Switches

[Kryten]

That's interesting.

According to my Kat manuals/supplements and a bit on the web the model of 1100 Kat that has no "Parking or City* Light" is for E-01, 06, 24 and 30 which according to this website

https://www.motorcyclespareparts.eu/suz ... ation.aspx

gives us General (No 1), South Africa, Australia and Singapore

I don't suppose you have any VIN stickers that show the E- reference left on the machine, because if it had E-3 or E-33 it would have been destined for the US. And as far as I am aware if it was E-33 it may have had to comply with the California daytime lights regs.

Now just to add a bit of confusion into the mix, looking at the general GSX1100 manual in the specs for GSX1100E, it shows no parking light for E-01, 24, 27, 28, and 30. So that's General, Austria, New Zealand, Canada and Singapore.

But when you look at the wiring diagram for the same only Canada has the lamp deleted.

There is also another diagram for General, UK, Belgium Australia and Singapore that has a note by the parking lamp that states "..only for England"

So it could be Californian or Canadian.......maybe. Whatever, it's yours now

I had a 550 Kat in the past that was ex Cali and it had no headlight switch (it also had the hilarious 0-80 mph speedo) the 3rd phase of the alternator was looped directly back to Reg/Rec at the RH switch connector block.


* City Light; like you'd want to ride around a city at night with only a 4 watt lamp on

[Kryten]

Completely with you re hi viz ......HOW CAN IT BE HIGHLY VISIBLE ? IT IS EITHER VISIBLE ...OR NOT,!!!
If they can't see your headlamp they won't see a yellow jacket that every man and his dog(literally) in some cases wears!

In fairness I was told by one of my riding mates that it looked like I had a candle in mine not a lightbulb,
A quick scrub of all the earths improved it but it’s still not a patch on modern stuff.
I still won’t be buying a Hi Viz anytime soon though.

And to think that when I swapped to Jap bikes from Brit/Italian the lights in the '80s were, literally, a revelation. I'm running an LED lamp in my headlight. It is very bright, maybe too bright. Not sure on the rules for Europe.....

[fossie]

Of my 2 pop ups ....1 has no sidelight bulbfit ment at all as it is the Aussie model.
In fact legally in the Uk they are not sidelights by parking lights and should be left on when the vehicle is parked in an unlit street. To drive on sidelights is an offence ...legally...This is why there is a separate position on the key when you turn the lock to on and p.
Obviously the 1100 steering lock was on the side of the stem....but uk models came with p position originally.

As for LED headlamps it will be interesting to see how the new MOT laws are enforced or interpurated ...as of June if they weren't factory fitted on cars ...though it isn't stated just cars...the vehicle could fail.

[johnr]

not sure on the legality or illeganlity of sidelights fossie. my bikes all have switches for off, side and headlight as well as a parking position on the ignition switch.

[fossie]

Legally there is no such thing as "sidelights" .that is legally ....in the 50 and 60 s when cars etc had generators and magnetos sidelights were fitted as driving lights for in towns and lit areas because batteries and electrics weren't what they are now.
Which is why it is illegal to park facing traffic without parking lights on after dark.
However the 12v alternator changed that and the law was amended. Sidelights were now parking lights .
The s position on the switch gear is because it is generic and as previous thread mentioned some countries continue with the side light rule. The p position is because the lock is on and you may need to park against the flow of traffic!
The term sidelight is what we all grew up with so it carries on.

[PaulD]

I'm running an LED lamp in my headlight. It is very bright, maybe too bright. Not sure on the rules for Europe.....

What bulb are you using and is it just a straight swap for the standard twin filament bulb or are there mods needed to use it?

[fossie]

Obviously due to modern EU laws ....we are back to sidelights again.....but now they are daytime running lights on new cars ........this means we now have a situation where the newest safest cars etc are driving around in all weathers from dawn in the fog and snow to dusk in the rain with no rear lights on....progress!!

[Kryten]

I'm running an LED lamp in my headlight. It is very bright, maybe too bright. Not sure on the rules for Europe.....

What bulb are you using and is it just a straight swap for the standard twin filament bulb or are there mods needed to use it?

Hi Paul.

I am using an American item from a Welsh re-seller

In principle the H4 package with an LED array should be the same what ever version you buy, but...... I tried a couple of versions before settling on the Cyclops. All of which were straight plug and pray.
The only thing you loose is the rubber cover on the back of the lamp. On the item I am using there is a fan unit to cool the electronics, but it is sold as being waterproof.

The problem is matching the light source to the lamp. The old parabolic reflector /Fresnel lens combo is designed for incandescent filament. The LED package expands the light source and you get a different spread.

I tried a couple of Chinese cheapies and they gave me a weird spread pattern and 1 went pop fairly quickly. These have been used to great effect by a Triumph 3T rider that I know, but they're not good for Kat's.

I tried the cheaper version of the Cyclops H4 meant for trail machines. In fact I used it for the run over to Donnington Endurance Legends last year. A nice bright light good foreground spread, but no depth penetration on high beam, just more spread up into the trees That's probably why they were marketed for trail bikes. Seems though they're not being sold now.

So I opted for the generic H4 Adventure bike version and it is not bad at all, decent spread and reasonable depth on main beam. So at the moment I can easily exceed 40mph at night .

The next stage will be to carry out the Kiwi-K headlamp mod to utilise a shaped reflector/clear lens headlamp unit with the LED.


Now if you are not put off after all that lot here comes the "But".

They're not cheap.

http://www.sportouring.co.uk/shop/elect ... -for-2017/

I weighed it up as H4 Halagon vs ploughing into a deer in Fellbrigg Woods on the A148 at night

Or H4 Halogen that will last vs Cheap LED that will go pop in Felbrigg Woods on the A148 at night

[PaulD]

How much? kin ell that’s a bit rich for me
I’ve found this on eBay, what do you think or would I just be better sticking with the standard set up?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3082995494

[Kryten]

Well I did say they were not cheap!

Give them a go, for that price it’s worth a go.

Personally I would stick with the H4 Halogens rather go through the potential disappointment of the cheap as chips Chinese stuff.

Back to my mate with the 3T; he ran one in the ‘40s tech headlamp and it was good (total loss electrical system and only short runs at night on a bike that does 45-50), but as soon as he put at set in his car the difference was appalling. I think he went for the next version up after a while as the “non fan” versions fail due to the heat of the LED and the electronics.

If your lens and reflector is in top condition then Phillips Nightbreakers might be as good as any. For a similar amount to the Cyclops, you can get an HID set up but you have then to locate all the trigger and ballast modules so the install becomes a bit more of a chew.

At least with the straight swap items you aren’t putting a lot of effort into trying something out and you can always go back to original if it doesn’t work