5 3/4" 6v 35/35w H4 Halogen semi-sealed beam

[rlkarren]

This item sparks my interest:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330992935255?ss ... 1423.l2648

With minor modification, I think these would work. All they would need is the brackets on the rear of the lens which could be easily fabricated out of some thin sheet metal, or plastic if you're really good, and carefully riveted/glued on. The remaining question would be that the depth of the assembly is not greater than the depth of the bucket.

I'm almost positive the same could be done with 12v semi-sealed beams also.

Can anyone think of any definitive reason this would not work before I rationalize and call it a Christmas present for me?

Roger

PS If only the manufacturer would make a 6v 15/15w H4, that problem would also be solved.

[bobwhitman]

Go for it Roger - We all want to learn from you!

Bob

[rlkarren]

Well, after visiting with flyingdg this evening, I purchased one this evening. I decided it was worthwhile to try. If successful, I think this would be a fantastic replacement option. I'll keep you informed.

Roger

[Bruce Young]

Hello , and Happy New Year to you, I am very enterested as well as to what you find and receive the seal beam, and do your fitment. I along with Paul have been working on a simular project for some time now, if this works for you with little effort, I would like to ask that you post pictures of the changeover process so the Hodaka World will know exactly what you had to do to fit this lite to your bike. Please include model info as well. PS I too had a conversation with this company, and was told that within two months they hope to have a
replacement bulb 6 volt 25 W X 25 W which would be easier on the old Hodaka elect system.

Please if you would keep me informed ; Bruce Young hodakaparts.com Idaho
1--208--571--2823

[AndyL]

Roger,
Once you get the lens and bulb in your hands and do a mock up, I think you will see it can be done.

I have used this set up on a Suzuki this last summer. An assortment of good springs, and some small diameter spring steel or piano wire to make up some clips/rings/holders is what I ended up doing.

Only had to drill the headlight shell in a couple places as spring anchors, but it could have been done with a small "L" bracket and epoxy or hot glue.

Good luck.

[Bruce Young]

Hello, this is Bruce of Hodakaparts.com in Idaho, any update on the replacement headlite bulb project. Very enterested in this project. It would be nice if a step by step review and with pics would be of great help to the Hodaka world. Thanks, very enterested in hearing from you about this. Bruce Young

[rlkarren]

OK, I received the headlight a couple days ago, but I had a mishap last Friday and now I'm sporting a whizzy-go-fast orthopedic boot on my right leg, (broke my ankle).
Anyway, here's what I got so far:

As you can see the light is actually a little bit bigger. The lens measures 5 3/4 but the reflector is closer to 6"

Rear view. This is why I like this light. Once permanently mounted to the trim ring, you only need to replace the halogen bulb.

I don't have my wombat trim ring available, but this should get you Ace 90 owners a little excited:

Mounted in the Ace 90 trim ring

Mounted in the headlight bucket. It was a tight fit against the speedometer. The light is a little deeper than the OEM bulb, but it did fit. If you can make the light sit a little further, maybe 1/8", into the trim ring you'll have no problem.

What's left:
I need to get it mounted into the Wombat trim ring and then make sure it fits inside the bucket.

For the Ace 90: I need to find an H4 6v 15/15w bulb, or any other 6v 15/15w bulb with a P43T base. I have a lead to follow.

Prognosis is so far is good, no deal breakers yet...

Roger

[rlkarren]

Another update:

Worked on the Wombat trim ring today. I'd call it successful. Still a little snug with all the wires in the bucket. But I could widen the headlight opening a little more or adjust wires so they are not in the way. The only other real issue was that my trim ring was out of round and I was planning to replace it anyway, so it made a good test subject.

In summary, I would suggest that this makes a good alternative to the sealed beam lights that have become so rare. There are other brands of semi-sealed beam lights and one of them may work better, but overall I am satisfied with this one. I do need to get more headlight clips though, I think 6 of them would be best, These three, I stole from my Ace 90.

Comments are in the photos:

[Bruce Young]

Great job you guys Great and very informative photos, Roger send to me or call me with you ship to info, and we will send to you the springs needed. Bruce Young Hodakaparts.com
Idaho.

Attn; Hodaka World, these people need your support, for what they have demostrated, they stepped outside the box and got things done. Great work.

Roger, need to know you comments on how well the lite works, brightness and etc.

Then when you are able to work on the ACE 90 type headlite fix, that info also will of great value. We are still looking into exact seal beams to work, but this method will get the job done for some. Bruce Young

[admin]

I echo what Bruce has said. Thank you guys for a fantastic job sourcing this stuff out !!
Paul

[rlkarren]

It just occurred to me that I could use the DC circuit to light it up. But I only have one battery and it's dead. I hesitate to buy another in the middle of winter. I'll see if I can resurrect the battery I have for at least one more run.

On the AC circuit, I hesitate to test without a voltage regulator, although I do have a current limiter. Do you think I'd be safe enough to fire it up using just the current limiter, and not blow the bulb? I'm guessing as long as I keep RPM's in reasonable range, it should be OK?

Thanks

Roger

[Dale]

Roger, Tough call. How much does it cost to replace your bulb? It seems to me that there are a number to test cases that could be looked at with your headlamp.
How does it work with an Ace?
How does it work with a 94 Wombat (no current limiter)?
How does it work with a 94A Wombat (with current limiter)?
How does it work on the Wombat's with a Voltage Regulator installed or a Road Toad?
And, how does it work on DC Battery alone?

If it were me, I would just hold out for a Voltage Regulator and then you know that you will not be burning the lamp out due to over voltage spikes.
Dale

[rlkarren]

Thanks Dale, that's what I was thinking.

Bulb replacement looks about $15 or under depending where you get it. I am making a couple assumptions as I work on this:

1. In all cases the AC circuit would use a regulator, ditching the limiter completely.
2. This would work on any bike that uses the same headlight bucket and trim ring. Since I only have an Ace 90, Model 94 Wombat and a Model 94A Wombat, my test cases can be assumed for these models at least.
3. Assuming we can find an h4 6v 15/15w halogen, it will also work on the Ace 90/100, since it physically fits inside the headlight bucket.

Anyway, lots of assumptions, but so far I think they are safe assumptions.
Having said that, I tested the lamp on the DC circuit. Here's the results so you can judge for yourself:

OEM headlamp, High beam

OEM Headlamp, Low beam

Halogen headlamp, High beam

Halogen headlamp, lowbeam

I wouldn't call this a precision test, and the pictures don't really do it justice. The halogen burned cleaner and whiter, about the same or a little less, luminance. This may be because the battery was losing power rapidly as I tested. The Halogen light was more focused also.

So, the real test will be on the AC circuit, but it will be a while before I can get to that. It was my desire to make the bike complete and running, then tear it down and build it properly. Since I have everything I need, except a few non-essential parts, I'm going to move to the next step and start tearing her down. But I wanted this info out there in case anyone else had the same questions about these lamps.

Roger

[admin]

Roger let me know if there is anything you need from us to finish this off. We will send parts no charge to see this completed.
Great work thank you
Paul

[rlkarren]

one quick question:

Does the Voltage Regulator ground at the mounting tab, white wire, or both, (meaning, use one or the other but not both)?

I got the green wire connection, just want to make sure it is grounded properly.

thanks,

Roger

[Dale]

Roger, Well that is a good question. On both of my 94 Wombats, I have the regulators bolted to the frame and the white wire bolted to the frame at the same spot. So mine are both and my voltage tests were good. Not sure if the body needs to be grounded or not? Have you tried taking an ohm reading between the wire and the mounting tab? Guessing that you will find it to be a direct conneciton...
Dale

[rlkarren]

I had just thought of that and went to check and when I came back I saw your post. Yeap, you're right; mounting tab to white wire showed no resistance, (direct connection).

Hopefully, I'll be able to test the AC side this afternoon.

Roger

[rlkarren]

Well, there's good news and there's bad news.

The bad news is that I dropped my light and shattered the lens... grr...

The good news is that it functions as expected on the AC circuit. Initially, I had a short that caused the high beam indicator to light up even when the low beam switch was closed. Checked all my connectors, tightened a few, double checked my wiring, and fired it up, and voila! It works!

Brightness appears well beyond sufficient, and the difference between low and high beam is definitely noticeable. It operates slightly brighter than the DC test pictures I showed before. I'll try to get some pictures soon.

If you decided to go this route, I believe you will be pleased with the result. Thanks to Paul and Bruce for helping me get this completed.

Roger

PS The headlamp is an Autopal brand. It is marked "for Off-road use only". But I seriously doubt you'd have an issue using it as a headlamp on your bikes. I purchased mine from Octane_Lighting on eBay. They seem to be reasonably priced. You could grab a couple extra H4 bulbs while you're there and you'll be set for awhile. Candlepower also has one that I wouldn't mind trying.

[Rusty]

Hi, dug up this old thread. I Bought one of these a ways back and mounted it in my 68 ACE100. Everything fit very well. I had the 6V 35 watt bulb and barely lit up. I read a comment about a 15 watt bulb for the 100's. Anyone ever source these?

[RHall1972]

As Bruce indicated a while back, the company Roger used to source this headlight hoped to have a 6v 25/25w headlamp available soon, with the same dimensions. Looks like that headlight is indeed available now: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-MOTORCYCL ... 06&vxp=mtr

[Rusty]

Thank you,
I recently purchased a sealed beam, but as stated in the post would be a great retrofit. I had high hopes when I purchased it. The fit was very good on my Ace. I'll have to try the 25W, at full speed the 35W barely lit up.

[Bill2001]

Current ongoing discussion of Roger's article, giving it a bump.

[Makotosun]

If you are looking for the headlight spring clips, I have gotten them from MikesXS in the past.

https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-he ... -pk-5.html

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