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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> LED Headlight Bulb /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1478175220 Message started by Dave on 11/03/16 at 05:13:40 |
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Title: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/03/16 at 05:13:40 I have been trying a few different LED bulbs....and the bulb and wiring and cooling fan (or copper filaments) are somewhat difficult to fit in the housing. The other issue is that most of them cause a problem with the rubber sealing boot that keep junk and water from getting inside the headlight....the shell is not sealed and will allow water to get inside. (I also believe it is important to get a bulb with a vertical cut-off on the low beam so that you don't shine your new light in other drivers faces). I just found a bulb that might do the trick.....it does not have a cooling fan and the back is shaped like a normal H-4 bulb. The only known issue is for headlights housings that have the light shield - this bulb is larger and will not fit into headlights that have a shield over the bulb. This bulb is supposed to provide 3 times more light than the stock bulb, and uses far less energy. If the weather holds out...I should be able to test it as soon as it arrives - as it is just a plug and play and won't require anything other than changing bulbs. http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/ |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 11/03/16 at 05:23:16 Looking forward to the ride report. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/03/16 at 05:23:48 I Really hope that is a Winnah. I can leave my light on high beam on a country road and nobody ever flicks their lights at me asking me to dim that retina scorcher. I'm limited to about thirty MPH in the predawn hours on the back roads, because I just can't see far enough to feel safe. IDK what a Vertical cutoff is. Do I need to? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Drestakil on 11/03/16 at 05:28:10 5B51555F545D59500E080C3C0 wrote:
Me too |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by ohiomoto on 11/03/16 at 05:28:29 I agree with JOG. Our light sucks. Lowering the front end and adding an 18" rear wheel didn't help either. Is there any levleing adjustments on our lamp or am I going to have to shim the mount? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/03/16 at 05:37:36 All low beam lights should have a vertical cut-off built in that prevents the light from shining "upward" and into the faces of the oncoming traffic. This is accomplished by building a shield into the light, and it is the reason that low beams don't shine very far down the road or light up overhead signs. http://i66.tinypic.com/2d8qql2.jpg High beams do not have the vertical cutoff, and they shine a much larger light pattern down the road. http://i65.tinypic.com/ef1he.jpg Some cheap LED's don't have a vertical cut off in the low beam, and you should avoid using those. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/03/16 at 05:59:35 7077767072706B701F0 wrote:
Recesses in the lamp bucket have adjustment screws. The light on the garage door is a good way to adjust your lights, car, truck, bike.. Thanks for the explanation Dave. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by ohiomoto on 11/03/16 at 07:07:53 283731362B2C1D2D1D25373B70420 wrote:
Perfect! I never looked but knowing that will make it easy to at least adjust it back to "normal". For the little I ride in the dark, I'd be happy just to get that 20-30 feet of projection back. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 11/03/16 at 07:09:58 Good find, Dave. Looking forward to the feedback! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 11/03/16 at 07:30:03 On page 228 of the Clymer manual there is an exploded view of the headlight bezel. Item number 5 is the head light adjustmet screw. Turn the screw counter-clockwise to lower the projected beam and clockwise to raise the beam. Even though the adjustment mechanism is spring loaded, while raising the beam I'd suggest putting your thumb on the top of the glass and give the lens a little assistance. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Rodger on 11/03/16 at 08:57:09 I'm looking forward to reading your report, Dave. In addition to the quality of illumination, could you please include the difference in power draw beteeen6 the LED and stock halogen bulb? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/03/16 at 09:06:48 The stock bulb has a 55 watt low beam and a 66 watt high beam. This LED has a uses 25 watts. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 11/03/16 at 09:11:28 Do we have any worry with adding workload to the rectifier when we reduce the wattage draw by ~30 watts? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/03/16 at 09:37:53 So far...we don't think so. There hasn't been anyone report that they have overloaded the rectifier by cutting the wattage down. If there is a problem - I will most likely be bitten - currently my headlight is a normal H-4 Silverstar bulb.........while all the other lights are LED's. I don't have any front running lights, I don't have a decompression solenoid, and my indicator and speedo lights are tiny LED's. I do have my rectifier mounted to the steel Cafe fender and it gets good airflow. Versy has been having some charging problems and he is running all LED's - but I don't believe he has been able to isolate the problem and/or determine that is was caused by the LED's. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Papa Bear on 11/03/16 at 13:59:40 You would be reducing the rectifier's load by 30 watts. Your rectifier would thank you 8-) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 11/03/16 at 14:04:11 Would be the same as riding a fully charged bike. Hmmm... I wonder if this is why some rectumfryers get hot? The components to a rectumfryer. 3 sets of power diodes and a zener diode. The power diodes make ac into dc, once the bat is charged, current should stop flowing. The zener diode lops off anything above 14 volts, so no impact here. Nope, the battery will charge faster then there should be a decrease in current. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by batman on 11/03/16 at 14:26:46 hot rectifier! cut shallow slots at 45 or 90 degree angles across the tops of the cooling fins to expose more surface area ,problem solved.(hacksaw logic) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/03/16 at 15:10:19 The potential problem is that our rectifier can't regulate current - the charging system is always putting out the same amount. Any power that isn't used to charge the battery or run the lights needs to be wasted as heat. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 11/03/16 at 15:36:52 The stator voltage is measured 100 volts open circuit. It's quite possible when connected, the voltage is quite less. And when under load, might even be less generating a lot less heat thru the zener diode. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by badwolf on 11/03/16 at 15:52:17 I have a20/40 watt led sealed beam and 2-15 watt led driving lights. I have driven over 15k this year with that set-up, including some 10 hour days on just low beam all day. Never noticed any excessive heat from the rectifier, and with my solo seat it's only a inch or two from my butt. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by batman on 11/03/16 at 16:08:34 Badwolf Your only using 5watts less than a standard low beam,that's not going to generate much more heat. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by badwolf on 11/03/16 at 16:20:05 No, during the day I just use low beam (20 watts), just use the driving lights at night. At night with the driving lights it's 50/70 watts total. But when I had a regular H4 bulb (55/60 watts) it used 85/90 watts at night with the driving lights and never had a problem with the battery. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/03/16 at 17:07:21 202A2E242F26222B757377470 wrote:
I looked at the headlight, and there are 2 screws in the lower part of the chrome bezel. The throttle side adjusts the up/down angle, and the clutch side adjusts the left/right angle. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Armen on 11/03/16 at 17:44:47 Interesting question about the Reg/Rec. I owned an SV650 Suzi-Q for years. One of the chronic problems on the early (Gen 1) bikes was a toasted Reg/Rec. The usual solution was to swap out to a more zoftig R/R from a Gixxer. Did some head scratching on that one. The Gen 1 bikes hid the R/R under the tail section. Virtually no air flow. A lot of the folks who toasted their R/Rs were hot shoes-track or fast street guys. Got to thinking. The SV, like the Savage, uses a permanent magnet alternator. In short, the alt produces more juice the faster you spin it. Redline on the SV was 10.5K The fast kids were likely not using extra electrical stuff (heated clothes, stereos, coffee makers). So, on those bikes, the alternator was producing a ton of juice, and it wasn't being used. So, the R/R had to lose this extra juice, which it did by shorting it to ground and turning it into heat. So the R/R got toasty, and toasted. The other solution was to relocate the R/R to where it got some air. So, in answer to the question about toasting the Savage R/R... I guess if someone had twiddled their motor and raised the redline from 6K or so to 8K or so. And likes to rev the nuts off of the motor. And the R/R was located somewhere that it never sees cooling air. And the bike has a minimal electrical load..... Then there might be a problem. Rev it up with a meter connected and see how early and how high the voltage goes. Point an IR gauge at the R/R after a long run and see how hot it is. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/03/16 at 18:01:26 If the problem is heat, then airflow / and/ or additional heat sink should be a step in the right direction. Computers have some pretty neat looking heat sink gizmos standing on the CPU. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by badwolf on 11/03/16 at 18:27:02 The R/R on my bike is the stock place on the r fender, but my seat is custom solo and does not come close to covering it. So it and the r fender have good airflow. A good thing I guess. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/03/16 at 18:27:42 Dave, I'm not seeing dimensions listed for that bulb. I know you have a larger headlight than stock but do you think that bulb will fit in the stock Savage/S40 headlight? I'm in need of a brighter headlight bulb and would like an easy conversion. This looks like it fits that description and the price seems good and the features are better than many other LED's I've seen. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Kris01 on 11/03/16 at 18:52:09 1E1F10111213141516270 wrote:
You would think so! However, whatever current is not being used (i.e., 30 Watts) gets turned into heat. The R/R has to dissipate the extra heat even though it doesn't see the same amount of current as before. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/04/16 at 03:19:49 5B606C7C66640F0 wrote:
We will know after it arrives. I will be trying it in the stock headlight housing and comparing the beam pattern......and taking it for a spin in my Cafe' bike that has the large headlight. Unfortunately I won't be able to drive the stock headlight and see how it does.....that bike is a project and won't be running for a year or two. This won't likely have any affect on your bike - but I noticed in my car that since I installed LED headlight bulbs, my radio reception is worse. We listen to a station at 88.7 that is pretty fare away and reception is a bit weak, and it can fade a little bit when you get behind hills. The last few days I noticed that when I turn my key from "run" to "park" and the headlights go of....the radio reception improves. I also noticed that at home in my garage - the radio on my workbench would get poor reception whenever I connected an LED headlight to a battery and the light came on. I don't know if it only happens for radio stations with lower numbers......and if stations higher on the dial would suffer the same signal loss. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/04/16 at 03:26:26 534C4A4D50576656665E4C400B390 wrote:
In the stock location, the rectifier is bolted to the rather heavy rear fender. I do believe that most of the heat dissipation occurs from transferring the heat to the fender.....as there likely isn't a lot of air flow going on under the seat where the rectifier is located. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Armen on 11/04/16 at 05:20:20 Hey Dave, Looks like a winner! Thanks for the info. Can't wait to hear the test results 8-) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/04/16 at 08:14:22 013A3720313D26203B333E21520 wrote:
Definitely something I will need to consider. I use the Sena SMH5-FM on my helmet and I will listen to the radio when in slow moving traffic. One station I tune to is in the low 90's. But with the upcoming time change I'll be commuting in the dark both directions so I may need to weigh better light against FM signal loss :-/ |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/04/16 at 17:18:09 72494453424E555348404D52210 wrote:
In the stock location, the rectifier is bolted to the rather heavy rear fender. I do believe that most of the heat dissipation occurs from transferring the heat to the fender.....as there likely isn't a lot of air flow going on under the seat where the rectifier is located.[/quote] You're probably right, seems to be a Thing with you.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/07/16 at 10:51:04 I got the new LED this afternoon.....and unfortunately it has a bit of a flaw in it. One of the LED panels has some form of "smut" embedded into the grid. It is centered in one of the 9 squares, and it takes up the majority of the grid. I emailed them to see what they want to do about this defect. http://i64.tinypic.com/vdplas.jpg The light has some interesting concepts. The large end of the bulb is a fan, and it will be inside the light. The result will be that the fan moves air over the "bulb", and heats up the air inside the light housing....so the entire light housing will be dissipating the heat. The LED emitters are only on the top of the unit. Most other units have them on the sides, with the low beam having a shield to prevent the light from going out the bottom. Normally the bulb shines upward in the reflector for the low beam, and over the entire refelector for the high beam. (The light shining on the upper part of the reflector is what shines downward). In the arrangement of this bulb where light can only shine upward in the reflector - I am not sure how the high beam functions....as no light can shine out the bottom of the bulb (which is normally the part of the bulb that is the high beam). Also.....it appears the bulb is 25W x 2 (as you can see is stamped in the aluminum), and I am not sure if only one panel lights for the low beam and one for the high beam, or if they both light up for the high beam and make 50 watts total. (I really don't care either way....as long as the light output is significantly brighter than stock). |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 11/07/16 at 11:28:41 Maybe that's an anti-deer wavelength modulator on that one chip? ;) I could have used that Saturday night! Seriously though...I don't see how something that obvious gets past QC? It's like sending out a tricycle without one wheel. C'mon folks. Looking forward to reports on how well it lights and if the high/low beams work as expected. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/07/16 at 11:43:13 I don't think the low beam light on the Ninja is very good - the high beam seems to be much better. And it doesn't help that the windshield directs all the bugs up onto my helmet face shield. Here is the bottom of the light showing the ribbed aluminum heat sink....the fan blows air over these fins. http://i65.tinypic.com/2wnr0wp.jpg And here is where the small motor and fan is located: http://i67.tinypic.com/2m80guo.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Armen on 11/08/16 at 03:17:20 So, plug it in and see how it looks! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/08/16 at 04:16:44 Well I did plug it in, and even put it in a headlight housing to see what the light pattern look like - unfortunately the stock Savage bike I have is just a frame at the moment, and I couldn't take it for a spin. I put my welding helmet on so I could look at the bulb when lit, as it is so bright you can't even begin to see the lighted panels. Only one of the panels lights at a time - so the light uses 25 Watts for either beam. When installed in the small Savage housing, the guard on the front of the light comes really close to the back of the glass lens, and it appears that there is only about 1/8" of clearance. The light panels on the top make it so that the light only shines out the top of the reflector, and there is a sharp vertical cut off for both the low and high beams - the difference is that the LED panel locations result in the high beam light shining farther upward than the low beam. The light beam for either high and low makes a pattern on the wall that is very narrow vertically - but very wide horizontally.....it should light up the edges of the road very well. I took the headlight housing outside and tried it with both the stock and the LED bulb. The LED is far whiter, and brighter, and I could see the wires on the distant power lines and the towers far more clearly with the LED. The one concern I have with an LED....is the reliability. The LED is supposed to last a very long time - but I just don't know about those tiny fan motors that provide cooling. Where they really made to survive the kind of environment that they are being exposed to? The fans on the back of the light will have to survive rain, cold, heat and dirt. The fan on the inside of the bulb may have to survive through heat of operation, and the cold of winter (for those who ride all year). I would recommend that until we figure out how reliable these are.....you should pack a standard headlight bulb in your tool kit! I have a meeting and I won't be able to put the LED in the Cafe' bike tonight - but the weather the rest of the week looks good and I will be able to give it a try. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/08/16 at 07:06:43 Thanks for all the detail, Dave. Do you think there's any issue with the tight clearance to the inside of the headlight glass? Would there be enough heat to discolor the glass or distort the plastic on the back of the bucket? Since I've been looking for an easy option to increase the light output I went and ordered one of these, too. Compared to other bulbs and swapping out the whole headlight, it seemed like a good gamble. Changing the bulb on our bikes is so easy I'll certainly carry a standard bulb for backup. Let us know what they say about that defect on the LED panel. It would be good to know they care about customer service. They seem like a niche type of store so I imagine they keep it small and personal. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 11/08/16 at 07:23:53 The stock halogen bulb gets the glass pretty hot as is. Don't think the LED any near as hot. the bezel allows plenty of air thru it to keep the housing cool enough. whether it keeps the back end of the bulb cool is another question. If it blows air in at the base... where does it exit? Might need to drill some small holes around the perimeter. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/08/16 at 07:32:36 170413120D0006040F50610 wrote:
It doesn't blow any air in at the base....or exchange any outside air....the fan circulates the air around inside the headlight housing. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/09/16 at 06:32:53 447F7363797B100 wrote:
The lens is glass....so there is no issue with it melting. The only potential issue I see, is that maybe the fan airflow will be restricted a bit by the glass being so close. The light has a 1 year warranty against defects....so keep your receipt. It appears that more and more of the LED light bulbs are losing the little computer fans, and going with braided copper strips to carry the heat away. I like that idea, as I just don't know how reliable and durable the fan motors are. The next few days are scheduled to be dry around here - so I should be able to get the bulb in the Cafe' bike and give it a try (we certainly have enough darkness around here this time of year). For the bulb I got with the brown spot on it, I got an email from ADVmonster, and they are sending a replacement unit and a return envelope. They apologized for missing the defect. Cool! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/09/16 at 19:46:40 I don't want to take away from Dave's review of this bulb but I installed mine this evening and took a couple of (poor quality) pics. The bulb comes in a small box, wrapped in bubble wrap. No instructions and no invoice. Just wanted to put that out there depending on the type of online purchases you're used to. First thing I did was check for defects in the LED panels after Dave's experience. Mine seemed fine. http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k548/Tocsik87/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/19a97607-bcf7-44b9-bf3b-d8a6d6e204b6_zpsy94ozgrb.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/Tocsik87/media/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/19a97607-bcf7-44b9-bf3b-d8a6d6e204b6_zpsy94ozgrb.jpg.html) It's a 10 minute upgrade and sure get Dave's point about the fan. We'll see if it lasts as long as the LED's. This is just a pic from the bottom of my driveway with the light shining down the road. Stock bulb on the left and the LED on the right. The LED is much brighter and I'll carry a screwdriver on my ride to work tomorrow morning to dial in the adjustment. http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k548/Tocsik87/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/b4%20and%20after_zpsigryn4bp.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/Tocsik87/media/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/b4%20and%20after_zpsigryn4bp.jpg.html) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/09/16 at 19:54:58 If they work out, I'll be having one of those.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Kris01 on 11/09/16 at 20:03:21 Yeah, you ain't kiddin'! That's MUCH better than stock! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/10/16 at 02:56:25 Fresh blacktop on I20, it's like shining a wimpy light at a black hole... The transition from the on ramp to road was a hard jolt, just a black line to the eyes, but a couple inches of bump, scared me, and once on the road I could see the seam between lanesbut couldn't tell if it was level, and the Uneven Lanes sign was out.. I'm not happy with the light we have.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/10/16 at 03:50:27 Tocsik: Go ahead and test and post anything you want.....this thread is for finding out what is needed to make the stock headlight better. (And I don't have a running bike with the stock headlight). I am going to wait until my replacement bulb comes before I actually put the bulb in and go for a ride. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/10/16 at 11:01:38 With the time change it was light on the ride into work this morning so will need to wait until tonight to get a sense of the illumination. I did notice my headlight reflection from the bumpers and tailgates in front of me was a very nice, pure white and quite bright. Didn't notice much FM signal degradation in my headset. When I arrived at work and shut off the motor I could hear the little fan in the bulb spinning. The headlight lens was only a little bit warm and it was about a 50 minute commute but temps were in the low 40's. After shutting the bike down, I noticed the inside of the headlight was a little foggy and I'm suspecting possible condensate given the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the headlight. I will need to keep an eye on that and those who live in climates not as dry as Denver may want to keep this in mind. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/10/16 at 17:59:29 I got the replacement bulb today, and got to try things out tonight. I first went for a ride with the Silverstar bulb so I could see how much light it made, then I pulled up to the garage door and took a photo of the low and high beam pattern. I then installed the LED and went on the same lap around the neighborhood. The light pattern is whiter and brighter. There is a definite vertical "top" to the light pattern - but surprisingly there is also a bit of one on the bottom of the low beam on the LED. You don't get quite as much light at the space just in front of the tire. The light pattern is far wider, and it lights up things on the side of the road better than the stock bulb. The high beam does shine higher and makes most things brighter - but I am not certain it shines as far down the road as the Silverstar did.....it could be that the LED light is so intense that your pupils are adjusting to the intense light.....and you just don't see as far down the road to where the light beam is not so intense. It is a nice bulb, and Tocsik will be able to tell you how much of an improvement it makes to the stock headlight, it is easy to install and relatively affordable - but it does not convert the headlight into the kind of LED retina wrecker that some of the Harley and Victory motorcycles have (but they are not 6" diameter and cannot be installed into the stock headlight bucket). This is the low beam on my 8" headlight with a Silverstar bulb. Notice the light has a flat top (vertical cut off) to prevent the light from shining up into the eyes of other drivers, and notice the way the light just sort of fades underneath the beam toward the bike. http://i68.tinypic.com/2rz5ml0.jpg This is the low beam on the same headlight with the LED installed. The light is whiter and brighter, and far more light is spread out to the sides of the light. Notice that this light also has a somewhat of a horizontal cut off under the beam - there is still plenty of light just in front of the bike....it just isn't linear like the other bulb. http://i68.tinypic.com/f4llpf.jpg Here is the high beam with the Silverstar bulb. It has a somewhat more rounded top as the vertical cut off goes away on the high beam. The central zone of the intense beam appears to be about 9 panels wide on my door (the area that is so bright it washed out the camera). http://i66.tinypic.com/vyqcmr.jpg This is the high beam of the LED. The beam moves up higher than the low beam on the LED - but this light still has a vertical cut off. This may limit how well it lights up overhead signs. It still throws out far more light to the sides than the stock bulb does. The http://i68.tinypic.com/2a95gyq.jpg I rode a lap around the block last night on my rural roads and never went faster than 30mph - I need to get out on the highway and see if this is a good highway bulb for interstate speeds (does it shine far enough down the road for 70mph and does the light bother other drivers). The only thing that bothers me about these bulbs is the fan....how durable is that thing? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/11/16 at 07:05:23 I can assure the stock headlight does not put out as much light as Dave's! Time to replace that stock bucket. Anyone have a low-ish cost but decent 7" replacement suggestion? With mounting tabs that fit our forks? Keeping it under 100 bux or so would be cool 8-) I'm not happy with the aim adjustment of this bulb in the stock headlight yet. I did notice the overhead signs were actually lit up well which made me think I had it pointing too high. But as it got darker on the ride home yesterday, it actually seemed like it was pointing a little too close on the road in front of me. After seeing Dave's pics, I really think I'll be looking for a better reflector. But, if you want a brighter bulb this is still a good alternative. It's only roughly twice the cost of the high end Sylvania and should last longer since it's LED. The longevity remains to be seen, though. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 11/11/16 at 09:02:45 I can do the same photos of the stock 6" light against my garage door as a comparison (the headlight I am using is a massive 8" light from a Yamaha 920 Virago, and they do require the use of arms attached to the fork legs). I don't like the lights that mount on the bottom....I much prefer the side mount lights. You mount them with the bolts snug - but not really tight. Then when you want to make a height adjustment to your headlight....you just wiggle it up or down a bit (on the Cafe' bike I sit far enough forward I can do it while riding). I just bought this 7" light bucket from Dime City to use on my Ninja Cafe' project.. It appears to be very well made and the paint is nice - my only complaint is that the inside of the shell just has the paint overspray on it, and it will have to be painted to keep the inside from rusting. http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-lighting-parts-satin-black-7-inch-headlight-bucket-66-65010.html The light housing I am going to use was(is) made by Candlepower. I am not sure if they make them anymore as I read their factory burned down - but you can find new ones for sale on eBay at a reasonable cost: http://www.ebay.com/itm/381616021194?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT http://www.ebay.com/itm/Candlepower-H4-7-High-Low-Beam-Halogen-Headlight-/141631513261?hash=item20f9e562ad:g:6P4AAOSwNSxVJXxe Dime City has the Candlepower lights as well...more money. http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-lighting-parts-7-inch-sealed-h4-headlight-lens-66-75806.html You will then need to get some mounting arms. I bought these, and they will require you to take the top fork yoke loose to get them mounted. http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-lighting-parts-chrome-headlight-brackets-66-35850.html You can also find arms that can be mounted without having to take the top yoke or fork tubes out. I think this model is a bit too long, and will move the headlight out too far. http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-lighting-parts-mediumweight-dimpled-chrome-headlight-brackets-60-1440.html These might be a bit shorter and look better. http://www.ebay.com/itm/28mm-38mm-fork-Tubes-Clamp-Headlight-Mounting-Brackets-to-universal-Motorcycles-/351893473626?hash=item51ee7c495a:g:ufUAAOSw~gRVg47R&vxp=mtr |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/12/16 at 07:28:04 Paladin stole his beadlight off a steam locomotive. I want one! It's okay with me if the light doesn't make it back to the front tire. I need to See Outchyondah... Long before the bike hits whatever is in the road. I had some terrifying moments the other night. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/13/16 at 05:31:54 OK, time for an ignorant question. As long as I get the matching ring and trim for the housing, any similar size lens should work? And, most likely won't have a rubber boot like there is on the stocker? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 11/16/16 at 10:05:34 I have a couple items picked out for my headlight replacement but Imma head up to the MC salvage yard this Sunday first. See what I can pull offa bike there maybe. Problem is, they all sit outside so stuff's not in the best condition. But if I find something cool, it would be worth reconditioning. Thinking of this beauty: http://www.dimecitycycles.com/7-inch-chrome-classic-british-style-headlight-assembly-with-bulb.html **EDIT** nevermind. Even though the description says the lens is glass, a customer review states it's plastic. or a bucket only with a Hella or other reflector. Anyone know what particular reflector works best with an LED bulb? I see there are crystal, diamond etc patterns in the reflectors. Kinda confusicating. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/18/17 at 03:27:13 Well I am not sure this "simple" LED bulb application is the right way to go. It is brighter than stock and works well - but it may have a "discharge" issue. I put this bulb in a new headlight bucket and mounted it to the Ninja Cafe' bike - and the bulb was clearly visible though the glass lens. I have ridden the bike about 200 miles - and now the lens is all fogged up on the inside. The light must be making something that fogs up the lens. I am emailing the folks that make the bulb to see if they have heard of this before....and what I should do to clean the inside of the light. I just don't know how durable the silver lining is on the reflector. I have looked online and found that "ethanol" works - but it has to be a nearly "200 proof" ethanol or water spots can be left behind...some have suggested the Everclear that is 190 proof. I wonder if soapy water - then several rinses with distilled water will work? Does Isopropyl alcohol leave behind any spots? The concern with placing anything inside to scrub or dry with - is the potential for scratching the reflector. http://i63.tinypic.com/259csic.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/18/17 at 05:42:48 While LED's themselves run cool, the electronics certainly don't. Where is the heat sink placement? Is it reflecting off the reflector towards the glass? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/18/17 at 06:08:08 The LED has everything contained inside the headlight - including the heat sink and cooling fan. The flat bulb part faces the top - the fins are on the bottom when installed. http://i65.tinypic.com/2wnr0wp.jpg http://i67.tinypic.com/2m80guo.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/18/17 at 06:38:42 Mmmmkay, so, what do we know? Got a lamp that needs a heat sink. So, the heat sink is getting Hot. And, a film develops inside the bucket.. So, I'd probably shoot the sink with B12, The question then becomes What does the fan need to live? Dave, what spins the fan? I would probably lean towards the Everclear. It's either gonna work or be something to sip on while you ponder. A Q tip test in an obscure spot. If you're happy with that, ohhh! Hey, what about some fancy camera lens cleaning stuff? Anyway, back to the other way, Bucket in hand, reflector rinsed with Everclear , rinsed with distilled water? Good Reflectors are First Surface Mirrors, notoriously fussy. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/18/17 at 06:56:16 Yeah, that heat sink is what caused the problem. There's probably a perfect-storm effect with the reflector focusing the heat onto the glass. With the fan blowing it's like a convection oven. 50w (25*2) is not an insignificant amount of heat being reflected directly at a focus ring. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/18/17 at 07:11:47 There's probably a perfect-Ex-Lax induced storm effect with the reflector focusing the heat onto the glass. FIFY |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 04/18/17 at 07:11:59 Most Isopropyl has a lot of water in it. If you can find 100%, that would be the stuff to go with. What about acetone? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/18/17 at 07:24:15 The fan is run by a small motor built into the fan body...same as all the other tiny computer fans that electronic stuff has these days. I had some Isopropyl alcohol here at the office, and I rubbed it on my office window with a paper towel and wetted the glass really well - it dried clear without any trace.....however I don't know for sure that it is a good solvent for the haze and capable of removing it without rubbing a cloth on the light or reflector. I want a cleaning product that can remove the smoky haze from the lens without rubbing....as I am sure there is also haze on the reflector - and I don't want to rub anything on the reflector that could scratch it. Lens cleaning solution for glasses or camera's is a good thought.......provided it rinses clean. I put a drop of eye glass cleaner on my glasses and let it dry - it left behind a faint white mark when it evaporated. My concern about the Everclear is that there might be some sugar in the mix - and that most likely would leave something behind when the alcohol evaporates. I maybe could rinse with distilled water or Isopopyl alcohol....and if rinsing is used I could maybe use a much stronger cleaning product and then rinse several times. The drying can be done with my compressor and air nozzle...then set in the sun to bake out anything left in the joints/crevices. Verslagen: My concern about using acetone is what it could do to the gasket between the lens and reflector. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 04/18/17 at 07:30:05 33203736292422202B74450 wrote:
What Dave said. Had someone here in the lab use acetone to clean some microscope slides that were still in a plastic slide tray. Well...let's just say that they had to be pried out as the acetone softened the plastic enough to make it turn into goo and "melt" up around the edges of the slides. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/18/17 at 07:40:00 No sugar in Everclear. Holding the reflector like a bowl and swishing? http://www.maxwettsteinfitness.com/Library/Alcohol.htm Glasses don't get near the TLC as cameras. You might call a high end camera shop and get advice. They know how to deal with First Surface mirrors. A copier repair shop has to clean the optics inside those things. And they are F.S. mirrors, too. But you're playing with a deposited reflective film on plastic and the other mirrors are silver on glass. What Exactly IS the reflective surface made of is the question. Getting rid of the residoodoo left on the heat sink and Not eliminating the fans necessary lubrication and wondering IF that necessary lubrication will cause the problem again,,, hmm. I'm gonna say it wouldn't. If you're able to clean it up without wrecking the fan.. Ahh, simple swap and Whammo, unintended consequences borne out of an unknown unknown. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/18/17 at 08:15:27 As a photographer that still uses 35mm film equipment I can tell you that the best chemical(s) for lens maintenance are basic Windex and eyeglass cleaner. Every now and then I will have or find a lens that has been etched by fungus. When that happens I kill the fungus with Listerine (not needed here) and polish the surface with jeweller's rouge. So in this case I suggest Windex for the discoloration and if the surface is damaged you can try to polish it with jeweller's rouge. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 04/18/17 at 15:00:45 I have the same fogging with this bulb in my setup. I have a HELLA 7" with a lead crystal lens. Inside of the lens is completely fogged. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/18/17 at 18:31:49 Tocsik: I will let you know how my cleaning goes. I was not able to get to it tonight - and tomorrow night is another evening meeting...so it will have to wait until Thursday. I am testing a drop of Isopropyl alcohol and a drop of distilled water on a mirror to see if they leave any residue/spots behind. I will put a drop of the alcohol in the light and see if that rinses off the fog - if it doesn't I will try Bike Bright cleaner. The plan is to rinse the light out with the distilled water or alcohol after using the Bike Bright. I will then install a Silverstar halogen bulb and see if the fogging occurs - if it doesn't I will try the LED again and see if the fogging returns. Send an email to the LED folks....let them know you are having the trouble as well. Dave |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/19/17 at 05:23:29 Dave, is the coating on the heat sink out-gassing resulting in fogging on the lens or is the heat itself causing discoloration? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/19/17 at 05:47:59 Gary: I don't know yet - I have had evening meeting every night this week so far and I haven't been able to take anything apart yet. There is a smoky looking film on the inside of the glass - it wasn't there when I put the new headlight assembly together (Dime City housing, Candlepower reflector, ADVmonster LED bulb). I have ridden the bike about 5 hours total - so it didn't take very long to develop. On the way home last night I bought some 90% Isopropyl alchohol and distilled water. I cleaned a mirror and put a small puddle of alcohol and a separate puddle of the distilled water on the clean mirror, and I let them both evaporate. The water definitely left some haze behind - the alcohol left a barely visible streak. These were pretty deep puddles - and I suspect that when the light assembly is rinsed with either of these and the excess blown out with the air compressor - there will be no noticeable residue left behind. (I have another City Council meeting tonight.....so I won't likely be able to try any cleaning until Thursday). |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 04/19/17 at 07:06:28 What about something like this? http://www.kleanstrip.com/product/toluene. Guy I bought my house from refinished tubs and left all sorts of stuff in my shop, including some of this and other things but I haven't used them on anything to know what they will and will not "eat" or melt. The website above has links to all of their products with good detail so maybe something in there can offer a possible solution (no pun intended ;)) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/19/17 at 07:28:20 I have some Toluene at home - there are a few paints that use it as a thinner for spraying. I can put some on my test mirror and see what it does - my memory of this stuff is that it feels a bit "oily" - I would be surprised if it evaporates without leaving something behind. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/19/17 at 08:27:09 Don't forget about B12 Chemtool. Berrymans doesn't leave enough behind to mess much up. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by koehlerrk on 04/20/17 at 10:13:03 Interesting... yeah, the Savage can never have enough light output. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/20/17 at 10:37:46 I want a landing light . |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/20/17 at 11:11:51 6E7177706D6A5B6B5B63717D36040 wrote:
My homebuilt airplane (RV-6) uses two H4's in rectangular housings. Since the aircraft is a tail-dragger (conventional gear) I have one that aims at the runway in an approach attitude and one for a landing/flair/taxi configuration. Only one is shining down the runway at any given time and the single bulb lights up the runway nicely...much better then a typical sealed beam used for a Cessna or Piper which provide a narrow beam and at $250, are expensive. Most people replace the OEM sealed beams with LED units. These typically range from $500 to over $1,000. I'm quite happy with my inexpensive H4 solution. The limiting factor for the S40 is not the H4 bulb, but the size of the housing, the quality of the lens, and the shape of the reflector. The aftermarket units are clearly (pun) superior. So if you upgrade, you will technically have a landing light. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/20/17 at 11:42:55 Until Dave or someone I trust says it's good, I'll just be riding slower.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/20/17 at 13:16:33 Sorry that I haven't earned your trust. I'll try harder :) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by ero4444 on 04/20/17 at 14:44:41 if the fog is smoke particles, then 1. will your assembly stop smoking? 2. ammonia will cut smoke well from glass, but will probably ruin acrylics. Glue and "plastics" may be have acrylic material so I'd agree with trying Everclear. With enough Everclear then you won't notice the headlight fog anymore. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Kris01 on 04/20/17 at 18:07:45 425D5B5C41467747774F5D511A280 wrote:
My uncle put 2 on his Impala back in '64! ;D |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/20/17 at 18:10:40 242E2A202B22262F717773430 wrote:
Ouch! Sorry, I don't know enough to know if that gets too hot for our Ohh so robust plastic bucket.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/20/17 at 18:44:59 Well I had a go at it tonight....eventually I got something I can live with. First - I tried 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. I poured in enough to cover the glass, I put in a rubber stopper to seal it off, then I swished and shook. I dumped the alcohol out, then used my air compressor to blow things out and dry it thoroughly. It looked pretty good at the first glance - when I put the bulb back in and got the bulb running - I could see some white streaks. Second - I tried one of my wife's cotton face scrub pads (don't tell her), and I wet it with the alcohol and used a wood stick to rub the pad around on the lens to see if I could get the streaks off. Even though the test of the pad showed it to be lint free on the outside of the glass - it left some lint behind and it showed on the glass when the bulb was put in and lighted up. There was also some trace of haziness in the corners of the flutes in the glass. Third - I put in some alcohol, and used a new 1" paint brush to move the alcohol around on the glass. Then a dumped out the alcohol and used a lint free gauze rag to try and dry the inside of the lens. When I put the bulb in there were still some streaks on the glass and the reflector. Fourth - I used Bike Bright cleaner. I put in enough to cover the glass, used the 1" bristle paint brush to scrub the backside of the glass, then dumped in a lot of distilled water to dilute the Bike Bright, then dumped it out and rinsed and sloshed with distilled water until I could not see any more bubbles. Then I inserted a micro-fiber towel and moved it around inside the light housing until things were dry - then I used an old hand held hair dryer to be sure the inside was dry. I put the light in - and the darn thing looked pretty good! I waited for the roads to dry as we had a brief rain shower, and when I went to go for a test ride I saw the light was fogged up inside. I went for a ride and most of the moisture inside the glass had gone away. When I got home I took the light out and brought it inside the house - I will leave it in my car tomorrow (solar oven) to make sure it is dried out completely. Next time I will clean the glass in the morning so I can let the light sit in my car all day. I will do a Technical Article and post it with the results I had.....maybe I can save somebody the first three steps. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/20/17 at 19:12:11 I sure hope you test B12. Lint free, yeah,, |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/21/17 at 03:11:12 233C3A3D20271626162E3C307B490 wrote:
I am not going to pour carb/fuel injector cleaner into my headlight! https://www.berrymanproducts.com/products/gasoline/b-12-chemtool-carburetor-fuel-system-and-injector-cleaner/ |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/21/17 at 09:11:32 I'm Shokkt! Never had you pegged for a Chiikin, Actually, I was thinking about the spray. The stuff dries up real quick and leaves as close to No residoodoo as anything I've seen, but I never tried to rinse oily crud off of a plastic mirror. No residoodoo and Lint Free may be equally true. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/21/17 at 09:29:44 I will tell you what I am thinking about doing. The headlight fogged up in about 100 miles of riding - which most likely was no more than 4 hours of riding time (curvy back roads). I am thinking that I should put the LED back in the light housing, hook it up to a battery and charger......and let it run for a full day and see if the headlight is all smoky again. (The light was already dirty once.....so I likely can get it clean again). It would be nice to know for sure if the self contained LED was the cause of the smoky film inside the light. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 04/21/17 at 09:59:12 Good plan Dave. I'd also put an external fan, blowing on the face of the glass, so you get closer to actual conditions. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/21/17 at 10:17:42 Unforeseeable unknowns,, bummer. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by batman on 04/22/17 at 16:17:52 I guess I must be blessed with a bit of night vision as I 've never really found the need for anything brighter than the stock headlight,and I'm in deer country in north central N.Y. mts. I do confess to slowing my speed at night as that gives me a much better chance of avoidance . |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/22/17 at 16:55:30 This is what the headlight looked last week - after I had ridden the Ninja Cafe' about 200 miles. It had started out as a brand new headlight, and it was clear when I put the LED bulb in. http://i65.tinypic.com/302289z.jpg I was able to get the lens clear. I put a few oz. of Bike Bright cleaner in the light and swished it around. I then used a 1" bristle brush to scrub the lens through the small hole where the bulb inserts. I then put a rubber stopper in the hole, and shook the light. I then added distilled water, put the stopper back in and shook some more. I then dumped out the soap, and I kept rinsing with distilled water until no bubbles could be seen. On the last rinse I filled up the lens with distilled water, and started with the lens facing down - and I slowly tipped the light so that the sheet flow of water off the lens and reflector left no drops of water behind....this took about 4 minutes of careful tipping. When that was done I set the light in the sun to dry. I figured I was done - however when I put a bulb in and turned on the light - I could see a small haze and horizontal lines where the water level was as I was carefully dumping the water out. I then pushed a micro-fiber towel through the hole and used a wooden dowel to push the rag around....and the lens was finally clean, and I reinstalled the LED unit. http://i65.tinypic.com/10zznld.jpg I then hooked the light up to a battery and charger....and let it run for the rest of the day. The smokey haze started to be noticeable in about 1.5 hours, and In continued the test for about 11 hours. I would switch the power to the high and low wires throughout the day so that both LED's would be in operation. http://i64.tinypic.com/qwyeev.jpg I put the LED in the clean reflector, and connected it to a battery. In about an hour I could see that the smokey film was starting to develop on the inside of the glass. By 4 hours it was really noticeable, and I stopped the test at 11 hours....and it is really fogged up. I switched the wire of the high/low beam every hour so that I cycled between them during the test. I cleaned up the light again yesterday, and then I installed an Silverstar Ulta Halogen bulb. I will contact the seller and see what they will do - hopefully they will let me send it back and get credit on a different type of LED....one without a fan inside the headlight! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/24/17 at 03:05:48 Photos added to the above post. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/24/17 at 05:36:22 Thank You, Dave. That's a hekkuva How To. I'm surprised that cleaning up the lamps exterior didn't stop it from making a mess. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/24/17 at 06:44:03 I did not do anything to clean up the outside of the LED bulb or it's heat sink or anything related to it - the outside of the light never felt like it had anything on it, and I wanted to use the bulb exactly the way it was sent to me (and everyone else that purchased it). However.....after reading your last post I looked at the LED unit very carefully - and I could see a yellow stain between 2 of the cooling ribs. When I stuck the tip of a piece of paper in the yellow - it came out with an oily tip! http://i63.tinypic.com/20tgkg5.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 04/24/17 at 07:58:51 Any word from ADVMonster? I haven't had time or ability (been too sick) to do anything with mine but I have emailed the company. They've been pretty responsive by email but are telling me: "We are attempting to replicate, thanks for the heads up. We've been through several with nothing thus far." |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/24/17 at 09:13:34 If you don't think it's gonna kill the light or fan, I'd consider cleaning the lamp body with B12. Drops can be coaxed from the red tube. I think you've proven where the problem is. As long as everyone knows what to expect before they buy the lamp, it's good. I'd still buy it if it's a lot better lamp. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by badwolf on 04/24/17 at 09:28:06 I have to say the LED ''Daymaker'' is expensive, but it really lights up the road, and only draws 20/40 watts, allowing me to run 2-15 watt aux lights. I've had it for over a year and about 25k with no problems. Best lighting I've ever had on a MC. Only bike I've ever had that when a car comes up close behind me I don't see my own shadow. If you get a 7'' housing you can run the 30/60! http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp198/carlrphair/s40/led%20h.lite%20front_zpswaby7gmm.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/24/17 at 09:46:23 Badwolf: I have ridden with your headlight behind me....and I can testify that it is bright - even on the low beam. For the amount of miles and conditions you ride in.....that was probably a very smart investment. The purpose of this thread was to find an affordable, easy to install LED bulb that could be used to improve the stock headlight to an acceptable level...without spending $200 - $500 on a dedicated LED headlight assembly. So far the LED bulb "inserts" that I have tried are in the $30 - $50, and they provide mixed results. They are brighter than the stock bulb and do light up more of the roadway - but the light pattern that is emitted is not nearly as even as the stock bulb provides....there are hot spots of light that tend to be somewhat distracting, as your pupils adjust to the amount of light in the bright areas and the things farther down the road may not be as visible if the light were more even. Evidently it is hard for the designers to make an LED with 1 or 2 "points" of light focus well on a reflector made for a "filament" bulb. I had hoped the self contained light that started this thread was an option - but I can't recommend a light that fogs up the inside of the glass. Maybe Tocsik and I just got bulbs that had fans that were "over oiled"...and these 2 bulbs are not the normal standard for this LED. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by badwolf on 04/24/17 at 10:01:54 Dave, Mine is a 5'' I got off e-bay for about $70. This is about the same thing but 7'' http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-LED-Projector-Daymaker-Black-Headlight-Harley-Street-Glide-Softail-FLHX-FLD-/232025726951?hash=item3605cf9fe7:g:blcAAOSwvg9XUmPP&vxp=mtr If you get the ''official'' Harley part you will pay thru the teeth, but there are knock-offs to be found. Look at this bad boy-- http://www.ebay.com/itm/7Inch-80W-CREE-LED-Headlight-Daymaker-With-Mounting-Bracket-Ring-Harley-Davidson-/361813630695?hash=item543dc5dee7:g:qnwAAOSw5UZY9cIL&vxp=mtr This might be overkill-- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-LED-Projector-Headlight-Daymaker-Lamp-For-Harley-Road-Glide-FLTR-1998-2013-/222331018237?hash=item33c3f61bfd:g:SbkAAOSwEzxYSQJo&vxp=mtr |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/24/17 at 10:29:36 Badwolf: Can you provide a link to any of the "Daymaker" LED lights that can be installed directly into the Suzuki Savage light housing? The goal of this thread was to find a good working H-4 (9003) LED bulb to replace the standard bulb. None of the lights you have linked will fit a stock housing....the Suzuki light does not have a shell or mount that accepts the reflector inserts - it has specific mounting tabs that are exclusive to the Savage. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by badwolf on 04/24/17 at 10:49:01 Dave, I swapped the housing also when doing the bulb. Went with a post mount metal one. Like this-- http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-Chrome-Headlight-Shell-with-Bottom-Mounted-Headlight-Bracket-5-75-Shell-/172493065584?hash=item2829634d70:g:ukgAAOSwNSxU3V89&vxp=mtr The exact one I got is no longer listed. I still had to file down the back corners of the LED unit yo get it to fit. AND there was NO room for the rat's nest of wires normally inside. For someone doing it from scratch I would say go with the 7'', and buy the bulb first and try several housings to see which fits best. I think you will have much better luck with the 7'' units as they are more ""standard''. If you try to go small you will have to figure out what to do with all the wires in there. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/24/17 at 12:55:39 5B606C7C66640F0 wrote:
The contact I have reached at ADVmonster is John Sanders. He has not responded to the emails I sent this morning - but he did respond to the initial contact very quickly and ask me to keep him informed of what I was doing/trying. I will keep you guys informed. If they are a good company and stand behind their product - then they are definitely a company that should be supported. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 04/25/17 at 21:25:42 I am thinking of trying this bulb. Anybody see any reason why it would not work? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auxbeam-H4-9003-HB2-40W-3600LM-CREE-LED-Headlight-Lamp-Bulb-Conversion-Kit-6000K-/152508984559?hash=item23823e6cef:g:gKQAAOSw~CFY7xTk&vxp=mtr |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Jarhead-CO on 04/25/17 at 22:43:57 That is not a real auxbeam light. I have been buying, using, and selling auxbeam lights for over a year and that is a knockoff. Go to auxbeam.com they have a 1 year warranty and customer service is good. But that being said it would not fit due to the size of the heat sink. Once the 7 inch headlight housing is out I will buy that plus the 7 inch headlight they sell check it out on their site. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/26/17 at 03:52:08 Springman: If you look at the photos on the eBay page, you can see that in addition to the light unit - there is a small box and additional wiring that needs to be used with the light - and that is likely not going to fit inside the small Savage headlight. It is good that the units have the little shields on the low beam - that is what cuts off the light from shining up into the eyes of oncoming drivers (vertical cut off). I have been using a similar Chinese LED headlight bulbs, and I put them in my Cafe' bike for a test run - then eventually put them in my car and have been running them for more than a year. They are brighter than the stock bulbs - but the light pattern is a bit uneven and it makes a spotty light pattern on the road...some spots are brighter than others. I am finding this is a common issue when you put an LED in a reflector designed for a filament bulb. This is likely the next bulb that I am going to try, and I believe you can get it to fit in the Savage headlight. It looks to be pretty small, ADVmonster claims it has the best light pattern of any light they have tried. http://stores.advmonster.com/h4-r3-led-headlight/ |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 04/26/17 at 09:08:56 Dave, I figured the box would have to be outside of the housing but was looking at this set up because of the shield, hoping it provides a good light pattern. I just looked at the one you mentioned but it does not have a shield. I have yet to remove the halogen bulb to measure how much room we have in the housing. For the moment I was just hoping to get something cheap to provide better lighting and me not blind oncoming traffic. Ultimately I think I want to get a Daymaker set up like badwolf. I just need to go to the Harley dealership and see if I can get a housing there for cheap before I order the headlight assembly. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/26/17 at 09:41:10 I mounted an LED with a box inside the stock Savage housing......there was room. The LED light you linked has the emitters on the side of the assembly, and the shield keeps the light from shining upward when the low beam is on. (Actually the shields keep the light from shining down into the reflector, as the light coming out the bottom of the reflector is what shines upward when it leaves the reflector). The H4 R3 has the emitters on the top and bottom of assembly, and when the low beam is being used - the emitter on the bottom is not emitting light. When the high beam is being used - both the top and bottom emitters work. The 7" bucket and reflector is definitely the way to go. I should be able to get you an adapter and headlight bucket in a couple weeks. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 04/26/17 at 10:00:47 Cool. I did not know that. I understand. Thanks. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/26/17 at 10:07:36 I am thinking that having the emitters on the top/bottom might be better than on the sides. The LED units I have tried spread the light out in very wide patterns - they sure do light up the side of the road....but the long distance light seems to be less concentrated than the filaments bulbs. (This might must be an illusion as the LED is really bright on the roadway near the bike...and this might wash away some of the distance visibility). In the fist photo look at the edges of the light....you don't see much grass. In the second photo is the LED unit - you can clearly see a lot more light is going out the sides of the light. http://i68.tinypic.com/2rz5ml0.jpg http://i68.tinypic.com/f4llpf.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/26/17 at 10:21:48 The Down the Road part Is taller and wider. Is it more intense? IDK, but I like the improvement I see. The hose is much better illuminated, which is important, because of how treacherous those things are. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 04/26/17 at 10:31:26 746B6D6A7770417141796B672C1E0 wrote:
My sister was once bitten by a hose. Mind you, hose bites can be quite painful. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/26/17 at 10:33:19 Your sister got off light. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 04/26/17 at 10:33:25 It is a bit of a shame that I did that test just 20' from my garage door.....it might not have a lot of "real world" value. It is the only flat place I have at home with a wall to shine the light on. If'n one of you guys lived closer.....we could run down to the Pendleton County Airport and spend some time on their tarmac testing lights. The airport is not very busy - and after dark the place is most likely deserted. Still - I think the best test is putting the light on your bike and using it on a ride. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 04/26/17 at 14:56:44 I popped off my headlight lens to clean it today. First, I just rubbed a couple fingers on the inside of the lens the see how easy the film would come off. You can see it actually rubbed off really easy. http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k548/Tocsik87/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/rub_zpsttba4qvs.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/Tocsik87/media/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/rub_zpsttba4qvs.jpg.html) So I stuffed a dry, lint free towel inside the lens and tried to scrub the back using a bamboo rod (happened to have a bamboo back scratcher on my workbench ;)). This actually got the inside of the lens pretty clean but I decided to go a little extra by spraying some RainX 2-in-1 glass cleaner on the towel and repeating the process. The lens is lead crystal glass so the RainX was safe. Here are before and after pics. http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k548/Tocsik87/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/before%201_zpsh65cb1hw.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/Tocsik87/media/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/before%201_zpsh65cb1hw.jpg.html) http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k548/Tocsik87/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/after%201_zpsrdsatfoe.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/Tocsik87/media/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/after%201_zpsrdsatfoe.jpg.html) http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k548/Tocsik87/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/long%20shot_zpsskmxai9a.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/Tocsik87/media/S40/LED%20headlight%20bulb/long%20shot_zpsskmxai9a.jpg.html) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Jarhead-CO on 04/26/17 at 16:29:24 www.auxbeam.com/headlight-bulbs/H4/92619020 what do you guys think about this. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Jarhead-CO on 04/26/17 at 19:27:27 I might just pick it up it's only 20 bucks what can it hurt. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 04/26/17 at 21:05:05 6D59485A5A544C07063F0 wrote:
I got something like that, the pattern is alright and it's bright. You'll notice they don't give you a plug, only bullets. If you get it, take off the connector off the harness. flatten each of the bullets and stick them in the harness connector. you might have to trim a little. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Jarhead-CO on 04/26/17 at 21:09:35 352631302F2224262D72430 wrote:
I got something like that, the pattern is alright and it's bright. You'll notice they don't give you a plug, only bullets. If you get it, take off the connector off the harness. flatten each of the bullets and stick them in the harness connector. you might have to trim a little.[/quote] Sounds good I've got a set of halogen bulbs on the way so I may just wait until those show up. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/17/17 at 08:22:02 [split] [splithere] (http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1493316320)[splithere_end] ADVmonster lighting let me return the LED bulb/fan that was fogging up my headlight - I got a new one to try out that has some good potential. It does appear that it will take up a bit more space in the bucket. http://stores.advmonster.com/h4-r3-led-headlight/ I sent both Springman and Stewmills LED headlgihts with the fan on the back and metal wings attached for the vetical cut off on the low beam to try and give a report on. I have been using them in my car for a year and they are brighter - but the light output is not even and some areas are brighter than others (kind of annoying). I put new LED's in my car that work a lot better and have a much more even light output - but they were expensive and the light requires extensive modification to allow the rubber boot to be used, as the H-4 mount does not detach from the LED unit. (I don't recommend using this in the Savage, as the rubber boot will be difficult to get sealed). http://www.xenondepot.com/H4-Xtreme-LED-Motorcycle-kit-p/xt-led-h4-mc.htm |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/17/17 at 17:44:33 Comments Suzuki C50 replaced the halogen. So bright on low, I am not going to need High. Flick them on and everyone looks around like. .what's that? Was this review helpful to yo So, could we get a C50 bucket? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/17/17 at 18:47:15 Jog....the quote you posted is when somebody took out the filament bulb and put in the new LED. It is not an indication the C50 headlight is good.....it is a positive review of the LED bulb he bought and installed. That is the intent of this thread....to find an LED that is affordable, easy to install - and makes a "night and day" difference (pun intended). |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/17/17 at 19:21:44 I think I'm tracking. The C50 bucket holds the LED. IF that bucket is an easy mount, and the LED fits in nicely, then it's down to the money. And I don't want a plastic bucket. I'm afraid to even look at mine. At thirty M.P.H. the ride is harsh.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 05/17/17 at 19:30:24 I have installed the led bulb Dave sent me and took it for a 10 minute ride last night. It is substantially brighter than my halogen bulb but the is not even. The lighting is almost like various separate bands of light alternating between very bright and not so bright. But still much better than the halogen bulb. In that 10 minute ride I did not encounter much traffic so do not yet know if people will be flashing their lights at me. I'll let you know when I find out. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 05/19/17 at 07:10:52 I requested a return or exchange of my LED bulb from ADVMonster yesterday and received a response this morning: "Thanks for following up. We have identified the cause. Some flux from the soldering process has splattered onto the leds. If you take a cotton swap dipped in isopropyl alcohol and lightly clean the leds, the flux will be removed. This will eliminate the fogging. Sorry for the issue." No mention of "hey, if this doesn't work we'll be happy to refund or exchange". I'll give this a try and see how it goes. 5F64687862600B0 wrote:
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/19/17 at 07:18:01 Tocsik: Thanks for being the Guinea pig on this! It would be really nice if this worked, as the light is the easiest LED bulb to install. It does not have any space issues in the headlight bucket, as the back of the bulb is identical to the original bulb - which also allows the rubber weather seal to be used. It also doesn't require the additional wiring or little "box" in the wiring that other LED's have, or the fan or braided heat sink wires on the back of the bulb that need extra room in the bucket. I did notice that the one I returned seemed to be causing the fogging less and less quickly as time went on....whatever was causing the fogging must have been getting used up. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 05/19/17 at 08:15:25 Yeah, it'll be good to see how it turns out. I've even switched from a Hella lens to a Candlepower lens as the Hella ended up having the cuts for the upsweep beam on the wrong side >:( (for left hand drive roads). We've had a bunch of rain here and then snow fell on top of it so I don't know when I'll be out riding again. Will update after cleaning the lens and riding with the LED for a while. If it works out, might consider adding a couple 10W LED driving lights to the bike if I can tuck them in somewhere discrete. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 05/21/17 at 20:45:43 Ok...So I finally had a break in the evening rain to install the LED and go outside with both the halogen and LED to get some comparative pics. I did not have time to go for a ride as it was late and the roads were still damp, but here are three sets of pics against the garage door and two different points down my driveway. They are labeled, but note that the Halogen is on the left and the LED is on the right. Last image is just a comparison of the stock halogen bulb and the LED unit. http://i66.tinypic.com/aza35z.png http://i64.tinypic.com/5kowtx.png http://i66.tinypic.com/11kc8w0.png http://i67.tinypic.com/313iz3s.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/22/17 at 03:41:54 Stew: Something is horribly wrong - the vertical cut off on the low beam is all wacky on the LED. In my car the low beam cutoff worked fine.......and I think it is working on the other bulb I sent to Springman. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/22/17 at 04:06:52 675C50405A58330 wrote:
I do hope the cleaning of the Native H4 works and resolves the fogging issue - there are plenty of good reviews of the bulb.....and it is the easiest one to install, it is affordable, and it does provide a definite improvement over the stock bulb). I tried the ADVMonster H4 R3 LED for a very, very short ride Saturday night, as just as I pulled out the driveway it started to sprinkle, and by the time I go 1/4 miles the wind and lightning arrived, I quickly turned around and made it home before the hard rain hit.....I only had about 30 seconds to spare! The H4 R3 seems to be a very good LED bulb - it is very bright and has a very nice light pattern from what I could tell in that short ride. The only downside is that it requires a pretty good clearance inside the light bucket as the bulb sticks out pretty far behind the reflector, and the braided heat sink wires take up some room. I am not sure it will fit in the stock Savage light housing. I will get a chance to ride it after dark tonight for a better review....I am using it in a 7" Candlepower reflector. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 05/22/17 at 07:17:19 447F7265747863657E767B64170 wrote:
Let me take another look and see if I had something in there wrong? I looked closely at the three bulb prongs and one is wider than the other two so it could only go in one way...unless I somehow made it fit improperly by mistake? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/24/17 at 04:01:15 I am still looking for an LED that can be used to upgrade the stock headlight into something useful. Last night I tried the ADVmonster H4 R3, and it is the brightest and best LED bulb I have found yet - but it has the braided heat sink wires out the back of the bulb and the control box, and a bulky connector for the light plug - I believe it is too big to fit into the Savage headlight bucket (but it may be a good LED to use in the Harley 7" bucket). http://stores.advmonster.com/h4-r3-led-headlight/ This is the bulb that Tocsik and I tried, and it works fine but caused the inside of the glass to get smokey and required cleaning. ADVMonster claims that the soldering flux got on the bulb, and that cleaning the LED with alcohol will resolve the problem. They have sold a lot of these bulbs and claim the smokey lens is not a universal problem. http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/ (I can only find the following lights in pairs on Amazon). I found that the compact bulb that Tocsik is using (and I tried) can be purchased cheaper as the LASFIT brand. Hopefully cleaning the bulb will solve the problem of smoking up the glass. https://www.amazon.com/LASFIT-Headlight-Philips-Driver-Warranty/dp/B01BBWQWFM/ref=sr_1_45?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1495623083&sr=1-45&keywords=h4+led The WERISE V5 looks promising......somebody needs to try this one! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XW3BM26/ref=sr_1_55?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1495622679&sr=1-55&keywords=h4+led This LASFIT looks like another good option, it has the fan outside the light - but the driver is built inside and it doesn't need the extra box on the outside wiring. https://www.amazon.com/LASFIT-Headlight-Kits-COB-Adjustable-6000K-Dual/dp/B01H8VILH2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495624880&sr=8-2&keywords=lasfit+h4 (If anyone wants to buy a pair of the above lights and give them a try, I will buy the 2nd one from you). |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Eegore on 05/24/17 at 09:29:43 Dave how many of the LASEFITs do you want? Just one, or a couple to test with? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/24/17 at 09:41:58 5F7F7D75687F1A0 wrote:
I don't know for sure. If they don't work well, then 1 is too many. If they work really well, then I likely will put them in my bike(s), and also offer it as a bulb option when I get the light kits completed. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 05/25/17 at 20:46:33 We took a quick challenge between the stock headlight, spring's led and my new 7" day maker knock off. We'll have to post pics later but they don't do justice to the light pattern. Maybe they just over whelmed the camera. The day maker has a definite bright spot in the center on high and low and a little brighter than spring's. cutoff seemed well defined. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 05/26/17 at 10:10:01 Well I just watched a 30 min video on YouTube while I was eating lunch at my desk...and I got some bad news. The reason that the performance of LED bulbs is so bad - is that the lens and reflector is designed and optimized to work with the very specific location of the 2 filaments (high/low) in bulb. The LED bulbs have not been very good at replicating those filaments....and that is especially true of the $ 30 Chinese copycat stuff. We may still be able to find an affordable $ 30 bulb the Savage that will provide a worthwhile upgrade - but the cutting edge stuff that can replicate the original bulb is pricey. One such light is currently $239 a pair. Go to the H4 (9003) model and you can see how the small LED's are arranged to match the location of the filament in a traditional bulb (without this...that is why we get the uneven and unfocused light pattern). https://gtrlighting.com/headlights/gen-3/ |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 05/26/17 at 11:36:47 Educate me on this, is the bright spot a desirable thing? I think that would concentrate a lot of light in a localized area rather than spreading it out more. But I guess it would be the point where the photons penetrated further into the darkness, too for downroad light. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/01/17 at 07:21:18 Last night I installed this LASFIT bulb into the Ninja to give it a try.......it is pretty good for a cheaper light. It has a good light pattern, pretty easy installation, the light can be rotated to make sure you get the best orientation for your reflector, and there is no box on the cable. The rubber seal worked OK on the Candlepower reflector, and I believe it will work good on the Savage reflector as well. And you can get a pair of them for less than $40 (share the cost with a forum friend and they are $20 each). The only negative I have to say about it - is the fit of the plastic housing into the H4 adapter plate seems a bit cheap.....but I guess it works. I am waiting on another set of bulbs to try out. This is what the bulb looks like taken apart and ready to install. (Don't pay any attention to the Hella rubber seal in the photo - that fits a different reflector). http://i68.tinypic.com/33uv4ev.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/01/17 at 08:36:16 I'll be getting back to the LED you (Dave) let me borrow tonight (delayed with plumbing issues, rain, out of town...). I need to see if my issue was the orientation of the bulb and cut-off and if I had it right, or if it is an issue with the bulb only going in one way with the cut-off oriented wrong, and if so, if the LED will let me change the orientation or if it is fixed in place. Springman didn't reort any orientation issues, but not seeing pics against a wall or something comparable it's hard to compare what I was getting versus what he was getting. Hopefully I'll have a follow up report late tonight or tomorrow. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 06/05/17 at 10:13:28 I'm suddenly interested in LED's. I've decided to use a dual side-by-side headlight on my Street Tracker. Two H4's (110/130w) may overwhelm the output of the electrical system, whereas two LED (50w) is actually a bit less power the the 55/65w OEM setup. At 3-1/2" each the housings are small so I may go with a pair that do not use a pigtail harness. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/05/17 at 10:30:56 Gary: I am still working on the LED testing, and so far I have mixed success. The LED lights I have tested to date are all brighter, and they all spread the light out to the sides very well. They don't control the vertical light output well enough, and even the best ones I have tried so far allow more light to shine above the vertical cut off for the low beam. The result is that more light spills up above the horizontal cutoff line - so more light goes into the eyes of the other drivers. When you aim the light lower to compensate - the high beam isn't shining down the road far enough. This may be one of the reasons that the LED lights on those cars and trucks coming toward us are so blindingly bright on some cars. I took some photos that show how well the filament bulb controls the cutoff and how badly some of the LEDs do - but for some reason TINYPIC won't accept these photos very well - it could be that their software interprets the photos that are just "washed out light" as being corrupt. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 06/05/17 at 12:08:52 Here are the pictures we took at Lancer's house. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 06/05/17 at 12:09:35 Halogen. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 06/05/17 at 12:10:59 LED |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 06/05/17 at 12:12:52 These are all on low beam. At this distance (length of driveway, maybe 30 feet) the Halogen looks good. The Daymaker looks the most intense and whitest. The LED is very bright but somewhat scattered. As Versi said, the pictures do not do justice to reality. The Halogen is actually substantially dimmer and yellower than the other 2 bulbs. The LED is probably as bright as the Daymaker but the light output is scattered and not defined. The Daymaker was just as bright, if not brighter, than the LED but the light pattern was very defined and controlled and at the center it even appeared like if a spot light was being shined there. In my estimation the Daymaker is by far the best bulb. I have seen a Daymaker knockoff on ebay for around $36.00 that has arms for attaching to the fork and I am considering ordering it to see if it is any good. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by springman on 06/05/17 at 12:47:37 Here is the light I am considering. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/232158349265?ul_noapp=true (MODERATOR COMMENT - (That seems cheap enough - I have copied it into the Daymaker thread....Dave). |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 06/05/17 at 13:04:54 I think the white garage door is overwhelming the cameras and that is why we're not seeing the fine detail of the headlight patterns. While stew's driveway pic's do give us a hint at the variability of the light pattern. I propose we retake the pics on a non white wall or fence. A road pic would handy too. something with bushes on the side so we can see height and depth. http://i64.tinypic.com/5kowtx.png |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/05/17 at 13:28:48 Versy: I agree that photos of a light is a lot like trying to compare the sound of sound of different mufflers......it is a lot better in person and the camera distorts both the light and the sound. And 30' is probably a bit close - still it does provide a good indicator of what the upper part of the low beam cut-off looks like....and that is a good indicator of how much light shines in folks eyes when you are pointed at them. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/05/17 at 14:11:20 IF it doesn't' rain here again tonight...I will take the bike down to the field and get some Halogen vs LED pics. I just cleared out a good section of tree line this weekend that I think will offer a good background for the pics so we can see the pattern straight ahead as well as off to the sides while it is not being bounced around off of the white garage. Can someone do a no-rain dance? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/05/17 at 19:45:34 Ok team....I finally got an evening with no rain (but it was really humid and thundering). I took more comparative pictures against the tree line versus a reflective garage door as planned. Overall, the LED is brighter but you can still see some of the hard cut-offs in the beam whereas the standard halogen is much smoother and solid. I did verify this time that the bulb was in there and seated properly, and to Dave's previous comment, I think the bulb was initially in there a bit kaddywomped. So, here are the images. Set 1 below is from the rider's POV. Set 2 is a wider angle from back behind the bike in an attempt to get a wider perspective. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/05/17 at 19:52:42 Set 2: |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/05/17 at 22:31:37 Looks to me like the halogen does a better job, but is that a failure to make light or is that a problem with getting the light situated right relative to the reflector? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/06/17 at 06:29:05 JOG, I dunno. Dave probably has the best perspective on all of this. One thing to keep in mind is the two different bulb designs. The standard Halogen is providing more light in an overall direction to go back and hit the reflector and bounce back out. Notice the design of the LED. There are two LEDs (one high and one low) on each side of the arm. This likely causes some of the light in certain areas blocked by the arm to be blocked and thus not reflected and emitted out as smoothly as the halogen. Just my $0.02. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/06/17 at 12:07:46 Yep Springman....you have it figured out. The early and the current cheap mass produced LED's just don't have the right location of the light source to simulate the filament bulb accurately. The LED's put out a lot of light - but they don't make it in a way that the reflector can use it properly. If you want to spend $20 - $30 on a Chinese made LED....you are going to get light going in directions that isn't a lot of help. The newest LED's are starting to get it figured out - but they may not fit in the stock Savage light bucket....and I am not sure the Savage reflector is very good to start with. Here is what the next generation of LED lights looks like - and at the moment they are about $120 - $250 a pair. http://i65.tinypic.com/rvbwht.jpg So I am still looking for an affordable LED light that works well. This one is working well in the 7" light in my Ninja...it is a pretty good light for the less than $20 - it has the LED's in almost the right place...unfortunately the reflector is just painted silver instead of being a reflective surface (I might try sticking some silver foil on it). https://www.amazon.com/LASFIT-Headlight-Kits-COB-Adjustable-6000K-Dual/dp/B01H8VILH2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495624880&sr=8-2&keywords=lasfit+h4 http://i68.tinypic.com/33uv4ev.jpg I have some lights to try at the outing next week - Stewmills and MMRanch are going to be the test subjects! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Ruttly on 06/06/17 at 12:20:03 Dave , Will that fit in stock headlight bucket ? The rear section is so long. I rarely ride at night , I would try it for that price , if it fits ! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/06/17 at 12:27:16 301716160E1B620 wrote:
I think it will fit in the stock housing....as the part sticking out of the light is the fat part of the fan housing, and it isn't much deeper than the socket to plug in the light. Springman and Stewmills all had the other one with the fan installed on their bikes...and they had room. If you can take photos of the headlight high/low beam up against a garage wall.....about 50-80 feet away, and are willing to try these things out and do an evaluation of them - I have 3 different LED's for you to try. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 06/06/17 at 12:31:25 I went with two inexpensive units from China. The 4" dual headlight housings I'm using for the Tracker just doesn't have a lot of extra real estate for a large format LED. That, and to be honest, I don't ride at night - as a rule - so I'm not that concerned about the quality of the output. I want to been seen during the day and for the one time a year I may ride at night I'm not worried about out riding the available light. Nothing good happens on a motorcycle at night. I got a pair of these ==> https://www.amazon.com/CLighting-Motorcycle-Headlight-Headlamp-Kawasaki/dp/B06XHMJQCB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496763397&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=led+h4+bulb&psc=1 |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/06/17 at 12:38:18 Gary: Those are very similar to the one that I tried and Tocsik is still using. https://www.amazon.com/LASFIT-Headlight-Philips-Driver-Warranty/dp/B01BBWQWFM/ref=sr_1_45?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1495623083&sr=1-45&keywords=h4+led The weird part about these lights is that they shine all the light upward into the reflector - no light is directed downward....and that is where the high beam light goes in a normal filament bulb. These upward only LED's with the internal fans are the easiest to install, and the low beam works very well. The high beam just doesn't shine out as far as it should. Eegore just provide a set of these Lasfit bulbs for me to try out....they will be going to the group ride next week for Stemills and MMRanch to test. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/06/17 at 12:41:56 714A4750414D56504B434E51220 wrote:
Correct. I have a small felt pad in the back of my stock housing to dampen vibration, and i could tell where the LED housing likely bumped up against it snug. So there is room for a fit without forcing anything, but not a lot of EXTRA room. The little capacitor deal (or whatever the rectangular thingy is) just tucks up in there with all of the other headlight wiring. Note that they do get warm, which halogen bulbs do as well. Just be conscious what you have up against the LED parts (that silver thingy) in the event that it gets hot enough over time to possibly melt any wire sheathing and short something out. Dave likely knows better than I what the potential for this is given that I have not ridden with the LED for any extended period of time and he has tested a lot of stuff, but I am also admittedly overly cautious when dealing with electrical components that get "warm" since electrical stuff isn't my strong suit. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 06/06/17 at 12:58:41 63585542535F444259515C43300 wrote:
Being that I have a dual headlight, I wonder if I will be able to install one facing in one direction and the other in the opposite. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/06/17 at 13:36:20 Gary, I think they will only go in one way, without modification. The three prongs on the bulbs have one that is wider than the other two, and this lager one is prong that points "up". And the prongs do not create an equilateral triangle...they are a bit offset. I am sure they do this on purpose so the vertical cutoffs, etc. are at the correct orientation. Nothing that a dremel won't fix though :-? See stock bulb for reference: |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 06/06/17 at 13:48:29 Perhaps the reflector can be rotated in the housing 180 degrees. I should have it by the weekend to conduct some trial fitments. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/06/17 at 13:51:11 4D474349424B4F46181E1A2A0 wrote:
Perhaps you are thinking outside of the box 8-) |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Ruttly on 06/06/17 at 15:19:44 Dave , My bike is down for the next 2 to 3 months. Riding the sportster for now. Building muscles learning to toss it around , I already miss the tracker being so light & agile. But thanks for the offer. Not liking the idea of something hot in a plastic headlight with my precious wiring ! Thanks again |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by verslagen1 on 06/07/17 at 22:37:10 I had to replace my led bulb in the stocker, one of the low beam elements gave up the ghost. so... daymaker low beam http://www.savageriders.com/verslagen/headlight/daymaker lowbeam.jpg daymaker high beam http://www.savageriders.com/verslagen/headlight/daymaker hibeam.jpg 2500-led-stock-light-low beam http://www.savageriders.com/verslagen/headlight/2500-led-stock-light-low.jpg 2500-led-stock-light-hi beam http://www.savageriders.com/verslagen/headlight/2500-led-stock-light-hi.jpg |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/08/17 at 05:09:26 That's tossing some light down.. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 06/12/17 at 02:45:27 I had hoped that this bulb was going to be a good update for the stock Savage headlight, as it is self contained and fits in just like a stock bulb. It is brighter - although the light pattern is a bit different as all the light comes out the top of the bulb. It makes a very wide and bright beam of light. http://i68.tinypic.com/2rm1erp.jpg http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/ https://www.amazon.com/LASFIT-Headlight-Philips-Driver-Warranty/dp/B01BBWQWFM/ref=sr_1_45?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1495623083&sr=1-45&keywords=h4+led Tocsik and I tried this bulb from ADVmonster and found that it fogged up the reflector and lens. Tocsik was told to clean his with alcohol and it would be OK. Eegore sent me a pair of these same bulbs distributed by Lasfit, and I tried one this weekend. I cleaned the bulb with alcohol and a Q-tip before I installed it, and I connected it to a battery and let it run for several hours before I installed it into the bike. This is what the lens looked like when it was installed. http://i65.tinypic.com/10zznld.jpg The reflector started fogging up almost immediately - and this is what it looked like 100 miles later: http://i63.tinypic.com/o6l27c.jpg http://i65.tinypic.com/154cydx.jpg I am not sure what is causing this fogging - it does seem to be worse when the bulb is first installed and the rate at which it fogs up the lens seems to slow down over time....but I just can't recommend this bulb to anyone. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Rodger on 06/12/17 at 04:55:41 Good to know, Dave. Thanks for all the time you've put in! |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by stewmills on 06/12/17 at 06:50:57 I know this may sound funny, but is it possible that the reflective material that the bucket is covered with (aluminum or other material) is getting so hot it is breaking off (at the minute molecular level) and getting dispersed all around the bucket and the lens? I know that halogen bulbs get hot too, but there are different kinds of "hot" and maybe what comes from these bulbs is just the wrong kind of hot. Or, is the material coming off of the heat sync and not the LED bulb area? |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/12/17 at 08:46:51 The schmutz on the inside of the windshield of a new car is literally stuff that is boiling out of the plastics in the dash and stuff. But I would want to get a bulb that is sliming the glass and test it in a zero plastics environment to see if you are onto something. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by BGregg on 09/03/17 at 15:02:10 I just installed the ADVMonster H4 R3 LED bulb in my stock Savage reflector, it was a tight squeeze so I'm hoping the flexible heat sinks don't melt any wires. Also need to check that the power box doesn't rattle around in there. Will check back in when I've had a chance to out some miles on it. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Tocsik on 09/05/17 at 07:44:33 Let us know how that works BGregg. ADVMonster had me send my native H4 back for "repair or replacement". The new bulb is still fogging my headlight. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by BGregg on 09/05/17 at 08:08:55 So far so good. Had a good rain last night and I didn't notice anything amiss. I'll check for fogging after work today. Looked good at night, noone flashed at me so I think the aim is still appropriate. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by BGregg on 09/05/17 at 08:19:42 New low beam. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by BGregg on 09/05/17 at 08:27:38 New high beam |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Dave on 09/05/17 at 10:05:30 5A616D7D67650E0 wrote:
I have a feeling the Native LED will always fog up you headlight. I bought a pair of the same bulb sold with the "LASFIT" brand, and I cleaned it thoroughly with alcohol before installing it....and it fogged up the inside of the headlight within 20 minutes. I believe that style LED is flawed, and not worth buying. I believe the ADVMonster H4 R3 LED bulb is a good bulb if you have room for the heat sink braids - I did notice the vertical cut off on the low beam is a little bit fuzzy....which means some light is spilling upward and will likely be more bothersome to other drivers than the a stock filament bulb is. |
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Title: Re: LED Headlight Bulb Post by Gary_in_NJ on 09/05/17 at 13:33:14 I purchased these for my Street Tracker: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHNDW8S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have not experienced any fogging issues. I have dual 3" headlight enclosures and these just fit (the tip of the LED light does sit on the glass lens). I have maybe 5 to 10 hours of riding time on the bike. If they were going to fog, they would have by now. They do have internal fans...I can hear them run when the ignition is on and the bike isn't running. |
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