Full LED upgrade

i want to do a full LED light upgrade. know people advise against it but im tired of dim looking bulb lights, i even brought the "brightest" bulbs and was still unimpressed. i want  to change all lights to led, turn signals, headlights and stop lights. i know its important to keep them in the same voltage when dealing with the electric system. so that means looking for leds with the same voltages. LED's make the bike loo soo much modern. and im also considering making a manual headlight switch to conserve the LED headlight

I would just save my money---had 2 new SilverWings, over 90,000 miles-----want LED ligh get something else with warranty

john grinsel wrote:

I would just save my money---had 2 new SilverWings, over 90,000 miles-----want LED ligh   get something else with warranty

warranty isn't a issue for me as i do everything myself, i don't take my bike to a mechanics.

I put LED headlights in my Swing for two reasons, one a more modern look, and two bcause my charging system is dead and LEDs drain the battery at a much slower rate than incandescent bulbs.

You need to choose carefully at the front as there is an adaptor that fits to the back of the H7 bulb, and many LED's won't leave enough clearance. I bought some of these and they seem pretty decent so far (and they are cheap if not).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-80W-4000LM-H7-LED-Headlight-Kit-Bulbs-High-Low-Beam-Bulb-6500K-Lamp-White/193271786365?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The brake lights are an easy thing to find as the are a common size/voltage.

Where you may have difficulty is with the blinkers as these use a flasher unit integral to the dash. You would need to add load resistors to each bulb circuit if you use the standard flasher otherwise you will get hyperflash (too fast). Alternatively you can bypass the standard flasher and add an external LED-specific unit and avoid the resistors. Information can be found here (thanks for the pointer Tim):

http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php/325894-lt-Info-gt-Silverwing-400cc-600cc-Tech-Corner?p=6788732&viewfull=1#post6788732

Why do you need to change all the bulbs, I changed my OE headlight bulbs after about six years to Osram Nightbreakers and they were great. Replacing the 5w pilot bulbs to LED's was a waste of time, one  packed in within a month, the bulbs went back in and everything worked fine. The rest of the bulbs on the Silver Wing seemed to bright and efficient and I never felt the need to change them, none of them blew either.

I'll have had my 2028 Honda Forza 300 two years in October. It has full LED lights and if you're expecting something miraculous by changing everything on your Silver Wing you'll be disappointed, they're just lights.

The only visual advantage I've found is I present a larger frontal area of light and visibility to oncoming traffic. With triple headlights, the triple 'eyebrow' strip of lights above them, and the amber running lights/indicators in the frame mounted mirrors. I think it looks nice and modern looking, that's mainly because the Forza is a maxi scooter that wasn't designed over 20 years ago.

Terry Smith wrote:

I put LED headlights in my Swing for two reasons, one a more modern look, and two bcause my charging system is dead and LEDs drain the battery at a much slower rate than incandescent bulbs.

You need to choose carefully at the front as there is an adaptor that fits to the back of the H7 bulb, and many LED's won't leave enough clearance. I bought some of these and they seem pretty decent so far (and they are cheap if not).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-80W-4000LM-H7-LED-Headlight-Kit-Bulbs-High-Low-Beam-Bulb-6500K-Lamp-White/193271786365?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The brake lights are an easy thing to find as the are a common size/voltage.

Where you may have difficulty is with the blinkers as these use a flasher unit integral to the dash. You would need to add load resistors to each bulb circuit if you use the standard flasher otherwise you will get hyperflash (too fast). Alternatively you can bypass the standard flasher and add an external LED-specific unit and avoid the resistors. Information can be found here (thanks for the pointer Tim):

http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php/325894-lt-Info-gt-Silverwing-400cc-600cc-Tech-Corner?p=6788732&viewfull=1#post6788732

this is very helpful, thanks ill look into this

For illuminating an unlit road at night I find the standard lighting fine once set right, mine was pointing too low to start with.
As for the 'brighter light so they'll see me" mentality, approach with caution. Yes you're new led lights will be very bright, but as a consequence your indicators will be lost in the dazzle and as people will avoid looking directly at you their ability to judge your approach speed is reduced.
What I'm saying it may well make you less safe.
If none of this is of consequence to you go right ahead.

I haven't done that much night riding on unlit roads to gauge how efficient the LED  headlights on my Forza are, mainly because I've been out early evening when there's been loads of oncoming commuter traffic about. When I did get an all too brief stretch of clear road I got an impression that they don't throw out a beam as far as the Osram Nightbreakers I upgraded to on my Silver Wing. Although my LED headlights are a lot better than the widely criticised set up on the Yamaha X Max 300.

Looking at the design Forza's headlights and reflectors it's obvious that they've been designed for LED's. The wrap round rear lights give out a more pearlescent red than bright red, and of course the whole set up uses far less electricity and runs cooler.

With my well worn curmudgeons hat on I'd say upgrading to LED's is very similar to the fad from a few years ago for fitting HID lights for 'safety reasons'. That very rarely worked out well unless you enjoyed dazzling other road users.

Looking at the design Forza's headlights and reflectors it's obvious that they've been designed for LED's.<> the key, the right bulb WITH the right reflector / lens, if not one may be wasting money in the light pursuit of happiness.

I seen a lot of street legal led lights out there with the right angle because my current incandescent light is still higher then it should be anyway

I don't buy into the LED-hate that seems to be prevalent here. I do acknowledge that you can buy the wrong LED bulb and create a badly-aimed, over-bright light that will annoy everybody. I think as a consequence of that, fitting LED bulbs in place of incandescents is frowned upon by the legislators.

The key to bulb selection is to ensure that the LED emitters end up in the same physical location in the headlight shell as the filaments in an incandescent bulb; that way you preserve the geometry and produce an identical beam pattern. You also need to ensure that the LED has the same shrouds as an incandescent e.g. in an H4 to create the low-beam cut-off. Chosen well, you will end up with more road surface illumination, lower heat/power consumption, and a good beam spread. I've been using LED headlights for a few years now and much prefer them when I can use them.

On both my SW looked into upgrading to LED, Too much trouble. Added Separate LED lights. LED additional lights on the front and additional break flashers on the back. Very simple and has not interfered with the stock electrical system.

Murf wrote:

On both my SW looked into upgrading to LED, Too much trouble.  Added Separate LED lights.  LED additional lights on the front and additional break flashers on the back.  Very simple and has not interfered with the stock electrical system.

I've yet to modify any lights on this ride, if I were to do it your way would be my choice. On my last G'Wing I added Halogen lights on a independent circuit just for night time critter lights, I had those set to illuminate more to the side as opposed to far down the road straight ahead.

At the risk of being branded a LED hater, (which is bollocks anyway as my Forza has full LED lights) what's the point unless you do a lot of night riding?

Simply upgrading the OE headlamp bulbs improves things considerably for both night riding and daytime visibility. After eight years Silver Wing ownership I'm yet to be convinced that anything else needs changing or added on.

Plus I'm taking into account the US 'riding season' is usually April to October, and the majority of riders won't be out in the months when daylight is limited or riding at night.

We have what is called the Rut, breeding season when the deer get teen age crazy. Back when I rode as much as I could including to work which meant at all hours. In that case I was more interested in what was coming from the sides of a road. Want to make headlights better for night driving without changing anything in the head light? Slow down don't over drive your light source.

I recently changed my headlights bulbs over to LEDs, and they are so much better, even without changing the reflector. There are LED taillight/turn bulbs that have built in resistors as to not effect the flashing. I'd stay away from cheap bulbs-there are many quality units available. You don't have to do a lot of night driving to appreciate the improvement. Heck, you might even chance a ride in March or November.

minimac wrote:

 ... snipped ... There are LED taillight/turn bulbs that have built in resistors as to not effect the flashing.

Minimac, would you happen to have the brand and PN's of the LED bulbs you used for the turn/brake/running lights? ~ BugJr ~

I want to install a few led's to make my Swing more visible. I understand when there is resistance to such a plan, but where I live (South Africa), the infrastructure is sometimes terrible and some of the drivers just lack a sense of driving responsibility. The idea is to use some amber on the front shock legs and to install mirrors that have amber lights already installed. And then there is the question about the rear sides.

What would the fundis/experts recommend?