How to increase power output

[cresad]

Hi all

I've got a Suzuki EN125 that I'm using at the moment but the lights are rubbish , is there any way to increase the output of the generator/stator or change it for one off another model with a higher output that would do the job ?

Thanks , Adam

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Courier265]

The bulb on the EN125 is a 35W or 40W output so there's your problem... Not a lot you can do. You could try getting a higher wattage bulb but I'm not sure that's possible.

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Teflon-Mike]

Before looking for more than standard, make sure you have all you should AS standard...

Which is as above, basically; its a motorbike; they only have one headlamp, unlike cars that have two; you need to learn to look, not blindly track-follow; this may mean heeding highway code and riding at a speed low enough you can stop in the distance you can see to be clear.. rather than naively assuming that if the sign says 50 or 60 that's how fast you should go! This is all part of the learning to be had from a learner bike.

Beyond that its still a learner bike, and not a very new one; little bikes have little generators as that's all their little engines can spare the power to turn... you'll be lucky to get the full allotment of 9Kw that engine was designed to make from it, and probably have to use pretty much all of that power to hold a respectable road-speed.. without robbing any to turn a heftier generator.. which will only deliver 'more' power if the engine's reving out to let it make it....

Tip; avoid short shift tendencies, use revs not gears; forget you have a 5th gear, keep the motor spinning for 'response'ad give the genny best chance to make all the power it might, as well as best chance to keep battery charged, and give yourself best throttle response and likely best speed A-N-D likely far fewer and much smoother gear changes.

Continuing with the clean the lens phlosophy; check the bulb, common for folk to try putting n higher wattage bulbs looking for more brightness, and ending up with less, as genny doen't deliver the amps to light them. Make sure that what light the bulb is delivering is being chucked through the lens by a decent reflector, not one that's discoloring or starting to break down or covered in grime; make sure that the lens isn't robbing more from being chipped or etched or just plain dirty; THEN take it to your local freindly MOT man and stun them asking if they can put it on their alignment tool to point the darn thing where it should be! No point having more light if its not lighting up what you want to see!

All pretty basic stuff, but far more likely to make more real world difference, and help more than just in the dark, learning good riding and maintenance habbits, which is what little learner bikes are supposed to be about.

Alternatively... get a bigger bike, (and licence if necessary to ride it!) with beefier generator and engine with the oomph to spin it, and a headlamp with brighter bulb, and probably larger, better reflector and lens, if not two of them.. and STILL you wont see much more, unless you learn to make the most of it and keep lens clean and look where you are going, and ride at speed you can stop in distance you can see. Principles learned on learner bike, transfer directly to anything else, and learning this stuff is still what they are supposed to be about.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[WD Forte]

The stators on most 125s probably put out about say 80-90 watts
and it's unlikely a different one will put out significantly more so
bunging in a 100W blub is futile.
What you need from a low power stator is better efficiency so
I'd be looking at a HID or good ( not cheap instant melty shite) LED replacement.
____________________
bikers smell of wee

[bugeye_bob]

Have you tried a lamp like the Osram nightbreaker? they are a big improvement over standard halogen and dont overload the wiring.

[BTTD]

Changing the headlights on my old Triumph made a massive difference. The original headlight was just a crap design and a reflector design seems to work an awful lot better. That was a few years ago, and there are far more LED headlight assemblies out there and youtube reviews of them so if I was doing it again I would be looking at those.
However, not a super cheap fix, and probably not worth it on an older 125 (save the money for the next bigger bike).
Other options:
Reduce the other loads on the system - rear lights swap to LED bulbs, gain a few watts back. Is there a front sidelight as well as the main bulb - change that to an LED as well.
Get some thicker gauge wire for the headlight to reduce the losses on the lightweight oem wiring.
Check connectors for corrosion, a can of contact cleaner costs a few quid from toolstation / screwfix etc.

[Rogerborg]

As above, if it's a steel and glass headlight, put in a 55W techno-bulb and go LED elsewhere. If things melt, replace them.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[skatefreak]

Any thoughts on cheap, fancy ballast Xenon stuffs?

Threw a second hand set onto a 99 R1 -> huge difference!

[BTTD]

[Robby]

There are a few things that can knacker the light output of a small bike:

- Dirty glass
- Knackered bulb
- Knackered battery, so the lights are fine at high revs but crap when you're braking into a dark corner.
- Crap aftermarket light. Common on 125s where someone has tried some budget customising.

[cresad]

Thanks for all the reply’s , the light as it stands is the original 7” round unit , and all I get is an orange glow on the ground. I’ve tried the brighter bulbs and although it made it brighter it also took enough juice out of the battery so I had to charge it up every week , and there’s no kick arm on this model. The front side light is an led and I will be getting some to do the rear and dash lights. I might see if I can find a better glass / lens as it looks almost flat /clear with no molding? to the glass. The battery is less than a year old and the amount of light doesn’t change with revs. The bike gets cleaned and checked at least once a week .
I was hoping I could fit a slightly bigger generator to help with getting a brighter light , mainly due to traveling down an unlit duel caridgeway at 6 am every morning.

Thanks , Adam

[Rogerborg]

[smegballs]

Things I did to improve the shit candle on the front of my GN.

Clean up the various connectors. In my case I was getting a nice 14.4V at the battery (thanks to the hardwired R/R with stupidly thick cables), but the voltage at the bulb connector was down to about 12.6V. Given the non-linear relationship between volts and brightness, lose a few volts and you lose a lots of lumens - maximising voltage at the bulb connector is the key. In my case skinny cables and 20 year old switchgear and connector blocks have a relatively high resistance and conspire to steal volts that's should be at the headlight. Clean them up as best you can.

Secondly, the biggest improvement I made was binning the shit 35w 6.5" stock headlight, that used some stupid arcane bulb design, and replacing it with the 8" h4 headlight from an old SRX400. To avoid melting said skinny wires I chucked in a 35W H4 halogen bulb.

Despite still being a 35W headlight the bigger reflector gives a much better beam pattern and you can see a lot more, with a lot more confidence now riding at night.

If I ever get the motivation, I'll put headlight relays on the bike and put on a standard H4 55/60W bulb. I've already replaced all other running lights to led so there should easily be enough headroom on the alternator.

[RhynoCZ]

OP, to get more power for your headlight, put a LED bulb into your tail light. I used generic Chinese 300lm LED bulbs on various motorcycles. These are a direct swap, emit the same amout of light as a standard double filament bulb and have only a fraction of power draw = more power for your headlight + no diming of the headlight when you use the brake light.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Copycat73]

save your money .. pass a test and buy a bigger bike ..
125cc have always had crap lights ..
____________________
Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[smegballs]

[Courier265]

[Copycat73]

tbh .. those LED lights fitted to bicycles are a lot better than 125cc bikes .. burn you fcken eyes out and grab your attention when they flash ... i`d just fit a couple of those on me jacket or where ever and accept that they`ll need chargin..

[smegballs]

[Courier265]

[Copycat73]

[RhynoCZ]

[RhynoCZ]