I bit the bullet and bought an H4 LED replacement bulb..
I did a fair amount of research and soon learned that you must buy an LED that has the diodes placed in the same position as a Halogens filaments..
I found this guy in the link below...
Not only do his bulbs meet this requirement (so they dont dazzle) but they are a Fan-less design!!
If some of you think they dont make much difference then let the photos show you the way..
Photos taken on a bright sunny morning..
Lastly these LED's only draw 25 watts!!!
MAKE SURE YOU GET THE DAYLIGHTER H4 4K version !!!
http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyWhyNotLEDs.htm
I know its possible to get similar bulbs on eBay for cars (I have some) but this guy only deals with classic old bikes and these bulbs..
They work out pretty dear but then so do Titanium bolts !!!
Photos:
1. shows Old bulb on dipped
2. shows LED on dipped
3. shows Old bulb on main
4. shows LED on main
S.
Looks great Simon - did they fit easily? :)
That's a big difference, what's it like out on the road at night?
Certainly looks good Speedy. Does the rubber seal fit over globe properly to keep dust etc out. I have tried others that seal didnt fit, totally necessary i reckon.
Led bulb seems much brighter. Can give more visibility and safety by that way.
Quote from: Notty on Saturday, 03 August 2019, 05:19 PM
Looks great Simon - did they fit easily? :)
Hi Notty it DID fit easily..
Grog.. The rubber seal had to be modified slightly.. I enlarged the opening that fits around the bulb..
Have to admit its MUCH easier to fit WITHOUT the seal... But I fitted it but as I say I cut the bulb hole part to increase the diameter..
MJGT..
I was going to take her out tonight but on my way back from my ride out at 17.30 its started to rain..
My mates say its MUCH more visible in their mirrors even in bright sunlight (it was sunny earlier)..
I took the headlight right out to play with the fitting... It total for me I would say 15 mins BUT I was farting about (technical term) with the rubber seal then without the rubber seal etc..
If you were at my house with the same bulb I could fit it in under 10 mins
I have taken a photo when I got home of the interior of the headlight showing the fitment..
I have been out on a 5 hour ride and I have to admit the fins were pretty hot..
Its made me wonder whether the lack of the rubber shroud would aid cooling??
I could hold the fins but they were quite hot!
I fitted the headlamp back in its shell in such a way that the wires go around the circumference (They were like that as standard on Sophie).. That means the wires aren't trapped against the fins and the back of the shell..
Hopefully the photo shows the ease of fitment..
S.
OOps I made a slight mistake with the version you need for the GSX..
Its the H4 4K version and NOT the "daylighter 2"
Scroll down the page in the link about three quarters of the way and you will see the version I am on about..
S.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Sunday, 04 August 2019, 03:24 AM
OOps I made a slight mistake with the version you need for the GSX..
Its the H4 4K version and NOT the "daylighter 2"
Scroll down the page in the link about three quarters of the way and you will see the version I am on about..
S.
@Speedy1959 You may want to edit your 1st post accordingly, please ;)
Thanks Andre I did do as soon as I spotted the mistake earlier.
S.
Oops, must not have looked right :smile2:
Update..
Tonight it turned out to be dry so at about 9.30 I got my gear on and took Sophie out on a night spin..
I live in a semi rural area and so I dont need to go far before i get to lanes that are unlit..
I went on a ride to Glasson Dock (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasson_Dock).. About half an hour ish to get there, by which time it was properly dark..
I can say the night time performance is VERY good indeed.
Hopefully the photos do the LED justice..
If I am to be hyper finicky then I would say that the main beam is NOT the laser powered spotlight you may be expecting..
Yes it does extend the range but not dramatically..
However the dipped beam is exceptional.. VERY good coverage of the kerbs / verges with a decent central splash of light in the near to mid range..
Maybe its because the dipped is so impressive that the main seems lack luster??
Don't get me wrong its more than adequate for "normal" riding on unlit roads..
Hopefully the photos will give you a better idea of what I am rambling on about..
Talking of photos I am pretty impressed that my iphone 6 plus captured it pretty well..
S.
Very good comparison & pic's Speedy. I'm happy with my installation, but sure others will find this useful for sure. :onya:
I nearly forgot..
I took a quick photo of the LED in its box..
It will give an idea of what it looks like unfitted.
Some of you (including me a week ago) may not be aware of how the latest "CSP" LED chips differ from older generations..
Have a read here... (Andre will like this)..
https://www.ledoauto.com/blog/index.php/2016/12/09/what-is-csp-package-and-csp-led-chip/
S.
Simon, they state that the H4 4K will not be a problem at MOT time. Do they have an E-number? Should be visible from the front.
How much money does it cost ? Is it worth the expense in regards to the improvement in brightness ? :whatever:
We get Hoglights here www.hoglights.com.au quite expensive but massive improvement in lighting.
so the DAYLIGHTER 2s' H4 5K headlight doesn't fit then?
@Speedy1959
Quote from: Andre on Sunday, 04 August 2019, 07:07 PM
Simon, they state that the H4 4K will not be a problem at MOT time. Do they have an E-number? Should be visible from the front.
Where do they state that Andre? I can't see it in the article (which is written in terrible English after all)
In the UK, fitting an LED bulb to a headlight designed for a standard tungsten globe will now fail the MOT (the rules changed last year), although I think it still depends on how much of a jobsworth the MOT tester actually is. Easy enough though to swap the bulb out at MOT time back to a normal tungsten unit.
I didn't get flashed once by oncoming cars last night.
So it can't be that dazzling 😬
Price inc postage was about £27 I think.
You could half that if you bought the car ones.
I am not at all offended by the price. They are MUCH better than the standard Halogen.
S.
Quote from: gsxbarmy on Monday, 05 August 2019, 01:30 AM
Where do they state that Andre? I can't see it in the article (which is written in terrible English after all)
@gsxbarmy lower right hand corner in attached screenshot.
Thanks Andre - clearly I missed that bit hidden away in the corner!
However, they can claim what they like, as per my previous post, what they state is incorrect following changes in the MOT rules last year and this.
I don't mind much failing MOT (and switching bulbs). I am more concerned about getting a ticket and points against my license as well as losing insurance. Looked this up again and found that even with an e-number they are illegal here. For the 14 I would need an approved head lamp unit with its official papers.
Madness isn't it. Any incorrectly adjusted bulb can blind oncomers, ought to make that the offence, not having a decent light.
Quote from: Andre on Monday, 05 August 2019, 09:06 AM
I don't mind much failing MOT (and switching bulbs). I am more concerned about getting a ticket and points against my license as well as losing insurance. Looked this up again and found that even with an e-number they are illegal here. For the 14 I would need an approved head lamp unit with its official papers.
Exactly the same in the U.K. Andre.
Just by the by :whistling: what is MOT ? Please :whatever:
Quote from: GSXKING on Monday, 05 August 2019, 06:27 PM
Just by the by :whistling: what is MOT ? Please :whatever:
It's an annual test of a vehicle - checking brakes lights chassis suspension etc - Also emissions on cars - cost £29 for a bike and £50 for a car
An MOT test is a Ministry of Transport test. It is carried out every year after the first three years on all vehicles. It is ensure all vehicles on the road were at least fully legal and compliant with the law at least once a year. It checks tyres, steering, suspension, lights, wheel bearings, fuel tank seal. brakes, horn, indicators and exhaust, a lot of lads fit their baffle for the MOT and take them out again when it's done, Some Harley dealers charge to fit a legal exhaust for the test for you (but you have to pay). Some testers are a bit more sensible and if you take the baffles with you and aske they will say okay just leave them under the seat as they know exactly what your are going to do.
Just beat me to it notty :whatever:
Sounds like a good earn $$$$ for the grubernment coffers. Every vehicle i.e. trucks, cars and bikes every year that must be one heck of an earner. :facepalm:
Was talking to a friend last night who did the LED conversion on his CB1300 2 years ago..
It has passed 2 MOT's now without any issues..
To be honest I don't give 2 hoots..
If the tester is funny I will remove the LED 10 mins before the test and then replace it 10 mins after the test..
Quote from: GSXKING on Monday, 05 August 2019, 07:47 PM
Sounds like a good earn $$$$ for the grubernment coffers. Every vehicle i.e. trucks, cars and bikes every year that must be one heck of an earner. :facepalm:
Until fairly recently everything here had to be done every 6 months. They still check
every commercial vehicle each 6 months, new or old, doesn't matter.
Cars n bikes, older than 2000 every 6 months, 2000 & onward every year. Brand new now get 3 years, then 2 years.
The queues at the testing stations are always long & because they've got a ready market, the prices are always going up, when I started taking trucks through it was $65 for the test, last time I did one it was just under $200 from memory, could be more now. Same test, same people, bet their wage hasn't tripled in that time either.
Of course, our roads are so much safer for it, there's no old dungers on the road or mad boy racer cars. No, just all law abiding / complying vehicles. or NOT!
It pays to shop around for an MoT, I get my car done for £29 and my bikes done for £25 every year, saves me almost £45
@KiwiCol why do we see dungers on your version on RBT show on TV ? Are they actually illegal vehicles ? Usually driven by unlicensed imigrants ? or am I being a racist :stir: :stir: :stir: :stir:
Whats RBT show?
Random
Breath
Test
Without seeing the program, I couldn't tell. However a lot of those featuring on that type of show are indeed dungers & not up to standard with underage / drunk or drugged drivers, who, most often don't give a toss - at the time anyway.
@Del led headlight thread we spoke about
:cheers:
I have an led headlamp and it passes every single time
What size is that headlight? The ones I've seen available seem to be for cruisers 5.75" and 7".
eg https://hoglights.com.au/collections/5-75-led-headlight-units
Are our headlights actually 6" or maybe they are actually 5.75" ???
I'd be interested in that headlight as well.
I installed a LED H4 replacement bulb and really wasn't impressed at all. Even checked the headlight aim and it was fine. Tried different adjustments and I thought it was worse than the standard H4 Halogen bulb that was in the bike when I bought it. Which was an OSRAM bulb. At least the OSRAM lit up the road, the LED bulb, whilst it looked fine in the driveway at night, out on the open road it felt like I had no headlight at all.
Thankfully I don't do much riding at night and if I do go out at night, I guess I am a little spoilt with the 4 headlights on my VFR. With the same 2 LED bulbs in the Low-beam for the VFR - they seriously light up the road at night and when I hit high beam I can easily do the speed limit and more.
The light was so bad on the GSX that I could barely do 60kph on a country road at night, I could barely see the road.
There are LED's and there are LED's!
My headlight in that pic was bought from e-bay and was a direct swap,it just bolted in the original headlamp brackets. The light I use is generally for a land rover or jeep,I think it a 7". It also comes with a 3pin socket. I can't remember how much it cost though,but the amount is on one of my previous threads on this subject, hope this helps.
Just found my old thread,the headlamp was £160.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 04 November 2019, 10:41 PM
There are LED's and there are LED's!
I did a fair amount of research before I bought one for my bike.
There are some very cheap ones available on EBay. But the problem with those is that the LED chip isn't in the same place as the filaments in a Halogen bulb. That means they light the wrong part of the reflector which causes glare!
Glare means the light isn't being focused where it should be but scattered.
I am VERY happy with the performance of my LED replacements.
S.
Yep. I did a ton of research as well. Bought the same bulb as you have in your pics. Just wasn't impressed. Wondering if the issue might be the reflector.
I bought a pair of bulbs and also tried them in my VFR - which was awesome.
Not that I do much night riding, but if I get caught out for whatever reason - I like to see whats on the road. Think I'll upgrade the whole headlight.