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LED headlights for reliability?


Pbassred
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I'm sure that this has been asked many times but since "LED" is too few characters search, I can't. I'm including the words "light emmitting diode" for the the next guy.


I haven't attempted to change a light bulb on my CBR yet but acording to the manual it requires removing the fairing! That means that if I have a bulb failure at night (like on my commute), I'm sidlined. Reliability is everything.

I thought about simply changing the bulb routinely after a certain number of hours, say 500 hours at average 40mph = 20,000 miles, but its stil not a guarantee. Does anyone have experience of LEDs? They look bulky.

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I fitted them to my vfr, didn't change the angle of the beam but they were just too bright and I got a lot of people flashing me, i guess thinking i had main beam on, and i had people blocking their wing mirrors when I was filtering. I took them out and put standard halogens in for the MOT just incase the LEDs would fail and I've not had a need to swap them back.

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If reliability is everything then add lights. so of the main headlamp fails you have a back-up.


https://www.bikevis.com/product/bikevis-bullets-v2-motorcycle-running-lights/


not expensive. not exactly a proper headlamp either.. but enough to be legal (after lighting up time) allowing you to carry on to your home. and the rest of the time make you a little more visible.

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I have just replaced the halogens in my cbf600 with LEDs.

they are H7 fitments and high beam/low beam are separate bulbs. It was the best choice I have ever made, they are virtually the same size as the halogens, but are a white colour light and require less wattage/amps to light. They shine further at night, and if you turn on high beam it's like riding in artificial daylight.


I also bought H4 fitment dual beam LEDs for my cb500, but they appear to be the wrong choice--- there does not appear to be a beam that you can see spread out on the road ahead of you, but it shines on signposts or the backs of cars, and again is a whiter light. the problem with the twin light seems to stem from the LEDs lighting up on the same side, where as a twin filament bulb has a little reflector that directs the beam so it shines on the tarmac. the LED illuminates one set of diodes on low beam and both sets on high beam and both reflect off the top of the headlight reflector.

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There is one disadvantage to headlights that shine brighter, further and wider ..... driving towards the f*****g things !

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I fitted them to my vfr, didn't change the angle of the beam but they were just too bright and I got a lot of people flashing me, i guess thinking i had main beam on, and i had people blocking their wing mirrors when I was filtering. I took them out and put standard halogens in for the MOT just incase the LEDs would fail and I've not had a need to swap them back.

I bet it did change the beam..


Not to be "that guy" but MOT rules are becoming stricter around headlights fitted with the incorrect bulbs that spaff light all over the place. If you put a different kind of bulb into a reflector headlight then the beam pattern from the lamp will be different and the reflector will reflect it all over the place, much to the annoyance of everyone. If you're looking to fit it into a projector style headlight then no problem, carry on.


If you want more light you could do it properly by wiring in a relay to feed the bulb straight from the battery, reducing the resistance of the circuit and therefore getting far more light out of the bulb. If you want reliability then frankly I've found halogen bulbs to be obscenely reliable, I don't think I've replaced one yet!

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I bet it did change the beam..


Not to be "that guy" but MOT rules are becoming stricter around headlights fitted with the incorrect bulbs that spaff light all over the place. If you put a different kind of bulb into a reflector headlight then the beam pattern from the lamp will be different and the reflector will reflect it all over the place, much to the annoyance of everyone. If you're looking to fit it into a projector style headlight then no problem, carry on.

 

Nothing wrong with being "that guy" if "that guy"'s got something to say.......which you have! :thumb:


You're dead right...a lot of these cheap LED's do not have the light-emitting bit in the same place as the filament in a bulb...so they dont work with the reflector in the lamp and the beam pattern (if you can call it that) is totally shite, invariabaly not casting light where it is needed (ie. on the road) and equally invariabaly sending it where it isn't (ie. into the eyes of oncoming drivers)!


Here is a short article that people might find to be helpful: https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/blog/are-led-headlight-bulbs-the-brightest/


Unless the headlight has been designed for use with LEDs, I would steer clear. Obviously, their use in applications where they are not required to produce a focussed beam - stop and tail lights, position lights and indicators, etc. is a different kettle of fish - but even so, over-bright tail lamps can be a hazard if they drown out brake lights! How many times have you been riding or driving in heavy rain when some nob with their rear fogs on comes past - thinking they're driving extra safely - when in reality, they are producing a glare that is at best annoying and at worst dangerous? And not to mention ILLEGAL.


So LEDs are great where they are designed for the job, but not so great as a substitute for a proper bulb.

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Was talking about bulbs yesterday to someone in the know and apparently back in the day Lucas used to be referred to as ‘The Lord of Darkness’ cos they were so rubbish and you’d often be plunged into darkness! :lol:

Let’s hope they sorted that out!

These may explain......

Lucas used to have a brand slogan that went....."King of the Road"

 

474744403_Lucas1.PNG.ec84e57048c0cf251b7377f36056cf76.PNG

 

Given their reputation, this quickly became transmuted into....

 

1680953861_Lucas2.PNG.662b919b87c80a21da2a82e07d70b18d.PNG

 

So there is a bit of a backstory to this......and given that Lucas wiring usually failed because it let the smoke out, this service part quickly became an indispensable part of any auto-electricians parts stock....

 

Lucas.PNG.2f6d17ebd0ff847c1b4fd6eac8196612.PNG

 

And anyway, who needs poxy 12V LEDs when you had THIS is the 1930s? Pah!

 

MC11.PNG.9f522445a02ba18d1d09769c0b7ba883.PNG

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Yeah. Its starting to gel into: Change to a really long life Halogen (who knows what Original equipment was) and then wire in some LEDs as a plan B. I was already working on some LED strips to increase visibility.

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If reliability is everything then add lights. so of the main headlamp fails you have a back-up.


https://www.bikevis.com/product/bikevis-bullets-v2-motorcycle-running-lights/


not expensive. not exactly a proper headlamp either.. but enough to be legal (after lighting up time) allowing you to carry on to your home. and the rest of the time make you a little more visible.

 

I've looked at loads of these kinds of lights to make a triangle effect at the front. Those look ideal - :cheers: I have ordered a set.

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Since I replaced all the light bulbs in my flat with LED's a couple of years ago I haven't had a single one fail . So there you go, LED's are more reliable. Before that they were always popping .

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Since I replaced all the light bulbs in my flat with LED's a couple of years ago I haven't had a single one fail . So there you go, LED's are more reliable. Before that they were always popping .

 

Same here. I spent a small fortune replacing every low-energy bulb in our new house with LEDs (though one of them has already popped after just three weeks :( ). I have LED indicators but I've kept with standard bulbs for the headlights.

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@ fastbob, Will ordinary LEDs replace the standard bulbs on a CBR? Does it throw up a CANBUS error? or do I need to find CANBUS versions? I worry that those run hot.

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@ fastbob, Will ordinary LEDs replace the standard bulbs on a CBR? Does it throw up a CANBUS error? or do I need to find CANBUS versions? I worry that those run hot.

 

No idea , I've got 26 year old halogen bulbs in my GSXR . I've only got LED's in my FLAT.

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@ fastbob, Will ordinary LEDs replace the standard bulbs on a CBR? Does it throw up a CANBUS error? or do I need to find CANBUS versions? I worry that those run hot.

 

No idea , I've got 26 year old halogen bulbs in my GSXR . I've only got LED's in my FLAT.

.... Would that be one of those FLAT 500s?

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@ fastbob, Will ordinary LEDs replace the standard bulbs on a CBR? Does it throw up a CANBUS error? or do I need to find CANBUS versions? I worry that those run hot.

 

No idea , I've got 26 year old halogen bulbs in my GSXR . I've only got LED's in my FLAT.

.... Would that be one of those FLAT 500s?

 

The FT 500 or Ascot as them Yankees call it ? A curious bike . I've had two of them and let them slip through my fingers. Worth silly money now so quite expensive particularly if you just want one to use the headlight as a reading lamp.

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No idea , I've got 26 year old halogen bulbs in my GSXR . I've only got LED's in my FLAT.

.... Would that be one of those FLAT 500s?

 

The FT 500 or Ascot as them Yankees call it ? A curious bike . I've had two of them and let them slip through my fingers. Worth silly money now so quite expensive particularly if you just want one to use the headlight as a reading lamp.

 

I'm trying to get the image of you balancing it on the bedside cabinet out of my head.

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