 Re: Head and Tail lights!!!!
Hi.
I'll bet that Norman's lights are an OK solution.
I used the battery approach, because I'm concerned about getting pulled-over without lights if my engine quits. The original owner of my bike also said that lights draw energy away from the ignition system, and can potentially be a problem, causing the megneto unit to burn-out. However, people on this forum have claimed that they just start the engine with the lights off, and never have any issues.
Myself, I like to have "megwatts" for seeing nightime obstacles on the road at 30MPH. I bought an ATV halogen headlight at the auto-store. It only costed $20, and it is extremely bright, and has adjustable swivels so that I can point it anywhere. It is also nice because it is weatherpoof, shockproof, has a quick-release mount with a handle, so Ican shine it anywhere by hand, if neccesary. I do get a lot of funy looks from people, because the unit looks like a police radar gun.
For a tailight, I just bought a trailer light at the same store. I took apart the light, drilled a mounting-hole for an additional brake-light bulb, and now have tail and brake lights. For brake light switches, I took a stainless sreel ballpoint pen case, cut it into pieces, and used the metalic cylinders as contacts on my brake callipers. When I touch the breaks, the cylinders touch, completing the brake light cicuit. These metallic cylinders fit nicely into the ends of the rubber boots that Schwinn uses on their brakes.
It took me days of daydreaming to figure-out how to switch the brakes. At first, I was trying to figure-out where to get a mechanical switch to afix to the brakes. So when I finally realized that this is not rocket science, and that I could just make my own switch with the cylinders, then that was the major breakthrough.
The batteries are very heavy, but they really are bright, and the motorcycle horn could "wake-up the dead". A 12V 5Ah sealed lead acid battery lasts me 1 hour and 15 minutes on a full charge. I carry a spare in my backpack, along with road emergency tools for breakdowns. I took a Schwinn water bottle bracket, and reshaped it with a hammer to accomodate holding the battery.
The bike is now street legal, with headligt, tailights, brakelight, horn, rear-view mirror, and plate/title. Now, I just need to figure-out how to get it to run reliably without burning-out. By the looks of my first piston, I'm running too lean, so I'm hunting for air leaks, and also in the process of adjusting my carbuator to run more rich.
The bike is very heavy, and if you want something light-weight, I would look into Norm's lighting system. Myself, I would rather have something more "meaty", but what can a person realistically expect for a moped?
Sincerely,
VaporKing
FHO - Future Harley Owner  | 
