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Best headlight setup

26K views 136 replies 47 participants last post by  XX123 
#1 ·
Ok, I like the bike; good power, ergos, etc..
It does, however, occasionally get dark here in NJ and the headlights are weak, to put it mildly. Hellen Keller would've felt right at home!
My VFR had a good beam pattern and when mod'd to take H4 bulbs worked fantastic!!
What is the best set-up you guys have found for low/high beams?
Some one was telling me about a hi/low conversion (swapping hi and low in the headlamp??), but I want good light w/o blinding everyone else.
The low beam pattern seems good, but just not enough light on the road.
HID's? LED's? High Frequency Plasma arc? (kidding)
:confused:
 
#126 ·
Oh you may also want to read up on the regulator/ rectifier and stator knock on effects of swapping to LEDs.

Basically LEDs need much less power than OEM/ Halogen/ HIDs. The stator still generates it's max power when the engine is running. So with LEDs the reg/rec needs to dump more excess/ unused power as heat… at the risk of burning out wiring or R/Rs and or stator itself if that's too much.

I don't wish to scare monger just "illuminate" (he he he)
 
#127 · (Edited)
ok, these suck... while they look a bit brighter in the pics above, here's what my gopro sees at night on the same onramp...

by my eyes, it's not as bad as the camera makes it look but, not even as bright as the old halgens. those are posted 1st, the crummy led's below.

at least they seem to run pretty cool...
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#128 ·
PT
Went down the same road. That's why I bit the bullet and went GTR's after looking at Headlight Revolutions website and info videos. The newer GTR'S have a fan so amp draw my go up a bit. The there is are the morimoto 2 stroke LED's that have just been introduced the design and tech look very promising and are cheaper than the GTR'S.
 
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#129 · (Edited)
Sorry to hear that PT,

Fyi I bought a pair of 4-sided cree leds with fan heat sinks for £14 off fleabay (<$20). Year later all still okay (great brightness, ok on light scatter, ok on heat management… yet to be proven re true longevity/lifespan… not killed my R/R or stator yet).

This sort of thing:

More blurb from my experiences here (you should ignore my later posts re UK road regs as they aren't applicable to you):

 
#130 ·
thanks for the input and sympathies, gents. i ordered a set of gtr's from a nearby seller. hopefully they arrive before i'm tempted to go back in there and put the halogens back.

wasn't too bad getting in there this time, removed the wind screen, upper dash panels and cluster. in my younger days i remember changing bulbs blind from beneath...
 
#132 ·
i can finally report the results of fitting those fancy led headlights. wow, what a difference! the beam pattern looks about the same, just way more mochi! i may play a bit with the aiming to see if i can go up without blinding other drivers.

the still image is a screen shot from my gopro on the same on ramp as posted here earlier (#127).

the video shows the halogens until about 38 seconds, then the gtr low beam and then the high beam at about 57 seconds (please excuse the lack of any semblance of editing finesse...).
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#133 ·
You think you like them now. Wait till you get out on an open road. They really throw a lot of light. I posted my mounting fix in the other thread. Snap shot is i had modified my locking bales earlier when I was running the HID's.
Here's how I aimed mine.
Find a flat pad at least 30 feet long with a wall at one end. Measure the height of the low beam center. Mark it on the wall. I used a sheet and masking tape. Tape up cross. Then back the bike up measure out 30 feet and run a line out perpendicular to the wall. Place the bike in a straight line centered on that line. Set your weight on the bike with someone steadying you. Don't use the centerstand. You want the suspension loaded with your weight at least. Maybe a bit more if you commute with a tail bag or trunk. Once your set. Aim the bright spot dead on to the cross. This should give you the best light without blinding on coming traffic on low beam.
 
#134 ·
thanks bees!

on headlight aiming, the low beam should point at the same mark on the wall, bike near and far, loaded as riden?

or said another way, if the low beam bulb is 36" off the ground, at 30' the beam should be as well?

not sure which thread, can you please link?
 
#135 ·
Yes same height at 30 feet.
Here's the link
 
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#137 ·
When I upgraded my bulbs a few years back, LED's were not up to par and HID's were the rage, but required modifications and were prone to burning out on the road. Since its hard to find replacement HID stuff at local parts stores, I opted to stay with a H7 bulb. lots and lots of research led me to Daniel Sterns bulb site. I purchased a couple of Osram Rallye 65w bulbs. Comparing these to the hot-rodded bulbs by Philips and others, there really was no comparison. Bulb life is short on the super performance Phillips. The Osrams basically put a H9 bulb on a H7 base and were rated brighter than the Phillips, but also had a normal bulb life. I have been running the Osrams in both high and low beam and have had no issues, and no burnt out bulbs. The bad news was that they discontinued making these bulbs. Daniel has worked to get another German bulb company to recreate them and they are supposed to be identical to the originals. These bulbs were very popular on a lot of other bike forums. give them a look. Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply Daniel was super nice on the phone and he sells top quality stuff.
 
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