Headlight help. - Ducati.ms

troubled otter · Oct 6th, 2011, 9:49 am

I'm building a radical ducati using an ST4 and need some help with the headlight. I'm totally hopeless when it comes to electrics so need some guidance please.
I want to use the glass dome out off the ST headlight and fit a high and low beam bulb into it. I was wondering if this is possible or would I have to use some kind of shutter to cover the top half of the globe to give me low beam?
I'm not going to use the bike at night but need it to pass the MOT.

Thanks
Phill

mlukason · Oct 6th, 2011, 8:36 pm

I might be mistaken...but the extra throw of a high beam is not solely due to the wattage of the bulb but also is a function of the reflector and the lens. I don't think that fitting two bulbs into one globe will give you the high beams reach.

super dooper · Oct 6th, 2011, 10:27 pm

What you are going to have to do is retrofit an h4 bulb into the housing as well as getting the pigtail for it so that when you are running low beam just the low is on and then click the high and the high turns on. One bulb in a nice little package. The other alternative is to retrofit a bi-xenon projector those have solenoids that move the shield up and down for high and low.

troubled otter · Oct 7th, 2011, 2:01 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by super dooper

What you are going to have to do is retrofit an h4 bulb into the housing as well as getting the pigtail for it so that when you are running low beam just the low is on and then click the high and the high turns on. One bulb in a nice little package. The other alternative is to retrofit a bi-xenon projector those have solenoids that move the shield up and down for high and low.

The Bi-xenon sounds like the way to go. Do you know if the internals, including the solenoids can be bought or does the whole light come as one?
What is a bi xenon? Is a bulb or led or something else?

Just done some research on these and they look good. I can't see how they dip though. Theres a box connected which is supplied with the lights, could that be the solenoid or is it just an electric board?I'm also a bit worried about the amount of power these things need so do you think I will have to uprate the wires and relays?

Sorry for all the questions.

ptourin · Oct 7th, 2011, 4:46 pm

Read this thread - lighting options NOT including the DD's
It came before Chutrain's bi-xenon thread, which you've been reading. You'll see some of the choices that members have been considering. Here are some of the choices in a nutshell:
* Put a HID on the low beam side - your low beam will be stronger with no more power consumption (less, if you put in a 35w). Don't change your high beam - it won't be very good but you can still flash it.
* Put a HID on both the low beam and high beam side. Both low and high will be stronger, but you won't be able to flash high beams because HID's don't come up to full brightness instantly.
* Put a bi-xenon on the low beam side of the headlight assembly. It acts as a low beam because it has an internal shutter like in the original headlight - but you can give it a signal so that it raises the shutter. Low beam and high beam in one assembly, and your high beam flasher works (you connect it so that it raises the shutter). Chutrain's thread has some discussion about what to do with the high beam side of the headlight assembly.

I'm going to try the bi-xenon low beam over the winter, not sure how I'll end up on the high beam side. Depending on how I decide, I might buy the car bi-xenon kit that Chutrain bought and use only one light - do you or anyone else want to buy the other? <g>....

hankstump · Oct 8th, 2011, 11:39 pm

Put in Paul Gellers Ducati Designs headlamp and be done. Fits, works, looks great.

Cheers,

MarkST · Oct 9th, 2011, 8:49 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by hankstump

Put in Paul Gellers Ducati Designs headlamp and be done. Fits, works, looks great.

Cheers,

It's to go into a fairing like this...

jssport · Oct 10th, 2011, 12:04 am

hmmmm ....

I'm not sure what you're after here, a good lighting system or just something that is street legal if you get inspected ???

.... because I still have my original 2003 ST4s headlight assembly that was upgraded to the DD unit.

interested ?

danrduc · Oct 11th, 2011, 5:54 pm

It looks to me, like he just wants to use the projector side of the light assembly[low beam]. He than wants to install a dual filament bulb, to get high and low beam for the MOT inspection to get registration.
This set up will not produce a correct beam, but may pass MOT. The lens covering both headlights[or any other headlights] is an integral part of the light pattern function. It is what makes some cost $10 and others $100. I think the projector dome will only produce a flashlight type of beam, although I am not sure. I haven't looked at 749/999 lights to see if they have a different dome/lens form the ST type.
Typical high low beam lights have the filaments in a different relationship to the reflector, producing the different pattern through the lens[I think].

jssport · Oct 11th, 2011, 5:58 pm

... well if he just wants to pass MOT, wouldn't the stock ST4s assembly work ???

it has high/low beams ....