Author Topic: Led headlight bulbs. (Read 18764 times)

tallpaul · « **Reply #20 on:** December 30, 2015, 13:10:57 »

Well, they've arrived. First impressions are that they are well put together. As soon as the crummy weather clears up I'm just going to bite the bullet and fit them...

TimV · « **Reply #21 on:** January 03, 2016, 12:49:25 »

Paul, any chance you could measure one before you fit them? The rear half looks pretty big & I'm not sure it would even fit inside the headlamp bucket of my commuter 400.

V-Strom3 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 03, 2016, 14:34:43 »

Any chance of a side by side pic with normal headlight bulb?
Since you are doing requests...

tallpaul · « **Reply #23 on:** January 03, 2016, 15:30:50 »

The heat sink protrudes by 50mm.

Sorry, I don't have a standard halogen available to compare against but here it is next to a HID bulb as fitted to my brother's vee. I know that the HID fits a treat in that bike, with acres of space around it as the bulb socket is deeply recessed. The only issue I can foresee is the rubber boot can not be used with the LED, unless I buy a couple of spares to modify. Other than that it should be a simple installation. I am retaining the headlight relays that are already fitted. As soon as it stops persisting with rain I will venture into my garage to carry out lighting tests etc. Things are just a bit hectic at home right now...

Gassoon · « **Reply #24 on:** January 26, 2016, 21:16:08 »

Almost forgot about this, but very interested - did you get any further, Paul?

tallpaul · « **Reply #25 on:** January 26, 2016, 21:23:05 »

Currently my bike is in pieces but is slowly coming back together. In the next few days I plan to refit the headlight assembly and carry out comparison tests with the LED bulbs vs HID's to try and fathom out which I prefer.

tallpaul · « **Reply #26 on:** January 26, 2016, 21:24:30 »

My bike at present...

TLPower · « **Reply #27 on:** January 27, 2016, 05:54:33 »

Did you get the floor cover from the Dexter Morgan kill room range?

I also approve of the Tony Archer wingback seat option to the right of the pic.

tallpaul · « **Reply #28 on:** January 27, 2016, 06:23:33 »

Yes, it was intended for a mafia hit, but in the end she just moved out...

Comfort is important!! It's a tight working environment as it is!

bigpie · « **Reply #29 on:** January 27, 2016, 06:44:16 »

For some reason I can't PM you tlpower, but I've dug out the carbon fibre wrap if you want it.
I'm going to end up doing the opposite, the bike won't be coming in where I live, I'll be having to go live out with the bike, all I did was mention the osett range of bikes for small kids.

TLPower · « **Reply #30 on:** January 27, 2016, 16:23:56 »

Thanks for that bigpie, I'll give you a shout when I can pop over.

tallpaul · « **Reply #31 on:** January 27, 2016, 20:35:23 »

The LED is very white...

V-Strom3 · « **Reply #32 on:** January 27, 2016, 20:38:05 »

What's the beam pattern like when on the bike?
Is it brighter than halogens?

tallpaul · « **Reply #33 on:** January 27, 2016, 20:54:57 »

It's impossible to tell from the photo but the LED is far brighter and whiter than the halogen. Also the lens is much cooler too.

tallpaul · « **Reply #34 on:** January 27, 2016, 20:55:37 »

Can't really check the beam pattern in the bike's present location.

tallpaul · « **Reply #35 on:** January 27, 2016, 20:56:08 »

tallpaul · « **Reply #36 on:** January 27, 2016, 21:03:00 »

Plenty of room to fit the light unit in.

tallpaul · « **Reply #37 on:** January 27, 2016, 21:59:31 »

Replaced the halogen with a HID. THE LED is the whiter of the two but that is because I chose a 5000k HID bulb as opposed to the 6300k my brother has, which is the same as the LED I have fitted. The HID has a far greater beam strength, no question about it.

Other observations:
Beam pattern - although I can't road test I can see from the way the light fills the reflector that the HID is the better of the two options. Whether the LED is acceptable or not I can't say but to look at it is very eye catching. If you ride at night the beam throw is more important.

Heat - both types of light unit produce it. With the HID the lens gets hot, just as with a halogen. The LED leaves the lens completely one-hot (!). Instead the fan unit at the rear of the LED gets hot. You can hold onto it but it is hot. With the HID the ballast unit also gets just as hot. You can't produce this level of light and not get the heat.

Installation - electrically the LED is plug and play. If you want to fit the rubber boot you will need to modify it to fit over the fan unit, but other than that you just fit them and off you pop. The HID's are a different kettle of piranha's. Mechanically these are very easy to fit in the light unit, but it's fitting in all the ancillary bits (ballasts, chokes, control relay etc) that is a headache. I've fitted a set before and to do an half-way decent job is time consuming as you have to chop and change the wiring harness that comes with the kit. Neither type of light system requires any mods to the bike's wiring, so to reverse the installation is easy.

Any questions?

bigpie · « **Reply #38 on:** January 27, 2016, 22:26:06 »

What's wrong with the standard lights? :D

tallpaul · « **Reply #39 on:** January 27, 2016, 22:34:40 »

For me the issue is to stand out in a sea of yellowy halogen lights. The HID's I fitted to my brother's bike stand out very well. I want the same thing for my bike, hence bright headlights and auxiliary lights.