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R1200RT LED Headlight conversion advice needed

dirtmerchant

New member
Popped another H7 bulb and thinking about converting both the low beams and high beam bulbs to LED.

What is the general consensus on what works best from the following perspective:
  • Not blinding oncoming drivers
  • Beam Pattern
  • System compatibility (no warning light)
  • Cost
I'd also like to change the two daytime running lights in the upper corners of the headlight assembly with whiter bulbs that match the LED.

Any links to verified vendors is appreciated.

Thanks,

Rod
 
I don't want to be one of "those" guys, but this subject has been beaten to death on all the BMW forums. Search "LED" or that plus my username and you'll get 1,000 hits that all, in one way or another, touch on your questions.

Edit: What year and model is your bike? That's always important when asking for technical opinions.
 
Rod,

Cyclops LED light kit. Comes as specific kit with high/low bulb as required for the year of your RT. No CANBUS errors. At $185 to me that is reasonable to not have to change another headlamp, at least not in the foreseeable future thinking of the costs and time. The higher color temperature adds more contrast for riding at night and stands out during the day. Designed for the bike.

https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/BMW-R1200RTR1250Rt-LED-headlight-bulb-kit_p_194.html

for the parking lights I found some CANBUS compatible LED Bulbs at www.superbrightleds.com

I think this was the part (for a 2010 model):

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...127/?make=11&model=3121&scc_id=1944&year=2010


Also, if you are interested, you can swap the turn signal bulbs for LED's. I used a set from Dynamic Motorrad, a bit pricey, but the they guaranteed to work.

http://dynamicmotorrad.com/

Other CANBUS compatible bulbs, maybe even those from SuperBrightLEDs may work too.

I have found, at least on my 2010, there is no easy way to replace the rear tail lamps/brake lamps with LED's. They use a 1156 bulb which is a single filament and to go from tail to brake it seems BMW increases the voltage to make the bulb brighter and so with an LED the lights don't give a CANBUS error until you hit the brake light and the system, senses a different resistance and it turns on a warning light, as I recall the light will go off with an off and on key cycle but will come on the first time you hit the brake. So I was able to replace all lights with LEDs except tail and brake lights.




Popped another H7 bulb and thinking about converting both the low beams and high beam bulbs to LED.

What is the general consensus on what works best from the following perspective:
  • Not blinding oncoming drivers
  • Beam Pattern
  • System compatibility (no warning light)
  • Cost
I'd also like to change the two daytime running lights in the upper corners of the headlight assembly with whiter bulbs that match the LED.

Any links to verified vendors is appreciated.

Thanks,

Rod
 
I don't want to be one of "those" guys, but this subject has been beaten to death on all the BMW forums. Search "LED" or that plus my username and you'll get 1,000 hits that all, in one way or another, touch on your questions.

Edit: What year and model is your bike? That's always important when asking for technical opinions.

Many of them are old and there is a lot of change from month to month with LED technology.

My RT is a 2011, I didn't bother with the year since I was not aware that there were any appreciable changes in the Hex/Cam headlight reflector.
 
Rod,

Cyclops LED light kit. Comes as specific kit with high/low bulb as required for the year of your RT. No CANBUS errors. At $185 to me that is reasonable to not have to change another headlamp, at least not in the foreseeable future thinking of the costs and time. The higher color temperature adds more contrast for riding at night and stands out during the day. Designed for the bike.

https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/BMW-R1200RTR1250Rt-LED-headlight-bulb-kit_p_194.html

for the parking lights I found some CANBUS compatible LED Bulbs at www.superbrightleds.com

I think this was the part (for a 2010 model):

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...127/?make=11&model=3121&scc_id=1944&year=2010

Also, if you are interested, you can swap the turn signal bulbs for LED's. I used a set from Dynamic Motorrad, a bit pricey, but the they guaranteed to work.

http://dynamicmotorrad.com/

Other CANBUS compatible bulbs, maybe even those from SuperBrightLEDs may work too.

I have found, at least on my 2010, there is no easy way to replace the rear tail lamps/brake lamps with LED's. They use a 1156 bulb which is a single filament and to go from tail to brake it seems BMW increases the voltage to make the bulb brighter and so with an LED the lights don't give a CANBUS error until you hit the brake light and the system, senses a different resistance and it turns on a warning light, as I recall the light will go off with an off and on key cycle but will come on the first time you hit the brake. So I was able to replace all lights with LEDs except tail and brake lights.

Thank you for the links, primarily only interested in the headlight but may be useful information for other users.

Rod
 
Thank you for the links, primarily only interested in the headlight but may be useful information for other users.

Rod

The parking lights will look weird if you only replace the headlights... for a few $$, I think it's worth having the same color for the whole set.
 
The parking lights will look weird if you only replace the headlights... for a few $$, I think it's worth having the same color for the whole set.

I agree and said that wrong, what I should have said is that I'm not interested about the turn signal or taillight bulbs, only the head light and two marker bulbs in the headlight assembly.

Rod
 
Many of them are old and there is a lot of change from month to month with LED technology.

I've been researching this extensively for two years. Not much progress has been made that I'm aware unless and until someone develops an LED that can uniformly radiate light in a 360 degree pattern. The only thing that seems to have changed is progressively increasing claim of lumen output - which has nothing to do with how the beam is projected and only serves to blind oncoming drivers.

My RT is a 2011, I didn't bother with the year since I was not aware that there were any appreciable changes in the Hex/Cam headlight reflector.

It only matters because sometimes people post in the wrong forum (I'm talking about me specifically).

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off short, it just seems like I've written about 5,000 words on the subject just in the last couple of months between here the Facebook groups. It's like it's LED season or something. Haha.

In short, I've extensively tested the major brands (i.e. the hugely expensive ones that you will no doubt be getting a lot of recommendations for) and settled on these being as good or better for literally 1/3rd the price, are CanBus friendly, and have no bulky drivers to stuff into the housings. People feel compelled to believe that more expensive means higher quality. I guarantee you that ADVMonster and Cyclops are paying $30 for each unit they buy from China and then marking them up 300% to sell to us.

Here are a couple of the recent threads:
Extensive thread on BMWLT from last month
BMWMOA thread from last summer
 
Last edited:
@pappy35

Thank you for the information and links, very helpful. I've been a member of the LT page for at least 15-years but never think to go there; guess I just think of it as an LT only board which it clearly isn't any longer...
 
Random thoughts, errr questions......

Since I'm going to do both low beams and the high beam I'm going to need to buy 2 sets of 2 bulbs. Does it make any sense to buy the lower watt/lumens LED for the lows and a higher watt/lumen set of LED for the high beam? The thought process is that I'm good about dipping my high beam to oncoming and from behind other drivers so it shouldn't be as offensive but get the most light possible for night riding and I'd shoot for the same color temp and adjustable beams for the lows. The only downside I can think of with this is if one of the lows go bad I won't have a spare.

Secondly, what is the thoughts on fan cooled vs. non-fan cooled? I'd think three bulbs running in one sealed assembly is going to generate a lot of heat. Fan'less logically says less to fail but wondering if the fan cooled lights are as reliable as the copper resistor?

Does anyone have a link to the the Intel-LED's on Amazon? I'm a Prime member and like the free shipping and easy return policy.

Rod
 
The Intels aren't on Amazon as far as I'm aware. I got them off Ebay which took, I think, just a week to arrive from China. They come two to a package. I think the key to their perceived optical performance (beam pattern) is the thickness of the substrate they are mounted too (with thinner being better).

With regards to lumen output, I don't think ANY of them have any real, scientifically calibrated, idea what their actual output is. I have described LED marketing as "lumen wars" because they just seem to keep creeping up and up. I have permanent green spots in my eyes now from staring into the ADV and Cyclops units (I'm not implying anything here other than I spent a lot of time looking at them) so beware.

Regarding fans vs. heat sinks, the Intels and Cyclops have fans. As for heat, there's a lot of air inside that housing, three LEDs running won't make enough heat to cause any issue (halogens can run a couple of hundred degrees I think and these won't generate more heat than that). I've been running them for almost a year and I know a guy on FB that's had them for much longer (he recommended them to me actually) with no issues.

The single biggest issue is that no LED is every going to project the same as a halogen. A halogen is a true 360 degree, almost spherical, pattern. LEDs are maybe 160 degrees per emitter. A cross-section of the emission as viewed from the front towards the rear will look like an hourglass. This does not play well with a reflector designed for a halogen emission pattern. In my testing, the Intels, as compared to the Cyclops and the ADVMonster H7s had the best pattern but they are still not anything like halogens. There is going to be a lot of scatter.

This is why another property of the Intels is a benefit. They are not as brilliant and thereby not as blinding to other drivers. I rarely get flashed. When I was running the Cyclops and the other one I got flashed all the time. I have a lot of consideration for others (not as common a trait as it should be unfortunately) and so this really matters to me.

Though I say the Intels aren't as bright, they are BRILLIANT as compared to halogens and very white so you will notice a vast improvement.

I talk about Cyclops quite a bit so I always feel like I should say that I found them to be a fantastic company with regards to customer service. Daryl over there is awesome. The other guy? Not so much so if one must go with expensive to satisfy some irrational, as opposed to an engineering/cost rationale, I highly recommend Cyclops.
 
The Intels aren't on Amazon as far as I'm aware. I got them off Ebay which took, I think, just a week to arrive from China. They come two to a package. I think the key to their perceived optical performance (beam pattern) is the thickness of the substrate they are mounted too (with thinner being better).

With regards to lumen output, I don't think ANY of them have any real, scientifically calibrated, idea what their actual output is. I have described LED marketing as "lumen wars" because they just seem to keep creeping up and up. I have permanent green spots in my eyes now from staring into the ADV and Cyclops units (I'm not implying anything here other than I spent a lot of time looking at them) so beware.

Regarding fans vs. heat sinks, the Intels and Cyclops have fans. As for heat, there's a lot of air inside that housing, three LEDs running won't make enough heat to cause any issue (halogens can run a couple of hundred degrees I think and these won't generate more heat than that). I've been running them for almost a year and I know a guy on FB that's had them for much longer (he recommended them to me actually) with no issues.

The single biggest issue is that no LED is every going to project the same as a halogen. A halogen is a true 360 degree, almost spherical, pattern. LEDs are maybe 160 degrees per emitter. A cross-section of the emission as viewed from the front towards the rear will look like an hourglass. This does not play well with a reflector designed for a halogen emission pattern. In my testing, the Intels, as compared to the Cyclops and the ADVMonster H7s had the best pattern but they are still not anything like halogens. There is going to be a lot of scatter.

This is why another property of the Intels is a benefit. They are not as brilliant and thereby not as blinding to other drivers. I rarely get flashed. When I was running the Cyclops and the other one I got flashed all the time. I have a lot of consideration for others (not as common a trait as it should be unfortunately) and so this really matters to me.

Though I say the Intels aren't as bright, they are BRILLIANT as compared to halogens and very white so you will notice a vast improvement.

I talk about Cyclops quite a bit so I always feel like I should say that I found them to be a fantastic company with regards to customer service. Daryl over there is awesome. The other guy? Not so much so if one must go with expensive to satisfy some irrational, as opposed to an engineering/cost rationale, I highly recommend Cyclops.

Thank you for your time and comprehensive reply. I'd tend to agree that there is more puffery then fact when it comes to the ratings on lighting from these sources. I'm a bit concerned with shipping delays on anything coming directly from China due to Coronavirus. The Cyclops look like fine bulbs but not sure I want to deal with the separate driver in the housing; let alone pay 150% more....

Going to do some more research and will post back what I ultimately do.
 
Thank you for your time and comprehensive reply. I'd tend to agree that there is more puffery then fact when it comes to the ratings on lighting from these sources. I'm a bit concerned with shipping delays on anything coming directly from China due to Coronavirus. The Cyclops look like fine bulbs but not sure I want to deal with the separate driver in the housing; let alone pay 150% more....

Going to do some more research and will post back what I ultimately do.

Yeah. I hadn't thought of that. Could be. I got mine in like 6-7 business days. That driver (x3) can be stuffed in there without too much difficulty but when there's a viable alternative without one, why bother.

The Cyclops works out to $60 per unit and the Intels are $17.50 (and that includes what will end up being a spare since they come two to a package). Nice thing about Cyclops is they will take them back if you don't like them. I still think its silly to pay that much more but, like i said before, they are a very good company.

Do a search on Facebook in one of the RT forums. There's a lot of info there as well.
 
My buddy Tony ordered a set on my recommendation about a month ago and he got them in about two weeks (and as far as I know he didn't get sick either :laugh ). Shipping might not actually be affected significantly.
 
for reference here is what the LED vs non-LED parking lights look like. LED is on right, standard 194 bulb on left. Color temperature of LED headlamps will be similar to LED bulb.

IMG_3359b.jpg
 
Last year I converted my 2009 R1200RT to the Cyclops headlights.
Because I had some other work to do it was just easier to remove the entire headlight assembly and swap out the lamps.

There really wasn’t a problem with installing them, and I’ve had no complaints about blinding oncoming drivers.
It does make a noticeable difference as far as color is concerned, and I also swapped out my parking lights to LED.

Before:
18d6ab9b918b0a56527b922171fdf366.jpg


After:
256337c49793cc2adb031a0e1c7244d1.jpg


Standard lamp on left, Cyclops LED with fan and electronics package on the right (center headlight).
879227c55c8bb03c6e0ee7a2da35a2c4.jpg


53ab32afb7302c011509b1e597e920d4.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks @bicyclenut & @rangemaster for the information and pics, I'll definitely convert the marker light to LED as part of the process.

Has anyone tried out the 360* bulbs such as Light Moses? It appears to be an American based company built in Asia using American sourced CREE chips.
https://lightmosesusa.com/about

View attachment 77138

LM Basic
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RSFP4YF/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AS346V861QKU1&psc=1

LM Premium
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RPC1DZW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07RPC1DZW&pd_rd_w=aXg9o&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=8r3AJ&pf_rd_r=NMHHW8P4FP1J3QSAV4YG&pd_rd_r=3a3efd2b-3772-4ea1-a45a-ef2f4c7e58ed&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExRUJPNDhVTEYzTkxRJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTM5NjI5M1A3WEhXWEVVTzVNTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTQ1MzYwVEhCUkc3NVJRWkJHJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Lastly, does anyone have a source for H7 Ceramic Sockets to replace the plastic ones in the housing? I saw these linked in another thread but the are NLA:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07195ZKSS?tag=bmwltconvert-20
 
These appear to have covers implying that you could remove the metal female clips and insert the ones from your plastic OEM connectors. There a bunch like this. Search "h7 headlight connector ceramic."
 
Thanks @bicyclenut & @rangemaster for the information and pics, I'll definitely convert the marker light to LED as part of the process.

Has anyone tried out the 360* bulbs such as Light Moses? It appears to be an American based company built in Asia using American sourced CREE chips.
https://lightmosesusa.com/about
LM Basic
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RSFP4YF/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AS346V861QKU1&psc=1

LM Premium
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RPC1DZW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07RPC1DZW&pd_rd_w=aXg9o&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=8r3AJ&pf_rd_r=NMHHW8P4FP1J3QSAV4YG&pd_rd_r=3a3efd2b-3772-4ea1-a45a-ef2f4c7e58ed&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExRUJPNDhVTEYzTkxRJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTM5NjI5M1A3WEhXWEVVTzVNTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTQ1MzYwVEhCUkc3NVJRWkJHJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Lastly, does anyone have a source for H7 Ceramic Sockets to replace the plastic ones in the housing? I saw these linked in another thread but the are NLA:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07195ZKSS?tag=bmwltconvert-20

I'm done testing LEDs but I'm always interested in new developments. You should get a set and post pictures of your results.

The link you provided has "certificates" but no information about what standards they are being tested to. I have noted a bunch of these 360 degree emulators with interest but since I was burned out on LED testing I never followed up on them. These appear as good as any other on Amazon. I say go for it and let us know. They are very affordable.
 
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