I would love feedback on this....Goal is to keep the electrical system stock, but provide better light.
My girlfriend loves the new 01 Vmax 600 Deluxe I bought her. Problem is, she hates riding at night because she says it harder to see. The single bulb on her Vmax is just not going to cut it. If we do ride at night... its usually for an hour or two. Typically a trip back from a restaurant or a day trip where we made a few more stops than normal. I'm not going to upgrade the electrical to the 300w system. It's too much work, too expensive and the sled is too nice to tear apart. I hate modifying electrical systems because it always seams to lead to gremlins. So to keep the sled and keep it stock... here is what I'm proposing..
1) Install dual bulb headlight assembly. Connect the factory single bulb harness to the right halogen bulb. Electrical system still stock.
2) Install a remote sealed 12v/20-25ah battery on the sled. Either in the seat storage or in a set of saddlebags. Mounting TBD.
3) Run a new marine grade electrical feed with inline fuse to the gauge pod. Install a 3 way headlight switch (location TBD) that features off/low/high.
4) Install a 40w LED H4 bulb (wattage TBD) in the left socket and wire it to the 3 way switch. An on demand LED bulb in the left socket. Also, an auxilary light when taking breaks..
A 40w LED H4 should draw about 3 amps per hour..? So a 25ah battery should provide "around" 3 hours of solid run time before the battery should be charged? Basically depleting the battery to 60%ish. This should be plenty of juice to get back home and provide her the light she needs and of course with no factory modifications other than the new dual bulb light.
A trickle charge solar panel mounted to the sled would be another option to ensure battery charge while riding. This is all just crazy thoughts in my head.
My girlfriend loves the new 01 Vmax 600 Deluxe I bought her. Problem is, she hates riding at night because she says it harder to see. The single bulb on her Vmax is just not going to cut it. If we do ride at night... its usually for an hour or two. Typically a trip back from a restaurant or a day trip where we made a few more stops than normal. I'm not going to upgrade the electrical to the 300w system. It's too much work, too expensive and the sled is too nice to tear apart. I hate modifying electrical systems because it always seams to lead to gremlins. So to keep the sled and keep it stock... here is what I'm proposing..
1) Install dual bulb headlight assembly. Connect the factory single bulb harness to the right halogen bulb. Electrical system still stock.
2) Install a remote sealed 12v/20-25ah battery on the sled. Either in the seat storage or in a set of saddlebags. Mounting TBD.
3) Run a new marine grade electrical feed with inline fuse to the gauge pod. Install a 3 way headlight switch (location TBD) that features off/low/high.
4) Install a 40w LED H4 bulb (wattage TBD) in the left socket and wire it to the 3 way switch. An on demand LED bulb in the left socket. Also, an auxilary light when taking breaks..
A 40w LED H4 should draw about 3 amps per hour..? So a 25ah battery should provide "around" 3 hours of solid run time before the battery should be charged? Basically depleting the battery to 60%ish. This should be plenty of juice to get back home and provide her the light she needs and of course with no factory modifications other than the new dual bulb light.
A trickle charge solar panel mounted to the sled would be another option to ensure battery charge while riding. This is all just crazy thoughts in my head.