I have worked with LEDs for over 15 years, both in the professional/industrial arena and as a hobbyist. When "super bright" LEDs first hit the mainstream consumer market I had already been working with them for years. While I am not an expert on the doping/manufacturing procedures, I do have a great deal of practical application experience with them.

I am building a setup in my workshop that will allow me to rate/test/evaluate all types of automotive/motorcycle light bulbs. From power consumption (actual wattage required to operate the bulb) to luminous intensity and even wavelength (color spectrum), I hope to find bulbs and /or manufacturers that can meet the needs of those who wish to use them here on the forums. Whether you plan to completely replace your existing incandescent bulbs with LED types....or simply wish to add additional lighting, This thread ought to provide at least some useful information.

My first testing will be to determine which LEDS are suitable replacements for our 8 watt "running lights". In other words, what rating does an LED have to have in order to compete with the standard 8 watt filament of a typical 1157 bulb. We all know that a standard 8 watt bulb is "daylight visible". My very early initial testing shows that if you put a 1.2-2 watt LED bulb behind a lens of the same color....the luminous intensity is nearly the same...meaning they are daylight visible.

I will also be posting links (ebay mostly) for actual bulbs that I have purchased and tested. While this is by no means a guarantee that all of the bulbs by that seller will be identical...it will at least provide some insight as to which manufacturers/sellers are worth looking into and which are not.

I will also be discussing different ways to add LED lighting to your bike with the minimum amount of fuss and hopefully, cost.

As with all of my posts here, anyone interested is welcome to chime in with questions or their own personal experience, and such input will be appreciated.

My rig consists of a fully charged and regulated 12 volt maintenance free battery (the same one that is currently on my Savage), volt meter to measure voltage drop, current meter to measure amp usage, a watt meter to show actual watts used by the bulb, and a photographic light meter to measure output in lux (or lumens). by comparing the LEDs with standard bulbs, I should be able to come up with a basic chart that will show what type of LED bulb will be needed for a given application.

As with any topic here, the thread will be driven by the interest of the community. If there is little to no interest....it will just fade away

I will do my best to update this thread at least once a week.

This is a great tail/brake light bulb.  I have it in my ST1100, and a friend used one in his BMW Paris Dakar bike that had a very small rubber mounted tail light and kept vibrating the filament bulbs out of existence.  The flashing brake light function works really well on this bulb.  This bulb works best in applications with a jagged pattern cast into the tail light lens....on tail lights that have a smooth lens with a scalloped reflector they don't work very well as they light pattern is too small.....and the bulb is a bit longer and moves the light out of the reflector focal point.  I ordered a pair and put them in my Pontiac Vibe that has clear lens and fluted reflectors....and they only made a small round glow....when I moved them over to my wife's Honda Civic that had a pattern in the lens they work great.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/s-series-bulbs/1157-led-bulb-w-brake...

This may also be a good option for an LED headlight.  It has the low beam LED's shielded to provide the vertical light cut off that so many of the cheap LED's don't have.....this should prevent the light from shining into the eyes of oncoming drivers.  It also has flexible heat strips that cool the light without using a fan.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/h-series-bulbs/led-headlight-kit-h4-...

Well, hopefully this will be a discussion thread with a follow on tech thread for the results.

LEDs are a special animal.  There are many different configurations.  Many don't work well with certain types lighting (lens/reflectors) others work great.  Corncob bulbs don't work with focused lighting such as headlights.  Corncob bulbs work fine with diffused lighting such as signals.

That headlight that Dave refers to is also sold by Philips:
Phillips Lumileds

Boogie_with_Stu wrote on 09/30/15 at 12:11:50:


That light I posted is only suitable for a tail/brake light, and it does not need a load resistor when used in that application.  You just remove the stock 1157 bulb and replace it with that bulb....you don't need it.  I have used it as a brake/tail light in 4 different vehicles without any issues.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/s-series-bulbs/1157-led-bulb-w-brake...

They do offer the same bulb without the flasher module, and if you used it for a turn signal you would either need a load resistor - or you would need to switch to an electronic flasher.  Some of the corn cob type of lights might actually be better for use in a turn signal housing.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/s-series-bulbs/1157-led-bulb-w-refle...

It also comes in an 1156 version.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/s-series-bulbs/1156-led-bulb-1-high-...

Although headlight LED conversion info and experience are certainly relevant and welcome in this thread...I personally wont be dealing with them in my work.

My main goal is to make my bike more visible without damaging the electrical system and without spending a ton on "high end" accessory lighting. I've seen a set of aftermarket LED turn signals for Harleys going for as high as $80-100. That's just insane. I hope to provide more cost effective options, along with the technical data to back them up.

Strang, I havent seen those specific bar-end lights before so I cant comment, but VERY few bar-end lights are going to be "daylight visible". There just isnt enough room for the high wattage LEDs.
THESE I have seen...and ARE daylight visible, but are also incandescent and run 18 watts each....which is a lot of extra load. Could they then be converted to hi power LED? I'll bet so.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mat-Black-7-8-Handlebar-Bar-End-Indicators-Turn-Signa...

If you want to mount them to the bars themselves, an option like these would work...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Black-Amber-Bullet-Turn-Signal-Light-For-Harley-So...

Any mini bullet that can take a standard auto bulb can be retrofitted for LED use. In most cases, the LED wattage draw is so low that you will not upset your electrical system. Again, any LED that puts out a genuine 1.2-2 watts will be much brighter than our standard 8 watt 1156 bulb in the same application.

Thanks grid...there really is no such thing as too much information when it comes to LEDs. The vast number of sellers, manufacturers, the fact that some tell you how many watts are PRODUCED and some tell you how many watts are NEEDED to operate (and never explain which is which), that MOST do not list how many lumens or what the LUX value is....it can all become rather muddy. The whole idea of this thread is to try and create a better understanding of how these devices work and how to spot the "cheap knockoffs".

One thing that many buyers do not know is that LEDs are not created equal....even if they come from the same manufacturer or even the same batch. They are made...then tested for brightness and clarity (and "color") and then the best 20% or so are sold to outfits like Phillips or GE...and the rest are sold to secondary markets.

That is not to say that you cant get a great set of 3 watt LED bulbs off ebay....you certainly can, but when you see a bulb for $6.99 a pair...and then a few pages later you see the same exact bulb for $12 for 10 pcs, well....you can usually guess that the cheaper bulbs will vary in color, clarity and brightness.

Boogie_with_Stu wrote on 09/30/15 at 12:11:50:


I am not sure I understand the "Load Resistor".  I do know that LED's operate somewhere between 2-4 volts depending on color, and that some form of resister will be needed - and the resistor is already built into the bulb when they are made to fit into standard lighting sockets.

I do understand that when LED bulbs are used for turn signals, it is necessary to replace the Flasher unit with an electronic one to get the turn signals to operate correctly.

However.....the charging system in our motorcycle puts out about 100 watts all the time, and whatever power is not needed is wasted by the voltage regulator/rectifier....and it is wasted as "heat" by the regulator/rectifier.  If we replaced all the bulbs with LED's and got the power usage way down on the electrical system - could the regulator/rectifier bleed off all the extra energy without cooking itself?

Do we need to keep the total power consumption nearly equal to what is stock?