Hot Lights??

John Ward

.060 Over
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Messages
109
Location
York UK
Ride
Rocket 3 Classic 2008


Hi guys n gals... I'm new to rocket ownership having ridden Goldwing's before.. my question is about the small extra lights each side of the headlights. I had them on yesterday for the first time, and when I got back from my ride I thought id adjust them. I got hold of one and jesus it was red hot! you could almost fry an egg on both of them! Should they get this hot? This bike is new to me but I wouldn't expect 3rd degree burns from anything but my engine n exhaust. They were fitted when I got the bike and from what I can tell were added when it was new in 2008. If its normal then that's ok... was worried it was drawing too much current and would fry my wires.
 
WELCOME!
If you ever ride at night, I suggest you dump those OEM lights and install some "good" LEDs.
 
Cheers guys.. I didn't know if there was an LED bulb equivalent I could replace them with to cut down on the heat issue? As for the headlights, I've already done a lot of forum reading on replacing these so that will be my next job.
 
the beauty of LED spots is that way past the light they still pick up reflective items eg animal eyes
 
John Ward said:
Cheers guys.. I didn't know if there was an LED bulb equivalent I could replace them with to cut down on the heat issue?
Click to expand...
Depends if you want to use the lights to see with.

If so then FORGET H3-LED-"bulbs". To get anywhere near the light the Halogen H3 offers you will need close to 1300 effective lumens. This will ime require in the region of about 20W. And believe me the lamps will still get warm. I have converted Triumph lamps to LED - but the lenses are cheap and getting a proper focus on the LED is time consuming. Remember the Triumph lamps are FOG lamps - meant to give a wide & not far reaching beam.

Beam patterns - Long Range lights are useful where you have wide open roads. Twisty leafy lanes not so much.
 
 
Hi thanks again for the replies, I'm just using the lights here in the good old UK to make myself a little more visible to car drivers... hence the question about a cooler bulb. As long as they are ok and arnt frying my wires, I'm quite happy...I just thought id ask all you knowledgeable guys n gals here as you all have the experience I have yet to amass.
 
For daytime SCATTER lamps - they're ok - but aim them up a bit. Those Fogs have an internal cut-off shield which stops much light shining north of horizontal. Correctly set they not that visible in daylight tbh.

Frankly the Headlights scatter far more. So much so they're bordering on useless at night.

They have a separate wiring loom so other than wattage load on the alternator (which can cope) no issues to the main loom.
In your case some 10-20W power LEDs would work OK if you're worried about load. You'll need to alter the wiring though as Triumph did some real dumbass wiring that means some wire splicing- so unless you REALLY have to - dont bother. You could take apart the lamps and remove the shield. This will upset Mr Plod.
 
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