Headlight Replacement
Most of the "drop in" LED replacement bulbs (that I have had experience with) provide really crappy light patterns and often scatter light in every direction. So, while they are bright, they are also dangerous.
Have you done any real world tests to see how the bulb you are selling spreads the light?
Have you done any real world tests to see how the bulb you are selling spreads the light?
Yes, we have tested well over 20 different LED Drop-in bulbs, and we are constantly testing new ones, always looking for the best possible.
While the spread is definitely affected by the reflector in the bucket, it is ALSO Greatly affected by the actual bulb too.
Most drop-in bulbs we have tested (all in stock HD buckets) spread light *****-nilly. This results in light going everywhere, including into oncoming traffic, and the rear view mirrors of vehicles ahead of you.
Our bulb gives a spread very close to the stock HD bulbs, just whiter and brighter.
Look at the comparison pic below. You will see the light from our LED Drop-in bulb is no wider than the stock bulb, and has a nice clean cut-off up top also.
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From: Alexandria, Virginia
Hey! I started this thread and still have no solution. I tried the Sunpii and it didn't fit. Has anyone, else had a fitment problem? My bike is an '07 Sportster 883xl. The one I bought was a 5.75" but it was too big for the opening.
a 5 3/4 will fit your bike if the housing is unmolested and the led is not a led made for jeeps and old cars. i have an 07 883xlcn(standard) and 5 3/4 fits just fine. getting it to seat is a matter of cable management sometimes. take a picture of the rear of the unit it you got hold of and post it.
on the high range (400 and down) the 8690M, truck lite, and trubeam are where you want to put your money. on the low end, an h4 led or knock off...
or a plain old beast halogen like the osram night breaker, hd high performance, sylvania silver star, etc. there are quite a few in the middle worth a look...
my 5 3/4 8690A in stock 2007 housing.
Last edited by cvaria; Aug 10, 2016 at 12:55 PM.
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From: hhhhh
LED Headlight Bulb 16watt/24watt
I'm trying out an LED replacement bulb to see how I like it and how much if any improvement there may be. I was concerned mainly with being move visible to cagers during the day and also not be blinding or annoying oncoming traffic.
So I chose a 16watt/24watt low/high beam LED replacement headlight bulb. I wanted to keep the wattage lower thinking it will build up less heat in the headlight housing and last longer. I checked the light output (lumens) before buying and it is rated at 1400 to 1500 lumens on low beam and 2200 lumens on high beam. It does this by using 2 of three LED elements for low and all three elements for high beam.
Included here are some pictures of my OEM filament bulb and a couple pics of the LED installed and one of the LED itself. This bulb seems to be available from many vendors and I got it for about $16 so we'll see. I've seen the same LED bulb go for $29 to $59 . . . so go figure.
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Original Harley Incandescent filament Bulb:
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LED Replacement Bulb
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So I chose a 16watt/24watt low/high beam LED replacement headlight bulb. I wanted to keep the wattage lower thinking it will build up less heat in the headlight housing and last longer. I checked the light output (lumens) before buying and it is rated at 1400 to 1500 lumens on low beam and 2200 lumens on high beam. It does this by using 2 of three LED elements for low and all three elements for high beam.
Included here are some pictures of my OEM filament bulb and a couple pics of the LED installed and one of the LED itself. This bulb seems to be available from many vendors and I got it for about $16 so we'll see. I've seen the same LED bulb go for $29 to $59 . . . so go figure.
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Original Harley Incandescent filament Bulb:
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LED Replacement Bulb
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Last edited by JayTee2015; Aug 29, 2019 at 03:14 PM.
FWIW,LED's draw very little power and produce a lot less heat.
Clint
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From: hhhhh
But there are LED replacement bulbs with different wattage ratings and lumen output. For instance, there are LED replacement headlight bulbs rated at 24watts, 32watts, 40 watts, etc. As the wattage goes up, so does the lumen or light output . . . 24watt ~2200 lumens, 30watt ~2500 lumens, 40watt, +3,000 lumens, etc. And the higher the wattage the more heat for that little fan in back of the LED to deal with inside a fairly tight Harley headlight can. So I chose to go on the lower end of the available LED headlight wattage.
Why . . .?
Since a standard H4 incandescent halogen bulb has about 1,000 to 1,100 lumens low beam light output when brand new and a 24 watt H4 LED replacement bulb has about 1,400 to 1,500 lumens on low beam . . . even that 24 watt H4 LED is at least +40% brighter. So no need to go to a 32 or 40 watt H4 LED with eye scorching light output . . . unless, of course, an owner desires it.
I would rather choose a lower wattage H4 LED replacement bulb, consume even less power, produce less heat than a 32 or 40 watt LED and give it some extra "breathing" for the heat dissipation.
One more thing to consider. An incandescent filament halogen bulb is built to stand and even use the heat it produces in order to obtain it's light output. LED bulbs are semiconductor devices that do not endure much in the way of heat for very long. Therefore the need for the heat sink, little "turbo fan" or other heat dissipating device on the rear of the H4 LED replacement bulb. The more you can accommodate and aid heat removal the better for an LED bulb.
Last edited by JayTee2015; Aug 14, 2016 at 06:15 PM.
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From: PA
I installed this tonight in about 20 minutes, and I could do it again in 5.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It fit with ease, in fact I needed to wrap a little bit of black electrical tape around the inner metal ring so it would sit more snug and not rotate once installed. Initial impressions are it looks great. It's not dark yet, so that test is a few hours away.
Will it last? I don't know. My bike vibrates like crazy, so I hope it doesn't suffer from shaken baby syndrome. Time will tell. For $59 how can I complain? There was nothing wrong with my stock incandescent bulb, in fact, I was pretty amazed how bright it was. But it has 16K miles on it and is bound to blow. And FWIW, I just like the "look" of these newfangled LED headlamps. What can I say, I'm shallow.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It fit with ease, in fact I needed to wrap a little bit of black electrical tape around the inner metal ring so it would sit more snug and not rotate once installed. Initial impressions are it looks great. It's not dark yet, so that test is a few hours away.
Will it last? I don't know. My bike vibrates like crazy, so I hope it doesn't suffer from shaken baby syndrome. Time will tell. For $59 how can I complain? There was nothing wrong with my stock incandescent bulb, in fact, I was pretty amazed how bright it was. But it has 16K miles on it and is bound to blow. And FWIW, I just like the "look" of these newfangled LED headlamps. What can I say, I'm shallow.
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Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Richmond, VA
I was pretty darn impressed. For the price, it really throws a lot of light. And high beam really is impressive. Especially in terms of distance. If it fails, I won't buy another, but so far it appears to be money well spent.
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From: NE Philly
My bike came with the Daymaker from the previous owner. It's many times better than the stock light. That said, if there are better and cheaper alternatives and I didn't already have the Daymaker, I'd pick one of those.