Melted headlight

[riz]

So I was taking my son to school this morning...and this happened:


We were in city traffic for about half an hour. Then stopped at my kids school with the engine (and lights) running. I laid my bag (nylon material) on the headlamp...prepped kiddo and kissed him goodbye (around 5-10 minutes) with the engine still running.

Then when I picked up my bag, it was welded on to the headlamp and it sorta peeled off of it.
I was also able to peel off the black layer of burnt bag fabric off the headlamp but the damage is done. Now it's deformed and there's a permanent white spot as you see in the pic.

Conclusion: Yes, I'm stupid! but I honestly never realized the headlamp was that hot or would get that hot in a short period of time, and for just a few minutes it melted both itself and my bag.

Question: Anyone know how much an OEM headlamp go for? I contacted the dealer and they said they'll look into it but they haven't contacted me back...and has anyone bought just the outer clear plastic part before? or do I have to buy a whole headlight set?

If the price is just way out of reach (I'm kinda in a slump at the moment), I'd prolly go for cheaper alternatives instead.

Thanks in advance fellas!

 

[RDTCU]

That sucks, can't imagine a new one will be very cheap. You might look at some aftermarket options. If it's all on the exterior of the light, you might be able to get it polished out.

The headlight wouldn't have melted itself if you hadn't put the black bag in front of it. If the lens is clean and clear, it won't even get hot to the touch, but put a focused beam on the black bag and it's like using a magnifying glass on ants.

Also, never leave a thumper sitting at idle for 5-10 minutes, they can get very hot at idle, like headers glowing cherry red hot in some cases, especially if they're a bit lean. Doesn't have anything to do with your headlight, but still not a good practice.

 

[riz]

yea...I learned it the hard way...

I'll try polishing the white spot...if it can be just a bit clearer than it is right now, it should be good enough. But if that wont work, then I'm in deep shit cause I often ride home from work after dark.

If aftermarket ones are too pricey, then my only option is to fabricate...

IMO the husky 701 concept bike headlight is pretty cool

and it should be pretty cheap and simple enough to fabricate from a sheet of PVC plastic or fiberglass.
10 watt lamps of 4 LEDs VERY similar to that pic is around $40 down here.

Still waiting for a quote from the dealer on a new headlight to decide on what option to go to. All they said was I can't buy just the clear outer plastic

 

[Kyle Tarry]

Also, never leave a thumper sitting at idle for 5-10 minutes, they can get very hot at idle, like headers glowing cherry red hot in some cases, especially if they're a bit lean. Doesn't have anything to do with your headlight, but still not a good practice.

Strongly disagree.

Spending 10 minutes on a rocky, gnarly trail climb where the bike is essentially not moving (<5 mph) but you're heavy on the throttle is WAY harder on the motor than idling, and I (and anyone else who trail rides) does this on a regular basis. Heck, that's not an uncommon occurrence on thumpers without cooling fans, and the 610/630s have fans to keep them from overheating.

That being said, if my bike was going to sit for 10 minutes, I'd shut it off, just because there isn't any reason to leave it running just sitting there. But, you're not going to hurt anything.

Show us a picture of the lens after you scraped the plastic off. You might be able to polish it out, if it's all on the outer surface.

 

[RDTCU]

At open throttle under load, you're probably running much richer than factory idle, and you're actually moving coolant through the motor. At idle, the water pump isn't moving much volume at all, so cooling suffers.

The radiators will get hotter, and the fan will kick on sooner when you're trail riding, but that means the cooling system is doing its job. Sitting at idle, the motor has to get pretty frickin' hot before the radiators get hot enough for the fan to kick on because that heat isn't making it to the radiators.

 

[Tinken]

Most of these headlights use an HS1 35/35, but it will fit an H4 which come in much larger power ranges up to 130W. I have seen many 449/511 head lamps like this for that reason.

 

[RDTCU]

I believe the 630 comes with a 45w H4, I replaced mine with a Silverstar ultra bulb, twice, each of which lasted about a year then died. Upping the wattage too much could kill the reflector, the lens, and if you're lucky, pop a fuse before you melt some wiring insulation.

 

[Kyle Tarry]

At open throttle under load, you're probably running much richer than factory idle, and you're actually moving coolant through the motor. At idle, the water pump isn't moving much volume at all, so cooling suffers.

The radiators will get hotter, and the fan will kick on sooner when you're trail riding, but that means the cooling system is doing its job. Sitting at idle, the motor has to get pretty frickin' hot before the radiators get hot enough for the fan to kick on because that heat isn't making it to the radiators.

The coolant flow may be reduced, but so is the amount of heat you're generating. In fact, if we assume that the amount of heat is proportional to both engine speed and throttle angle (ie horsepower), the ratio of coolant flow to heat generation is pretty good at idle, better than at part throttle and higher revs.

Why would a dirt bike be any different than a car in this regard? Cars have the same mechanical water pump system as bikes, the same style of radiators and cooling fans, etc. Cars have zero problem sitting in one place at idle for an extended period of time (like in traffic).

What about street bikes? I get stuck in city traffic or traffic jams on the highway all the time on bikes. My Duc doesn't even have a fan (air cooled), and it doesn't care.

Extended idling isn't going to hurt a bike with a fan. It doesn't seem to make sense to leave it running (waste of gas?), but it won't hurt anything.

 

[RDTCU]

But the difference in heat generated from idle to WOT isn't linear if it's lean at idle and rich under load. I've seen headers glow after 3 minutes at idle after cranking on a stock FI Husky 610.

 

[riz]

Most of these headlights use an HS1 35/35, but it will fit an H4 which come in much larger power ranges up to 130W. I have seen many 449/511 head lamps like this for that reason.

That's what I thought, and it has happened to me on an old scooter I had when I upped the wattage to a (I think it was) 60W bulb. But my 630 had stock bulbs that came from new...I explained what happened to the dealer that this bike had stock bulbs...still they said electrical components (especially lights/lighting components, and the battery) isn't covered by their warranty. I tried

Strongly disagree.

Spending 10 minutes on a rocky, gnarly trail climb where the bike is essentially not moving (<5 mph) but you're heavy on the throttle is WAY harder on the motor than idling, and I (and anyone else who trail rides) does this on a regular basis. Heck, that's not an uncommon occurrence on thumpers without cooling fans, and the 610/630s have fans to keep them from overheating.

That being said, if my bike was going to sit for 10 minutes, I'd shut it off, just because there isn't any reason to leave it running just sitting there. But, you're not going to hurt anything.


Show us a picture of the lens after you scraped the plastic off. You might be able to polish it out, if it's all on the outer surface.

I'll get a pic up later today...the clear outer shell is deformed for sure, but still hoping it's polishable

 

[riz]

The coolant flow may be reduced, but so is the amount of heat you're generating. In fact, if we assume that the amount of heat is proportional to both engine speed and throttle angle (ie horsepower), the ratio of coolant flow to heat generation is pretty good at idle, better than at part throttle and higher revs.

Why would a dirt bike be any different than a car in this regard? Cars have the same mechanical water pump system as bikes, the same style of radiators and cooling fans, etc. Cars have zero problem sitting in one place at idle for an extended period of time (like in traffic).

What about street bikes? I get stuck in city traffic or traffic jams on the highway all the time on bikes. My Duc doesn't even have a fan (air cooled), and it doesn't care.

Extended idling isn't going to hurt a bike with a fan. It doesn't seem to make sense to leave it running (waste of gas?), but it won't hurt anything.

I was on a monster 696 in slow stop and go traffic for about an hour...it overheated...the hydroclutch boiled and lost pressure. Climate may be a major factor. And had the wife on the back, so it was also under "heavy load"

 

[DYNOBOB]

630 has a 55/60w headlight



.

 

[riz]

630 has a 55/60w headlight



.

I didn't know that...my old scoot that also melted had 35W stock. Upgraded it to a 60W and it melted.
Had I known the 630 stock bulb was 55/60W, I would've thought twice about obstructing the headlight with a goddamn bag

 

[silverstreakNZ]

if the header pipe is glowing red u have bigger issues .

the main cause of that is retarded timing

 

[riz]

I think it's pretty much irrepairable. Considering the surface is badly deformed, I wouldn't be able to sand all areas equally...

I'm thinking of cutting out the white spot and glueing a clear plastic headlight shell scavenged off of another bike. Yes, it will have a border and the surface curvature may not be uniform, but it should be functional (and cheap).

I dunno, what do you guys think?

 

[Kyle Tarry]

Does the "cloudy" surface go through the thickness of the plastic, or is it just the outer surface?

Try hand-sanding a small area and see how it works.

 

[BobPS]

That's really unfortunate riz, sorry to hear that.

Rather than getting a stock headlight, why not try something else, like getting that headlight and windscreen kit that looks like an owl? Can't remember the brand, it's Britain something?

What about street bikes? I get stuck in city traffic or traffic jams on the highway all the time on bikes. My Duc doesn't even have a fan (air cooled), and it doesn't care.

My Duc doesn't care either. I commute on it every day, for a year and a half now, in one of the worst stop-and-go traffic in the world and never have problem with heat. I do worry about the engine get over heat, and I watch the temperature bar indicator when riding in heavy traffic jam, but fortunatelly it never over heats.

I lost the hydraulic clutch pressure once, like riz did, and I had to stop for 5 minutes to cool it down. But I changed the fluid to DOT 5.1 and never have the problem again.

Anyway, this past rainy season I've been riding my Husky more often than I ride the Duc, cause the traffic just got worse and worse, and at its worst after heavy rain. I figured that since the husky is a liquid cooled engine it can handle traffic jam better than my air cooled monster.

 

[XLEnduroMan]

Halls Cycles parts page shows the headlight reflector and lens together at $129.99.

 

[zoomdude57]

TrailTech X2 as an aftermarket replacement. Much better lighting than stock on my 2009 TE610

 

[XLEnduroMan]

TrailTech X2 as an aftermarket replacement. Much better lighting than stock on my 2009 TE610

The 630's have a actual H4 headlight, although not the best design. The polaroid camera flash bulb that is on the TE 610's is only good to about 40mph then you seem to out run the light. I did with my TE 510 stocker. I think replacing the stock lens will be the easiest as the assembly behind the cowling is used to clip on the ibeat plug, and the horn would most likely need relocating. That was a pita on the 510.