LED Headlight Install - 5th Gen

Those Lifetime bulbs look really good but I wonder how much they cost per bulb to replace in the case that the cooling fan craps out. I didn't look to see what their warranty is. It would be awesome if it's the same as their name! These kits are tempting as I feel a little guilt when I ride my 07 at night with the HID's as there is virtually no vertical cut off and they are bright as hell. Good for me but not so much for anyone in front of me or on coming.
John

 

For those interested in the Lifetime LED headlights, I had sent the company an email asking about some overall dimensions to compare their bulb with the ones I posted in my original install. Here are a couple of dimension drawings. Since I had ordered a kit for my wife's bike but have not yet installed the bulbs I took some measurements this morning and made a quick drawing. I have also attached the drawing of the Lifetime LED bulb that was sent to me. The Lifetime LED bulb is longer in overall dimension, but the length from the bulb retainer ring to the base of the cooling fan assembly is only 4 mm longer and the fan assembly on the Lifetime bulb is 11 mm wider.

Here are the two photos of the Lifetime LED bulbs



Here is the drawing I sketched of the dimensions on the LED bulbs that I installed on my bike. I think most of the other kits mentioned use a bulb very similar to the one I have drawn here.

 

In an effort to make things a bit easier for those who have come to find this thread just recently I thought I would recap a few of the LED headlight supplier links that have been posted so far. There is a large range of costs and warranties so there are numerous options to choose from.

Each of the kits have their merit but in terms of design, I think there are only two real different styles given the companies listed here. All the listings here sell a kit that is very similar in style and components with the exception of the Lifetime LED's. All the other manufacturers have a bulb (with separate and removable cooling fan assembly) and power supply (ballast), whereas it would appear the Lifetime kit has the bulb, cooling fan and heatsink all in one package (though it would appear that the cooling fan assembly is not removable which might make the installing the bulb more difficult ) and a separate power supply (ballast).


1. eBay seller wyfb that I linked to in the original post. Cost $79.95 ( 2 Year Warranty )
http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Universal-Car-Truck-H4-1800LM-50W-Cree-LED-HeadLight-Head-lamp-H-L-Beam-W-/141105877873?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20da90d371&vxp=mtr

2. VLEDS.com. Cost $119.99 (1 Year Warranty )
http://www.vleds.com/bulb/h4-cxa-2000lm.html

3. Electrical Connection.com. Cost $149.95 (1 Year Warranty )
http://www.electricalconnection.com/other-lighting/led-hl-h4.htm

4. eBay seller electradecenter (UK site for overseas buyers) Cost £47.56 (1 Year Warranty )
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281225023832?var=580265646215&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

5. Lifetime LED's. Cost $149.00 ( Lifetime Warranty )
http://www.lifetimeledlights.com/H49003-LED-headlights-_p_59.html

 

I mentioned earlier in the thread one of the fans in the kit I bought from zoomzoom's eBay seller was bad from the start. Very noisy, probably bad bearings. I finally emailed them this Tuesday about the issue, 2 months after I bought them. They replied they don't have spare parts and can't send only the fan but they would send a complete, full new kit, asked that I take what I need to repair/fix my install and return the rest with the bad parts. All they asked is that I pay return shipping. I emailed them late Tuesday evening and today, Friday, the new kit was delivered. I can understand why this seller has been on eBay for 12 years and has a 99.7% positive rating.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141105877873?item=141105877873

 

Good to know.

 

I was looking on the other site and noticed that vfrcapn had replied to a post in the LED headlight upgrade thread I had started on VFRD. In the post, I had asked vfrcapn the following question as he is one person who has installed the same kit I did, and on the same style bike.

Hey Captain

What is your overall opinion of the lights so far, now that you have had a chance to ride with the for a little while?? Do you find the LED's have a good overall beam spread, and would you rate the light output and brightness as adequate, good, great, or fantastic?? Do you feel that the LED's were a good value as well??

As vfrcapn shared a reply in the thread on VFRD I thought I might post up his reply to the question. My guess is that vfrcapn won't mind if I share his response. As winter still has my hometown firmly in its grasp and I have yet to really go for a ride other than the short one I posted earlier, I can not offer more of an opinion. Vfrcapn however, has had a chance to do a bit more riding with his LED headlights and thus, I feel, he has a more informed opinion than merely my own observations. I do apologies cap'n, if I have stepped on your toes for posting this result.

Here is what vfrcapn had to say in reply to the question I posed.

I would say great to fantastic. High beams especially fantastic. I think it was a great value, especially since the seller is standing behind the product.

 

Zoom-Zoom, my second LED Lamp failed and I returned for full credit, I have ordered a different type;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-9003-Hig...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a3479f574&vxp=mtr

I should have them this week.

In the mean time I have been checking with Jack Flemming at RoadsterCycle.com about the problems with LED systems and our "balanced" charging system with standard R/R's.
The problem being that with the reduced wattage, the R/R has to shunt more power to ground.

With the 25 watt Cree systems and my LED Tail lights, I figure I was 98 watts lower than stock, which is a little over 8 amps LESS, which the Regulator has to compensate for.

I built a 24 watt dummy load to experiment with, got moderately hot, but I would need 2 of them to correct problem, no where to put them.

Jack contends this is a major problem for us with stock R/R's. here is his reply to me:

Hi Peter,
The only way I know of to deal with the LED lights is to go with a series type R/R like the SH775 that I now sell or the CE605SB that I’ve had for a couple years. The dummy load would also work and I have pulled my hair out trying to figure what kind of dummy to use without cooking it. The dummy load is going to get very hot. I never did come up with anything for the guys doing track days and unplugging their headlights. I wanted something that they could plug in to save their R/Rs. No luck. Or just keep the lighting stock if it’s a street bike.

Jack

If you go to his web site and FAQ's, you find this info:
What is a balanced charging system?
A balanced charging system is when the manufacturer designs lets say 25 amp charging system and the bike uses 20 to 22 amps of it to run the bike and charge the battery. The R/R only needs to get rid of 3 or so amps, so it is happy. Now if you take that same bike and run led taillights and marker lights and maybe some led headlights now your making the R/R get rid of lets say 10 amps, now its working hard and getting hot. Although it seems like your doing your bike a favor by thinking it's going to charge your battery better your actually slowly killing your R/R. Not to mention if you unplug your headlights for track days. Wow!!!!

 

Very interesting point Allyance. I honestly had not thought about the upgrade in the way of a balanced charging system. Being Canadian and riding in cooler weather during many times of the year, I like to ride using my heated vest. This on its own (its about 10 years old) has always had a bit of a draw on the charging system. I have also noticed at times when I drive in heavy traffic, a common occurence in Kelowna during the summertime as Kelowna is a quote/unquote Tourist Town, I spend a lot of time moving slowly with the fan running. The load from the fan running a considerable amount also seems to put a heavy load on the electrical system.

A while ago I had changed out the R/R in my bike to a series style R/R from Compu-Fire. I had done an upgrade to a Shindengen stlye R/R like the ones sold by Roadster Cycle and it had actually failed on me, but I think in part due to the connection being repaired by the previous owner. The PO had obviously replaced the stock R/R with another stock model and the connector melted causing a fire. The inside of the left tail cowl when I purchased my bike had a black scorch mark and the outside of the cowl had a bubble likely caused by an overheated R/R judging by the mark being directly over the R/R location. When I went to install the Compufire R/R I soldered directly to the stator wires to prevent a problem with the connector in the future and when I removed the stock connector I noticed that the PO had installed a new HONDA style connector and had bent and twisted the stator wires together and then wrapped them in electrical tape, no solder, no butt connector, just twisted them together and taped em. YIKES. Not much wonder the second R/R, and consequently the first one I installed, failed miserably after a short time.

Hopefully once riding season begins, I can get a better idea on how the bike's charging system responds to the load changes with the new headlights. I think another reason for the Honda R/R failure seems to be problematic with the VFR (namely the 4th and 5th gens in particular that I have owned) is that the R/R is located inside the fairing where it receives almost no air flow to help with cooling. I have also mounted a CPU cooling fan on my wife's 96 VFR and on my 2000 VFR to help increase the air flow, and thus the cooling. Only time will tell if the mods become an issue. I do have a voltmeter on my 2000 VFR so I will be able to keep an eye on the voltage in case of trouble.

The great thing is if the headlight mod becomes an issue,

1. It is easily reversible (unlike an HID conversion as example) and
2. I'm only out $80

Certainly a good bit of information for anyone considering this modification though, and thanks for sharing.

 

Check out Roadster Cycle and look for LED voltage monitor for $22, I got one and mounted in my instrument dashboard (whatever you call that removable piece). It flashes different colors at different voltages both too high and too low. I out on my first ride and it seems to be working. It indicates that the r/r is not charging all the time but in intervals.

 

Just saw...Lifetime LEDs actually has a H4 bulb specifically for motorcycles. It has no cooling fan, just a heat sink which seems to eliminate one more moving part. Also cheaper than their normal bulbs. Says it comes with adapter rings. Wonder if that means they include the shims so it can fit in our headlight rings?...

http://www.lifetimeledlights.com/H4M-motorcycle-headlight_p_76.html

 

On a 40+'C day, I'd want the cooling fan for whatever small amount of cooling it would give. In Melbourne this year we had a few of them, including five in a row, IIRC...

 

They do have a lifetime warranty though. How hot can these critters get anyways? Anyone know?...

The OPs comments about how bright the LED headlight were have me convinced. Eighty dollars on good headlights that are plug and play is much cheaper than a bike repair or hospital visit because you didn't see the deer/kangaroo/cow/idiot driver or whatever hit you at night.

 

No worries. I had an opportunity to ride 3 hours last weekend after sunset and still am very happy with the bulbs. Did a few miles of 2-lane dark backroads and the high beams were appreciated. 2 months now and I haven't had a single person flash me as if I had my high beams on. I'll probably get the fan switched out this weekend and look forward to these lasting a good many years.

 

Hey VFRcapn, do you know how many lumens your LED bulbs are since you are so happy with yours? Doing some shopping and there are quite a few choices on ebay. Trying to decide...

 

Hey Skifreak

Vfrcapn got the same kit as I did from in my original post so they should be 1800 lumens output. If you are shopping around though, I think that the Lifetime LED's are rated at 2000 lumens on low beam and 2600 lumens on high.

If you scroll up to post #103 above I posted a link to all of the LED suppliers that have been mentioned in this thread so far if that helps you out. Having difficulty getting the cut and paste thingy working on my iPad or I would post it here for you.

 

I have found that a bunch of the sellers quote the combined lumens of both bulbs and not the lumens per bulb, so be careful with that.

 

Yeah, I did notice that. Buyer beware. There are some that are ebay ones that look identical in construction to the Lifetime LED ones, put out 2000lm low / 2400lm high for about half the price. Tempting...

Thanks for the awesome write up by the way. If not for this post, I would have never know they existed. By the way, I did find some from an Australian place that use the more powerful Cree1520 chip instead of the 1512 chip. Puts out 2800lm on low. Those are some Bambo toasters!!

http://www.extremelimitsoffroad.com.au/led-headlight-conversion-kit-48w-6000k-2800lum-12-24v-h4-hi-lo-cree-adjustable.html

 

I had problems with Cree style lamps, had 2 failures.

Used my PayPal refund to buy these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/18126903435...iewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OC:US:3160&vxp=mtr

Should be here any day, will report on quality and install.

I have already upgraded my R/R to series type to handle reduced load (balance system).

These are a different type of LED called COB (chips on Board) 40 watts each, 3200 Lumens, we shall see.

 

I have seen those. Very curious about them. Please give a report with pics when you get them. 3200 lumens is a lot. I will have to hold off on my purchase until I see yours.

 

Hey Allyance

thanks for the info. I will add your supplier to the rest of the ones I listed at the beginning of the thread once I get to my laptop. Those things sure look bright bright enough to light up the world. I just wanna RIDE my bike. Damned Canadian winters, hopefully it shall end soon. LOL