Headlights

[magnaton]

Hey there,

Proud owner of a new-to-me ninja 250 from 2006. I want to swop out the instrument panel and headlight and have been looking at options. Most pages I search for on headlights talk about bulbs and connectors, so apologies if this has been answered before, but I couldn't seem to find it.

If I went with something like this, what would I need to do from harness standpoint? Do I need to worry about amperage and current issues?

https://www.amazon.com/Ohmotor-Proje...ectangle+light

Thanks so much!

[Triple Jim]

That's an interesting LED headlight. I assume it's not DOT approved, if that matters to you. It claims "75 watts", but my wild guess is that's a claim to be as bright as a 75 watt conventional bulb, but actually doesn't really use that much power. If I'm wrong and it really is a 75 watt device, the current, which is sometimes knows as "amperage", would be nominally be 75/12=6.25 amps.

Information here Alternator Information indicates that there is sufficient alternator output to support a 75 watt headlight. The original headlight is a 55 watt bulb (I think), so an extra 20 watts should not be a problem.

I'm very interested in this bulb, so if you do get one, please post some before and after photos showing its beam on high and low, maybe aimed at something like a garage door, etc..

[greg737]

Just curious, what is driving your search for a different headlight?

Do you plan to ride at night a lot?

Or is it a safety thing, are you concerned about being seen by other drivers?

Or is it that the bike's (your new '06 EX250) original headlight is already messed up and in need of replacement with either an OEM part or something creative from another source? (I ask this particular question because you also mentioned wanting/needing to replace this bike's instrument cluster).

[magnaton]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm looking to rework the front gauges and light because most of the fairings on the bike are off (previous owner.. but I don't mind. I dig the street fighter look). The current instrument panel housing and light sit very far "forward" when looking at the bike from a side profile.

Definitely in farkle territory, but I figured I could pull that whole metal bracket off the front, go with some bar end mirrors and one of those universal gauges a la:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J77O0OS...ing=UTF8&psc=1

There's actually a review (with pic) of someone who did this on their ninja 250, so I know it's at least somewhat possible

Gotta try figure out how/ where/ which wires to start snipping and reconnecting. Think that's gonna be a bit of a challenge for a novice like me, but we'll see

[Triple Jim]

I just gathered the wiring, neatly zip tied it, and tucked it in the headlight bucket the way motorcycles were in the '70s.

I'll be interested in how that tach/speedo works for you. I'm probably getting a Danmoto LCD unit next time one of my instruments quits.

[magnaton]

Very cool! Do you have a picture of your setup Jim? Gosh I didn't even know about the Danmoto units -- they look great.

[Snake]

Yea a pic would be great.

[Triple Jim]

I didn't post any for fear of some of the guys here saying "OK, Enough photos of your 250 already!"

I have one photo that shows the front turn signal mount. You can kinda see that the wiring is heading toward the big opening in the bottom rear of the bucket.




It looks better from a normal viewing position. I'll be glad to take any photos that would be helpful, just let me know.

[magnaton]

Beautiful!!

I've never seen the original instrment panel work so well with an aftermarket light. Awesome job

[Triple Jim]

Thanks. I trimmed the edges a little, but it's nearly stock. I planned on replacing it at some point, but I didn't want to rush into it and lose things like the water temperature gauge and have to find/make something to replace it. (etc.) The Danmoto one has all the functions of the stock cluster built in.

The instruments mount at the bottom with a bracket I made that uses the handlebar bolts as its mounts. There are spacers between the mount and the bottom of the recesses in the aluminum bar mounts.




Two small aluminum struts attach two of the gauge mounts to two of the Emgo headlight ear bolts.





I bent the tube on the clutch cable a little to make it clear the speedometer better. I have since bought a hydraulic clutch master cylinder and actuator, and when I get that installed, it should be completely out of the way, not to mention have a really nice lever feel.

[Nu2Street]

Looking good. Tell us about the black exhaust pipes. They look cool.

[Triple Jim]

Thanks, I always liked black headers on drag boats, and I kind of transferred that to motorcycles I guess. They are the originals that were on the bike when I bought it. The head pipes were very rusty, and the mufflers were pretty scratched from low speed crashes. I sanded the rust and put some header paint on the head pipe and crossover assembly, and some lower temperature "hi-temp" satin black paint on the mufflers.

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by magnaton

Hey there,

Proud owner of a new-to-me ninja 250 from 2006. I want to swop out the instrument panel and headlight and have been looking at options. Most pages I search for on headlights talk about bulbs and connectors, so apologies if this has been answered before, but I couldn't seem to find it.

If I went with something like this, what would I need to do from harness standpoint? Do I need to worry about amperage and current issues?

https://www.amazon.com/Ohmotor-Proje...ectangle+light

Thanks so much!

The stock bulb is an H4, so many of these aftermarket lights will plug right in.

There are a number of those knockoff LED 7" headlights around now. I'm sure there are some that are just as good as the original $300 one for much cheaper, but I'm sure there are some that are also cheap crap. I think there will be some "luck of the draw" involved as to how well your specific choice ends up performing.

The 841 lumen low beam of that light is actually right near the bottom end of the legal limits for an H4 bulb in the US (910 ±10%), while the high beam's 1834 exceeds the legal limit (1580 ±10%).

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

Information here Alternator Information indicates that there is sufficient alternator output to support a 75 watt headlight. The original headlight is a 55 watt bulb (I think), so an extra 20 watts should not be a problem.

Keep in mind that the stock wiring runs all the headlight power through the left control's dimmer switch, and the switched power feeding that circuit goes through the ignition switch as well. I personally feel it's weak in stock form, and don't think it's a good idea to add more load on top of it. One of the 500 guys found over a full volt drop before it even got out of the junction box (the same one used on PreGen) compared to the battery voltage. Using a headlight relay will reduce load on the stock wiring and give you less loss at the bulb, resulting in more light output.

[Triple Jim]

Yes, if there's excessive voltage drop, a relay is always a good idea.

The Emgo 7" round buckets are reasonably good quality. I've bought several now, and am happy with them. You can get them in satin black with a chrome ring, or all chrome. Their cast aluminum headlight ears are also very nice, but they're made to fit 41mm fork tubes, or 35 or 39 with included shims, so I had to modify the shims to fit my 36mm pregen tubes.

[choneofakind]

So I run knockoff LED fog lights on my car. They're decent for light pattern and control so I assume your headlight is as well.

The biggest thing I've found is the aftermarket lights typically don't control interference very well. Brand name lights will have the proper circuitry for reducing interference with your radio, per the FCC reg's. My aftermarket units interfere with my radio horribly. I'm not sure this will cause any issue with the ninja, but if you notice anything totally wacky with the ignition, try unplugging the headlight

There's about a 0.00001% chance of this actually being an issue, but it's an interesting tidbit nonetheless.


Also interesting to note is that the advertised wattage and actual wattage are often very different. For example, my fog lights are rated at 25W (I think), but per another user's review on Amazon, they're only actually using 11W during normal usage. Apparently this is because when LED's are given less power, they last longer. Go figure. So often times, they'll be run at a much lower wattage than what they're advertised at. You'll likely only see 35-50 watts through that headlight. I'd measure it with a multimeter if it really worries you, but other than that, if it doesn't pop fuses or melt wiring, you're golden.

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Also interesting to note is that the advertised wattage and actual wattage are often very different.

Yes, as I posted above, one tactic the sellers use is calling an LED light "50 Watts", for example, because they feel it puts out the light of a 50w quartz-halogen light.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

Yes, as I posted above, one tactic the sellers use is calling an LED light "50 Watts", for example, because they feel it puts out the light of a 50w quartz-halogen light.

Different root cause for the same statement. Not sure why you feel like repeating yourself.

[Triple Jim]

I don't think the discrepancy is because they run cooler at lower power, although you're right that they do. The advertised rating should reflect the actual input power in use. I think it's most likely an advertising ploy. LED lights I've bought from reputable sellers really do draw about the power they're advertised to. I have always measured the actual current drawn by the ones I've bought, and calculated the wattage, to see what I really received.

[Mohawk]

I use some Cree H4 LED replacement bulbs in my bike they work great, but They did have to alter the mount on the bulb to put the light centre in the right place.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

I don't think the discrepancy is because they run cooler at lower power, although you're right that they do. The advertised rating should reflect the actual input power in use. I think it's most likely an advertising ploy. LED lights I've bought from reputable sellers really do draw about the power they're advertised to. I have always measured the actual current drawn by the ones I've bought, and calculated the wattage, to see what I really received.

[Mohawk]

If they were incandescent bulbs, then a wattage rating would be relative but disengenious.
Most stock bulbs are halogen, but brighter incandescent bulbs exist, but they draw the same wattage, but produce more light. If you apply the same measure to LED's then you do them a disservice.

The H4 55/65watt main bulb in my ZZR250 draws 4.5amps measured on either high/low.
The replacement LED is MUCH brighter, which makes the bike more visible day or night. It draws 2amps, so circa 24watts on low & 2.5amps on high, but that is with BOTH LEDs lit, so circa 30watts. Both wattage figures would make it sound weak, where as in reality it's MUCH brighter than the stock 55/65 watt.

Lumens would be a better measure of light output for all bulbs, as it is a measure of light rather than the power the bulb consumes. We have the same issues with modern cars & the LED tail lights that manufacturers are fitting, that burn your retinas when they hit the brakes. Why because in the UK at least the light standards are based on wattage, so a brake light is allowed to be 25w, which if you use that draw with an LED it's like a head light !

YMMV