LED headlight

[leonides]

Since I had to remove the dash to be sent to Bluegauges for conversion, I see the back of the headlight as easy to work with and replace de actual light bulbs for LED.
Any recommendations on a Plug and play LED brand and model?
As always thank you for your help.
P.B.

 

[Obo]

Lots of threads here on the topic already.

@spiderman302 's last reccomendations were:

"Cougar Motor Flagship H4 LED.

F2 Plus oops it is the first selection on the left. (they changed their site )

this has the other option bases that the original site had

F2 Plus other bases

with many types. "


I have an older F2 model that is still an excellent bulbs!

 

[Bozo]

Since I had to remove the dash to be sent to Bluegauges for conversion, I see the back of the headlight as easy to work with and replace de actual light bulbs for LED.
Any recommendations on a Plug and play LED brand and model?
As always thank you for your help.
P.B.

Purchased from Amazon, based on recommendations here, just installed (without rubber boots), plug and play, a great improvement.
Cougar Motor H4 LED Headlight Bulbs, 9003 LED Headlights Super Bright Flagship Led Bulbs 20000LM 6500K All-in-One Conversion Kit - Cool White, Halogen Replacement

Also installed position? (in headlight shell) lights.
Pair of DDM Tuning 194 168 912 921 T10 T15, 3x3014 White/Amber/Blue/Red LED Light Bulbs (White)

 

[Mophead]

I put Morimoto 2 Stroke in my ST and now have them in my FJR. They work great.

 

[dlim]

I spent TOO much time reading the previous threads! AND they are outdated by several years.

I know technology in this area changes quickly and would also like to know what the best H4 bulb is at this time...Is it still the cougar, or is there something else that is better now?

AND, does it look odd to change the headlights to LED and keep the small "peanut bulbs" as incandescent? I saw a video on replacing those and they seem like a pain in the ass to do for such a small light...

 

[Obo]

Peanuts and headlight bulbs are easy to change if the cluster is out or you remove some of the dash.

 

[Obo]

This was the latest recommended

https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-Motor-H4-Headlight-Conversion/dp/B082MDGVDC

but even the "older" F2 will be an excellent upgrade over incandescent.

 

[SMSW]

Spiderman wrote me in a PM (i posted this in one of his lighting threads) a response to my question about exaggerated lumen output claims.* Back in the day, stereo amplifiers were rated in rms watts. Since more power equals a more exciting product (mine is bigger than yours syndrome), mfrs began by boosting the watt output by calling it 'music power' then the instantaneous 'peak power'. Today, LED mfrs simply increase the lumen output in their ad copy. Spiderman told me to go by the watts consumed, and that this was a more reliable indicator of light output. Most of the headlight led's are cranking out 125 to 140 lumens per watt (or were last time I looked). Before you believe anything significantly higher, go to a website for light bulbs and check some LED's to see what kind of lumen/watt output one can expect. It is not likely that the headlight lamps can give you 175 lumens/watt when 1000bulbs.com shows most of its LED lamps averaging 115 - 125 lumens per watt (i'm making these numbers up as an example only, you will have to perform your own due diligence).

There are also a couple of reliable websites that test headlight LED's and report on the veracity of the mfr's claims.

And then there is Cindy at Evitek in China. I've received my new bulbs from her within 5 days and also around 2 weeks. Last time I ordered from them, H4 lamps (a pair of them) cost around $40 w/ shipping. I'm a repeat customer having bought Evitek lamps for my cars and bikes. She is cheaper than Amazon, but it seems we (STOC members) are into instant gratification over saving money. YMMV.

*After writing the above, I thrashed around in my saved conversations and found his quote to me, "lumens are not meaning full. It is the most misused data point in advertising. I look for real power data. That tells me more about the bulb."(sic) He also pointed me to this website. Full disclosure, my PM to him is dated Nov 2021.

 

[OldMcClelland]

I had great success with the Oxilam compact H4 from amazon. sorry for no pix or link, but you can find it.
sort of looks like an alien rectal probe...
don't ask.

 

[leonides]

Lots of threads here on the topic already.

@spiderman302 's last reccomendations were:

"Cougar Motor Flagship H4 LED.

F2 Plus oops it is the first selection on the left. (they changed their site )

this has the other option bases that the original site had

F2 Plus other bases

with many types. "


I have an older F2 model that is still an excellent bulbs!

But I think that in order to install this type with the round cooling fins at the end you have to discard the rubber boot.
Am I right?

 

[spiderman302]

No the bulb can be pulled apart, you istall the mounting ring , then you put on the boot, then you push the bulb through the boot into the ring.

All the top low cost picks at the bulbfacts are a good choice. The cougar flagship is the one I am using and I am still amazed at how good it is.
It not only puts light down the road but does a great job lighting the sides of the road too. It seems to have the correct balance. The rest is just splitting hairs.
If you need more look up the passing light thread. Passing light information

enjoy the ride.

 

[dlim]

I hear horror stories about people who buy the LED bulbs only to have them fail on them after a few months of ownership. I would like a bright OEM replacement that I can plug in and not worry about for a while. Something reliable.

People buy the lights and install them, but I always wonder what the longterm success rate is for these.

 

[Obo]

I hear horror stories about people who buy the LED bulbs only to have them fail on them after a few months of ownership. I would like a bright OEM replacement that I can plug in and not worry about for a while. Something reliable.

People buy the lights and install them, but I always wonder what the longterm success rate is for these.

You can get duds in anything you buy. Yes, LED's have more moving parts (a fan) and if those go heat is a killer of LED panels more often than not.

I've been running my F2's since 2020 without any issues and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

 

[spiderman302]

The long term success is very good. I have (kids) vehicles that have F2's that are five years old, with about 80k miles in that time.
The higher power F3's are about 2 years old (30k miles) and all are still working fine.

 

[Larry Fine]

The cougar flagship is the one I am using and I am still amazed at how good it is.
It not only puts light down the road but does a great job lighting the sides of the road too. It seems to have the correct balance. The rest is just splitting hairs.

Is the spacer ring still necessary for 1100s?

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I have around 40,000 miles on the original Evitek G6 LED bulbs in my ST1300 and they are still working fine.

 

[SMSW]

I hear horror stories about people who buy the LED bulbs only to have them fail on them after a few months of ownership. I would like a bright OEM replacement that I can plug in and not worry about for a while. Something reliable.

People buy the lights and install them, but I always wonder what the longterm success rate is for these.

LED lamps as a group are very reliable. That said, like all other lamps, nobody can predict how long any individual example will last. Leds have more moving parts than your good old incandescent, which simply had a glowing filiament. Your LED has the light emitting diode as well as a power supply that limits the current. I'm sure the survival rate of any given brand is proprietary information and nobody will share that with us, the public. Look at any warranty offered by the LED of your choice and read the fine print. IIRC, Evitek offers a warranty but I don't know how long it is.

 

[ST Gui]

I hear horror stories about people who buy the LED bulbs only to have them fail on them after a few months of ownership

Early LEDs as with early CFLs did have reliability problems. This rep sticks around even as the tech improves which it invariably does. As we know - nothing is perfect and there can be failures with any tech from any vendor.

When first looking for bulbs I shopped Amazon because it's (still) highly convenient. There are tons of reviews and they can be helpful if carefully curated. I think bad reviews deserved or fraudulent are a big source of horror stories. They can also result from fraudulent 5 star ratings for inferior products.

Stick with known vendors for established products and your odds of trouble free LEDs are about as good as they can be. I had a failure of a factory incandescent at around 28K mi so I started carrying a spare. No such failures yet with my LEDs (Evitek G6 precursor to the F2) but I still keep a spare incan aboard. Habit more than concern.

You probably already read about using an LED flasher relay to prevent "hyper-flash" instead of the factory relay or resistors.

 

[Honda-st-team]

Thanks for the information

 

[centralMN]

This was the latest recommended

https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-Motor-H4-Headlight-Conversion/dp/B082MDGVDC

but even the "older" F2 will be an excellent upgrade over incandescent.

I haven't seen the inside of the ST headlight yet, but the Cougar looks like a good focusing bulb. I have one bike I thought the fan sticking out the back would be a fit issue so I went with fleabay it is adequate lighting. Possibly not as bright as some of the fan LED bulbs but on that bike I'm running side shooter pods all the time and my main mission at night is to see the deer in the ditches before they step in front of me. Down the road vision is just fine with this one because I'm constantly reigning it in to 45-50, which is difficult so let's be realistic and say 50 ish. But not 70ish as during daylight.