I can see the light!

Message

#31 Post by **mangocrazy** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:07 pm

I'm in two minds as to whether it's best to wake them up (with the likelihood that they then start doing random irrational things) or let them continue in their peaceful slumber...

katie1 · #32 Post by **katie1** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:32 am

That reminds me of the old joke:
My uncle died peacefully in his sleep, not screaming like his passengers

Ok, slight improvement in light but mostly in the sideways light. Have twiddled a bit more so will find out tonight if it makes the difference. Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm expecting it to do something it just won't do!

And just because I get bored if everything works properly, I have another kind of light-related issue.

My side stand warning light is half on. Sounds odd but, it works perfectly when the stand is down but, when the stand is retracted, the warning light now has a faint glow (like it's at half power). Never seen this before so wondered if it was meant to be some weird kind of secondary alert system for something else?

D-Rider · #33 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:27 am

katie1 wrote:That reminds me of the old joke:
My uncle died peacefully in his sleep, not screaming like his passengers

Ok, slight improvement in light but mostly in the sideways light. Have twiddled a bit more so will find out tonight if it makes the difference. Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm expecting it to do something it just won't do!

And just because I get bored if everything works properly, I have another kind of light-related issue.

My side stand warning light is half on. Sounds odd but, it works perfectly when the stand is down but, when the stand is retracted, the warning light now has a faint glow (like it's at half power). Never seen this before so wondered if it was meant to be some weird kind of secondary alert system for something else?

Not sure if you are aware of this already, but the sidestand switch is in fact 2 switches in a common housing.
One does the interlock that cuts the engine if you put it in gear with the stand down and the other turns the bulb on and off.
I guess that you have some issue with the sidestand light circuit that is leaking some current to the bulb when it is supposedly off.
Could be a switch problem or somewhere else in the circuit.

katie1 · #34 Post by **katie1** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:36 am

D-Rider wrote:
Not sure if you are aware of this already, but the sidestand switch is in fact 2 switches in a common housing.
One does the interlock that cuts the engine if you put it in gear with the stand down and the other turns the bulb on and off.
I guess that you have some issue with the sidestand light circuit that is leaking some current to the bulb when it is supposedly off.
Could be a switch problem or somewhere else in the circuit.

I didn't know that but it makes sense. Seeing as my sidestand is liberally caked in chain lube fling. dirt, stone chips etc, I suppose I could take it off and clean it

Dalemac · #35 Post by **Dalemac** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:44 am

katie1 wrote:That reminds me of the old joke:
My uncle died peacefully in his sleep, not screaming like his passengers

Ok, slight improvement in light but mostly in the sideways light. Have twiddled a bit more so will find out tonight if it makes the difference. Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm expecting it to do something it just won't do!

And just because I get bored if everything works properly, I have another kind of light-related issue.

My side stand warning light is half on. Sounds odd but, it works perfectly when the stand is down but, when the stand is retracted, the warning light now has a faint glow (like it's at half power). Never seen this before so wondered if it was meant to be some weird kind of secondary alert system for something else?

Mine is exactly the same. Has been for years!

Falcopops · #36 Post by **Falcopops** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 7:30 am

I put LED bulbs in my dash and after a good soaking the sidestand light can glow a bit.
I'm pretty sure it's just a bit of stray current finding a path through the moisture in the switch.
The only concern is that the switch internals may be open to some corrosion.

katie1 · #37 Post by **katie1** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 11:08 am

Well, I think I've twiddled enough for now. A definite improvement but the long range beam is still fairly close. I genuinely think my expectations are too high on this!
Oh, whoever owned this bike originally must have been a forum member. Was going to have go at the 'always on' dip beam conversion but when I checked the lights, it was already done

So far, the list includes:

Light conversion, sprocket swap, different cans, clutch slave cylinder replacement, Ohlins shock, sidestand swap (with working switch). With the surprising fuel economy it sounds like an aftermarket chip is in place. I haven't checked but I'm betting the brown connector (ooer) has been sorted (the only thing that hadn't been done was the starter solenoid, and I've had that replaced with the uprated Aprilia version).

Not bad for £1500...

#38 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:35 pm

Seems like you got a looked after and cared for bike there, Katie. Sounds like a bit of a bargain...

fatboy · #39 Post by **fatboy** » Fri Feb 17, 2017 6:21 pm

my LED H7 bulbs arrived today, not yet installed but I could not resist bench testing them on a battery...
First thought was ' Wow, that is bright !'
Second thought was to bring the illuminated bulb up to eye level.
Third thought was 'Aaaargh,that fucking hurts !'

These seem to be as bright as the HID dip and seem like a real quick fix for Katie's main beam issue. These are the ones that Mango provided a link for,on Alibaba, just over £18,took just over a week to arrive, no import tax ect.

katie1 · #40 Post by **katie1** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:54 am

Ooh, another road tester!

Albeit a slightly blinded one...

fatboy · #41 Post by **fatboy** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 4:31 pm

katie1 wrote:Ooh, another road tester!

Albeit a slightly blinded one...

Admittedly this is only a 'shed' test but the evidence is that these are too bright to look directly at where as Halogens are not

Greg · #42 Post by **Greg** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 7:17 pm

you can never claim that some testing procedures aren't scientifically based...

fatboy · #43 Post by **fatboy** » Sun Feb 19, 2017 5:00 pm

Greg wrote:you can never claim that some testing procedures aren't scientifically based...

I think I will repeat the bulb test procedure on the cat and the dog to see if they suffer the same temporary blindness.
If, post test, the cat cant find the catflap and the dog walks into the full length mirror then the results can be viewed scientific with a large sample ratio.
Then we can all have a beer

spiderwheels · #44 Post by **spiderwheels** » Sun Feb 19, 2017 5:59 pm

fatboy wrote: Then we can all have a beer

Can the dog and cat have a beer for participation?

fatboy · #45 Post by **fatboy** » Tue Feb 21, 2017 7:15 pm

spiderwheels wrote:
fatboy wrote: Then we can all have a beer
Can the dog and cat have a beer for participation?

No, those tight buggers contribute naff all to the household costs, they can buy their own !