LED headlights

Discussion in '8th Generation 2014-Present' started by fatbastard, Sep 22, 2015.

  1. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

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    Hi All,

    Can anyone tell me how they like the LED headlights on the latest model ?

    How do they compare with conventional ones?

    Does anyone who has one feel the need for driving lights or HID upgrades ? If so, what have you done ?
     
  2. pbg07

    pbg07 New Member

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    The LEDs' are great. High beam is still better than normal.
     
  3. NZCam

    NZCam New Member

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    I haven't tried using them away from suburban streets as yet, but I've had no complaints. I would rate them as better than the stock halogen globes that I started with in my 5th and 6th-gen VFRs, but possibly not as good as the vastly upgraded bulbs I fitted to both previous bikes when the stock globes started to go. The downside to LEDs is that they're not as easy to go the upgrade route with.

    What would be interesting is to see how they fare off the beaten path, away from any street lights, on a moonless night. I did that a few times on my 5th-Gen while trying to find various camp-grounds in the bush, and was very thankful for the Phillips UltraVision +120's I'd installed.
     
  4. Underoath87

    Underoath87 New Member

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    Keep in mind that not all LED's are created equal. Philips chips are better than CREE.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=phi...fjPnNaNyAIVwl4eCh1YZgb1#imgrc=V_-Qr3i8rHYSmM:

    For what it's worth, I have xenon-depot philips LED low beams in my 6th gen, and they are a huge improvement over the stock headlights. Not just in terms of road illumination, but the brighter white color also grabs the attention of oncoming motorists.
     
  5. kuneefay

    kuneefay New Member

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    Another question id like to piggy back on to the OP's is how do they fare in fog. Any glare or major throw reduction?
     
  6. nookiaz

    nookiaz New Member

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  7. kuneefay

    kuneefay New Member

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  8. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I find the 8th gen lights fine. I did LED upgrade to my '03, quite bit of work with relays, take faring off and on (see my comments in Post #6). 8th gen lights are designed from the ground up, for a particular lamp and reflector to optimize pattern. The older generation LED conversions are fairly good compromises considering the OEM reflectors are designed for a particular filament placement, vs the LEDs which had large area (more scatter).
     
  9. V4toTour

    V4toTour New Member

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    wait, so Honda is using LED bulbs stock on the latest VFR? If that's the case, yeah that 5th gen thread mentioned above doesn't really count then. I just checked the parts fiche for the 2014, they are using a LED "unit".

    Those bulbs discussed in the 5th gen thread are the H# retrofit style (from some undisclosed china factory). After burning through a few of those, I've determined there isn't enough heat sinking in that design and they simply roast. The one's I had actually cracked through the resin coating on top of the emitter. high end flashlights that use LEDs have a thermal protection circuit that drops the output when the temp gets too high. I don't think those retrofit ones utilize any sort of thermal monitoring. It's obvious from the size of the LED assembly honda is using, they have plenty of surface area to remove heat.
     
  10. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

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    Thanks Guys.

    I had a test ride on one, but that's in the daytime. As I do a fair amount of night time riding, I thought I'd ask the question.
     
  11. DriverDave

    DriverDave New Member

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    There are some of us 8th gen owners that are not very impressed with the light output when riding on totally dark roads. There is a pool of light right in front of the bike that goes out maybe 5-8 feet (possibly coming from the accent X led light). Then there is a noticable dark area for the next 10-15 feet before the main arc of light starts to fill in. The main arc of light itself is quite good, but has a sharp cut-ff that becomes a real problem when you go around curves. Even at a mild lean angle, you end up with a very narrow line of light right next to you, with absolutely no light going into the turn. Obviously Ducati and KTM see this as an issue since they both now have a bike with fancy new cornering LED lights that come on as the bike leans over.
     
  12. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

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    Thanks for that DriverDave, LEDs often have a very crisp cutoff and a clearly defined lighting zone. So I did wonder if they had as good a spread. I'll see how they look when I get the bike and I'll probably look at some auxiliary lights just to pad out the lit zone to the sides for cornering and improved skippy detection.
     
  13. DriverDave

    DriverDave New Member

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    I've been considering a couple small, high-end led pods for the fork legs. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.
     
  14. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

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    Sounds like a plan.
     
  15. fatshoutybloke

    fatshoutybloke New Member

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    Absolutely what DriverDave says, they are brighter than previous versions but the much more defined spread pattern isn't as good.
     
  16. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

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    Thanks Fatshoutybloke, good info.
     
  17. laurie

    laurie New Member

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    My first ride home from the dealer when I picked up the bike was in the dark, and the headlight was a very unpleasant surprise. Very sharp cut off, no light immediatley in front of the bike and a very flat spread. Tip into a corner and there is no light at all. This could be a problem for me as there no such thing as a straight bit of road within 30Ks of my place, one corner after another. I can see me using my old ST1100 for night riding.
     
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