Has anyone replaced ST1300 stock light bulbs with newer off-the-shelf light bulbs
Danny J
Danny J
Headlight bulbs other than Honda
- Thread starter Danny J
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Yup, most of us have gone LED. There's more than one thread here about it.
There are specific models to use. Just using any H4 led could actually give you crappier results
If you're not looking the LED route (but you should...) then you can put halogen h4 bulbs in. They will work better than OEM bulbs but not nearly as well as LEDs
There are specific models to use. Just using any H4 led could actually give you crappier results
If you're not looking the LED route (but you should...) then you can put halogen h4 bulbs in. They will work better than OEM bulbs but not nearly as well as LEDs
Andrew Shadow
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If by off-the-shelf you mean a direct retrofit, your choices are limited because the North American ST1300 does not use the same bulb base as the H4/9003 bulb. The good news is that any H4/9003 bulb can easily be used in the ST1300 by simply cutting off the two lower alignment tabs. It really is not a big deal at all and many of us do this all the time with H4/9003 bulbs without issue. I'm just mentioning it in case you were not aware of this difference.
OP
OP
OP
OP
Here's one of the "Older" sets. Doesn't put out as much light as the new ones but is still a massive increase over OEM bulb or the h4 halogen upgrade.
KaTur H4 9003 HB2 Led Headlight Bulbs Hi/Lo Mini Design Upgraded LED Chips Extremely Bright 12000 Lumens Waterproof All-in-One LED Headlight Conversion Kit 55W 6500K Xenon White-2 Years Waranty, Headlight Bulbs - Amazon Canada
You can also read Shuey's thread about his upgrade currently in progress:
ST1300 LED Headlight Bulbs? | ST1300 Related
On replacing OEM ST1300 headlight bulbs with brighter, whiter LED ones . . . Ok, I've spent the past 2 hours or so reading threads regarding LED replacement headlight bulbs. I'm . . . confused. My dated experience was with replacement bulbs that, other than bending/breaking off two tabs, were...
Here's the newest model bulb:
Cougar Motor Flagship F2 Plus Series H4 Led Bulbs , 20000LM 6500K All-in-One - Cool White, Super Bright Halogen Replacement
Cougar Motor Flagship F2 Plus Series H4 Led Bulbs , 20000LM 6500K All-in-One - Cool White, Super Bright Halogen Replacement
cougar-motor.com
OP
OP
Hi Andrew,
I ordered the below
Danny
Fahren 2024 Newest H4/9003 LED Headlight Bulbs, 26000LM 700% Brighter, 1:1 Size Hi/Lo Dual Beam H4 HB2 LED Bulbs, 6500K Cool White, Direct Installation, Pack of 2
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
I am not familiar with that particular bulb but from the description they seem to meet all of the important criteria, you should be good to go.
I didn't see anywhere in the details where it stated that the fan assembly can be separated from the bulb assembly. This makes its much easier to reinstall the rubber boot. Have a look for this when you receive them.
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As a retired automotive lamp designer for 23 years : you have to have the light source within a millimeter of where it was originally located in the lamp's design , or it will de-focus all of the rest of the optics of that lamp , trashing the lamp's efficiency / it will then not pass FMVSS test points .
Andrew Shadow
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Do tell if you know.
Why are standard H4/9003 bulbs not legal in North America on the ST1300, only the lower wattage ones from the factory? I have read many of the explanations on the web, many of which contradict each other. What's the true technical reason that they are not allowed here, contrary to the rest of the world?
If you do go with Halogen bulbs, you can get these at your local Wal Mart. Use the mid grade. The Ultra White do not last very long. I used them when I had my ST 1300 (H4) and now use them on my Gold Wing (H7). You get the same milage or more than the bulb you get at the Honda dealer.
Top-down set of answers to this.
Preface: 9003 and H4 are the same thing. HB2 is the actual title of USDOT-approved bulbs in vaguely the 9003/H4 profile. See 1.b. for pain and suffering on this front.
1) Why it's not legal is FMVSS 108. Essentially, any modification from a headlight assembly that changes the optical dynamics from those certified by the manufacturer is illegal. Because Honda didn't install 9003-spec bulbs from factory, 9003-spec bulbs are not legal. Keep in mind that the packaging on headlight bulbs found in the store will explicitly state that they meet DOT regulations.
1.a.) 49 CFR 564 specifies that manufacturers of headlight bulbs who make a new bulb standard must have it and its performance measured and approved by the NHTSA, then logged in Federal docket NHTSE-1998-3397. Every subsequent bulb using the identifier has to meet the specifications of the originally-approved one.
1.b.) This gets worse. The US uses a different certification standard than the EU. H4 is a Euro-spec bulb, and to be permitted in the US it would have to meet the tolerances for bulb type HB2. HB2 is more precise with the diameter and tab orientation because it's measured from the original H4 installed on 1972 Porsches. Even though the EU allows more "slop" in tab positioning, any H4 sold stateside has to adhere to the American tolerancing requirements to be a permissible "HB2" bulb.
1.c.) Deeper rabbit hole. The "9003" title seems to be an internal SKU choice of Sylvania. It's just to maintain their own product line, but it's also been adopted to be part of the same standard set. Essentially, 9003 is Sylvania's chosen internal code for an H4 bulb. This one was much harder to research so if I'm incorrect gladly let me know.
2) The better question is probably why the bike wasn't manufactured with 9003/H4 bulbs in mind. It's probably that it was and the reflector assembly didn't actually work as intended with the H4; there are requirements around light spread, angle, dissipation at a given distance, side profile view, high-beam angle, and more that it may have just barely been out of spec with. By commissioning a special bulb with a filament adjusted a couple degrees, or a reflector made slightly differently inside the bulb, they could save on exorbitant costs of re-tooling the actual headlight reflector assembly. Optical planning and design software was not nearly as solid in the late 1990s when the bike was designed as it is now, so it was difficult to cover all bases until you'd actually manufactured product.
Given the dramatic improvement in lighting with LEDs, why would anyone go back to halogen incandescent lamps? I grant you that my comparison is seat-of-the-pants - I'm not using instrumentation to check brightness, but my LED headlights on my VStrom do a better job of illuminating the road than the lamps that came with the bike. I remember the same improvement on my ST.
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I highly recommend that you give the cougar motor flagship led bulb a try (post #6).
What you think is wrong with the light actually made it better.
Halogen bulbs with its thin filament makes a tiny spot with weak light on the sides of the road.
The slightly wider light source of the led spreads more of the extra light to the sides of the road making a fuller pattern.
The low beam of the H4 is not at the focus point but in a focal ring.
The sharp cutoff created by the H4 design shield keeps the glare in spec.
FMVSS test points only specs MAX glare and MIN illumination.
With any upgrade the beam pattern should be checked and adjusted properly.
The nice thing with the ST1300 we have a control on the dash to fine tune the cutoff based on load.
There are knobs on the back of the light assembly to make coarse adjustments.
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Also, at least in California, the law allows you to have your low beams, fog lights, and Passing lights ( aux low beams ) all ON at the same time in traffic !
Read this thread for more info --- passing lights ???
your professional comments would be appreciated...
Read this thread for more info --- passing lights ???
your professional comments would be appreciated...
Inconsistency in availability of LED headlights.
The same LED will have markedly different performance in two different housings because the actual light dissipation isn't heli-cylindrical (near-spherical in actuality); it's from planar chips.
You may have found a perfect LED bulb for the ST1300, but it may not be as performant in another vehicle using H4 bulbs, and other H4 LEDs may not work as well in your ST. Problem is that if the brand you have and like ceases to exist, because a lot of these manufacturers are fly-by-night operations that just purchase a limited production run from an existing factory line and drop the whole batch on Amazon, there may not be a good replacement available. At the same time, I can always go to Autozone and get a Sylvania and know it's consistent.
"Halogen bulbs with its thin filament makes a tiny spot with weak light on the sides of the road."
Not exactly the case. the filament being a helically-wound cylinder means it functions essentially the same as a radial point of light. The tinier the midpoint the better, because the lens is designed to focus on that small point.
"The slightly wider light source of the led spreads more of the extra light to the sides of the road making a fuller pattern."
Further from the mark on this one. The wider light source of the LED means less of it is being captured by the lens optics. If the reflectors are focused to the center point of the filament, then an LED chip that's twice the luminosity but 16 times the cross-sectional area of the focal point is going to be wasted in most of the lens range.
I'm not suggesting that the LEDs you have on your bike are worse than stock. I'm saying that the things you're claiming are direct negatives about filament bulbs aren't entirely accurate. There's a quality spectrum on LED bulbs that is largely nonexistent on halogens because the lenses were designed for halogens, and they're strictly regulated by the NHTSA and DOT. $13 Amazon specials far less so, and that's what the majority of people are unfortunately going to purchase.
David Fyffe
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go to the bottom of page, click on Cindy Z.
https://evitekhid.en.alibaba.com/
F3's from cindy at evitek, light is fantastic
https://evitekhid.en.alibaba.com/
F3's from cindy at evitek, light is fantastic
1. I'm guessing you mean quality control issues w/ the LED and matching a given LED lamp w/ various headlight reflectors?
2. Guaranteed. Heck, your eyeglass frames went bye bye the day before you broke the ones you love. Your refrigerator's circulating fan or temp control (a pc board) went obsolete the week before your frige stopped working....etc.
3. True, but my tired old eyes seem to see better with Cindy's (Evitek) LED's.
I confess to being a fan of Evitek's leds. I've bought at least half a dozen pairs from them. You can email Cindy directly: Cindy Zhou - cindy@evitekhid.com Bottom line for me is I think I can see better with these LEDs than halogen. YEMV. (your eyes might vary)