125 headlight upgrade

Hi all,

I am currently riding a Honda XL125 Varadero. I really enjoy riding it, but the only down side is that the headlights are as dim as buggery.

The bike comes with two Ba20d 30/35 bulbs - so even on full beam, the combined wattage is slightly more than one car headlight on dipped beam! (I think my car headlights are about 55w on dipped beam).

Anyway, there is an upgrade available, which is a Ba20d 40/45 or the halogen which is a Ba20d 35/35. Both of these are made by Bosch and they are not Honda standard parts for my bike.

I phoned my local honda dealer yesterday to see if they had any of the 40/45s in, they said they didn't stock them and they also said that because I would be using a higher-rated bulb, I *might* burn out the wiring loom ... with the emphasis on the word *might*, but they didn't like to say for sure whether it would or wouldn't. They said that the halogen will touch the headlight cover on that particular bike and eventually burn a hole in it (not good!).

So I would like to get the 40/45s ... has anyone got a "baby vara" like mine and upgraded? was it a success? does anyone have any general advice/opinions on whether or not I should upgrade? I can't see the extra 10 watts per bulb making all that much difference to the wiring loom! I mean, presumably there's a bit of over-engineering for safety's sake in there - i.e. I assume they make the wires thicker than they actually need to be. Also, the literature on the 'net says that the 40/45s are intended as upgrades to 125's with 30/35s ... so presumably they have been designed to not burn out people's wiring looms! Perhaps Honda were just saying what they said in order to cover themselves.

Thanks in advance!

moved to pitstop

if your really concerned about burning the loom out then install a relay with thicker wiring and use the oe wiring to work the relay

there will be a little give in the wiring but the fuse is the first thing to go thats what its there for

Thanks for that, I had forgotten about the fuse! Lol!

TBH, I'd rather not start taking my loom to bits though ... so I think I'll go ahead and order a pair of 40/45s and plug them in ... if they are too much for the poor little thing, I assume the fuse will blow.

Fingers crossed!

you dont need to take the loom to bits you could do it keeping the loom intact

you would have to buy new connectors for the bulbs some bigger wiring and a couple of relays

take the feed from the oe plug using a suitable spade connector to the relay simple

Ok thanks, I'll have a look at my bike ...

I had a Vara up until 3 weeks ago, and riding at night I thought it gave quite a decent illumination.

In saying that I only rode on roads with street lighting.

Unless they upgraded the headlights for the 08 model I had.

sorry to bump old thread, but what happened in the end please? Got BA20D bulb in my XR125 and was looking at upgrading. I work nights so do a lot of riding in the dark. Never thought about the halogens touching the lens, will have a look tomorrow.

edit2: just seen measurements of halogen, is 5mm longer than oxygen filled bulb....hum, to risk or not to risk.

edit: no matter seen your reply in another thread

"I wanted to upgrade my bulb when I had a 125; it was 35W when on full beam!

The trouble is that while you can stick a bulb of greater power in there and a higher rated fuse, it will most probably (a) melt your headlamp fitting and (b) melt the wiring loom.

The solution to problem (a) is not so hard to fix, but problem (b) is bugger to fix, so I ended up just living with it until I passed my test and sold the bike."

I changed my headlight bulb last week

the halogen bulb is shorter and thinner than the Ba20d

so there's no way its going to touch the lens

ebay number 160494953379 @ £2.75

ha ha doesn't look very well made

there is plenty of room in my head light even if the halogen is slightly longer. Why have they put such a stupid connection in there in the first place?

I had HID headlights in my vara for a while, didnt burn the housing or anything, but the beam pattern was awfull.

I have retrofitted projectors inside the lamp housing, with HID's.

This way, the beam pattern is perfect, and the lights are excellent!