ST1300 Headlight LED's List

[Terminator2]

Warning the DZG bulb above is a very bad design for an H4/9003 bulb.
It will have excess glare on low beam and no sharp cutoff!
The low beam emitter is at the focus point so adding a shield will not work.
you will have to point the best part of the beam very low to get by which defeats the best attribute of the H4 design....
The F2 type bulbs works so much better.

Thank you for your input Spiderman. I admit that I am naive regarding which LED's are appropriate for the 1300. I was so happy that I could see, that the condition which you stated caused me to point the beam down via adjustment knob. I will re-consider my options.

 

[Terminator2]

The ones I posted are the EXACT same ones Spidey posted. I put the picture up so you can see what they look like. They are all made in China by the same company but sold under different reseller names and packaging. You can certainly get them from sellers in the US where they are not shipped on the slow boat from overseas. You pay a bit more for that, but it's worth it. They are available from various e-retailers: Amazon, eBay etc.
I can say there are at least a dozen of us who went with the F2 bulb I pictured above, from various retailers and under different "brand names" but they were the exact same bulb. Everyone has been super happy with them. Spiderman spend a considerable amount of time testing different LED bulbs over the last few years with the ST to see what worked and what didn't. He then worked with the manufacturer of the F2 bulb to tweak it to be very close to an incandescent style bulb. I'm not going to knock what anyone else says is a great bulb, but there is a considerable amount of real use and experience with the F2 bulb and it's all been good.

I went with the "Safego" branded ones. Sold and shipped by amazon.ca. Had them within a week.


F2 led headlight bulbs with LED peanut markers and clear turn lenses with switchback LED turn signal bulbs


To compare the bulbs here's what I had before. And this was with the h4 upgrade to the 55/60w halogens from the OEM 45/45w bulb. Stock peanut side markers. I have one clear lens and switch back LED in and the orange one is all stock.



Here's another thread in another forum touting the F2 lights. http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=11933.0
They're also touted in a variety of other forums for bikes, cars and trucks that all use an H4 9003 bulb.

These will not do you wrong.

Am I missing something? If the F2 bulb is 72watts, isn't this too much power draw for the wiring?

 

[Larry Fine]

Am I missing something? If the F2 bulb is 72watts, isn't this too much power draw for the wiring?

Not at all. That's the pair rating, 36w each, which is 3a each at 12v. Besides, 6a is still less than two OEM bulbs.

 

[cjames431]

Just ordered me a set of F2s. Tired of not enough low beam light.

 

[cornSTalk]

https://www.amazon.com/KATANA-H4-9003-Headlight-Bulbs/dp/B07JM421VC/ref=sr_1_44?dchild=1&keywords=f2+led+bulb+h4&qid=1615675105&s=automotive&sr=1-44

So is this bulb the F2 even though I do not see it mentioned in the description? I think this is the one that would be a great replacement for my stock halogens. Finally had the original left low beam go dark.

 

[ST Gui]

even though I do not see it mentioned in the description?

Post 6

 

[Obo]

So is this bulb the F2 even though I do not see it mentioned in the description? I think this is the one that would be a great replacement for my stock halogens. Finally had the original left low beam go dark.

Yes it is.

 

[cornSTalk]

Thanks for the info. Will get a pair on the way.

 

[Terminator2]

The ones I posted are the EXACT same ones Spidey posted. I put the picture up so you can see what they look like. They are all made in China by the same company but sold under different reseller names and packaging. You can certainly get them from sellers in the US where they are not shipped on the slow boat from overseas. You pay a bit more for that, but it's worth it. They are available from various e-retailers: Amazon, eBay etc.
I can say there are at least a dozen of us who went with the F2 bulb I pictured above, from various retailers and under different "brand names" but they were the exact same bulb. Everyone has been super happy with them. Spiderman spend a considerable amount of time testing different LED bulbs over the last few years with the ST to see what worked and what didn't. He then worked with the manufacturer of the F2 bulb to tweak it to be very close to an incandescent style bulb. I'm not going to knock what anyone else says is a great bulb, but there is a considerable amount of real use and experience with the F2 bulb and it's all been good.

I went with the "Safego" branded ones. Sold and shipped by amazon.ca. Had them within a week.


F2 led headlight bulbs with LED peanut markers and clear turn lenses with switchback LED turn signal bulbs


To compare the bulbs here's what I had before. And this was with the h4 upgrade to the 55/60w halogens from the OEM 45/45w bulb. Stock peanut side markers. I have one clear lens and switch back LED in and the orange one is all stock.



Here's another thread in another forum touting the F2 lights. http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=11933.0
They're also touted in a variety of other forums for bikes, cars and trucks that all use an H4 9003 bulb.

These will not do you wrong.

Um....' I'm not a smart man ' ( Forest Gump )......so, wasn't it difficult to install boot And clip clasp for bulb?

 

[ST Gui]

so, wasn't it difficult to install boot And clip clasp for bulb?

The first couple of times sure. After that it's easy peasy.

 

[Obo]

Um....' I'm not a smart man ' ( Forest Gump )......so, wasn't it difficult to install boot And clip clasp for bulb?

It was easy for me but I had chosen to take my headlight out.

It was remove the boot, open the bale clip, remove the halogen bulb.
Take LED bulb from the package, should be 2 parts - the ballast and bulb. Separate them at the connector if they are connected.
Bend and remove the 2 lower tabs off the ring.

You want it to look like this (this was the upgraded H4 halogen bulb with the 2 lower tabs removed. If you have an OEM halogen bulb it will have all 3 tabs on it.)


For the next step I cant recall if I kept the bulb as one piece or separated the ring from the center of the bulb (yes it will come apart where you can spin it.)

I did one of these things next. (I can't recall which...)
a) I put the whole bulb in, snapped the bale closed, made sure it was turned facing the right way up, put on the boot with the wire feeding out the rear
or
b) I put the separated ring in, snapped the bale closed, put the boot on and then inserted the bulb making sure it was facing the right way up. The wire would obviously be out if I did it this way.
(I think it was "b" I did. If you have the headlight out you can try each way and find what's easiest for you.)

This is how you want the bulb facing - with the "cup" up.




I then connected the ballast, looped it around the shown bits in the photo, placed some 3M brand dual lock (like Velcro) to hold the ballasts to the headlight assembly. The 3M dual lock didn't come with the bulb. I had some on hand and it made it tidier.



There was no trimming of the boot required. There seemed to be sufficient air flow. I could have pushed the center part of the boot inward some more if I wanted to I think.

The advantage of looping the wire and 3M locking the ballast was to keep the wire strain off the bulb and to make sure there was clearance and no annoying vibration sounds when the bike was running. You only hear the fans until you start the engine.




This shows the headlight assembly installed and the clearances to the nearby supports. I think some have zip tied the ballasts to the supports as well vs the 3M lock. Do whatever works best for you.


Just make sure nothing is rubbing on the brake lines and doesn't jam up the steering at all (turn the bars from lock to lock to check.)

It was then plug it to the bike harness, turn the key on in to test run it before I reinstalled everything.

It as all good so I reinstalled everything and admired the nice new whiter and brighter light.

It was just a matter of waiting until dark to admire the difference.

Other than figuring out where to loop the wires and ballasts it wasn't any more difficult than changing a regular light bulb on the bike. I would not have wanted to do this with the headlight and Tupperware installed. Yes you could do it with everything installed but you'd need a small hand, patience and some band-aids for the scraped knuckles There's not much room, it's tight in there and you can't see where you hand is. I'd say removing the Tupperware for the first time was the harder part of the whole thing.

If you are going to do the side peanut bulbs in LED as well now is the best time to do it while you have it opened up. It's very challenging to swap the peanut bulbs in my opinion when the bike is all together.

 

[ST Gui]

Two potential problems with replacing the position lights (small bulbs on either side of the headlights):

1) The bulbs don't really <click> into place in the rubber sockets and its easy to push them in too deep so that they don't illuminate. So make sure they light up before putting them back into the Tup.
2) When seating the rubber sockets back into the Tup it's possible to push on the back of the socket too hard and squirt the bulb out of the socket and into the position light reflector space or the headlight/reflector space. Either one is a fun place from which to retrieve the bulb. So I've heard.

 

[st11ray]

If you are going with LED bulbs, I would do the position bulbs and do the switchback farkle to the turn signals. That will give the front of the bike a whole new "updated" look.

 

[Obo]

If you are going with LED bulbs, I would do the position bulbs and do the switchback farkle to the turn signals. That will give the front of the bike a whole new "updated" look.

Yes, I did all mine at the same time. I do prefer the looks. I feel I can be seen better as well.

I never did take a "before" photo with the stock headlight and orange markers turned on. Closest I have is lights on (halogen headlights, peanuts and orange running/direction signal and one clear lens & white/orange switchback LED installed.

 

[ST Gui]

I wanted some color on the front so I replaced the factory incandescent position bulbs with yellow incandescent bulbs but they look amber next to the LED headlights. At some point I may find yellow LEDs that look yellow and those will replace the incans. I'm really happy with the switchbacks.

 

[Obo]

I wanted some color on the front so I replaced the factory incandescent position bulbs with yellow incandescent bulbs but they look amber next to the LED headlights. At some point I may find yellow LEDs that look yellow and those will replace the incans. I'm really happy with the switchbacks.

I never thought about doing the position bulbs in amber..... do you have a photo you'd like to share?

 

[cjames431]

The ones I posted are the EXACT same ones Spidey posted. I put the picture up so you can see what they look like. They are all made in China by the same company but sold under different reseller names and packaging. You can certainly get them from sellers in the US where they are not shipped on the slow boat from overseas. You pay a bit more for that, but it's worth it. They are available from various e-retailers: Amazon, eBay etc.
I can say there are at least a dozen of us who went with the F2 bulb I pictured above, from various retailers and under different "brand names" but they were the exact same bulb. Everyone has been super happy with them. Spiderman spend a considerable amount of time testing different LED bulbs over the last few years with the ST to see what worked and what didn't. He then worked with the manufacturer of the F2 bulb to tweak it to be very close to an incandescent style bulb. I'm not going to knock what anyone else says is a great bulb, but there is a considerable amount of real use and experience with the F2 bulb and it's all been good.

I went with the "Safego" branded ones. Sold and shipped by amazon.ca. Had them within a week.


F2 led headlight bulbs with LED peanut markers and clear turn lenses with switchback LED turn signal bulbs


To compare the bulbs here's what I had before. And this was with the h4 upgrade to the 55/60w halogens from the OEM 45/45w bulb. Stock peanut side markers. I have one clear lens and switch back LED in and the orange one is all stock.



Here's another thread in another forum touting the F2 lights. http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=11933.0
They're also touted in a variety of other forums for bikes, cars and trucks that all use an H4 9003 bulb.

These will not do you wrong.

Thank you for posting pictures of your install. The wire brace on these is really stiff and kept causing the bulb to unseat from the adapter plate. I did tug the rubber boot on as snuggly as I could. I copied your power supply mounting using some industrial velcro.
My hands are small enough I can work with out pulling the plastics but because I wanted better visual on what I was doing I did drop the headlight module.

 

[ST Gui]

I never thought about doing the position bulbs in amber..... do you have a photo you'd like to share?

The bulbs are actually yellow but illuminated they're amber especially next to the blueish 6500K headlights. They'd look much better if they were actually yellow when illuminated.

 

[cjames431]

Wow, I can see in the dark now. Original bulbs were 11 years old.

 

[Obo]

Wow, I can see in the dark now. Original bulbs were 11 years old.

Were they the OEM bulbs or did you have the H4 upgrades in there when you put in the LEDs?