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-   -   Upgrade Lighting on the Pulsar 220 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/100858-upgrade-lighting-pulsar-220-a.html)

Hi,

I have a pulsar 220 DTS-Fi, purchased way back in 2007. The projector headlamp is sweet indeed, but I wonder, is there any way to amp up the lighting cause I still find it rather inadequate for nighttime highway rides.
[Note - too broke for HIDs ]

I was running a RE Thunderbird with a couple of 35w foglights mounted on the crash guard, and a philips xtreme power 55/60w. That was very much adequate. I turned the foglights on very rarely, cause it drained up the battery very quick.

Now I've sold the T'bird, but have kept the philips bulb. The 220 already has a stock 55w halogen bulb, I believe. Now, I can either:

a) Put in the same config as the RE, viz, the Philips in the headlamp and a couple of fog lights. Truth be told, I was not worried at all doing this on the Thunderbird, but on the 220, Im a bit wary of messing with the electricals, because of the absence of a trusty kick start, when all else fails. Plus, I couldnt find anything on a P220 running fog lamps on the net.

b) buy a bigger, better bulb and forget the foglamps. Say 70w or a 100w, Philips Xtreme power or Osram Nightbreaker, is there significant difference between the two ? Also, I think the reflectors could take 70w, but not sure of the heat from a 100 w bulb. Again, Im going by my measly arts background logic, please feel free to tell me I dont have a clue of what Im talking about. If i were an engineer, I d definitely shove a mouthful of technical terms in there

c) As the Americans say" If it aint broke, dont fix it". Leave it be, and take my chances as I am riding from Delhi to Bangalore in a couple of days, and it is not wise to mess with the bike at this stage. But the lighting will be a major issue in this ride, and one of the major reasons why I wanted to upgrade


Also, one more thing. This is first time Im doing such a long ride, alone ( Delhi - Bangalore). I ve been to Leh, but that was in a group. So, here's a checklist of my spares:

1. Cables - Accelerator & Clutch
2. Fuel Filter
3. Oil Filter
4. Spark Plugs
5. Tubeless Puncture kit
6. A couple of fuses
7. A Spare can of Oil

Anything else I might have left out ?

If anyone else has done the same ride ( Delhi - Jaipur - Baroda - Mumbai - Pune - Bangalore), I d appreciate any pointers you d care to throw my way.

Phew, that was a longish post, but you must understand, it would be understatement to say I m sh** scared about this ride, so I appreciate all the help I can get, really !

Cheers

Hoping you have a good battery. Get a fog light (spot) added to the handle bar and run it off the battery (with relay et all). Since you will be riding continuously you should be ok. Use it when needed.

If I was you I could have stuck to stock though.

When are you doing it? Is it this month? Wrong timing actually.

The plains will be hot as hell and on a bike you will get roasted twice over.

Mark the Bajaj Service Centers on a map and keep it handy

:thumbs up That my friend is the first requisite of a long ride. If you aren't scared you aren't prepared.

I used to get nightmares in the days before a long ride. But the fear made be that much more ready for the haul. You are on the right track.

agree:

My honest suggestion, dont fiddle with the Fi's electricals. I have done a couple of long rides on my 220 with a lot of night riding on deserted western ghats included and trust me the headlights are satisfactory even in the worst of scenarios though nothing beats an HID on a 220.
But then again, I have friends who have had nasty experiences with Xenons on their 220s with the electricals frying every now and then. This is precisely the reason why I have refrained from putting them on my bike.
As for a higher wattage bulb, I have seen a number of cracked headlight glasses on 220s thanks to the excess heat generated from these bulbs (including the 70w one). I would suggest you stay away from these for sure.

Have a pleasant ride and dont forget your gear and loads of water. :D

Guys, I must apologize for this, I had posted this just before I left, and totally forgot to even recheck the thread for any replies. My bad indeed.

Yes, that was what I did. Almost, cause I got two mounted on the crash guard. I used them rather sparingly, and there was the low battery indicator blinking in my face whenever it started to drain too much juice.

Reading it now, this actually seems like an understatement :D. The only bright side might be that I sweated so much, I think I actually lost a couple of kilos.

Wise words indeed. Shite scared = sustainable riding. Machines will break down, bums will break falls, its always best to be over- prepared.

Hmmm, yes, its a good thing I dint go for these. Altho, the fog lamp jugaad worked fine. Although, I guess such rapid discharging of the battery ( battery low indicator blinking in approximately 20 min of continuous use) would reduce the life of the battery. But did come in handy in a couple of bad spots.

Guys, thanks for the info. Cheers

Stumbled upon this thread while searching for light upgrade for my Pulsar 220S.
The projector headlamp of the 220F is quiet sufficient but the 220S, not being equiped with a projector feels inaequate. I did several Pune-Mumbai-Pune trips recently and was straining my eyes on every trip to look at the road ahead. Matters are worsened by an on-comming vehicle. What are the possible solutions for this. Narula says that the reflector cannot take the heat from upgraded bulbs.

You can check out this thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...lamp-bike.html
for more info on this .

Hope it helps
Cheers