Vespa GT a bit lethal on unlit roads.

[croyde]

As in a crappy headlight.

Used my GT300 a lot when I lived in London and night time riding was fine but it has been barely used since I moved to the country.

Got it mot'd and taxed a month ago and been using a bit to go up and down to that there London. Only 30 miles each way, quicker than the train and a lot cheaper than using my car.

But that was in daylight hours.

Yesterday I had to work an evening shift. Fine going up at 430pm despite it being freezing cold and hail storms. It's nearly May ffs!

Left work at 8pm (Yeah! short shift) and it's getting dark. All good in central London and down the A3 and on to Chessington but after that I have about 10 miles of unlit fast A and then fast B roads. Badly surfaced, gravel on bends etc

I could see fek all. High beam just shifted the angle of the insipid yellow light.

Checked when home. It has an H4 55/60 bulb but looking directly at the light it appears to have a crap reflector, especially compared to other maxi scooters and bikes. Very pale.

Internet search has returned a few results that say the same. Talk of some better bulbs of the same spec but no headlamp upgrade.

Anyone here found this to be a problem? as it's a biggy for me as I would like to use the Vespa a lot more but most of my commutes start and/or finish in the dark or vica versa.

I rode bikes for 35 years before getting the Vespa. Never a problem riding at night in the countryside until now.

[black-k1]

It's probably a combination of crap reflector and aging eyes!

Would one of the HID projector kits mentioned before on here fit?

ETA

Link to projector thread.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by black-k1 on Thursday 27th April 10:30

[Biker's Nemesis]

Fit a couple of small LED spotlights low down like on those BMW GS things.

[jamiebae]

The light on my Yamaha scooter was similar, although flicking it to high-beam had the added effect of dazzling me with the blinding blue light on the dash, thereby making visibility even worse

[croyde]

jamiebae said:

The light on my Yamaha scooter was similar, although flicking it to high-beam had the added effect of dazzling me with the blinding blue light on the dash, thereby making visibility even worse

Haha. I have the same problem.

I like the Vespa but if I'm going to consider more commuting on 2 wheels it might have to go

[WinstonWolf]

Get an Osram Night Breaker bulb, it's the cheapest improvement you can make.

[Biker's Nemesis]

jamiebae said:

The light on my Yamaha scooter was similar, although flicking it to high-beam had the added effect of dazzling me with the blinding blue light on the dash, thereby making visibility even worse

Stick a bit of tape over it then.

[jamiebae]

Biker's Nemesis said:

jamiebae said:

The light on my Yamaha scooter was similar, although flicking it to high-beam had the added effect of dazzling me with the blinding blue light on the dash, thereby making visibility even worse

Stick a bit of tape over it then.

Thankfully I never had to ride it on unlit roads so it wasn't a problem, and it has now been replaced by something with two massive round headlights like a second sun so I won't have to deal with it again

[Rubin215]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2200LM-CREE-XML-T6-LED-H...

[cbmotorsport]

Biker's Nemesis said:

Fit a couple of small LED spotlights low down like on those BMW GS things.

This, easy to fit, cheap, better visibility for you and for drivers seeing you.

[hman]

I think you would need to make sure that any additional lights that you fit to your bike conform with the following :-

Dipped beam headlights ( if you fit lights which are on when your dipped beam is activated):-

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/sched...

Main beam headlights ( if you fit lights which are on when your main beam is activated):-

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/sched...


But, so I am told, if you fit the lights to your self ( i.e. cree light on your lid) none of these rules apply...