Mastiff Headlight replacement suggestions?

[Gobsheen]

Hi,
I've got a Side Predator fairing/headlights fitted. It's fine but not really what I want. It was the look of the twin round lights that I always liked, although the original lights are famously rubbish. The look I'd like is large twin round lights, similar to the older Triumph Street Triple. I've seen round headlights ranging in price from £25-150 each, and the difference between them isn't always clear.

Any ideas? Anyone done a similar change?

[Guido]

Hi
I changed the internals of my Mastiff to ones from a Grey import 400 sports bike can't remember the exact model either a CBR400 or Fzr400.
30 mins in the garage with a dremel removing the plastic mountings and chrome bezel etc and they fitted inside the original cases.
Hey presto halogen lights original cases. Had to spend a little more time to put a new 12v feed to them as I didn't think the original was upto the higher output.
Whole job only took an afternoon including trawling the breakers.
Regards Allan

[Gobsheen]

Thanks Allan, sounds like a good solution. I have the original lights but they've seen better days. It would end up as a pretty big job to sort the rust and re-paint properly. If I'm going to spend time and cash (not aware of a bike breaker in my area), I'd prefer to go for bigger round headlights. Having said that, I am trying to keep the spends down though which isn't easy when you see the cost of some of the headlights out there! I'd love a pair of e-marked led headlights but they're mad money still.

You've got me thinking about the wiring. Anyone had problems with the original wiring and upgraded bulbs?

[Guido]

Incidentally if anyone is looking for standard replacements they are used on numerous Eastern European agricultural vehicles and tractors. I had to replace mine and picked a brand new set up from Ebay for £12, when they arrived they were identical.
Allan

[Gobsheen]

Ha ha, brilliant!
I like to convince myself that I'm riding around on a mega machine but it turns out that I should go to Massey Ferguson for spares!

[Gobsheen]

I'm still hitting electrical problems on the bike. They seem to be linked to the power drawn by my twin 55w bulbs. I might be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that's it.

My question is.......should the Mastiff run OK with 2 * 55w bulbs?

[den]

two headlights at 55watts each plus the tail light and speedo lights,,No way is that cool,,could be expensive when you burn out your regulator/rectifier or even cdi,,

[Gobsheen]

Thanks Den, not the answer I was hoping for but good to know. The rear is already changed to led which will help and I've disconnected one of the headlight bulbs so it's got one 55w bulb up front.

I'm very rusty on my uni electrics stuff!......one 55w bulb ok? I can't remember how to calculate the current drawn but sure it's not as simple as saying one 55w bulb is less draw than two 35w bulbs. Am I right?!

I don't like the look of just one of the bulbs on though (even though I can't see them!) so choices are two 35w bulbs, illegal HID's or illegal led's. Any advice?

[den]

yeh , its total watts divided by volts so it something like this ,
calculate whats the output of your battery ie 12 v ,,Then consider the strength of the charging circuit,,
this will give you a ballpark figure to work with.
The formula for finding amps is watts divided by volts
front light 55w
park light 5w
instrument lights,10w total
two indicators an any one time,50w
rear light 25w
brake light 35w
cdi??
ignition circuit and charging circuit,,// dunno, .
but this total equates to 15 amps,,sounds alot i know,,the charge circuit must help here,,
yout right to use LEDs where you can,, the saving in watts you can use elsewhere but only if the cabling within that circuit could handle it .

What front lamps are standard in the mastiff and do they run together or is one low and other high beam.

[Gobsheen]

Thanks Den.
I've got the rear lights and all indicators led'ed which helps.
I've never had the original lights on but I'm petty confident that they are both on together, both with dip and full beam. Also pretty sure they are 35w bulbs. I've ordered two 35w H4 bulbs to replace the 55's in my headlights which should take things back to standard levels. Hopefully that will solve my current ('scuse the pun) problems.

I inherited some not great wiring which won't be helping either.

[Gobsheen]

Girlie 35w bulbs are in and working fine. There's a noticeable difference in the volt meter when I'm riding and the switch to full beam seems better than before......like it had been struggling. I'm happy that my charging issues should be improved. Unfortunately, I've still got an electrical problem. Bike passed it's MOT (annual road-worthiness test, for the non-UKers) but kangaroo started for the tester! He suspected the side stand switch as the first place to start. I'm needing a bit of guidance for shorting that but I'll start a new thread to avoid confusing things and hopefully make fixes more searchable in the forum.

[homebrew123]

Hi, I know this is an old post but can you give me a link to the replacements on ebay Guido, I need some for one of mine.


Jon

[DAVID THOMPSON]

at almost 20 years wiring harness and its parts are getting very TIRED on these bikes
just handling some of it or changing its location can cause problems

been working on my 660 traveller to add a bigger battery and it scary how bad the wire harness is getting

the rt125 has 25,000 on it and its a mess just from bad parts and pieces that have died..
and the quality of the wire stunk from the first week it was on the road
Dave

On the rotax powered 500 the turn signals just fell off setting in the back of the shop in a temp controlled room

trip to Moto Guzzi shop before it goes back on the road for new signal lamps