LED Headlight Install - 5th Gen

Keep you all posted, I lived in Toronto for 12 1/2 years and in The Finger Lakes for 20, I know how cold it can get.

 

Summers are for riding. Winters are for farkle-ing.

However, here in the northwest, we do have to avoid deer, moose, cows and other targets, so I am thankful for those who are trying this mod first so the rest of us can learn.

 

Hey Mr.Z , a bit off topic here: There's a winter storm warning in my area & it's predicted to be 10-20cm of snow for Wednesday to Thursday! So no riding yet!

 

Hey Nookiaz

I promise not to mention what the weather is like here in he he Okanagan. Supposed to be overcast tomorrow according to the weatherman, but like many people, he has almost no hope of forecasting the weather here. Imm hoping for nice weather for the weekend so I can role the bikes out of he he garage and get them de-winterized.

 

I promise not to mention what the weather is like here in southern Nevada... other than mentioning we've had no winter at all this year. otstir:

Reading the whole thread takes awhile, but I like the looks of this. I recently put a ZX10 R/R in my Superhawk, and it's doing great so now my 5th Gen is also getting a new (used) ZX10 R/R.
I chose that after reading Tweety's thread on R/R models that are MOSFET. A "2005 and newer ZX10" seemed like an easy target to hit on ebay, and it doesn't require grinding like some of the Yamaha R1 R/R units with taller fins.

The original lights that zoom-zoom installed are down to $63 plus $9 shipping with the same seller on ebay.

The other model is $80, but has no fans to break, it has heat sinks instead. I like the simplicity of the heat sink over a moving part, so I may go that route.



Thanks to zoom-zoom for great write-up!!

 

ftl900: those are the lamps I ordered, should be here any day. I will update this thread with fit and install, hopefully this weekend.

 

Super, I've subscribed to this thread and will keep an eye on things. I'll be looking for your opinion on them... Thanks!

 

Hey ftl900 and Allyance

Thanks both of you guys for the updates on the different bulb supplier. I have added the new supplier to the list for those who are new to the thread. If anyone else has some experience with any other sellers, please don't be shy and post a link and I will try to update the original post with the new information.

PS. To any newcomers, the first post of this thread has a link to all the LED headlight suppliers that have been mentioned in this thread thus far.

 

Weather here in the Pacific Nothwest is perfectly rideable. Rode to work today, even though the morning temps were mid 30s, but sunny and 57 when I rode home. Riding to work in the dark this morning, I found myself wondering how those LED headlights would've looked.

Please let me know which ones you dudes order. Would love to order ones without fans since that is one less moving part and heat sink is simpler. Keep us updated.

 

Would it not be easier to just get a set of 10w led fog/spot lights off ebay and mount those up?

Or maybe run both? LED headlight and a set of fog or spot?

 

When they worked, they were great. You guys with the 5th gen bikes have it a little easier then those of us with 6th gen machines.


On our bikes the lower reflectors are wired for low beams only, but they require an H4 HI/LO lamps! So I added an extra relay to turn on the Hi Beams too!


Our Hi beams a H7 lamps (single filament) in the top reflectors. Those I have upgraded to LED from this ebay vendor:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191021101537?item=191021101537&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OC:US:3160&vxp=mtr

Currently waiting for new H4 LED's from:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181269034356?item=181269034356&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OC:US:3160&vxp=mtr

I don't think the 10 watt LED's can compare to the 40 watt H4's

Sorry for the big picture! I have been trying for months to do that with other pictures, I don't know what I did differently!

 

The 10w spot/fog lights have about 1000lm each, adding them to the h4s would be a good idea. Even adding them with normal bulbs would be a good idea.

 

They would have the advantage of aiming them off to the right to pick up deer butts.

 

The flood beam ones could be aimed straight, they literally flood with light. 60deg beam, spot ranges from 8-30deg.

 

Yeah, I see what you mean about adding auxiliary lights, but I would like to avoid hanging stuff off the bike if I could. I would like to keep it simple and see how just adding some LED headlights would do first. Really anxious to see how Allyance's H4s do. Before and after pics please...

 

Just posted my new install on my original thread:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/44264-6TH-Generation-LED-Headlights

 

I just found a similar thread over on ADV Rider with a third player... some guys in Kent WA designing their own product. It has a small fan built in, but has no external box to mount. The bulb is pretty well self-contained, and I like that. It's priced at $60 per bulb, which is nice when I only need one bulb, like for my SuperHawk.

The ADV thread is located here.

 

Looks interesting, I am glad an American company is developing this product. One comment they made is very import:

I think the current batch of products are a compromise because they are in reflectors made for halogen lamps and their placement of the filaments. It will be interesting to see the factory designed headlights in the new 2014 VFR. For now, I will enjoy the benefits of their design, until something else comes along that is designed as a system, like BMW's new lights:
http://bmwmcmag.com/2014/02/bmw-laser-headlights-go-into-production/

 

An update, I hadn't returned the warranty kit back to the seller from late February, just got tied up with work and stuff. About 2 weeks ago I noticed one of the bulbs had died. It was flickering for a day or two before finally going dark. I tried replacing just the bulb from the warranty kit but it didn't work. Then I tried a replacement transformer from the kit with the original bulb and got just a faint glow from the bulb. I put a new transformer and new bulb in and everything has been ok so far. The warranty kit power unit is definitely a different model than the original. And the new bulb was mounted correctly with the retaining ring so I didn't need to re-drill the mounting holes to flip it. Either way, not happy that it only lasted a few months and that the power module took out the bulb or the bulb killed the power module. This is strike 2, if something fails again I'm going to send it all back for a refund. I hope it lasts, I'm tired of taking the fairing off.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Good to know.

Before the failures, were you happy with the light output?