After some searching, I found some sources for brighter 50/50 watt and 45/40 watt halogen bulbs that use the BA20D base. These are are drop-in replacements for the terribly dim stock 35/35 watt incandescent bulbs. This provides an alternative for wire cutting and attaching connectors that is needed to convert to H4 Bulbs, although the H4 bulbs would still be brighter.
Oddly, they are from small sellers "across the pond" - I cant find a single source for these bulbs in the US.
Go HERE.
First, an aside, the stock bulbs are 25w, so even 35w would be an upgrade.
However, the position of the filament within the reflector is very important for focusing the light on the road. The bulbs you found appear to be quite a bit shorter than the stock bulb, so the filament will be in the wrong place and beam shape will be altered. I checked very carefully when installing my H4 bulbs, the beam shape didn't change significantly, so the filament position must be pretty much the same (or the reflector shape is just not well optimized, which is more likely).
Give it a try, but you may want to verify the beam shape by taking before/after pictures of the headlights shining on a wall at about 20-30' away.
My electric vehicle: CuMoCo C130 scooter.
Mike,
I checked the stock bulbs in my old headlight assembly (it was replaced due to stains on the reflectors) and they are 35/35 watt. Maybe the ones in the replacement assy. are 25 watt. Most of the time, I ride on well-lit urban streets, so the existing headights were OK. But I've been working late at my outskirts work location, and had a hell of a time last night even seeing if I was staying on a wet, unlighted, unmarked road with a HID-bearing SUV behind me and oncoming cars dazzling me. Enough of this white-knuckle stuff.
I think it is hard to tell the beam geometry from the bulb picture. I already changed to a similar looking BA20D-base halogen bulb (35/35 watt - availabe from US dealers) on my old e-max scooters and the beam was fine. Their brightness was a moderate improvement over the stock 35 watt bulb.
Considering the avaiability of H4 bulbs in any auto parts store, converting to them instead is still probably a better idea.
Paul
I added the 35w halogen BA20D to my bike and the result is still less than desirable. I can't tell how much of an improvement it was, because I upgraded early on. It just seemed like the logical thing to do. But I expected more than I got.
A friend sent me the following link, and will see if they have a BA20D equivalent:
Www.ddmtuning.com
Great prices,
Motorcycles: 2011 ZEV Trail 7100, 84V, 60AH, 60+mph, Cycle Analyst, TNC throttle, modified charger. 2013 Kymco GT300i
Bicycles: 2017 Sondors Thin
Cars: 2016 Leaf SV, 30KWH pack. 2007 CR-V
Solar array: 5KW. Cost per lifetime KWH produced $0.073
Bi
I guess I should have given the whole link to their HID lights.
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/HID-Kits-Lighting/HID-Kits
Let me know if there is a way to use these bright, cheap lights. I would be willing to add another DC/DC converter to handle them. But then I'm wondering if I should keep the halogen headlights and increase road coverage with additional lights mounted to the forks. My current lamps are fine for daytime riding and no problems with other drivers seeing me. I would just like to flip a switch and double my night-time light coverage.
Motorcycles: 2011 ZEV Trail 7100, 84V, 60AH, 60+mph, Cycle Analyst, TNC throttle, modified charger. 2013 Kymco GT300i
Bicycles: 2017 Sondors Thin
Cars: 2016 Leaf SV, 30KWH pack. 2007 CR-V
Solar array: 5KW. Cost per lifetime KWH produced $0.073
Bi
As I wrote, the improvement of the 35/35 watt halogen bulb on my e-maxs was "moderate". More wattage is needed, but HID's are overkill, and may damage the light enclosure. A pair of standard-wattage H4 bulbs are good enough for any car, so it seems they should be good enough for a scooter.
On the CuMoCo scooters, the headlight bulb holder is just a standard H4 flange with a BA20D socket adapted to it. I don't know why the Chinese supplier does this. It is probably becasue 25 or 35 watt BA20D conventional bulbs are so cheap in China compared to H4's.
Here's the report.
I ordered four of the 45/40 watt bulbs. They arrived from across the pond in just 7 days via Royal Mail, which apparently isn't being legislatively sabotaged like the US mail is.
One bulb was for the old e-max; two for the C124, and a spare. I ended up needing the spare as one of them immediately burned out. The old bulbs in the headlight assembly, which was a replacement due to stains on the old reflectors, were just 25 watt. (The one it replaced had 35 watt bulbs). The light output was much improved, although the aim was poor becasue, in the course of fumbling with the spring bulb retainer, I apparently popped the reflector off of it ball-and-socket hinge in the headlight assembly on the right side. This time, I took the front "beak" off, and took the headlight assembly apart. I put some spring-type hose clamps on the sockets of the reflector hinges to reduce the chance of this happening again. I also lengthened the aim adjuster screw spring so the aim could be adjusted as high as possible. These sort of homemade fixes seem to be par-for-the course for a lot of Chinese scooter bodywork. The headlight output and aim is now satisfactory.
Lessons learned:
1. It is probably easier to just install H4 bulbs from your nearby auto parts store. Replacing the tail, license plate, panel and mirror bulbs with LED's is needed to free up some DC-DC converter capacity do this.
2. Removing the front "beak" is the easier way to access both headlight bulbs - particularly for converting to H4's. Removing removing the black back of the fairing, as recommended in the manual, is not as easy. The left bulb can be accessed with a bit of dexterity without removing anything - by reaching from underneath.
I have located and ordered some BA20d LED replacement bulbs that have the equivalent output of 30 watt incandescent bulbs but only draw 5 watts each. They put out 500 lumens.
I have also replaced the tiny driving lights in the headlight assembly with LED lights that put out 100 lumens of light. They are over 6x as bright as the incandescent bulbs but use the same amount of power.
My goal is to save power and take the load off the dc/dc converter which has a tendency to get hot on the original CuMoCo bikes. CuMoCo has solved this problem with a new configuration in the new bikes which separates the converter from the BCU.
I plan to switch out all the other bulbs except the turn signals for LED bulbs too, as others have done.
My thinking is if I can reduce the accessory/lighting power use by 100 watts/hour I will be able to go one more mile of distance per hour of riding. I think I use about 100 watts per mile if I am riding hard.
Does this make sense?
Does anyone have any other ideas for increasing range or efficiency?
LCJUTILA
You might want to look at some of the brighter, multi-LED bicycle headlights. You'd be riding with a bicycle headlight mounted of course, but it would be both brighter and self-powered. Recharge the batteries once a week, point the OEM light at the ground right in front of you (giving you a cheap fog light as well), and maybe you'll see better. I don't ride at night at all on the ZEV if I can avoid it. Like the lepton and XM3000 the lights are inadequate for serious night riding.
@ LeftieBiker-
When referring to range and efficiency, I meant distance travelled and energy used. I wasn't referring to the lighting system.
Sorry I wasn't clearer on that.
Like you, I do not ride much at night. Here in Los Angeles the streets are fairly well lit though and I believe I will have adequate lights if I should choose to ride at night.
My goal is to be able to ride the 45 miles to work in under an hour, without too much range anxiety, using the least power possible so my recharge time for my return trip will be minimal.
Does anyone have any riding style or route mapping strategies that would help with this?
I am thinking that a steady speed of 50 mph would be more efficient than stopping and starting or going an average speed of 30 for part of the route and an average speed of 65 for another.
I suppose if I could get the bike to make it the whole way going 60 I could use the time saved on the trip to recharge more.
I have already made the trip on surface streets with plenty of power left. The trip took 1 1/2 hours each way though with a lot of stop and go traffic and red lights.
That is too long! (It was fun though!)
LCJUTILA
If you want to use less accessory power, the bicycle light, along with using only your low beam headlight, will help a *little*. Now, as to ways to increase range on the commute, here are a few:
* Accelerate as slowly as possible. Riding fast uses much less power than accelerating fast. It can use surprisingly little on level ground and on downslopes. However, most of these hubmotors (and even other motor types) seem to use disproportionately more power right at maximum speed, so pick the fastest speed at which you can still go a little faster... and then try not to use that last few MPH.
* Don't climb hills at cruising speed. If you can, use the same amount of power to climb as to cruise, by not opening the throttle any more than you do while cruising, and let the bike slow down on the hill. If you have to keep up with traffic, try your best to go as slowly up hills as is safe. Gently speeding up before the hill will help, especially with short hills.
* If you have regenerative braking, use it in combination with coasting to avoid using the brakes *or* the throttle any more than necessary. If you don't have much regen, learn to get up to speed just fast enough to avoid getting run over from behind, then coast as much as possible, down hills and when approaching a stop. Coasting is more efficient than regen when you don't have to actually stop.
* Keep your tire pressure at the upper end of the tires' maximum, but not at it - Chinese tires aren't exactly premium quality. 10% below maximum should be ok. Lower the pressure another 10-15% if you'll be riding in rain.
As an update to the original post, I have since switched over to H4's for both headlights. It required some work as headlight bulb terminal tabs are not a standard faston terminal size - they are too wide and had to be cut narrower. I just now found out that a proper H4 bulb plug can be found for sale on ebay - I would have used them if I knew about them.
I hd prviously switched over to LED's for all lights except the headlight bulbs per the earlier thread. I also rigged a switch to the headlights so the headlights can be turned off and only those smaller running lights used during daytime. I know; burning headlights at all times are important for motorcycle visibility and required in most states. I assume those little lights meet the legal requirement.
Leftiebiker's economy riding tips cover the issue pretty well. Another tip is to pick a route that avoids going over a hill or hills, even if it is a little longer.
LCJUTILA, can you provide the source for your LED headlight bulbs?
Hi Everyone,
I have just ordered the LED Headlight bulbs and have not received them yet.
They are $40 each and I want to make sure they work properly before I post the place I am getting them from so other people do not waste their money if they turn out to be no good.
As I said in an earlier post, I replaced the little driving lights with LED "Tower" lights that put out 100 lumens. The light is very bright and white compared to the yellow glow of the incandescent bulbs. It makes the bike MUCH more visible and adds a fair amount of light too.
I plan to post pics and part numbers, etc. when I am done.
I want to thank EVERYONE on this site for all the great advice and support supplied to each other.
Current Motor Co has been a big help too.
LCJUTILA
I tried the 35/35 bulbs, they were dangerously dim. I even installed 55/60watt H4 bulbs and these were VERY hot for the enclosure and were still too dim because the reflector in the Lightning Bolt model was pretty poor.
I disagree. I have been sucessfully running my 35w HID bulbs+projector lenses since 27 November 2011 that was 8100km and 1 YEAR, 5 MONTHS and 16 DAYS ago. Not once have they failed. They have been providing nice safe amount of light for nearly a year and a half with no damage at all to the stock housing. They still consume 35w but because they are more efficient, they run COLDER than a stock 35w BULB!
On another note, I'd like to see how the LED lights go. My Nissan LEAF has LED headlights and they are nice and bright.
------------------------------
eRider 8000w Scooter - PDT Version
72v 50AH CHL battery
350A Sevcon controller
24km: Delivered - 24 September 2011
2490km: Installed dual 35w HID lights Bi-Xenon Projectors - 27 November 2011
8313km: Installed BMS -
Thanks for the comment. I has always assumes that HID lights were higher wattage and hotter.
I don't much follow "headlight technology" like performance car enthusiasts do nowadays. In my motor-head days, the only choice for headlights - from a Ferrari to a Ford Pinto, were the standard, mediocre, sealed-beam lights. I think even motorcycles had to use them. Nothing else was allowed in the USA for a long time.
One down side with these Chinese Scooter bodies is the attachment of the headlights to the frame instead of the handlebars like most motorcycles. Having the headlight on the handlebars sure helps on curves.
I'm looking forward to finding some LED headlights too. The ones LCJUTILA ordered are a bit pricey, though.
Hi Everyone,
The bulbs are on back order.
LCJUTILA
hi there
i'm looking to put led bulbs into my e bike as the twin headlights are consuming 70w (ba20d 35/35s).
most of the led replacement bulbs are 50w or 80w but I found these
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=161311850109&alt=web
which claim 800lm at 7w.
as I drive only urban well lit streets do you think they would be sufficient?
any advice gratefully received
Simon
I have no idea how well they will work. But, 2 X 800 lumens seems like enough light for urban use if it is focused properly.