LED headlight

[Steve]

Dogma used to run a Truck-Lite Phase 6 light in his 1000G. I saw it and liked it. I got a good deal on a couple of them, but my bike has a rectangular light, so I found 7" buckets for the two Ls in the stable and put the LED lights on them. REALLY like the output and the pattern on the road.

I am about ready to get an LED headlight for my bike. It is only available in the Phase 7, which Dogma tells me is better than the Phase 6. I am looking forward to having matching lights on the front of my bike.

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[Joe Garfield]

Jedz, can you share a link to the bulb you are using? I saw a lot of HID conversion kits but not many direct fits.

It's nice to see a few Vermonters here. I lived in VT for 12 years (half central, half north) and have never felt at home anywhere else. Maybe one day I will return. It is an amazing place to ride.

[bwringer]

Received ADVmonster.com LED H4 headlight today. A few quick notes:

- The unit I received is a bit different. I guess the design in this latest batch has been improved and updated, and several folks over on ADVrider are confused and upset by this. They're an easily agitated bunch. Think hairy toddlers with money.

- On the plus side, the heat sink is a good bit smaller. ADVmonster claims improved light output. Not having an "old" unit to compare it to, I dunno. It's still a design with no moving parts, so that's good.

- On the potential minus side, the LEDs are now on one side of the "stalk" rather than both sides, and some folks are near tears with the fear that this won't work as well in some reflectors. I dunno yet.

- On the very much a plus side, I just installed the LED into the headlight shell on my KLR650 which is sitting in the parking lot here at work. This is relevant because my KLR is wearing a headlight shell from a 1982 GS650GL, so early indications are that the new smaller design will work in the small-ish L model GS headlight housings. Still a fairly tight fit and rather fiddly getting all the wires to tuck in neatly.

- It's 5:30 now, and will be dark soon. Reports on lighting quality and pattern will be forthcoming. In the daylight it's bloody blinding if you look at it, and the faint light pattern I can see on the pavement and nearby objects looks promising.


The "old" bulb is the larger unit on top. The "new" design, the one I received, is at the bottom:



Here's a crappy pic of my KLR with its franken-Zuki headlight:

[azr]

Well that's good enough for me. Should easily fit into my 7" round bucket on my 80' 1000G. I'll order one right now.

[Steve]

Well that's good enough for me. Should easily fit into my 7" round bucket on my 80' 1000G. I'll order one right now.

I am still waiting for the NIGHT-TIME ride report.

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[Highway_Glider]

Interesting change.

The unit being slightly shorter might make the fitment easier in the GK.
However sharp bends on wires is never a good idea.

I just went to visit advrider and ADVmonster and could not find new measurements.

Waiting on a night test too. And measuments.

[bwringer]

Took the long way home through the least-lit areas of Indy last night.

In a nutshell, I'm very, very impressed. Big thumbs up.

The lighting pattern was the same as with the H4 Silverstar I had installed. Just a lot brighter and whiter (not that crappy irritating blue-ish of cheap bulbs and HIDs), and the edges seemed more defined somehow. The biggest practical difference I noticed was more useful light off to the sides, where critters lurk. No issues in traffic, and no one flashed me or seemed irritated at stop lights. I did have to raise the headlight aim a bit with the LED.

My particular headlight (see photo above: it's a stock round 6.5" Suzuki headlight from a 1982 GS650GL installed on a 2005 KLR650) probably isn't the best designed -- with a regular bulb, high beam illuminates the tree branches above the road. With the LED, the pattern is the same. I guess it'll help spot any vampire bats or drop bears. Since so much of my nighttime riding is in town where I can't use high beam anyway, I'm not particularly worried. Or, I could lower the headlight and leave high beam on. Again, this is more an attribute of the headlamp reflector, not the LED bulb. It's just that the brighter light makes it more apparent.

To my way of thinking, a motorcycle headlight's primary function is actually visibility -- being seen by oblivious cage pilots. At least in my world it is.

If I'm riding at night, I'm usually commuting in the city; I very, very rarely risk riding after dark in the countryside because Indiana (along with much of the US) is overrun with an infestation of antlered tree rats.

And judged by visibility, the intense, bright white light of the LED wins hands-down over any incandescent bulb.

Bottom line: you can have my ADVmonster LED headlight only when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers...


The LED headlight is going to stay in the KLR, but I plan to try it out on my GS850 and on my V-Strom soon. It's very difficult to get meaningful pictures of lighting with digital or cell phone cameras (it's nearly impossible to keep exposure exactly the same), but I'll see what I can do.

[78550GS]

Indiana (along with much of the US) is overrun with an infestation of antlered tree rats.

I will be taking care of some of the tree rats in my area the first week of December. I just hope I don't miss and scare them your way.

[Steve]

In a nutshell, I'm very, very impressed. Big thumbs up.

...

Bottom line: you can have my ADVmonster LED headlight only when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

Sounds like a decent endorsement to me.

Sounds like it should do well in the Hella reflector on "Junior".

And, on the off chance that it does not compare well to the Truck-Lite unit, I can stick the ADV unit in #2 son's 1000G.

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[mikerophone]

Sounds like a decent endorsement to me.

Yep, me too. Would still like to see photos although I agree photos of LED's and HID's are tough and never look the same as they do in person. I'll likely order on over the winter just the same for use on one of my bikes just a little curious on color temp still. Sounds like its a bright, clean white and not overly blue which is great!

[Grimly]

The LED headlight is going to stay in the KLR, but I plan to try it out on my GS850 and on my V-Strom soon. It's very difficult to get meaningful pictures of lighting with digital or cell phone cameras (it's nearly impossible to keep exposure exactly the same), but I'll see what I can do.

That's what manual mode is for. Iirc, some phone camera apps will allow manual settings (depending on phone, of course).
There's also the option of taking a reference pic lit by halogen bulb - then a series of comparison pics with the camera / phone allowed to do its own thing with HID or LED bulbs; but in Post Processing to examine the EXIF data and see exactly what it did, and rectify that for a final image to show up brightness differences.
The result will be fairly crappy from a photographic viewpoint but will give a fair idea of relative light values.

[bwringer]

Sounds like a decent endorsement to me.

Sounds like it should do well in the Hella reflector on "Junior".

And, on the off chance that it does not compare well to the Truck-Lite unit, I can stick the ADV unit in #1 son's 1000G.

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I think in a better reflector, it should work even better -- I can't wait to try it in my GS850G's 7" headlight, which has a very nice usable pattern. The V-Strom also has great headlights, so it'll be interesting to see what happens there as well.

[mrbill5491]

Just stand in front of the bike and stare into each light, see which one blinds you the fastest. Lol

[Dogma]

Sounds like just the thing for my 850's 6" lamp.

[deepseadiver84]

Hey guys, any updates on this thread? Looking to switch to LED for my 82GS1100GK to cut down on amp draw and get better visibility on these crazy LA freeways..
Not sure whether to go with Truck Light, ADV monster LED or if there is something better on the market now? Looking at these, not sure how they stack up..

http://hidlightsusa.com/product.asp?id=LED9-130

Thanks!