ST1100 LED conversion

[cc2larke]

So... an update:

Ended up swapping the idiot lights and dash for a combination of

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

They're a little dimmer than the one I originally purchased, I used the amber ones behind the dash, and for the turn/sidestand lights. Still have the original one on the fuel warning. I found the white LEDs above made the dash more sickly yellow, and the amber ones seem to work well without being too bright. With the LEDs above, I found the bright indicator was too glaring.

I did get the after market flashing unit, which does work if anyone is thinking of going that way, but I like the faster flash I'm getting with the stock unit--rather than getting about 2 flashes on a lane change, I get 4 or 5.

In a similar vein, I found these for the 1157 brake lights, which give 5 quick strobes before staying on with the brakes activated:

Amazon.com

 

[cc2larke]

2nd update:

Got the shims and installed LEDs today. Absolutely awesome. Good pattern and cutoff, and I spent some time out in the country to check high beams--also great, and the indicator was also a good brightness. The amber dash looks great, and has good contrast with the red, and the brightness there is also good--easy to see, but low enough to not interfere with driving (including a bit of glare from misting).

As an aside, I opened up the turn signal switch housing and greased that, it's far smoother and doesn't feel as sticky as it had gotten. That's something that just slowly gets worse (imperceptibly) over time, but a little care on it and it feels way better.

 

[RS8040]

Hey Spiderman302 (Paul)

What's your current recommendation for Halogen H4 replacements with LEDs for 94' ST1100?
Want to use your knowledge and experience to do this right the first time and have a decent light pattern.

Thanks.

 

[spiderman302]

The last ones that I got were the Cougar motor flagship F2Plus LED, but the h4 version seems to be unavailable at present. You might have to look on Alibaba.
However there are lots of other clones. You can look on this site for comparisons. Bulbfacts There are more powerful versions but I have not tried any yet.

 

[cc2larke]

Update: Got some heated grips (https://www.oxfordproducts.com/motorcycle/brands/oxford/handlebar_accessories/hotgrips_pro_adventure_integrated/), which are great. Wired directly into the battery, they use the voltage reading there to assess whether the bike is running or not. There are two voltage settings, depending on whether you have a lead acid or lithium battery, and it goes into a standby mode for up to 5 minutes if you drop below the setting before shutting off. If the voltage drops much lower (12v, iirc), it shuts off immediately to prevent draining the battery and leaving you stranded. So far the low setting has been sufficient for the weather the last week (sub 40 at night).

As an added bonus, the diameter of the grips is a little larger than stock, which works better for my long fingers. I used a single washer to shim the handlebar ends rather than trying to shave a millimeter off the ends to keep them rubbing. It was exactly enough, and the ends of the bars look much better uncut.

I will say the glue they provide sets up almost instantly, and I had to destroy the grip to get it off. Luckily, I purchased them on Amazon, and they allowed an exchange. I got some slower setting grip glue, which ended up not being necessary as the friction fit seems to be sufficient at the moment, but if that changes, I've got it as backup. Running the wires under the handlebar cover was easy (there's a lot of room in there), and then I ran the wire to the battery zip tied to the harness on the left side under the bodywork. The third gen version of the grips has no external box (the control is in the clutch side grip), so there's almost no evidence of the improved grips on visual inspection of the bike.