Topic: LED Headlight conversion

[grumpy]

How are you guys managing to jam all that stuff into the headlight bucket?

Also, with all that heat, isn't the rat's nest going to melt?

[PeWe]

My CB750 K6 -76 had H4 60/55W (Lo/Hi) from the very beginning. Plus parking light. That kind of H4 has been standard here on cars for decades. Charging is OK even with light switched on all the time (Dyna-S with 3 ohm coils not, 5 ohm coils OK)
Some has used the Rallye versions with 80 or 100W
After hat H7 (1990's) and too bright and blinding xenon (2000--->) and superbright LED's.

I have a new Hella insert I'll use. I have now a cheap insert on bike with no metal stuff shaping the light pattern (Std H4 bulbs can shape the beam). The Hella has so the light pattern at Lo will be correct with the H4 Led light (30W) I have. It shines very bright. Parking light is also LED and shines much more and brighter.

I'm sure the Hella insert will be an improvement. Same one as Jeep Wrangler can use.

[PeWe]

How are you guys managing to jam all that stuff into the headlight bucket?

Also, with all that heat, isn't the rat's nest going to melt?

My LED H4  take more space. I had to leave the 3 relays I had installed for Hi/Lo and parking outside the bucket since the LED H4 has a cooling fan making it longer, plus a small box cranking up the power to it

[RAFster122s]

The 750 has more headroom on its charging system than the 550.  Not that either is plentiful. A high wattage bulb like a 55/60W will be taxing a 550 charging system.  It will work but, really draws more than it should.

[PeWe]

Forum member Anders288 makes better charging systems
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,117735.400.html

[Deltarider]

My CB750 K6 -76 had H4 60/55W (Lo/Hi) from the very beginning. Plus parking light. That kind of H4 has been standard here on cars for decades. Charging is OK even with light switched on all the time (Dyna-S with 3 ohm coils not, 5 ohm coils OK)
Some has used the Rallye versions with 80 or 100W

Pewe, you're right, same here. My PA switch is lame and there have been quite some times I was riding with both headlight filaments accidently switched, only to detected by me when I entered a tunnel and noticed the blue idiot light was on. How long I had been riding with both the 55W and 60W filament switched on, I don't know but he fact that I'm running also 3Ω coils, has left me confident the CB500 charging system is more than adequate. As often before, I put it that the way you use the bike is crucial. I mean, let's face it, these 'draw' complaints come from a market where people, when invited for a BBQ at the neighbours, go in the car first to get there. There's another thing that strikes me and that's the many, many posts here on regulators/rectifiers. In the UK site maybe one or two, German site: zero, French site: zero. I can't explain it, but I take it a lot of US batteries must have been mistreated like connected by mistake (reversed polarity) or left on a charger too long. It could also be bikes were used too long where one had better picked a pedalbike. My tip: if you wanna save on power, disconnect those silly and good for nothing running lights that draw 16 Watts and as a negative side effect render your front indicators next to useless.
The Hella reflector I run, was on the bike when I bought it and has been replaced by me by exactly the same model. What was good for so many models German cars including some models Porsche, is good enough for me. I'm stunned that so many, in stead of consulting independent tests in UK, Holland and Germany, choose to believe the bla, bla in ads, where they're promised thousands of this and thousands of that only to end up with a miserable light pattern.

[PeWe]

I have noticed that my brighter and whiter H4 lamp gives me more respect in the traffic. Less cars that cross the road just in front of me. I even had one car in front of me that must have seen me in the mirrors that slowed down when I was accelerating 50-100m behind it.

[Deltarider]

Actually a yellow headlight draws more attention in the rear view mirror as tests have shown. When I'm in a car and spot a yellow headlight in the mirror, I know immediately it must be motorcyclist. Wished they'd made it a law: yellow headlights exclusively for motorcycles. They stand out without irritating which is also a known safety aspect...

[MessnerMoto]

Any experience with this ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-LED-Projector-Headlight-Fit-Harley-Night-Rod-Special-VRSCDX-/262662266139?tfrom=262837687754&tpos=top&ttype=price&talgo=undefined

[MessnerMoto]

Any experience with this ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-LED-Projector-Headlight-Fit-Harley-Night-Rod-Special-VRSCDX-/262662266139?tfrom=262837687754&tpos=top&ttype=price&talgo=undefined

Somebody ?

[Deltarider]

No, but by looking at it, I can tell you it won't work as a headlight should. Besides it's ugly IMO. TSIF, what brand, what company is that?

[RAFster122s]

Dunk,
That is fantastic news!  Cibies are my favorite ECE light, head and shoulders above Hella, Bosch, etc.  The optics are so much sharper and performance of the light distribution even better than the other ECE lights I have owned, none have been the ultra expensive brands such as PIAA, etc.
Given Cibies typically run $80-100 or even more for a single lamp, that is a great deal.
Are other std bulb housing formats available?  4x6, 5.75 round, etc?
David

That light is most definitely not a fog light. I own two of them, trust me. If you don't believe me, just look at the pattern in the glass on the image and you'll see it's not a fog light.

Regarding the Hella DOT reflector, and DOT lighting in general... US DOT mandates approximately 20% of the light be shined up into oncoming drivers eyes and the trees, allegedly to illuminate overhead road signs. It's wasted light and unsafe compared to a reflector with a clean cut off that puts more light out to the sides such as the Cibie ECE reflector or even most cheaper ECE reflectors.

[550Resto]

Dunk, which relay kit would you reccomend for the setup that you posted? I was looking through the site, but couldn't determine which relay to purchase.

Don't buy a cheap crappy DOT H4 reflector. Cibie (Valeo) is the best, Hella ECE is pretty good but has a goofy vertical spacing in the light pattern for high and low beam. So when you try to aim it your low beam will be low/short or your high beam will be in the trees. Hella DOT is a typical mediocre DOT reflector from my understanding. Go with a Cibie housing, $43 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Cibie-082440-82440-Light-Unit/dp/B008DQV88Q

easternbeaver.com for compact panasonic relays. A few more details in my build thread (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=125385.200). I'm thrilled with teh light frmo this setup, it's amazin and I have no idea how I rode with the original sealed beam.

[Dunk]

Dunk,
That is fantastic news!  Cibies are my favorite ECE light, head and shoulders above Hella, Bosch, etc.  The optics are so much sharper and performance of the light distribution even better than the other ECE lights I have owned, none have been the ultra expensive brands such as PIAA, etc.
Given Cibies typically run $80-100 or even more for a single lamp, that is a great deal.
Are other std bulb housing formats available?  4x6, 5.75 round, etc?
David

Yes Cibie definitely makes a quality product and the price while higher than the cheap units is a great value for what you get. They can be a bit hard to source in the States since they are illegal to run on four wheeled vehicles. If they're aimed properly nobody will question you though, except occasionally to ask how your older vehicle has such good lighting. The small 5.75" round is available in both hi/low and hi beam only, the large rectangular are also available (6"x8"?). I haven't seen the small rectangular lights but I don't have any vehicles with that size headlight.

[Dunk]

Dunk, which relay kit would you reccomend for the setup that you posted? I was looking through the site, but couldn't determine which relay to purchase.

I did not get a kit as I wanted mine to be an exact fit. I ordered wire from WireBarn (good quality wire at reasonable prices), the ceramic H4 connector from eBay, and parts list from Eastern Beaver below. I already have a bunch of bullet style connectors from when I redid the bike (think I got a kit from OregonMotorcycleParts). I put a bullet style connection after the mini fuse holder fuse which sits tucked right next to the battery. I removed the factory H4 plug from the original wiring and put that into the relays to maintain wire coloring with the main harness, as I forgot to get wire to match the original color scheme. I did not use a H4 male to female connection as I didn't want any more bulk in the bucket than needs to be.




Description Unit price Qty Amount

20A Panasonic Relay Low Power
Item# PR20LP $9.49 USD 2 $18.98 USD

20A Relay Socket
Item# RS20 $1.75 USD 2 $3.50 USD

Yazaki F250TL-2
Item# F250TL-2 $0.12 USD 4 $0.48 USD

Yazaki F250TL-3
Item# F250TL-3 $0.12 USD 4 $0.48 USD

ATM Cooper-Bussman Weatherproof Fuseholder
Item# ATMCBFH $3.49 USD 1 $3.49 USD

M6 Hero 3mm Ring Terminal
Item# BLA-206 $0.30 USD 2 $0.60 USD

M6 Hero 2mm Ring Terminal
Item# BLA-106 $0.30 USD 2 $0.60 USD

[Lostboy Steve]

I hate mine. Its bright and all, but it take away from the nostalgia. Would it kill a company to make a good quality LED that is more in the 5000k range or even a bit warmer?

[550Resto]

If I was to go with a kit for the sake of time and ease of installation would you reccomend one from the site you provided?

[Deltarider]

Yes Cibie definitely makes a quality product and the price while higher than the cheap units is a great value for what you get.

I never had better headlights than the standard quartz iodine Cibié on my Peugeot 504.

I hate mine. Its bright and all, but it take away from the nostalgia.

Many here take brightness for quality. Best option for you would be the Philips X-treme Vision Moto 55/60 Watts H4. Only big brands combined like Philips and Osram have the capacity for real research. This lamp was especially designed for motorcyclists in demanding markets like Germany. It has a yellowish appearance which makes you stand out (without annoying oncoming traffic!) but nevertheless gives an amazing flood of white light on the road. Brilliant design which won awards.

[Lostboy Steve]

Yes Cibie definitely makes a quality product and the price while higher than the cheap units is a great value for what you get.

I never had better headlights than the standard Cibié on my Peugeot 504.

I hate mine. Its bright and all, but it take away from the nostalgia.

Many here take brightness for quality. Best option for you would be the Philips X-treme Vision Moto 55/60 Watts H4. Only big brands combined like Philips and Osram have the capacity for research and development. It was especially designed for motorcyclists in demanding markets like Germany. It has a yellowish appearance which makes you stand out in traffic but nevertheless gives an amazing flood of white light on the road. Brilliant. Won many prices.

I have a hella euro beam pattern lense. Maybe I will swap to that bulb and put the LED in my wr250r.


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[grcamna2]

Yes Cibie definitely makes a quality product and the price while higher than the cheap units is a great value for what you get.

I never had better headlights than the standard quartz iodine Cibié on my Peugeot 504.

I hate mine. Its bright and all, but it take away from the nostalgia.

Many here take brightness for quality. Best option for you would be the Philips X-treme Vision Moto 55/60 Watts H4. Only big brands combined like Philips and Osram have the capacity for real research. This lamp was especially designed for motorcyclists in demanding markets like Germany. It has a yellowish appearance which makes you stand out (without annoying oncoming traffic!) but nevertheless gives an amazing flood of white light on the road. Brilliant design which won awards.

Delta,
That Phillips X-treme Vision Moto sounds excellent,wonder if it's avail. here in the U.S. ?

[Lostboy Steve]

Yes Cibie definitely makes a quality product and the price while higher than the cheap units is a great value for what you get.

I never had better headlights than the standard quartz iodine Cibié on my Peugeot 504.

I hate mine. Its bright and all, but it take away from the nostalgia.

Many here take brightness for quality. Best option for you would be the Philips X-treme Vision Moto 55/60 Watts H4. Only big brands combined like Philips and Osram have the capacity for real research. This lamp was especially designed for motorcyclists in demanding markets like Germany. It has a yellowish appearance which makes you stand out (without annoying oncoming traffic!) but nevertheless gives an amazing flood of white light on the road. Brilliant design which won awards.

Delta,
That Phillips X-treme Vision Moto sounds excellent,wonder if it's avail. here in the U.S. ?

I've seen that bulb at cycle gear I think. At the check out counter.


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[turboed13b]

Nothing beats a full LED/HID retrofit. I have tried all the drop in bulbs and housings they can't cut through the night like the retrofits. I live in the country so most of my roads don't have street lights this was one of the first upgrades I did.

[grcamna2]

Yes Cibie definitely makes a quality product and the price while higher than the cheap units is a great value for what you get.

I never had better headlights than the standard quartz iodine Cibié on my Peugeot 504.

I hate mine. Its bright and all, but it take away from the nostalgia.

Many here take brightness for quality. Best option for you would be the Philips X-treme Vision Moto 55/60 Watts H4. Only big brands combined like Philips and Osram have the capacity for real research. This lamp was especially designed for motorcyclists in demanding markets like Germany. It has a yellowish appearance which makes you stand out (without annoying oncoming traffic!) but nevertheless gives an amazing flood of white light on the road. Brilliant design which won awards.

Delta,
That Phillips X-treme Vision Moto sounds excellent,wonder if it's avail. here in the U.S. ?

I've seen that bulb at cycle gear I think. At the check out counter.


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This is a complete headlamp assembly w/ lens? or only the bulb ?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I like the brightness of the LED, but also wish the light was in the warmer range to mimic a halogen.

[550Resto]

Do you have a brand name or place to check out specs? I was also looking at trucklite due to the plug and play. A little pricey, but reviews seem favorable.