1976 R90/6 LED Headlight replacement?

[gr8ridn2]

As I see this bike uses a H4 halogen bulb. Being spoiled by the newer bikes one of which has the factory LED headlight I am considering a headlight LED bulb with the R90.

The benefits are primarily safety. There is no doubt you are seen better during the day with a bright headlight. I feel a bit invisible with the stock system on the R90.

An H4 LED replacement will not alter the appearance of my bike other than the bright light. I really don't want to spoil the appearance with add on driving lights.

The LED bulb will actually draw less power than the Halogen bulb(20 watts low/40 watts high). I think this is a real plus with the modest electrical power output of this bike.

I don't often ride at night, but when I do I have to travel a very dark and windy canyon road to town. Light makes a big difference when coming home from club meetings etc.

I am looking for experience in the conversion for the 2 valve twins. It seems there is ample room in the headlight housing for this conversion.

Anyone who has done a similar conversion on this vintage bike I would be interested in hearing the results.

 

[donbmw]

I would like to know also. All the direct replacement bulbs are to long for the room in our head light bucket. If BMW would have used a standard 7 " headlight you could get that in a LED.

Don

 

[franko]

led light

I had read about this light http://www.ebay.com/itm/261969580758?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT on the ACCESSNORTON.COM site. Those who tried it were happy, So I paid my money and took my chances. When it arrived a couple of days ago, I thought to give a try to see if it would fit into the 85 R80RT headlight shell. It did, I just needed to make sure the back of the shell was clear of wires and connectors. When the key is turned on, it sounds like a small fan starts running. I rode back to the house from Madison tonight. The lighting was VERY much improved. When I turn the brights on the low beam pattern stays in place and a higher pattern is added. I was not flashed in a 50 minute ride, so I don't think they are overly bright to oncoming traffic. If the unit fails in a short time, I will post it in this thread

 

[gr8ridn2]

Thanks for the update. What BMW Model was your LED installed on?

 

[franko]

1985 r80 rt

 

[ebeeby]

Dang. Chart says not compatible with R75/5

 

[gr8ridn2]

Thanks Frank,

Checking with the fitting chart my 76 R90/6 shows it doesn't fit. May be they default to this when the fit has not been verified. There is a lot of wiring and electrical devices in the headlight shell possibly making the additional room for the LED too tight.

 

[1074]

proper fit

The reason that it doesn't fit on a /6 is that the bulb assembly protrudes in the rear enough to interfere with the wiring in the headlight shell! On an 85 or newer bike the wiring doesn't gather within the shell so there is enough room.

 

[gr8ridn2]

This makes sense, Thanks

 

[donbmw]

http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/

On another forum this came up for a H4 LED replacement. Have 2 on order.

Don

 

[gr8ridn2]

I was just reading that thread, sounds promising.

I ordered Clearwater lights for the R90 and should have them by this weekend. The challenge will be mounting them cleanly without disturbing the design of the bike. I ordered the small lights (Glenda) that are about 2 inches in diameter and consume 12 watts each at full power. I had the same lights on a F800GS and they were very bright and visible to oncoming traffic. Adding a LED headlight is still desirable and I will follow that thread to see how it works out on a /6 bike.

 

[ebeeby]

http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/

On another forum this came up for a H4 LED replacement. Have 2 on order.

Don

Hmmm. I wonder if it would fit a /5....

 

[DRRAOULDUKE]

I have a 1974 R90/6

And any light you get out of the OEM headlight at night is minimal. To make matters worse I live near a couple of dark roads that I refer to as "Deer Alley"

I have 2 extra sets of PIAA's on my 99 R1100GS and an upgraded headlight. I rarely go through there in the evening on the sidecar rig becuase of the weak headlight. Looking for ideas that would work on the R90/6

Love to hear some thoughts and ideas. Love the old rig but use it 99% of the time in daylight because of this issue.

Happy Holidays to all my 2 wheel brothers

 

[lmo1131]

Hmmm. I wonder if it would fit a /5....

Do you already have an H4 conversion in your /5 ?

 

[gr8ridn2]

I received the H4 Native bulb from ADVMONSTER yesterday. I installed it with no issues. It works and fits the R90 with no issues. Nice that it requires only 30 watts in high or low beam.

My observations so far;

1. Installation is plug and play. The fit outside the reflector is identical to the H4 Halogen so this fits the crowded /6 bucket with no issues.The only mod needed is removal of the front bulb shield in the reflector. Everything is reversible if needed.

2. The H4 native uses only 2 upward facing LEDs. As mounted the bottom side is occupied with the heat sink. Only one of the LEDs is used in high or low beam. There is a shift in beam focus upward when going to high beam, but no increase in intensity.

3. The light color (temperature) seems very close to that of the Clearwater Darla lights I have installed. Very white with a slight tinge of blue, similar to 5000 k bulbs.

4. I haven't had a chance to ride at night but the daylight visibility is excellent, the primary reason the bulb was fitted.

5. Because the light source is directed upward the lower half of the lens appears not illuminated. Looks a bit different but seems to project a clear upper cutoff and a wider pattern. Should not be an issue of scattered light common with earlier designed LED head light bulbs. The bright white upper half of the headlight is very visible during daylight.

6. The reduction on power usage and the brighter lighting made sense for my needs while retaining the original appearance of the R90.

7. Longevity won't be known for some time, but early adapters have over 6 months of use with no reports of problems. Usually if the LEDs last for several hours use they will last a long time. Switching to the standard H4 would be as easy as any bulb change should the LED fail during a long ride.

8. ADV Monster was good to deal with, shipped fast. There are several similar designs on the market but this bulb is rated at 3000 lumens while the similar bulbs are rated at 2200 to 2500 lumens. The other H4 LEDs may be as good, who knows. Everything comes from China so this is hard to quantify.

I do not have an affiliation with this vendor or have been asked to promote the product.

http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/

 

[sdpc2]

good to hear that this will work in our older airheads

i've wanted to put on in my '77 R100S, but wanted to be sure that it would fit before i did. (as an aside, my wife's R1150R has had on in it since April and it has made a huge difference for her without an longevity issues)

sdc

I received the H4 Native bulb from ADVMONSTER yesterday. I installed it with no issues. It works and fits the R90 with no issues. Nice that it requires only 30 watts in high or low beam.

My observations so far;

1. Installation is plug and play. The fit outside the reflector is identical to the H4 Halogen so this fits the crowded /6 bucket with no issues.The only mod needed is removal of the front bulb shield in the reflector. Everything is reversible if needed.

2. The H4 native uses only 2 upward facing LEDs. As mounted the bottom side is occupied with the heat sink. Only one of the LEDs is used in high or low beam. There is a shift in beam focus upward when going to high beam, but no increase in intensity.

3. The light color (temperature) seems very close to that of the Clearwater Darla lights I have installed. Very white with a slight tinge of blue, similar to 5000 k bulbs.

4. I haven't had a chance to ride at night but the daylight visibility is excellent, the primary reason the bulb was fitted.

5. Because the light source is directed upward the lower half of the lens appears not illuminated. Looks a bit different but seems to project a clear upper cutoff and a wider pattern. Should not be an issue of scattered light common with earlier designed LED head light bulbs. The bright white upper half of the headlight is very visible during daylight.

6. The reduction on power usage and the brighter lighting made sense for my needs while retaining the original appearance of the R90.

7. Longevity won't be known for some time, but early adapters have over 6 months of use with no reports of problems. Usually if the LEDs last for several hours use they will last a long time. Switching to the standard H4 would be as easy as any bulb change should the LED fail during a long ride.

8. ADV Monster was good to deal with, shipped fast. There are several similar designs on the market but this bulb is rated at 3000 lumens while the similar bulbs are rated at 2200 to 2500 lumens. The other H4 LEDs may be as good, who knows. Everything comes from China so this is hard to quantify.

I do not have an affiliation with this vendor or have been asked to promote the product.

http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/