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Is anybody considering a headlight bulb upgrade?


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definitely need some pics of the LED light on a wall to see the spread and cut offs and what not

2015 Matte Metallic Grey FZ-07

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definitely need some pics of the LED light on a wall to see the spread and cut offs and what not
I gave it a try:
below you can see the patterns. The first photo is regular, the second is Brights on. The Brights have much more light up on top (two more rows of brick on my garage wall).
Regular_zps84d08fb7.jpg
Brights_zpsc807dd08.jpgPhysics Prof. Be aware :o:)
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A lot more light in the top corners with the high beam on also

2015 Matte Metallic Grey FZ-07

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Ok. Thanks a lot. Did you get the H4 Harness? Can I see a picture of your set up? I'm new to retro fitting and while I have done a lot of research on it, I still have never actually done one. Im really looking forward to doing this. I want to get the apollo 3.0 shroud and put an amber XBLED ring on the top of the shroud for a DRL and then a white XBLED ring in the shroud for accent lighting. Also looking for a 5000k or 6000k bulb. Either white or blue tint.
 
I got the 4.3K bulb and their mini DS. You won't fit any other light in there. The 4.3k lights up well. Was thinking 4.3k or 5k would be good but 6k wouldn't be as effective, just look pretty. I bought the LED accent ring, but did not end up installing because of the other lighting I was adding.
 
Here's the headlight with the projector installed. I had to notch the bottom of the shroud to fit the aux light at the bottom (hint: get a small shroud). Painted the reflector matte black, painted the shroud the yammie blurple color and got some textured paint for the headlight outer shroud.
 
IMG_20140731_212407.jpg
 

 
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The notch can be seen better here... Thinking about it now, the LED ring wouldn't work unless you use it on the front of the projector shroud (a little too hack for me):
 
 
 
IMG_20140731_212411.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Here's the result, I did not get any of the cut-off pattern, but it's the same as any car with real HIDs: 
IMG_20140803_145430.jpg
 
Here's the pic with lights off:Lights Out
Thank you so much. That was a lot of info. You said you didn't get any of the cut off pattern. I guess I don't know what you mean by that. I thought the solenoid for the high beam gives you the cut off pattern. I didn't know it was possible to mess that up.. lol maybe a pic of it shinning on the wall would shed some light on this... ha.. ha.. I'm sorry you had to hear that awful pun.. No, but in all seriousness, I really don't get why you wouldn't get the pattern. Also, if I got a shroud to accomdate the LED ring inside of it, with vents in the shroud, wouldthe LED ring work inside the shroud then? Or is that axillary light in the way? Thank you so much.
Allan
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Also, if I got a shroud to accomdate the LED ring inside of it, with vents in the shroud, wouldthe LED ring work inside the shroud then? Or is that axillary light in the way? Thank you so much. Allan
 
 
That's what I'm saying, the aux light is in the way and the projector takes up too much space... I don't see it working unless you get a ring that you can put on the front of the shroud surrounding the projector. See pic, might give you a better idea. As far as the beam pattern it's sharp and not a blob of light like when you put a hid bulb in a housing not meant for it.
 
IMG_20140731_191536.jpg
 
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Also, if I got a shroud to accomdate the LED ring inside of it, with vents in the shroud, wouldthe LED ring work inside the shroud then? Or is that axillary light in the way? Thank you so much. Allan
That's what I'm saying, the aux light is in the way and the projector takes up too much space... I don't see it working unless you get a ring that you can put on the front of the shroud surrounding the projector. See pic, might give you a better idea. As far as the beam pattern it's sharp and not a blob of light like when you put a hid bulb in a housing not meant for it.
 
IMG_20140731_191536.jpg

Ok. Thanks for all of your help. I feel a lot more confident now buying supplies. Thanks again.
Allan
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  • 2 weeks later...
definitely need some pics of the LED light on a wall to see the spread and cut offs and what not
I gave it a try: below you can see the patterns. The first photo is regular, the second is Brights on. The Brights have much more light up on top (two more rows of brick on my garage wall).
Regular_zps84d08fb7.jpg
Brights_zpsc807dd08.jpgPhysics Prof. Be aware :o:)
 
 
Any thoughts on the upgrade after driving with it for a while?
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  • 2 months later...

Ok boys and girls, we are close to having an LED solution. Very close. Will be looking for a donor bike in the Seattle area soon.
 
This kit is gonna be freakin sweet! Low/high beam Cree LED's and a small cooling fan that looks like it will fit. Fingers crossed!

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fooschnickens

It seems like putting the LED bulbs in our bikes has a similar negative result of messing up the throw pattern of the light as putting an HID bulb in a standard reflector housing. Unless this LED kit come with a projector housing as well I'll probably just go with an HID retrofit like I did with my Subaru and maintain that crisp cutoff and solid highbeam reliability.
 
 

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Sweet, I have HID new but I am willing to dump it for a good LED setup. Cree makes good stuff. I used a kit on one of my vehicles.

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I ran some a HID light kit on a bike of mine it had a Glass headlight lens, in the past, but i could only get about a year out of the bulbs, i replaced them every year, a friend on mine had a HID light on his bike, it was a plastic headlight lens, and the heat the HID bulb generated melted the plastic parts within the headlight.
 
I had also changed to brighter bulbs for the OEM light silverstars, same problem the bulbs last a year.
 
I would prefer a LED headlight, they run cooler and less energy used, but the less energy you use the hotter your voltage regulator will get, (it might not be much hotter) as it has to get rid of the overage of energy not used up, by wasting it, tuning it into Heat.
 

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Hello: I read this thread with interest. I have used a hid kit in the past, with my old Yamaha 1300 tourer. When I sold it I took that out and still have the kit but it was a pain to install, and it was just ok. I wonder if I should try a LED kit now. This one I found on e-bay looks interesting: LED KIT. Decision, decision...
Physics Prof. Be aware :o:)
Hello everyone: I the post quoted above, I had found a promising LED headlight kit. If you look at the pictures posted by the seller, the bulb itself has the same overall physical dimension as a regular H4. The fan in the back sticks out much more that the original bulb but it does not have the three-prong male that connect to the mating plug of the bike electrical circuit. 
The electrical connection to the led bulb is through a thin wire that goes to what I assume is a small ballast (this ballast is much smaller than the ballast in HID systems). Coming out of this ballast is a three-prong male connector (like the one on the back of the original H4 bulb)that allows the LED to be powered by the bike's electrical system.
 
Bottom line, there is room to mount everything, and it is as close to plug-n-play as possible. The only mods I had to perform was a trimming of the rubber booth in the back of the original bulb to allow the fan to stick out in the air. The set up is not as watertight as the original, but it is still well protected. The new LED bulb is obviously brighter and whiter in hue. The brights still work as well, as the light changes pattern when I activate the brights switch.
All in all, pretty happy.
Here is a picture: notice how yellow is the little bulb in the bottom of the headlight.
DSC_0435red_zps65409314.jpg
Marco Physics Prof. Be aware :o:)
I did this same install over the weekend, and was able to fit the bulb and cooling fan through the rubber cover without having the modify. Very tight fit, but haven't noticed any issues in the first couple of rides with it. I'll take a picture of ballast mounting location if I can figure out how to upload.... 
The light output is great!
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Hello everyone: I the post quoted above, I had found a promising LED headlight kit. If you look at the pictures posted by the seller, the bulb itself has the same overall physical dimension as a regular H4. The fan in the back sticks out much more that the original bulb but it does not have the three-prong male that connect to the mating plug of the bike electrical circuit. 
The electrical connection to the led bulb is through a thin wire that goes to what I assume is a small ballast (this ballast is much smaller than the ballast in HID systems). Coming out of this ballast is a three-prong male connector (like the one on the back of the original H4 bulb)that allows the LED to be powered by the bike's electrical system.
 
Bottom line, there is room to mount everything, and it is as close to plug-n-play as possible. The only mods I had to perform was a trimming of the rubber booth in the back of the original bulb to allow the fan to stick out in the air. The set up is not as watertight as the original, but it is still well protected. The new LED bulb is obviously brighter and whiter in hue. The brights still work as well, as the light changes pattern when I activate the brights switch.
All in all, pretty happy.
Here is a picture: notice how yellow is the little bulb in the bottom of the headlight.
DSC_0435red_zps65409314.jpg
Marco Physics Prof. Be aware :o:)
I did this same install over the weekend, and was able to fit the bulb and cooling fan through the rubber cover without having the modify. Very tight fit, but haven't noticed any issues in the first couple of rides with it. I'll take a picture of ballast mounting location if I can figure out how to upload.... 
The light output is great!

I have the same kit, and am honestly not that impressed with it.  The light is definitely brighter and casts much further out to the sides, but it just doesnt seem to play well with the factory reflector.  Still better than stock though. 
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I did this same install over the weekend, and was able to fit the bulb and cooling fan through the rubber cover without having the modify. Very tight fit, but haven't noticed any issues in the first couple of rides with it. I'll take a picture of ballast mounting location if I can figure out how to upload.... 
The light output is great!

I have the same kit, and am honestly not that impressed with it.  The light is definitely brighter and casts much further out to the sides, but it just doesnt seem to play well with the factory reflector.  Still better than stock though.  
 

I had to do a fair bit of height adjustment to get the light to project far enough down the road, keeping the same alignment as the stock bulb had most of the light pointed almost at the front wheel... 
Did you encounter anything similar on yours?
 
It seems like that bulb might have been more effective if the LED's were placed on the top and bottom, not just on the top. I'm new to aftermarket headlights, so it could just be that I'm impressed with it compared to the stock light output...
 
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I have the same kit, and am honestly not that impressed with it.  The light is definitely brighter and casts much further out to the sides, but it just doesnt seem to play well with the factory reflector.  Still better than stock though.  
 

I had to do a fair bit of height adjustment to get the light to project far enough down the road, keeping the same alignment as the stock bulb had most of the light pointed almost at the front wheel... 
Did you encounter anything similar on yours?
 
It seems like that bulb might have been more effective if the LED's were placed on the top and bottom, not just on the top. I'm new to aftermarket headlights, so it could just be that I'm impressed with it compared to the stock light output...

Totally agree on all accounts.  I had to do a ton of adjusting and I am very sure that the design of the LEDs only being on top leads to the less than ideal interplay with the reflector.  I read a few reviews from adventure riders, their are better options out there and i might take the plunge when the weather warms up and I ride at night again. 
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fooschnickens
*ehem* http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/3800-Lumen-H4-LED-Headlight-bulb-_p_83.html 
This is probably what I will try next pending what Cruzin points us to.
The looks very similar to one that my buddy put into his FZ-09. The LED's on both sides (top and bottom) seemed to work pretty well with his reflector. 
That highlights the main issue with LEDs being mainly monodirectinoal vs standard bulbs being omnidirectional.  
If those were in stock I'd risk the $65 to test one out. Only thing that worries me is the clearance for the fan. If nothing else I can sell it to my buddy so he can put it on his gixxer. He's done nothing but bitch about that headlight since he bought the bike three years ago haha.
 
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