| control or narrow the beam of an LED light | |
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XDM© Maxi-Scooter Rider
Number of posts : 125 Location : Philly, Pennsylvania Points : 2036 Registration date : 2019-10-20
| Subject: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 1:40 am | |
| In this regard to advice I still went ahead and brought LED lights for my motorcycle fully knowing that the reflectors are not made for it resulting in poor light spread on my bike LED. Well you know what they say, a hard head leads to a sore ... So I was wondering if there's some kind of either third party reflector or way I can artificially modify and control the beam of my LED lights? |
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steve_h80 Silver Wing Guru
Number of posts : 1037 Location : Teesdale, UK Points : 4230 Registration date : 2016-05-15
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 2:22 am | |
| Or just face defeat and go back to standard But first have you adjusted the beam height on the lamp? As standard it points way too low, once wound up the SW has a very good spread of lights. It's a little wheel thing under the light, just get down by the front wheel and reach under the fairing. |
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XDM© Maxi-Scooter Rider
Number of posts : 125 Location : Philly, Pennsylvania Points : 2036 Registration date : 2019-10-20
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:29 am | |
| - steve_h80 wrote:
- Or just face defeat and go back to standard
But first have you adjusted the beam height on the lamp? As standard it points way too low, once wound up the SW has a very good spread of lights. It's a little wheel thing under the light, just get down by the front wheel and reach under the fairing. I have adjusted the direction but in order for it to even be anywhere visible I have to put it all the way up which is just a blasting light and everyone's face other than the road and it's too wide but I can see the ground but it's just not very far. One of the reasons I went with led is because it's very a annoying to change lights on this bike having to take apart half the bike to get to the lamp enclosure so I brought led with long life. |
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GHM-PM Site Admin
Number of posts : 2622 Age : 72 Location : Bullhead City, AZ Points : 7511 Registration date : 2012-05-17
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 7:47 am | |
| I have 9 years and over 25K on my scoot and still have not lost a headlight. Granted they are a pain to change but for me: 1. New bulbs are ridiculously cheap and 2. I seldom ride at night much anymore so... Something like this works well:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-H7-Standard-Halogen-Replacement-Headlight-Bulb-2-Pack/466001691
IMHO stay away from Silver Star and the like, they are a bit brighter but at the expense of shorter life. |
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Meldrew Visiting Curmudgeon
Number of posts : 4218 Location : York, North Yorkshire, England UK Points : 9445 Registration date : 2010-11-16
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 8:17 am | |
| If you can get that screen garnish off without breaking the tabs, it's pretty straightforward to change the upper headlight bulb. The rubber bulb cover can stick on if it's never been disturbed , and a coat of rubber lubricant before replacing it makes it easier to remove in future.
The lower bulb can be changed by feeling up underneath the headlight, and again coating the bulb cover with rubber lubricant is good practice.
Neither of my headlight bulbs blew during my 8 years of ownership, I only changed them because the OE bulbs weren’t that good on pitch black nights. Upgrading them was money well spent.
The ball aching job is those useless pilot bulbs, and fishing them out of the headlamp reflector it you've daft enough to attempt removing them. |
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sonuvabug Silver Wing Expert
Number of posts : 930 Location : Mid-Western Ontario Canada Points : 6195 Registration date : 2010-09-15
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 10:33 am | |
| XDM, should you decide to go back to a halogen light, there are upgrades available.
You can up the output (and draw) by installing the 65w Vosla German replacement bulbs from Daniel Stern. I bought a pair of them to try out but have yet to install them. This will likely happen within the next month along with some other electrickity upgrades I have lined up.
The bulbs Daniel Stern steered me to are found in the linky below. In the Top Quality Bulbs section, they are the last replacement bulbs listed ... the H7 - 65 watt, 2100 lumen ones.
http://danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html
There is also some interesting reading on his website if you are so inclined. |
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Cosmic_Jumper Site Admin
Number of posts : 4415 Age : 81 Location : damn near Philadelphia, PA Points : 10744 Registration date : 2009-06-12
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:15 pm | |
| I recall seeing a project where someone successfully installed a LED projector assembly in a Silverwing headlight. However it required separating the lens from the headlight body. |
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The Dude Maxi-Scooter Rider
Number of posts : 193 Location : Lake Stevens, WA Points : 1231 Registration date : 2022-02-20
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 1:04 pm | |
| These are the ones I used. I didn't have a problem with the width of the beam. The reflector in the SW is spherical and should be able to handle the correct angle regardless of how the LED is installed. But since the LED element rotates, I made sure to position it with the LED's directed exactly left and right (90 & 270 degrees).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P86R9X1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Which LED's did you acquire? |
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XDM© Maxi-Scooter Rider
Number of posts : 125 Location : Philly, Pennsylvania Points : 2036 Registration date : 2019-10-20
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 2:39 pm | |
| - The Dude wrote:
- These are the ones I used. I didn't have a problem with the width of the beam. The reflector in the SW is spherical and should be able to handle the correct angle regardless of how the LED is installed. But since the LED element rotates, I made sure to position it with the LED's directed exactly left and right (90 & 270 degrees).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P86R9X1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Which LED's did you acquire? I installed these ones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N01QE3S/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_S1H7NAKDVQY7EMFYF4NA |
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XDM© Maxi-Scooter Rider
Number of posts : 125 Location : Philly, Pennsylvania Points : 2036 Registration date : 2019-10-20
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 2:43 pm | |
| - GHM-PM wrote:
- I have 9 years and over 25K on my scoot and still have not lost a headlight. Granted they are a pain to change but for me: 1. New bulbs are ridiculously cheap and 2. I seldom ride at night much anymore so...
Something like this works well:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-H7-Standard-Halogen-Replacement-Headlight-Bulb-2-Pack/466001691
IMHO stay away from Silver Star and the like, they are a bit brighter but at the expense of shorter life. I brought me a good set of halogen night breakers and they lasted me for about five or six months which I feel like is ridiculously low. I work and ride primarily at night and the part where there are little to no lights so it's pitch dark and surrounded by just trees so I need very bright headlights. |
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sonuvabug Silver Wing Expert
Number of posts : 930 Location : Mid-Western Ontario Canada Points : 6195 Registration date : 2010-09-15
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 2:49 pm | |
| Maybe auxiliary lights are what you need? |
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Cosmic_Jumper Site Admin
Number of posts : 4415 Age : 81 Location : damn near Philadelphia, PA Points : 10744 Registration date : 2009-06-12
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:30 pm | |
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GHM-PM Site Admin
Number of posts : 2622 Age : 72 Location : Bullhead City, AZ Points : 7511 Registration date : 2012-05-17
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:34 pm | |
| I certainly understand the need for bright lights but for what little I drive at night a change is not worth the dosh... A friend sent me info on a LED projector conversion for my Nissan Frontier. It was a really sweet conversion and was considering it; new projectors and everything, I was enthused until I saw the price! Just south of $1000. USD. Passed on that one too |
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The Dude Maxi-Scooter Rider
Number of posts : 193 Location : Lake Stevens, WA Points : 1231 Registration date : 2022-02-20
| Subject: Re: control or narrow the beam of an LED light Wed Apr 20, 2022 8:16 pm | |
| A lot of the new LED's are smaller, many are now available without fans. The ones I bought required a little modification of the socket to secure the led in, and the rubber moisture boot couldn't be installed. But I fashioned my own boot and there was no permanent modification needed. Just a couple holes drilled to run cable ties through to secure the LED. I will take some pictures since I plan on removing the fairing again to re-position some auxiliary LEDs. I highly recommend the AUX Led's. I will take some before/after shots to show the difference. |
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