LEDs (brighter) safer?

joebgd

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I just was put on to the fact LEDs are brighter and better for safety. I was thinking that they were used solely for less draw on the electric. I'm sure there is allot on here about it and I will look.
What's the general feeling are they easier to be seen and what's the easiest way to make that happen?
 
I put a good quality LED tail light bulb in all of my bikes; I find them to be much easier to see in daylight.
 
Any fixture that is DOT approved should work well. As to whether they are brighter look at the trucks you pass. You will be able to discern incandescent from LED's. Any light covered with a couple months of road grime will be hard to see. If the people behind you aren't paying attention even a light house back there won't help.
 
Joe - note well Gary’s comment about the stock headlight bucket. It really is very cramped and the LEDs headlight units usually have some sort of heatsink which simply will not fit.

I’ve been searching for a deeper headlight bucket - any ideas anyone?

The other thing to note is that the stock flasher won’t work with LED turn signals because it depends on a fairly high current draw to operate. If you substitute 4LED bulbs, they like will not flash - so you’ll need a modern LED-compatible flasher unit. It’s not a big deal to install nor is it very expensive, but you will need to be aware.

Pete
 
I've replaced my tail light with a LED, which is great and works adequate. However, a headlight is something different. I replaced my headlight bulb with a yellow LED light bulb (which has a tiny little fan on top) and takes 20W. It's just to make me more visible to cagers during daytime. However if you are really riding in the dark, nothing beats a standard H4 Halogen bulb for now IMHO. If you want the same amount of lighting, you have to go to approx. to the same amount of Watts a Halogen bulb uses with the disadvantages to get it fit inside the bucket. So there's no advantage in that, just the lifespan. I can agree with gggGary (great test!) and MaxPete.
 
I started running an LED tail light cause I got tired of the incandescent getting rattled and burning out. And it was brighter, at least from what I had originally to what I switched to.

I'm looking into making a light with these luxeon LEDs https://www.luxeonstar.com/saber-z5-20mm-quad-led-modules, my friend recommended them. I haven't built it yet, so I can't say how they do. But I'll post a thread when I make it.

I like LEDs in general for longevity and low draw. But it depends on the quality of the product too.
 
If you want the same amount of lighting, you have to go to approx. to the same amount of Watts a Halogen bulb uses with the disadvantages to get it fit inside the bucket. So there's no advantage in that, just the lifespan. I can agree with gggGary (great test!) and MaxPete.
Have you been comparing the LEDs that are little more than parking lamps, the ones with large COBs on them? They are rubbish.
A decent LED of the last couple of generations is a wonderful thing, and I've been using them gratefully in unlit back roads for the past couple of years. While I don't believe the utter bullshit claims about their lumens output from the makers, I can honestly say the light thrown onto the road it at least twice as much as the halogens they replaced.
My personal preference is for the copper-braid cooled ones, as I can fit them in just about any headlamp shell and don't need to worry about how long a little cooling fan will last.
Last pair I bought were made by NiteEye, via ebay. Of course, they're probably ripoffs of someone else but they work well and reliably so far.
One tremendously good thing about them is; if each lamp only takes 25 W or so, on my elderly bikes, I am now able to run twin headlights without straining the charging system - and that means a total of four times the amount of light going down the road.
 
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Have you been comparing the LEDs that are little more than parking lamps, the ones with large COBs on them? They are rubbish.
A decent LED of the last couple of generations is a wonderful thing, and I've been using them gratefully in unlit back roads for the past couple of years. While I don't believe the utter bullshit claims about their lumens output from the makers, I can honestly say the light thrown onto the road it at least twice as much as the halogens they replaced.
My personal preference is for the copper-braid cooled ones, as I can fit them in just about any headlamp shell and don't need to worry about how long a little cooling fan will last.
Last pair I bought were made by NiteEye, via ebay. Of course, they're probably ripoffs of someone else but they work well and reliably so far.
One tremendously good thing about them is; if each lamp only takes 25 W or so, on my elderly bikes, I am now able to run twin headlights without straining the charging system - and that means a total of four times the amount of light going down the road.
Hi Grimly, no I haven't tried the ones with copper braiding. I have seen them but was afraid they might get hotter than I wanted in an enclosed bucket and mess up the rest of the cabling. Does that braiding get very hot?
 
I installed three of the broview S5 "braided heat sink" type LEDs on other motorcycles and have been extremely happy with them I don't think you need to worry about the braid being "hot" I don't recall it being hot to the touch even on the royal star where it is jammed in a crowded fairing. I've put 12 hour days in hot weather on that bike since the install.
 
Grim, or anyone. Can you post a link to the good non cob.....
And any bulbs that will brighten and less draw on directional and rear (brake light).
 
things to look for; a separate LED element for high and low beam. some sort of shielding on the low beam for coming traffic. A bulb designed for your country's LH or RH driving!
shots from the broview S5 on a 7" round reflector, bike is stationary in the same place for both shots, note how the high beam casts further but not as wide....

Low Beam broview S5 RSV low.jpg High Beambroview S5 RSV high.jpg
That's not ideal in critter country.... a pair of "ditch spots" would help.

The Broview s5 details, showing what I mean about elements and shielding.
rsv changes 001.JPG rsv changes 002.JPG
rsv changes 004.JPG rsv changes 005.JPG
The elements face up when installed, shield on right blocks light to the left.
 
I installed three of the broview S5 "braided heat sink" type LEDs on other motorcycles and have been extremely happy with them I don't think you need to worry about the braid being "hot" I don't recall it being hot to the touch even on the royal star where it is jammed in a crowded fairing. I've put 12 hour days in hot weather on that bike since the install.
Thanks gggGary!
 
things to look for; a separate LED element for high and low beam. some sort of shielding on the low beam for coming traffic. A bulb designed for your country's LH or RH driving!
shots from the broview S5 on a 7" round reflector, bike is stationary in the same place for both shots, note how the high beam casts further but not as wide....

Low Beam View attachment 114027 High BeamView attachment 114028
That's not ideal in critter country.... a pair of "ditch spots" would help.

The Broview s5 details, showing what I mean about elements and shielding.
View attachment 114030 View attachment 114032
View attachment 114031 View attachment 114033
The elements face up when installed, shield on right blocks light to the left.

Great info!
 
So Gary is that a basically plug and play or do you have to modify headlamp shell?
 
Pretty sure grizld1 said he got one in the xs shell by using 90 degree spade terminals instead of the big plastic connector. Good luck finding that bulb in an H4 now.
 
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No spades, Gary. I cut the 3-way plug off the Broview cable and installed 3.5 mm. F-crimp bullet connectors (the wires are too small for 4 mm. connectors, and had to be doubled up even for the 3.5 mm. crimps to get good contact, and the insulation had to be bulked up with shrink tube for the strain relief crimp to get a good grip). Then I removed the headlight socket, cut off the 4 mm. connectors on the dimmer switch wires, installed 3.5 mm. F-crimp sockets, and hooked up outside the shell. The Broview box uses yellow wire for low beam and red for high, so the yellow Yamaha dimmer switch wire goes to Broview red. I also cut a 2"x1.25" slot in the back of the shell and passed the mesh heat sink loops out through it, along with the 4-pin cable to the box. The box hangs under the top fork clamp.
 
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