'84 200ES Big Red, LED Headlight Replacement?

[tvpierce]

Anyone found an LED replacement for the headlight bulb?

[kb0nly]

I looked and looked and looked and i never found one... I ended up added some LED lights to the front rack that are switched on when the light switch is in the high beam position, the stock headlight is only on in the low beam position. But i would still like to see an LED replacement bulb!

[tvpierce]

OK... thanks.

I've got an idea about making something work from SuperbrightLED.com

I'll post back if/when I can get it together..

[kb0nly]

Ok let us know what you come up with. Just don't go over budget on the amps, the most you want to be pulling on high beam is 4 amps, more than that and your gonna drain the battery and overstress the electrical system. If you change the tail light to an LED you can squeeze out a little more, say 5 amps.

[tvpierce]

I don't think you could find an LED that draws as much as 4 amps. The ones I've seen are in the 4-5 watt range, which would be less than one amp.

The low power consumption is part of the reason I'm considering LED.

I currently don't have a tail light, but will likely add one that's an LED.

I'll keep you posted if I find a solution.

jp

[kb0nly]

Actually... My pair of 27w LED lights draws about 4.5a, but if your just going with a small bulb then no, but you need a lot of wattage on a LED replacement to get the same output. The stock headlight is 55w on high beam.

[tvpierce]

Yeah, dual 27 watt fixtures will indeed draw a fair amount of current.

I'm not so concerned with the light output -- I just need to have some sort of light on the front, and I'd prefer that it not be a big draw on the system. Same with the rear.

[kb0nly]

Ok if your not concerned with light output then you could do just about anything. You could take a stock bulb and break the glass off it and use it as an adapter base and solder up a nice LED light. I was more concerned with output rather than it just being semi-decorative, LOL...

I wish someone would make an off the shelf LED replacement for the bulb using Cree or XG LED's and get say 20-30w in there. Would be really nice. I have been playing with making a custom module for the headlight but haven't got off the ground yet on that.

[tvpierce]

I'm more concerned with being seen and being perceived legal during the day than light output: I don't plan to ride at night, but I certainly want some light if a night ride becomes necessary.

As to high output: if you could convert the housing to an H4, then you could go HID. I converted the light on my last motorcycle to HID -- at 35 watts, it put out about 3x more light than the standard halogen, which was 55 watts.

[kb0nly]

HID is ok, except that these trikes would never support them, you would be over budget on the amps. I tried! The HID surge on startup was around 8-10 amps, the lowest i could find was a 35w mini ballast unit that would spike to about 6-8a depending on outdoor temps, the colder it is the more amperage they take to start up and also to run. After it was lit and settled down it would draw around 4-5a, the electrical system just couldn't keep up, i was plugging in to charge the battery every ride because the battery was making up for it each time. With the LED's i don't go over budget on the amps and the battery stays charged.

I was thinking about making an adapter plate to put in a different automotive bulb, i looked at a few. The 9007 type bulbs can be adapted with a plastic ring and they are a standard automotive 35/55w dual element bulb.

[tvpierce]

Good info... thanks.

Also, check out this thread on LED Headlight Conversion from another forum I belong to.

[kb0nly]

Very nice post over there, i have some led units like that, and its kinda where i was going with fabricating an LED replacement also. Nice to see im not the only one thinking that.. LOL