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Cyclops LED Replacement Kit

I took the nose off the bike (2009 RT). This is the second time I've done this. Its not real complicated to do at all. No exaggeration...20 minutes to get it off; 20 minutes back on. Maybe a dozen or so bolts to remove, 4 windshield arm clips and one electrical plug. That's about it.

This is TOTALLY WRONG!!! You only need to take off two of the windshield arm clips. 8-D

If you know the sequence, it really does come off in 20 minutes tops (with s few pulls from a cold one thrown in for good measure).

And don't be a dumb-ass like me and stare at them in amazement, or you'll be seeing spots in front of you the rest of the day.

OK. You are all going pig-pile on me for this but here goes:

My first comment was light hearted, this one is dead serious. These and some other LED lights are dangerous to your vision. DO NOT stare straight into them for more than a couple of seconds at a time. Rocketman jokes about seeing spots for a day. I installed mine last spring and I can still see vague green spots in both eyes. This would be permanent retinal damage and is one reason I ditched these LEDs (and the ADVMonsters before them) in favor of a different, lower output, unit. The LED aftermarket is on a Lumen-envy tear and their products are just ridiculously bright to make up for generally poorer beam patterns (this applies to Camheads and I have photos to prove it, Wetheads may be different because there's only one low beam). They are bad for you eyes and bad for the eyes of oncoming drivers at night. Please be careful and be considerate of others, you don't get re-dos on your vision.
 
I took the nose off the bike (2009 RT). This is the second time I've done this. Its not real complicated to do at all. No exaggeration...20 minutes to get it off; 20 minutes back on. Maybe a dozen or so bolts to remove, 4 windshield arm clips and one electrical plug. That's about it.

A word of advice about the LED installation before you get going (well really three):

(1) The low beams go in easy and the LED control box and all its wiring fit with plenty of room. I did them first. The high beam was a bit of a tight fit to get everything inside, but everything will fit. It was also a tight fit to rotate the high beam to lock it in place as its physically closer to the edge of the housing's hole opening than the low beams. Just go slow, don't force anything, and there will actually be room left over. There kind of needs to be a little wiggle room inside in case you ever use that headlight adjuster thing to raise them to compensate for a heavy load.

(2) Unscrew the LED bulb wire from the control box wiring. There's a little threaded cap thing and an o-ring that just un-thread and pull apart. First, place the new LED bulb black plastic collar in. It only fits in one way due to the different tab sizes on it. Then clip the 2 retaining springs on the sides of the collar. Then plug it in the OEM power plug, place the LED control box and wiring inside the housing, leaving the threaded end sticking out. Then place the LED bulb in the collar, and twist it into the collar to lock it in place. Then re-connect the twist cap to the wiring and shove it gently into the headlight housing. Its much easier this way, and much more room to maneuver compared to trying to squeeze everything in once the bulb and fan unit are installed.

(3) Due to the thickness of the black plastic collar (even though its really not that thick), the retaining springs don't seem to fit the same as with just the OEM bulb. In order to get the "loop" of those springs back on the hooks they loop around, it took a bit of "prodding". Careful not to break the springs. Be firm but gentle is the best advice I can give. If you're too gentle, the straight part of the spring will be in the hook, and I'm not sure that's enough to keep them from popping out with vibrations and all. So I worked on them until I got all the loops in place correctly.

BTW, the new LED plug has a tiny "+" and "-" on it so its easy to not screw up polarity, which I think LED bulbs do have. Both low beams and the high beam are brown for "-".

Also, I did get the "bulb out" icon on my dash the first time I started the bike. Haven't seen it again since.

Lastly you can plug the main (and only) electric plug back into the rear of the headlight housing before reassembling the front of the bike to see if they work. And don't be a dumb-ass like me and stare at them in amazement, or you'll be seeing spots in front of you the rest of the day.

Any help or advice you need, just ask. Glad to help any way I can.

Edit: Remember my bike is an '09 RT. Not sure any of this is valid for your year and model.

Thanks for the detailed write up! My bike is a Wethead (2016) so the part about removing the headlight assembly is a bit different, but that's been detailed in other places.

I was hoping that you had a wethead and had figured out some magic way to gain access and make the whole job easy without having to remove the headlight unit.

Looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up and take everything apart to remove it. Its doesn't look too difficult, just time consuming (especially since I know that I'll want to wipe down each part of the fairing before it goes back on because a clean bike is a happy bike). I might take this on sometime later this week since its supposed to rain here and I need to be at home anyway because my wife is recovering from a foot surgery and needs me to do basic tasks for her sometimes.
 
Thanks for the detailed write up! My bike is a Wethead (2016) so the part about removing the headlight assembly is a bit different, but that's been detailed in other places.

I was hoping that you had a wethead and had figured out some magic way to gain access and make the whole job easy without having to remove the headlight unit.

Looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up and take everything apart to remove it. Its doesn't look too difficult, just time consuming (especially since I know that I'll want to wipe down each part of the fairing before it goes back on because a clean bike is a happy bike). I might take this on sometime later this week since its supposed to rain here and I need to be at home anyway because my wife is recovering from a foot surgery and needs me to do basic tasks for her sometimes.

Did mine a while back. You summed it up, it's just time consuming. I installed advmonster.com and couldn't be happier. I chose to only install the H7 low beam. You most likely (never a guarantee) not saying any expletives or cut hands by removing the headlight assembly. It's easy if you have the BMW repair CD. As stated earlier before putting it all back together connect and test to be sure all works.
 
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Pappy...re:"This is TOTALLY WRONG!!! You only need to take off two of the windshield arm clips. 8-D"

No, that would be just partially wrong :). However, since it took about 3 additional seconds to remove all 4 clips, no harm done.
Also, I can see just fine today, with no spots or permanent sight damage, but I appreciate your concern and your point is well taken.

Happy Holidays.....
 
I installed the Cyclops kit in my 2016 RT today. It took about 4 hours from start to finish to remove the headlight assembly, install the bulbs, drivers, and resistor, and reassemble the bike. I wouldn't call it a hard job, but I wouldn't say it was fun either. The result appears to be worth the time, however... Bright white light that should last for years before I need to replace a bulb again.
 
Well done! See? All that effort was worth it, just to have clean guts that nobody can see. I'm sure your bike will run faster and better now :)
 
This is TOTALLY WRONG!!! You only need to take off two of the windshield arm clips. 8-D

If you know the sequence, it really does come off in 20 minutes tops (with s few pulls from a cold one thrown in for good measure).



OK. You are all going pig-pile on me for this but here goes:

My first comment was light hearted, this one is dead serious. These and some other LED lights are dangerous to your vision. DO NOT stare straight into them for more than a couple of seconds at a time. Rocketman jokes about seeing spots for a day. I installed mine last spring and I can still see vague green spots in both eyes. This would be permanent retinal damage and is one reason I ditched these LEDs (and the ADVMonsters before them) in favor of a different, lower output, unit. The LED aftermarket is on a Lumen-envy tear and their products are just ridiculously bright to make up for generally poorer beam patterns (this applies to Camheads and I have photos to prove it, Wetheads may be different because there's only one low beam). They are bad for you eyes and bad for the eyes of oncoming drivers at night. Please be careful and be considerate of others, you don't get re-dos on your vision.

Right on. I detest these blinding badly-aimed lights. I don’t understand why anyone needs to spend hundreds of dollars and hours of riding time replacing the perfectly adequate stock lights.
 
Save your money, I installed these and they've worked perfectly.

I had a set of ADVMonster and Cylops H7's so, yes, I've spent a great deal of money testing. These work perfectly, have no bulky modules to try to bury in the housing, and no CANBUS errors at all. They come in packs of two so, for the cost of ONE Cylops/ADVM you can buy all three plus have a spare.

PS - I'm not ripping Cyclops. A wholeheartedly agree that Daryl and crew are wonderful and very customer-focused.
Thank you for your post!
I wonder if you still have your bike 2013 R1200RT with these ADVM bulbs on it?
I have an issue with one low beam Cyclops bulb and need replace it . So, I think to get a new set of ADVM instead Cyclops and save money if they are reliable and bright.
Please let me know!
I appreciate your experience!
 
Thank you for your post!
I wonder if you still have your bike 2013 R1200RT with these ADVM bulbs on it?
I have an issue with one low beam Cyclops bulb and need replace it . So, I think to get a new set of ADVM instead Cyclops and save money if they are reliable and bright.
Please let me know!
I appreciate your experience!

I have a H7 ADVM in my 14R1200RT for a few years and over 35,000sMiles on it. No problems, the pattern on my wethead is very good and the light output is outstanding.
 
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