The tank came back from rust removal. Feeling good about it, I disassembled the petcock and…
What’s this? Is it broken…?
After all that cleaning…
The new one is really clean and moves so smoothly!
I bet most GSX-Rs have the same problem…
It came back coated. Now we can say goodbye to rust and have peace of mind.
The sensor solder was also broken, so I installed it
Since it was rusty, I cleaned it up a bit
and then the wiring broke…
Getting old means you can somehow fix anything—I dug around, soldered it, and used epoxy.
Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to replace it instead of fixing it, so it doesn’t break again.
Even with time spent, doesn’t the risk remain? I end up questioning myself like this.
Someone asked me: since the headlight relay is a separate circuit, wouldn’t it be brighter if we increased the wattage…?
I kind of thought so too, so let me test it a bit.
First, 100/90W—I’m scared to say the numbers. Double that is 16.6A… no way… absolutely not. The battery would die.
Unfortunately… about 17,000 lux. The image above is with the lighting dimmed and lit from above. In reality it’s a bit darker.
Here’s the reliable Stanley 60/55W. Honestly, I can’t tell much difference.
It must be more efficient.
Easily 27,000 lux… Stanley really deserves that trust.
First, not recommended: the blue coated 60/55W bulb (PIAA brand)
The color looks weird due to white balance. It looks super dark to the eye.
About 16,000 to 17,000 lux. Well, it’s excellent for a coated bulb. As expected from a name-brand maker.
Finally, my prized “PIAA 80/70W”—these high-wattage bulbs are hard to find these days… (probably no demand…)
Hmm… disappointing! About 28,000 lux.
So the message is: use Stanley 60/55W for efficiency…
Summary
If you want a brighter headlight:
• Use a larger headlight diameter
• Switch to a name-brand multi-reflector headlight
• Use a headlight relay to supply power from a separate circuit
• Clean and polish the headlight lens
• Use an uncoated (non-tinted) bulb from a domestic name-brand maker. (I’ve tried cheap knock-offs too, but they only perform as well as their price suggests.)
LEDs that fit H4 are honestly questionable, and for now, inspection approval is tough for the kinds of bikes that come to us.
Note that “inspection-approved” doesn’t mean “will pass inspection.”
Japanese is hard!
Done!
