headlight upgrade to LED

[teigan]

is there yet a drop in LED headlight solution? it's a common old lamp, so i'm hopeful someone makes an updated version.

[92xjunker]

Tried them, didn't work worth a poo.

[zlatan]

I have an LED headlight on my 96 katana its 3200 lumens of awesome brightness. it doesnt give glare to other drivers like HIDs do either. (just to put this in perspective a regular halogen before it begins dimming due to age is approximately 12/1400lm low beam and 16-1900 highbeam).

here are some pictures of my install the last one shows the amount of clearance between the gauge and ballast. There are LED headlight models that are self-contained (no ballast) and new for this year, however they only output around 24 or 2600lm/bulb. My supplier uses geniune CREE diodes and quality components so the light output is actually consistent and strong, most of the stuff online is crap.

If you want I can post some videos. I have them as highbeams in a friend's pacifica as well and they are BRIGHT and go far at night which is what matters.

if any of you need more info on LED headlights or the technology/how far along its come feel free to PM me.

I have been dealing with LED lighting for many years on a commercial level everything from indoor and outdoor led strip lighting, to now wifi smart bulbs and LED lightbulb technology.

there is a new type of headlight tech being currently developed using lasers and white phosphorous to emit light. BMW is experimenting with it and so far the results are phenomenal.

when it comes to LED light technology the results from diode to diode vary significantly so the manufacturer themselves have to know what they are doing. for example you can have 2 diodes that both output 3200lm but at totally different angles and if the proper diode is not used for the correct application then the light output will be shit. hence why most of the online stuff is well...shit when it comes to LEDs because they are either manufactured with the cheapest diodes or not spec'd correctly.

[skjeflo]

Looks like that didn't require the same amount of modding that the HID sets do. Are you able to keep the high/lo function with your setup?

[zlatan]

of course full hi/lo functionality as any other H4 bulb and no relays and crap like that to worry about or the bulb having to physically move back and forth as with HIDs

As I said there are direct plug and play bulbs without the ballasts on the market but their light output is not as good. I will make a short video of the headlight on my katana. I should have done that before I put it away. My friend has 2 H7 bulbs installed on his honda CBR (one for highbeam one for low beam) the h7 bulbs have a single cree diode on it while the h4 bulbs (like what goes in our katanas) have 2 diodes one for high beam one for low beam. I will make a short video of the CBR lights as well.

oh and best of all .... and what initially appealed to me ......no modification needed to anything..

[skjeflo]

Who did you buy from and what did the system cost? I ride year round and have been lusting after more light.

[skjeflo]

???

[zlatan]

bought it from a supplier over seas that uses the led diodes and components of my choice (US diode, japanese and korean chips/resistors etc). minimum order quantity is 500 sets (rougly $35000-50000 per order depending on the product you have configured). plus shipping, import tax etc comes to roughly $165 per set (2 bulbs 2 ballasts) or $85 for just one bulb and ballast....its not that expensive for what it is and the quality.

my apologies for the late reply work has been crazy these days.

[teigan]

i settled for a generic lamp that installed with zero modifications to the bike. it is a 2800LM H4 30W CREE bulb with a switchable high/low beam. i've only test driven about a few hundred miles with it, but so far it is satisfactory. it isn't much brighter than the stock lamp, but the light is closer to white. so far no malfunctions, and it seems to run cool. when the little attached fan does run, it is silent. i'm glad i didn't opt for the 3200LM version which has a larger fan and would have required some minor modification to my bike to fit.

[branumhawk]

I am looking for a new headlight myself, where did you buy your replacement and mine is an 82 katana. Thanks for info.

[Suzuki_dog]

I am looking for a new headlight myself, where did you buy your replacement and mine is an 82 katana. Thanks for info.

If you're looking for an original type headlamp, Bike Bandit still sells them:

http://www.bikebandit.com/oem-parts/1982-suzuki-gs1000s-headlamp/o/m21369sch276514

As for LED, can't help with that.