Alternative headlamps...

[Cousin it]

I have a FDM type 3d printer here and would not rely on the media to produce a reliable component for this type of application, http://www.shapeways.com/ can put you in contact with people who are able to print out items in suitable materials.

[Jez900ie]

Cousin It - thanks for the link.

[Darren69]

Given the popularity of these lights on 80's BM's and Lavs and Ducs I'm surprised there isn't something available more reasonably priced for us this side of the pond. I'd be interested since I want a better light but want to keep my C/f bowl and bezel.

[Mr Gazza]

Just back from seeing my mate, who is an absolute genius with Carbon Fibre.
He used to make CF tanks for Bonnies before CF had really caught on... They were absolutely beautiful.
He was also the chap that made the CF drum kits and guitar bodies for Staccato in their heyday in Woodbastwick.
Chris Jagger was a major investor in the business along with his brother Mick (who you may have heard of?) also Bill Wyman and other great rock luminaries were among those he used to rub shoulders with.

Anyway name drop over... I picked up no end of very useful tips and feel full of confidence to make the rings in carbon fibre once the Tricoya ones have proved to be a success.
Just need to get a job off my bench over the next few days and I will try and spin one up.

[Jez900ie]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Just back from seeing my mate, who is an absolute genius with Carbon Fibre.
He used to make CF tanks for Bonnies before CF had really caught on... They were absolutely beautiful.
He was also the chap that made the CF drum kits and guitar bodies for Staccato in their heyday in Woodbastwick.
Chris Jagger was a major investor in the business along with his brother Mick (who you may have heard of?) also Bill Wyman and other great rock luminaries were among those he used to rub shoulders with.

Anyway name drop over... I picked up no end of very useful tips and feel full of confidence to make the rings in carbon fibre once the Tricoya ones have proved to be a success.
Just need to get a job off my bench over the next few days and I will try and spin one up.

Yow thats both very quick and fantastic news!

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

He was also the chap that made the CF drum kits and guitar bodies for Staccato in their heyday in Woodbastwick.
Chris Jagger was a major investor in the business along with his brother Mick (who you may have heard of?) also Bill Wyman and other great rock luminaries were among those he used to rub shoulders with.

I take it he must have known the late Pat Townshend then?

When I first got my Mach 1 it was fitted with one of their tanks and seat unit bought from them back in the early eighties- Pat had a real love for motorcycles and in particular Ducati singles racing them all over the place when he stopped playing so much.

Unfortunately the ethanol in modern fuel killed my tank despite it having a sealant inside and being drained after use.

A shame really as they look quite pretty on the little Ducati's:



This one is in a little Di Marinos not far from where I live:


More about Pat Townshend and Staccato design can be found here:
http://cuttingedgesoundz.co.uk/MOTORBIKE%20FRAME.htm

[Kato]

Is that scottoiler for the rear tyre just to add some extra excitment

[Mr Gazza]

Originally Posted by Flip

I take it he must have known the late Pat Townshend then?

Yes. He (let's call him Bosshawg) worked for Pat during the Woodbastwick School House era in the eighties, on the musical instruments. I'm not sure if he got involved with Pat's bike projects but I will ask next time I see him.

I met up with Pat quite a few times, as Bosshawg used to borrow one of Pat's sheds at the back of his garden to work on his Carbon Triumph tanks, and also body kits of his own design for the very early Hinkley triumphs (triumph tried very hard to buy the moulds for those but Bosshawg wouldn't have any of it).
I used to mould one or two bike parts for Triumphs and also racing AMC bikes at the time so being mates I was often round there swapping ideas.
To be honest I tried to avoid Pat as I found him a bit weird, he had some very off the wall ideas about most things and would addle my brain with absolute un-conventionalism.

He projected a "Rock Star" aura and I tended to see him as a bit of a phoney Rolling Stone impersonator.... Little did I know at the time how close to the Stones he was, not only becoming a family friend of the Jaggers, but also working in the studio as a guitar consultant on at least one of their albums (possibly Beggar's Banquet?)

Too bad that I find out so much about him after his death, which in itself was mysterious and has some tenuous connections with the conspiracy theories that continue to surround the death of Brian Jones, of whom he was a super fan.

I also discover that another buddy used to be saddled with the job of entertaining the various famous rock n roll customers of the Staccato instruments.
They would find themselves suddenly alone in a sleepy little Norfolk Village and my buddy ( a pretty good guitarist himself) has a long list of big names he has spent evenings jamming with in the old schoolhouse.

The thought does occur though... I wonder if the moulds for the Staccato tanks are still about?? I will conduct some enquiries..

pic upload

[jerry]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

It won't fit a Monster rim as Monsters have a weird continental size lamp.
They only seem to appear on Monsters and old BMW R100 ect.

I do have a cunning plan to make an adapter to covert the Monster to take standard 7" lamp units... What that looks like remains to be seen.

In the mean time I have ordered one of these for evaluation, as it's only a tenner.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-inch-Mot...3D162341443978

I will probably bin the reflector and glass from it... There's no pilot light anyway.
The thing is it will open the floodgates to any 7" reflector/lens unit and also choice of bulb fitment, i.e. H4 or whatever or even LED.

That LED unit would probably fit into one of those Jez if you binned the rim that comes with it.

Gaz the cheap £10 chinky one you have ordered are crap , poor beam even with phillips extreme bulbs and also no 8mm locking rivet nuts built in so the lamp slips all the time , i have used them in my experiments and dont rate them at all

[Mr Gazza]

Originally Posted by jerry

Gaz the cheap £10 chinky one you have ordered are crap

You're absolutely right dear boy.... I didn't even properly unwrap it.. It's going straight back where it came from..

[utopia]

Just out of interest, am I correct in thinking that there are two styles of round headlight fitted to early monsters .. one of which has a single-bolt fixing of the rim to the shell, and another which has a two-bolt fixing ?
I think the latter may have been fitted to the S4R, and possibly others.
Mine is the former, with single-bolt rim fixing .. and its really fiddly.
I'm never totally sure whether I've refitted the rim correctly or butchered it into some "halfway-house" position, from which it will subsequently spring at the first decent bump in the road.
The replacement aftermarket headlight in Gazza's link looks like it has the two-bolt fixing ?
One question arising from all this is .. which type is being considered here, with regard to making an adaptor ring ?
I wonder whether the adaptor ring would be different for the two headlamp types (seems likely) or whether the same design would fit both ?
Which type do you all have ?
Tbh, I have a two-bolt type on my thumper and its like chalk and cheese compared to the fiddly, single-bolt one on the monster.
One relevance here is that, if I were to be considering getting a carbon headlamp shell, I might well be keen to switch to the other type.
Maybe others would feel the same and so it might be worth going for an adaptor to fit that type ?

I currently have the std lamp, fitted with a Phillips Extreme bulb.
I find that if this is adjusted within a gnat's cock of maximum dazzle height, its just about acceptable, on a good day.
I'm living with it for now but I'm constantly casting around for a potential upgrade that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
I've ruled out HID because of the lag, which sounds dangerous, and also the messiness.
I did try a cheap(ish) led bulb from China, which looked rather promising in a static test on the road outside my house, but seemed to throw a wobbler when I tried it on the move, being dim on dip and seeming to plunge me into darkness when I stabbed for main beam .. so I abandoned that.
But I did notice this led unit recently.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Headlight-...AAAOSwHsRYDfMQ
Its always difficult to judge until you've actually tried one, or know someone who has, and this is by no means a recommendation, just a "heads up".
But the price is good, the spec sounds ok (and is reassuringly not written in pidgin) and its appearance is perhaps more "normal" than some units.
I did also suspect that the polycarbonate lens might make it lighter than a glass lens, but I enquired and I think it probably doesn't.
Interestingly, the package does list a "stainless steel mounting kit", but that wouldn't be an adaptor ring surely ....???
They do also list their own shell for fifty odd quid, but personally I think I'd rather spend my money on a carbon shell.

I'm guessing that you've already assumed that I'd be interested in an adaptor.

There has been lots written about headlights previously.
It would be nice to bring all the various ideas together, perhaps test a few against each other, and come up with a definitive answer backed up with comparative, real world tests.

[Mr Gazza]

Originally Posted by utopia

I'm guessing that you've already assumed that I'd be interested in an adaptor.

There has been lots written about headlights previously.
It would be nice to bring all the various ideas together, perhaps test a few against each other, and come up with a definitive answer backed up with comparative, real world tests.

I'm ahead of you there Jeff. I already have you earmarked as a guinea pig for one of my proto-types, and I have a clear crystal unit and bulb for you to evaluate as well.

I didn't realise that there were two types of rim fixing for Monsters. Mine has the single clip fitting at the bottom of the rim and the lens is clipped into the rim by wire "Lucas type" W clips.. Or a version of them.
Possibly the later type that you mention uses two metal frames to trap the lens? But in any case, I will send a ring to someone with such a lamp to try fit.

Hopefully I will be able to start on it this weekend, but I'm finding it hard to get any quality workshop time on bike things, what with everything and all that..!..

[Kato]

Jeff I think its really simple stupid expensive bulbs do make a little difference but the light will never be any good as the std reflector is total SH1T

[jerry]

yes the standard bosch lense relector is a poor beam projector a decent replacement must be available clear crystal or cibie ??? but if the rim fitting is different from Bosch well thats a dead end

[Mr Gazza]