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2003 K1200RS LED Conversion Questions

VIEJO

VIEJO

Member
After years of abuse from my riding "buddies" regarding the low output of the stock headlight on my '03 K1200RS (which I generally ride only during daylight hours) I have decided to bite the bullet and convert to LED. The main thing I have discovered from my preliminary research is that I am pretty much overwhelmed by the options available :scratch. The biggest question so far is- do I need the "Anti-Flicker/Warning Canceller" addition on my pre-CANBUS bike? Most everything else is just a matter of deciding "how bright? - how white? - how much?".

I'm looking for a "Plug & Play" if at all possible; both low and hi beam. I've only had to change the H4 hi beam halogen lamp once since I bought the bike new eighteen years ago so I guess it's okay now to spend what it takes for the best quality available.

Any and all suggestions/comments/guidance welcomed.

Thanks,

Dave
 
You won’t like what I have to say, but here it is.

The K1200RS/GT bikes had one of the worst headlight buckets ever installed on a modern-day motorcycle. The bikes use H3 and H7 bulbs that are fitted, poorly, into a headlight that has no extra room for fans or other extensions commonly found on LED bulbs. On top of that, the reflector and lens combo will yield a scattered and poorly focused light even if you are careful to match the LED to the exact same position as the filament of your existing bulb. I learned much of this the hard way on the GT that I set up for long distance all-night running.

So do yourself a favor and instead of messing with the OEM light, look into some LED auxiliary lights. They are small enough to mount inside the fairing, under the nose of the bike, and will add more and better light than you’ll ever get from the OEM unit. Small LED lights are light enough to mount to the fairing if you’re willing to drill a hole or three, and I have seen RS/GT bikes with aux lights mounted from where the roundels were recessed into the fairing on each side.

Back in the day, there were a couple of manufacturers that made the under-the-nose mounts that could be used with aux lights, or a light bar that mounted under the nose and held the lights just outside the front edge of the fairing. You might check FleaBay or ADVRider and find those mounts or bars. I should dig through my storage unit, I might have that bar buried in there somewhere.

Anyway, don’t bother trying to upgrade the Disney-engineered OEM light; get some aux lights instead. You’ll be time, money, and results ahead.

Best,
DeVern
 
GTRider said:
You won’t like what I have to say, but here it is.

The K1200RS/GT bikes had one of the worst headlight buckets ever installed on a modern-day motorcycle. The bikes use H3 and H7 bulbs that are fitted, poorly, into a headlight that has no extra room for fans or other extensions commonly found on LED bulbs. On top of that, the reflector and lens combo will yield a scattered and poorly focused light even if you are careful to match the LED to the exact same position as the filament of your existing bulb. I learned much of this the hard way on the GT that I set up for long distance all-night running.

So do yourself a favor and instead of messing with the OEM light, look into some LED auxiliary lights. They are small enough to mount inside the fairing, under the nose of the bike, and will add more and better light than you’ll ever get from the OEM unit. Small LED lights are light enough to mount to the fairing if you’re willing to drill a hole or three, and I have seen RS/GT bikes with aux lights mounted from where the roundels were recessed into the fairing on each side.

Back in the day, there were a couple of manufacturers that made the under-the-nose mounts that could be used with aux lights, or a light bar that mounted under the nose and held the lights just outside the front edge of the fairing. You might check FleaBay or ADVRider and find those mounts or bars. I should dig through my storage unit, I might have that bar buried in there somewhere.

Anyway, don’t bother trying to upgrade the Disney-engineered OEM light; get some aux lights instead. You’ll be time, money, and results ahead.

Best,
DeVern
Click to expand...

Actually, that's probably one of the things I wanted/needed to hear as it confirms my feelings about the headlight bucket on the K1200 bikes and I was seriously in doubt as to whether or not all the marginalia that goes with a LED installation would be able to fit in such a cramped space.

When I first started considering adding LED auxiliary lights I was really at a loss for where to put them..... I don't want to drill into the fairing and, while using the Roundel recesses is an interesting/creative idea, I removed all the extraneous BMW advertising/decals/ from the RS when I repainted it black years ago and now I like the look of the roundels on an otherwise unadorned bike.

How I do think small auxiliary LEDs might work is by utilizing the upper mounting holes for the front brake calipers; I've seen it done, it's fairly unobtrusive, and I really want to avoid turning an otherwise nicely streamlined motorcycle into one of those rolling chandeliers that seem to be so popular these days.

Thanks for the input,

Dave
 
VIEJO said:
How I do think small auxiliary LEDs might work is by utilizing the upper mounting holes for the front brake calipers; I've seen it done, it's fairly unobtrusive, and I really want to avoid turning an otherwise nicely streamlined motorcycle into one of those rolling chandeliers that seem to be so popular these days.


Dave
Click to expand...

Dave - you may want to look at Skene design's mounting brackets for small lights. I have found that they work well in several applications after a little modification of the mounting tang.

https://www.skenelights.com/mounting-brackets-photon-blaster
 
GTRider said:
Here’s an example illustrating a popular aux light location on the RS/GT bikes:
https://www.amazon.com/K1200RS-Super-White-Hella-Micro/dp/B01HU9JWWU

I don’t recommend those particular lights as they are halogens instead of LED, but a look at their mount brackets should give you or your fabricator some ideas for mounting.
Best,
DeVern
Click to expand...

Thanks, DeVern,

For some reason (cranial content calcification?) I had never considered a mount directly under the bucket... nice.
 
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