Anyone running 80/100w H4 bulbs in their Ryker?

[gbyoung2]

Curious if anyone has run 80/100w H4 bulbs in their Ryker? I swapped out the 55/60w H4 in my Kawasaki Concours with the higher wattage bulbs to improve night-time illumination and was very happy with change. I did try several of the LED bulbs that were out there, but their patterns and real-world lumen output just didn’t provide the depth I was looking for.

This is one of the reasons why I asked what the charging system output rating was in a previous thread.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums...ut-Specs-Primarily-amps&p=1719502#post1719502

I did swap out the Connie’s stock 28A alternator with one from another bike that provided 46A of charging capability. This took care of the higher wattage headlamp, plus grip warmers and heated jacket in the winter. I also changed out the original plastic bulb socket to a ceramic variety due to the extra heat put out by the higher wattage bulb.

???????????

 

[Peter Aawen]

Dunno about a Ryker, but I do know that many Spyders running the OEM Wattage lightglobes here in Oz ended up with yellowish foggy 'burn' patches on the INSIDE of the clear polycarbonate lens covers from the heat off the lights, with the only remedy being replacement!

And while BRP won't reveal if it's happened to any others & no-one else appears to be saying (or maybe they don't run their brights in the heat?? :dontknow: ), I know at least one person who ran their brights for about 4 hours solid on a hot day ended up with MELTED HOLES a bit bigger'n a nickel smack in the aiming spot of both of their High beam lights!!

At least those lights were covered by warranty & replaced; but if the stock 55/60W Low/High lights we use here in Oz can do that, I shudder to think what an 80/100W light would do!! nojoke

So I SERIOUSLY wouldn't even DREAM of putting any higher wattage lights in any Spyder/Ryker!! :lecturef_smilie:

ADD more lights; sure!
CHANGE to LED's & ADD even more lights; even better!!

But install higher wattage lamps in the OEM position/fittings with the OEM poly-whatever lenses - NO :cus: WAY!! :yikes:

Just Sayin'

 

[gbyoung2]

Good enough for me.

The Connie's headlamp construction is a glass semi-Fresnel-type lens and a steel bodied housing. The H4 bulb's steel flange is held into position with a steel spring that puts pressure on the three tabs and keeps them tight against the mount in the bucket. That dissipates some of the conducted heat, but not the emitted/radiated heat from the filament so the lens glass still gets warm to the touch.

We'll look around to see if any new LED-types are out there. I do have a Beamtech I tried in my KLR, but one installation video out there showed them having a major interference issue (with the Beamtechs) on the RH side light to where they had to disassemble half the front end of the machine to get it installed.

We'll figure it out. At 80, most of my long-distance burns are probably behind me - I think.

Appreciate the heads up.

 

[gbyoung2]

"CHANGE to LED's & ADD even more lights; even better!!"

I have a couple of Auxito H4 LED bulbs coming to replace the main lights (used one of them before in another bike), but can you comment (good, bad, ugly) on the aux lights that Hypnotic Concepts has that Swingmods sells for the Ryker? These are the ones that mount to the upper front suspension A-arm.

Due to the irregular shape of the A-arm piece, these kinda make sense without popping any holes in the body panels. Also, in my State (Virginia), any aux lights have to be mounted below the primary light source on the vehicle.

Thoughts?

 

[djh3]

I added some aux light down on the A-Arms. See the Aux Lights here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTDD5PKM?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Really nice lights, came with harness, switch and a relay all put together.

 

[gbyoung2]

If I may ask, how did you mount them?

Also, looks like they have changed what's included. The harness and switch appears to be a separate ~$9.00 item that you need to order.

 

[DickB]

Another consideration is the size of the wire and fuse. The Ryker headlights are on a 15A fuse. Fuse manufacturers recommend a fuse that is 125% of load, suggesting a maximum load of 12A.

I'm surprised that you haven't found satisfactory LEDs - many have. I've put them on all my motorcycles. Look for ones where the LED placement mimics the filament locations.

I added Denali aux lights which add lots of light. If you can cut and drill aluminum it's not hard to make DIY frame mounts. Mine used existing holes in the frame. Nuts, bolts, spacers, angle aluminum from a hardware store, mounting bracket from Amazon. Inexpensive.

In addition to night visibility aux lights also offer the best daytime visibility:

"Overall the results suggest that enhancing the frontal conspicuity of motorcycles with lighting treatments beyond an illuminated low beam headlamp may be an effective countermeasure for daytime crashes involving right‐of‐way violations."

https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/811507.pdf

 

[gbyoung2]

The machine is still new to me, and I haven't stripped off enough of the panels yet to see what I can use to mount some brackets. Previous brackets I had made could easily be mounted outside of the body work using existing screws.



They worked great, but drop the bike and they could cause a lot of $$ plastic damage. Ask me how I know; I took them off.

I've got a lathe, mill, and welders, so can fab just about anything. Just need to see what's hidden that I can use. Will also be looking for a spot to mount a Wolo Big Boy air horn to replace the exiting "buzzer." With an existing steering damper/stabilizer in place, no room under the front cover.

Biggest problem with my bikes were the reflectors not being designed for LED type. I went through a bunch of them. The Beamtechs worked best in my KLR, but not the Connie and I went back to the 80/100 with no problem with fusing (10A). Think their rear heatsink will have interference issues on the RH side, and one Ryker owner found out.

I also used an Auxito for a while and have two of them coming for the Ryker to see how they'll work out. Looks similar to the one you've shown in the lower right of your collage.

We'll figure it out.

 

[djh3]

Off upper A Arm with supplied brackets.

 

[gbyoung2]

What year/model do you have? Your front suspension looks considerably different than the one of my 2022 Ryker Ace 900 Sport. My upper A arms are elliptical in cross-section, so I don't think the brackets that can be ordered with the lights would supply a uniform grip.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Off upper A Arm with supplied brackets.

What year/model do you have? Your front suspension looks considerably different than the one of my 2022 Ryker Ace 900 Sport. My upper A arms are elliptical in cross-section, so I don't think the brackets that can be ordered with the lights would supply a uniform grip.

View attachment 210493

I believe that djh3's Spyder is an F3 Ltd, rather than a Ryker - but if you do a bit of Searching & reading, many here have reported successfully using those same or similar lights on both Spyders and Rykers. :thumbup:

So while you might need to 'tweak' things a little to suit your particular application, it shouldn't be too hard to make something work for you too! hyea:

Good Luck! :cheers:

 

[gbyoung2]

Not being familiar with the various CanAm 3-wheelers, I kinda suspected that was a Spyder front end.

 

[SportsterDoc]

I have been extremely pleased to run Auxito H4s on 8 of my last 9 M/C (23 Moto Guzzi V7-850 came with LED headlight) and they were not the highest Auxito output ($19.99 at Amazon)

I am 77, had cataract surgery in 2022.

I also run Auxito in my 2016 Nissan Frontier. Extremely satisfied.

Auxito 9007 H5 LED 6,000 lumens, 6,500 K, 30,000 hours, 30 watt ($49.99-15%)

On the XLforum for Sportsters, there are many reports of melted bulb connectors, melted wires and headlight bucket issues when using 80 and 100 watt incandescent lighting. Incandescents use more amps, have a much shorter life and put out so much more heat than LEDs.

Just my 2 cents

 

[djh3]

I have run HID bulbs in a couple bikes. But I will say they probably put out more heat than a high watt halogen. LED has come a very long way. I have put probably 3 sets at least in different vehicles in last several years. The last 2 pairs were better beam and focus wise.