LED bulb advice needed?

[skrusich]

I have been a lurker since I joined BMWMOA about a year ago. I have a wonderful 03 R1150RT that I love. My problems is the headlights are not nearly bright enough even after I installed PIAA bulbs.

I have been reading about LED bulbs upgrades but have read cautions that the LED’s may be a problem if they are not designed to match the headlight’s reflector characteristics.

I would appreciate the ‘wisdom of the list’ on how to proceed.

Thank you for any help.

Steve

 

[bobcatbiker]

I installed a Cyclops LED in my ‘04 R1150R with no difficulty. Although the light pattern is very different than with a typical bulb, it is a vast improvement. Care has to be taken in aiming to avoid blinding oncoming traffic.

 

[R100R Rider]

Here is what I have in my '04 R1150R. An improvement over stock H-4.


http://.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/back-up-light-bulb/motorcycle-led-headlight-conversion-kit-h4-led-headlight-bulb-conversion-kit-with-compact-heat-sink/3930/8566/

 

[skrusich]

Did you need the load resister?

 

[kthutchinson]

Replacing a halogen bulb with an LED presents two problems. The first is beam pattern, as has been discussed. Under federal law, it's illegal for a vendor to sell LEDs as replacements for halogens. You are supposed to install only the type of bulb for which the reflector was originally designed, although this is seldom if ever enforced during annual vehicle safety inspections. The fine for vendors can be as much as $5,000 per item sold.

The second problem is glare. There is no such thing as a white LED. The white light is produced by combining blue and yellow. Unfortunately, the human eye is very sensitive to blue light, and the blue content in the LED's output registers as glare. I rode in a group ride in front of a friend who had installed LED headlamp bulbs. After about 10 minutes I couldn't look in my rear view mirrors because the combination of beam pattern and glare was giving me a headache.

 

[bc1100s]

I installed a Cyclops LED in my ‘04 R1150R with no difficulty. Although the light pattern is very different than with a typical bulb, it is a vast improvement. Care has to be taken in aiming to avoid blinding oncoming traffic.

I also installed a Cyclops product but it was on my R1100S. VERY happy with the results. No issues with glare or beam pattern.

 

[frascati]

Is this 2018?

Please let's keep this civil.

Under federal law, it's illegal for a vendor to sell LEDs as replacements for halogens

In 2018?

I replaced the reflector and bulb in the bucket of my '83 R65 20 years ago with an off the shelf Sylvania common-as-dirt 7" halogen bulb from the NAPA store down the street. Three prong harness matched up fine with the BMW female harness. There were a couple of small alignment tabs molded into the glass on the edge... dremeled them off and it sat in the bucket perfectly.

20 years on I look at the beam pattern, beam uniformity, and approx 4000K color (mine is probably 3000k) of modern automobiles next to me on the road and mine looks like a flickering candle from the '30s.

You are supposed to install only the type of bulb for which the reflector was originally designed

An led drop in replacement for an automotive PAR56 dimension three prong 7" bulb, just like thousands of other landscape and household bulbs, would have the reflector built into the design.


Par56 7" round sealed beams were as common as dirt 15 to 20 years ago and beyond. There are many thousands or millions of cars on US roads that still use them. They are from 10 to 20 dollars each.
For some reason that is incomprehensible to me no major brand offers an led drop in replacement in a PAR56 dimensioned replacement.

I can find thousands of varieties in color, beam spread, lumens, base style, etc etc, of 12v LANDSCAPING bulbs (sorry for the exasperated caps)... that have been on the market long enough for the supply side and the technology to make them competitively priced against the incandescents they replace.

But not so for the one most commonly sized round automotive bulb on earth? The odd manufacturer that does offer them on line, with apparent impunity (which kind of belies the suggestion that it's illegal) price them upwards, sometimes well upwards, of 200 dollars each.

What am I missing?

 

[blacque jacque shellacque]

Please let's keep this civil.



In 2018?

I replaced the reflector and bulb in the bucket of my '83 R65 20 years ago with an off the shelf Sylvania common-as-dirt 7" halogen bulb from the NAPA store down the street. Three prong harness matched up fine with the BMW female harness. There were a couple of small alignment tabs molded into the glass on the edge... dremeled them off and it sat in the bucket perfectly.

20 years on I look at the beam pattern, beam uniformity, and approx 4000K color (mine is probably 3000k) of modern automobiles next to me on the road and mine looks like a flickering candle from the '30s.



An led drop in replacement for an automotive PAR56 dimension three prong 7" bulb, just like thousands of other landscape and household bulbs, would have the reflector built into the design.


Par56 7" round sealed beams were as common as dirt 15 to 20 years ago and beyond. There are many thousands or millions of cars on US roads that still use them. They are from 10 to 20 dollars each.
For some reason that is incomprehensible to me no major brand offers an led drop in replacement in a PAR56 dimensioned replacement.

I can find thousands of varieties in color, beam spread, lumens, base style, etc etc, of 12v LANDSCAPING bulbs (sorry for the exasperated caps)... that have been on the market long enough for the supply side and the technology to make them competitively priced against the incandescents they replace.

But not so for the one most commonly sized round automotive bulb on earth? The odd manufacturer that does offer them on line, with apparent impunity (which kind of belies the suggestion that it's illegal) price them upwards, sometimes well upwards, of 200 dollars each.

What am I missing?

I think the answer is rather simple. There is no money to be made selling LED replacement 7 inch round headlights. I suspect that the vast majority of folks driving 20 year old beaters either couldn't afford them, or would not even be interested in them.

 

[frascati]

- Color Temperature (K): 4000
- Average Rated Life (hr): 25000
- Luminosity Flux (Lumens): 710lm
- Beam Spread (degrees) 25
- Incandescent/Halogen Equivalent: 75 Watts
https://www.bulbamerica.com/product...ed-4000k-narrow-flood-dimmable-bulb-75w-equiv

...been running two of these on a scooter for the past two years. Lots of light on the road. Better by far, up to about 50ft, than my 7" BMW beam.
Never in two years have I been flashed by oncoming traffic.

Was hoping for a cleaner solution for the motorcycle in a single drop in 7".

Instead I'll keep the old halogen in there and add two of these below and to the sides of it as running lights.

Buy an LED bulb and be happy

Got it.

 

[skrusich]

Thanks for all the info and recommendations....I decided to buy the Cyclops 4.8 Platinum (($65). It is CAN bus compatible and conforms to the reflector characteristics of my R1150RT.