Modern Buddy

Hi team!

Yes, I searched and found anectdotes but nothing definitive to assure me that I can replace my 30/35w headlight bulb with a 55/60w bulb without damaging my scoot.

Have sent an email and called my local Genuine dealer...but no email or call back (could be the crappy weather).

So, can anyone confirm that this move is OK? I need to ride the scoot tomorrow night and both beams are burned out.

Maybe an additional question should be whether the bulb is a warranty issue OR if it's normal to have it burn out (both high and low) within 15 hours of each other. 1 yr, 9 mo old, 6600 miles.

Thanks!

BTW, the further urgency is that I can only find 55/60w bulbs in stores here and I'm loathe to go to the dealer if they're not even answering the phone.

Thx!

[edit/addt'l note]

I like my dealer, but annoyed that my email from last Thurs got no response and that their machine where I left a message didn't announce their hours...CLOSED TODAY so I can't even go there to get the OEM bulb.

Still need to know about my orig question above.

Thx.

Maybe you can get away with it, but I wouldn't because that is a really effective way to melt the plastics of your headlight assy. This is totally assuming your headlight assy IS plastic btw.

I'm uber-paranoid about stuff. I keep a couple of spare bulbs for my headlight in my glove box because I've had one burn out in the middle of the night, 10 miles from home.

That would TOTALLY blow - and literally. I was lucky. I usually run with the high beam on and when I started up the scoot, after sundown, I noticed that it was still dark in front of me.

When I flicked the switch to low beam, all was fine. But then the next day when starting it up, the low didn't even shine. (I keep it in the basement, so usually I see the headlight on the door).

Seemed odd, but some people say the vibration and the fact that the high had burned out make the low burning out normal.

It's a little odd to me because I hardly EVER used the low beam, but I know very little about bulbs and maybe that's how they burn out.

Still waiting for any help I can get. Would love to put a new bulb in today so I can ride tomorrow night - but I don't want to melt anything with the wrong capacity/power/wattage bulb.

Thanks!

I understand Buddy wiring is not as ridiculous as Stella wiring, but have you checked to make sure the connections are seated properly and that there isn't a short somewhere?

Haven't checked that. But all the other lights are working and could a short just happen willy nilly like that?

Bike runs fine and starts right up.

I have no experience with the infinitely more reliable Buddy, but if you don't get randomly bizarre shorts in a Stella, you're very lucky. My latest oddness is the rear taillight, turn signal short. Only happens at night, too.

Many members here have swapped their stock headlight bulb with the 55/65. No issues. But, if you can find the HS1 PIAA 35/35, do that instead. Twice the light output as the stock bulb, but same power draw.

Have seen the bulb in many places. Guess I'll do one order at Scooterworks - just for some backup bulbs and other fun stuff. Then one order of 'essential' stuff.

Then I'll go online and find the PIAA bulb. Looks like it's around $40 to $45 everywhere.

Thanks everyone!

J

+1 on the piaa bulb. Pricey, but nice and bright.

Lil Buddy wrote:Many members here have swapped their stock headlight bulb with the 55/65. No issues. But, if you can find the HS1 PIAA 35/35, do that instead. Twice the light output as the stock bulb, but same power draw.

I've had my PIAA for over a year now. Best mod there is for night riding.
http://www.piaalights.com/detailsBulbs. ... GTX%20BULB

Don't know if this applies to the Buddy, but I've been using a Sylvania Silverstar 55/65 in my Blur for almost two years with no problems.

Lil Buddy wrote:Many members here have swapped their stock headlight bulb with the 55/65. No issues. But, if you can find the HS1 PIAA 35/35, do that instead. Twice the light output as the stock bulb, but same power draw.

You talking about this,HS1 SUPER PLASMA GT-X SINGLE BULB 35W=60W?

Thanks.

That's the one. I have one on order as type

Jeff, unless you're very comfortable in the rain, I don't recommend you ride tonight. It's really, really, really bad out there. Potholes every where (many of them new as of yesterday), huge pools of water straddling all lanes of the roadway, jerk drivers who don't understand what a wake is (or that they should turn on their frigging headlights). I know my commute route like the back of my hand so I rode in yesterday and today, but if you're riding somewhere you don't know intimately, you may want to think twice. Plus the wind will knock you all over the place.

BTW, if you're trying to reach Javaspeed...they're closed for good. I would call around some auto places for a Silverstar. I find Action Auto Parts down here in Providence is very, very good. They're miles above the mass market auto parts places.

And headlamp bulbs are consumables. They burn out. You go to the store and you buy a new one.

+1 on the PIAA. Stock wattage = stock heat and stock amperage. Two good things when working with a scooter's electrical system. Plus the PIAA is specifically designed for motorcycle/atv use. It's supposed to stand up to the extra vibrations they are subject to VS an automotive lightbulb. I've had an LED burnout, but not my PIAA HS1

It's available for $39 shipped from amazon.com now. Says there's only 5 in stock as of this posting.

http://www.amazon.com/PIAA-70473-Super- ... PDKIKX0DER

Wish I held out a couple of more days, I ordered form a different vendor earlier this week for a little bit more money, but much longer shipping time.

and then there were 3

thanks for the heads up! I'd been holding off on this a long time.

Hooking up both of my scooters. Thanks for the heads up.

Only 1 left now.

I've been thinking of going HID because of all of the inexpensive "true" HID kits available on EBay. I can't see any reason not to since they draw the same power as the stock bulb (35W) and don't seem to get any hotter. The headlight lenses on my car didn't get any hotter after I retrofitted HIDs, if anything, they seem to run cooler.

StL_Stadtroller wrote:and then there were 3

thanks for the heads up! I'd been holding off on this a long time.

Glad I could help Can't wait to get his bulb installed, should be here Monday.

babblefish wrote:I've been thinking of going HID because of all of the inexpensive "true" HID kits available on EBay. I can't see any reason not to since they draw the same power as the stock bulb (35W) and don't seem to get any hotter. The headlight lenses on my car didn't get any hotter after I retrofitted HIDs, if anything, they seem to run cooler.

If your thinking about going HID the right way you'll need to install a Trail Tech regulator model: 7003RR150 . It turns the AC to the headlight to DC and also regulates the power throughout the bike much better.

Got a replacement 35w halogen from Scooters Go Green in South Boston and installed that in 31 minutes.

Have also ordered the PIAA bulb ($46 shipped) from my local Honda motorcycle dealer.

Will install the PIAA in the next week or so and keep the other basic bulb as a spare.

ObjectAgnosia wrote:It's available for $39 shipped from amazon.com now. Says there's only 5 in stock as of this posting.

http://www.amazon.com/PIAA-70473-Super- ... PDKIKX0DER

Wish I held out a couple of more days, I ordered form a different vendor earlier this week for a little bit more money, but much longer shipping time.

I hope the headlight bulb is different for '08 because I just tried to put this bulb in my wife's '06 and it's totally not the right one. Her '06 has a small "2 nub" Lucas style connector bit instead of this big honkin' 3-tab / 3 pin design.

Guess I'll crack open the '08 tomorrow and see what I find...

Maybe the 4-stroke provides a more constant power supply... but the HID won't work well on a 2-stroke Rattler. At lower RPMs the ballast draws too many amps and ends up running your battery down. The best I was able to get was roughly an 1hr or riding before the HID would kill the battery, which on a Rattler also kills your gauges, lights, turn signals etc. I could've fit a larger battery in but that would only give me more time before having to charge it up at home, wouldn't correct the issue just delay it. The bulb won't require any more amps than stock with the HID, but the ballast does in order to feed a constant ammount of power to the bulb. In an automobile the amps of the average headlight is roughly 5 to a scooter's 3, not to mention a car produces a lot more power in general.

And I tried everything. Custom re-wound stator, LED lights anywhere I could, had to use a relay for steady power (the fluctuations from the electrical system kept tripping the protection circuit in the HID ballast). It just wasn't a good solution for the Rattler so I went to the PIAA instead.

StL_Stadtroller wrote: I hope the headlight bulb is different for '08 because I just tried to put this bulb in my wife's '06 and it's totally not the right one. Her '06 has a small "2 nub" Lucas style connector bit instead of this big honkin' 3-tab / 3 pin design.

Guess I'll crack open the '08 tomorrow and see what I find...

They changed the headlight in 07 (possibly 08) to the larger reflector headset and a semi-standard H4 lamp base. They use 35w lamps in them stock (as opposed to the 55/60w that a standard H4 lamp is).

PIAA might make one for the 06, you'd just need to know the base type.