LED lighting upgrade!!!

[msseldom]

Hello,

Posting this thread due to a request and i wanted share. I bought the LED light off of ebay for 30 bucks. The link is below. It should help you find what i bought for my 550.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301278267992?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
the above link says no more available. So you may have to search around a bit.




Here are some pictures. The install was easy. Removed the 2 screws and popped out the existing halogen bulb and spliced out the original 3 prong connector and crimped in female bullet connectors. Installed New LED lamp with the H4 adapter that comes with the light. Now fitting the lamp back into the housing was a little challenge because of the built in cooling fan on the back of the unit. It was hard to fit it back in with all the existing wires. Just rearrange them so you can squeeze it back in. Be careful not to damage any existing connections inside the lamp.
The light temperature is very important. I prefer no more than 5000k. That is white light. The higher you go the more it will look blue. Blue light doesnt give off as much light as white light. You can even get a lower temperature for more yellow light to keep the more original look. But 5000k is best. The light is much easier on your electrical system using only 18w verses 55w halogen or HID kits. The HID kits are great but you have to mount a ballast somewhere on your bike which involves more wiring. This particular LED model has everything in one and is FAN COOLED! My light never gets HOT!

If you buy an LED headlamp just the lamp you will need a ballast as well. I liked this one a lot because everything fit inside the headlight housing. The fitment is tight. Totally worth it!!! Best 30 dollars i spent on my bike!!!!





Questions or any feedback is great! thanks

 

[Steve]

Thanks for posting that.

"Bright" is nice, but how is the projected beam pattern on the road?

"Fan-cooled" is nice, too, but where does it get its fresh air? All of my headlight housings are rather cramped and weather-resistant (not sealed).

.

 

[huntb]

Have you checked the beam pattern up against a wall? Straight line across?

 

[msseldom]

Not quite sure what you mean by beam pattern. When i drive down the road at the the whole street is lit up. Very similar to the halogen i replaced it with just a lot brighter. I can try to post a pic of it at night shinning on the wall and street.

Have you checked the beam pattern up against a wall? Straight line across?

 

[msseldom]

Well the housing is not air tight and and it is not a sealed beam unit(unless certain models came with a sealed beam). The halogen gets hot enough to burn wires and cause a short. you can even put your hand in front of a halogen beam and its hot. The light projected is hot itself. So if a halogen works fine with all that heat the led is even better and safer on your electrical system. My housing on my 550 is cramped but i managed to rearrange the wires so that there is space for the fan/ballast that sits on the rear end of the lamp. In my opinion, If you havent upgraded to LED tech your a little behind. Brighter lights (less load on battery) means More visible/more visibility and less chance of vehicles pulling out in front of you. i could go on and on. I figured since the light was only 30 bucks if i dont like it i can always switch back. I highly recommend.

Thanks for posting that.

"Bright" is nice, but how is the projected beam pattern on the road?

"Fan-cooled" is nice, too, but where does it get its fresh air? All of my headlight housings are rather cramped and weather-resistant (not sealed).

.

 

[posplayr]

Well the housing is not air tight and and it is not a sealed beam unit(unless certain models came with a sealed beam). The halogen gets hot enough to burn wires and cause a short. you can even put your hand in front of a halogen beam and its hot. The light projected is hot itself. So if a halogen works fine with all that heat the led is even better and safer on your electrical system. My housing on my 550 is cramped but i managed to rearrange the wires so that there is space for the fan/ballast that sits on the rear end of the lamp. In my opinion, If you havent upgraded to LED tech your a little behind. Brighter lights (less load on battery) means More visible/more visibility and less chance of vehicles pulling out in front of you. i could go on and on. I figured since the light was only 30 bucks if i dont like it i can always switch back. I highly recommend.

This is only true if you switched to a Series R/R (e.g. SH775)

 

[Wingsconsin]

I have little to no experience in LEDs -
I think they are the next thing in lighting - but I believed that they are (were) very 'directional'
That is --in straight line of sight - quite bright but little sideways spread of the light beam like normal lighting?
Unless this has been advanced by technology ...?

Sign me -
Curious Carl :eagerness:

 

[eil]

I have little to no experience in LEDs -
I think they are the next thing in lighting - but I believed that they are (were) very 'directional'
That is --in straight line of sight - quite bright but little sideways spread of the light beam like normal lighting?
Unless this has been advanced by technology ...?

Sign me -
Curious Carl :eagerness:

They're getting better at making LED lights with reflectors/diffusers that spread out the light well. As an example, I'm a big fan of the Cree LED light bulbs. I have them in my office and they're every bit as good as the incandescent bulbs they replaced. Same color, perhaps even a bit brighter. But this is getting off-topic...

My concern with the motorcycle light above is the built-in fan. I would be worried that it will fail a lot sooner than I want it to and when I least want it to. Halogen lights fail too, I guess, but they don't cost $30.

 

[Crankthat]

Thank you for posting.
By beam pattern Steve is asking the same as on the wall.
When aligning a headlight the standard practice for many of us is to park several feet in front of a straight wall.
Doing this to bring the brightest part of the light in a direction that will not blind or overly distract on coming traffic.
You align and then back the car/bike off the wall to see how much the light lifts while backing.
Readjust after that to bring the light to a acceptable height.
There is a distance that this is suppose to be done at for inspection but is often overlooked for motorcycles.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/1347221

The LED light compensates for that with 3 different lights on 3 different sides with each pulling 6 watts.
Switch to low beam and one light is switched off?
The one positioned in the area that will refract "high" to on coming traffic?
Not positive on that but now after looking at different designs that would be my best guess.
The other possibility would be that voltage is just lowered to keep from blinding oncoming traffic.
Seems less likely as these are rated for street use.

Guess there is only one way to find out!

 

[msseldom]

I say give it a try! I havent had any oncoming traffic flash their high beams at me. And if so, that can be fixed with a phillips screwdriver/13mm socket(socket size may vary). The housing can be adjusted up or down and the light can be adjusted left or right with the set screw. Ill post some pics the next time i ride at night for all the skeptics. The only thing i see that upsets people a bit is when you pull right behind them and the lights shines into their rear views. Thats when i say TOO BAD. My visibility and how visible i am to others is far too important. A halogen can burn out at anytime. NEW or OLD. Same applys with HID. That is why the GS and many other bikes come with a tool kit. I kept my old halogen just for that concern. LEDS have been around since the 30s-40s. And they are just now becoming popular because they now figured out how to simulate the ordinary incandescent. That is what i was told from a retired electrician. Cree is an awesome company. My brother just installed cree led headlights for his vette. Great look and better visibility is the key.

 

[msseldom]

I keep the high beam on at all times. The low beam just cuts one of the 3. The low beam is still bright as f*** though. I love it!

Thank you for posting.
By beam pattern Steve is asking the same as on the wall.
When aligning a headlight the standard practice for many of us is to park several feet in front of a straight wall.
Doing this to bring the brightest part of the light in a direction that will not blind or overly distract on coming traffic.
You align and then back the car/bike off the wall to see how much the light lifts while backing.
Readjust after that to bring the light to a acceptable height.
There is a distance that this is suppose to be done at for inspection but is often overlooked for motorcycles.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/1347221

The LED light compensates for that with 3 different lights on 3 different sides with each pulling 6 watts.
Switch to low beam and one light is switched off?
The one positioned in the area that will refract "high" to on coming traffic?
Not positive on that but now after looking at different designs that would be my best guess.
The other possibility would be that voltage is just lowered to keep from blinding oncoming traffic.
Seems less likely as these are rated for street use.

Guess there is only one way to find out!

 

[Crankthat]

Message in your inbox.

 

[Steve]

In my opinion, If you havent upgraded to LED tech your a little behind.

But it's such a cute little behind.

Actually, my son's bike and my wife's bike are both wearing LED headlights, but they are properly-designed headlights that are designed from the ground up as LED headlights, not an LED element fitted into a housing that was meant to reflect the light from a rather small source, a tungsten filament. Because the LED element is a much larger source, the beam pattern on the road (or possibly above it) is not necessarily going to be proper.

I was asking about the beam pattern because I am about ready to 'pull the trigger' on a third LED headlight for my bike. If your beam pattern is anywhere near proper, I might consider saving about $150 by trying it. Yeah, that's how much that I believe in LED lights, I'm ready to drop $180 to get one. :-\\\

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