I wound interpret that as deliberate avoidance. Which is a slap in the face to those of us who stick with buell and spend our money with them. Diablobrian hit it right on the head when he said: "Come on guys, we are your customers, and your most ardent supporters...talk to us. " | ||
| Ducxl |
* sounds of crickets chirping * "Light-years ahead of the competition in customer service" as someone once said | ||
| Glitch |
If you only knew how many desk top's in the engineer department are set right here on the Badweb....I know. Well? How many? Saintly, I was just thinking the same thing. | ||
| Ducxl |
Sorry guys'...i know my post above isn't very helpful..Look in the archives,of course we all know this issue dates to 2003  | ||
| Blake |
The headlight issue is a serious one and Buell should resolve it. Some, a few, here seem to imagine that I've argued differently than the above. Some take offense to objections opposing their public display of vulgarity and derision. How to effectively express serious concerns versus how to publicly attack, insult and display righteous indignation are two different approaches to dealing with problems/issues of concern. One of those approaches fosters good-will and aids resolution; the other does the exact opposite. A few here seem unable to appreciate the difference. The seriousness of a problem/issue does not impact the effectiveness of either of the above tactics for problem resolution. The trend towards personal attacks being exhibited here by a few is very unfortunate, off-putting, and unlikely to benefit any resolution to the faulty headlight issue. Fritz (Saintly), I received and acted upon your PM/email back in June. It was very much appreciated. It may be past time for BadWeB to put up a banner warning all XB-R owners to periodically inspect their headlights for adequate performance. | ||
| Ridrx |
Blake, That(banner) would be the biggest step ANYONE has taken yet to protect us (the riders), and probably result in more 'Bolt owners inspecting their lamps and reporting it to BMC, which may or may not expedite the process of a solution... Not to mention it could save a life. | ||
| Jaimec |
Rusting exhaust systems (my own personal pet peeve) are not safety issues, but this certainly is. The lack of any kind of acknowledgment from Buell puts them in the same class as BMW with their surging (what surging?) R bikes, and Honda with their overheating (what overheating?) GoldWings. A problem a LOT of people are experiencing, but the manufacturers either ignore or deny. To Honda's credit, they DID offer a fix (but only to those people who complained, NOT to all of their owners via a recall). That's more than BMW did for their legions of R bike owners. I'd like to believe Buell is a couple of flights of stairs (not just a step) above Honda and BMW in this regard. | ||
| Cereal |
I think Buell has acknowledged that there MAY be an issue because they emailed many of us a few months back asking us to bring our headlights to our local dealers who gave us a free replacement and supposedly sent the old ones to Buell for inspection. I haven't heard anything back from them after that, but it gave me hope that they have gotten the ball rolling. | ||
| 1324 |
In all seriousness, how long has Buell been aware of this problem? As in, approximately how long ago was the first issue relayed and when was it elevated (by more complaints submitted) to a serious problem? I also wonder who Buell's supplier is. Are they a sole source? I like to stay away from designs that require sole sources, but you never know. It'd also be interesting to find out statistically how Firebolts are affected. Is it ALL bikes or a percentage? A design flaw would typically affect all bikes whereas a production issue would be spotty. Of course, it could be both. Still, I'm left wondering if there is an adhesion problem between the coating and the housing.... | ||
| Ducxl |
I suspect a design flaw.The bulb gets over 400 degrees F. The cone or reflector i suspect is too tight and too close to the bulb to be manufactured from plastic.The underlying plastic overheats and separates from the plating.Likely a solution would be costly(especially if litigated through personal injury) and is not a priority because of that.They may be stalling to see if the NHTSA will force a resolution as a more cost effective action.They're in biz to make money,i suspect they'll not step forward and kill their PROFITS | ||
| Deadduck |
As the days have grown shorter I find myself riding more after dark. For the past 2 weeks, EACH TIME THAT I'VE BEEN OUT, I have had an incident where either a car has pulled out in front of me, or a car has tried to come over into my lane. I'm not going to blame the headlights on all of these situations, but I'm also not going to rule them out. Probably like many new R owners are or were unaware of the headlight situation. After reading the history of the infamous reflectors I investigated those of my own only to find, yes, the same exact problem! I am not one to complain, but more of one to look for my own solution, although a solution from the factory would be a much better fix in the short term. The Hella conversion is probably the route that I will most likely take, although I am curious if I can just insert some Optilux 1500 lights into the existing reflectors with only minor modifications. Count me in on the Hella bracket run if your still keeping count. Deadduck | ||
| Diablobrian |
Hey Steve I have a spare bracket I can send you if you need it for modeling your bracket. It is a spare part and (hopefully) I won't miss it. | ||
| Cereal |
"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one." --Narrator | ||
| Diablobrian |
This "Fight Club" moment brought to you by Cereal, the letter Z and the number 4 | ||
| Mtg |
The stock XBR low and high beam headlights are the same, except for the low beam block off plate. I had both of mine off and taken apart recently. Adding the block off plate just gets rid of about the top 1/3 of the headlight beam, which is the difference between the high and low. That is for a 2003 XB9R. I'm not sure how the other models are. | ||
| Cereal |
I've said that a few times about my '03 low and high but people always argue the point. I should have taken pictures before sending them to Buell. Now I know I'm not crazy (or we both are). | ||
| Deadduck |
I must be crazy too...my 04 is set up the same way......take out the block off plate and I've got two lo...umm hi beam lights. | ||
| Saintly |
The stock XBR low and high beam headlights are the same, except for the low beam block off plate. Sorry, but you are mistaken. If you remove the two housings and set them side by side on a table you will see that there is a big difference in their shape. The hi beam housing is "cone" shaped whereas the low is shaped like a "bowl". |
