How many riders switched to LED headlights from halogen?

[deathbug74]

some anecdotal stuff:

• bike: tried cycle gear's speedmetal LED in the bike when those first rolled out. definitely brighter, but all the "bright" was way too close in. eventually figured out the heat sink on the bulb was wedged against the structure behind the headlight bucket, pushing the aim downward...returned it and went back to silverstar halogen.
• cages: used beamtech in both my old truck and her old accord; patterned against the garage door to check for high glare, LED on one side, halogen on the other, and the LED had impressively sharp cutoff in both, little to no "scatter" (especially with the frosty headlights polished out). high beams threw a lot more light, a lot further out (truck was hi/lo combo, accord was separate hi & lo). i did find the bulbs threw a TON of radio interference...the 2m band was unusable with the lights on, if that's a consideration.

 

[Enchanter]

I'll try to speak generally here.

It has been my observation that the *membership* doesn't respond positively when a particular member (there are 2-3 that fit into this category) fails to admit total or partial fault or responsibility (for their viewpoint or tone the discussion). It gets worse when that member uses more words to obfuscate the discussion in an attempt to further distance themselves from fault / responsibility. Doubling down rarely helps the discussion, situation, or opinion of the participants.

 

[Lucytriple]

I was just thinking about this the other day walking past the rows of halogen lights at the shop thatI haven’t used in ages. I’m glad that replacement lights have evolved from the bulky converter style unit to more stream-lined versions. Not a reason to change, but battery charging voltage at idle sometimes gets a small boost.

 

[mean dad]

You're gonna need to define the limits of "can do this" means. Screwing a bulb into a housing is one thing. People's goals and tolerances will be different, however. This is where I take issue with your self declared victory lap over ST.

OP asked for people's experience not a scientific research team to study light emissions and beam patterns.

ST posted his *opinion* in the face of reality.

Yes Berto baby, people CAN see good results swapping bulbs. Again there's evidence of that in this thread
Asinine at this point to continue this.

Again, define "CAN". Martin talks about "properly working". You guys should be settling out on what language and limits you're going to use instead of fly swatting the other guy. Certainly riders can put LED bulbs in headlights designed for halogen bulbs. Are they "better"? Seems to be up to the riders themselves.

Again, multiple instances of it being better and working properly right here in this thread...AS EVIDENCE BY THE RIDERS THEMSELVES.

Also:

"...PM's exist. They're well used to not make one's point a public shaming..."

Hey buddy thanks for admitting you're only trying to virtue signal, lets me know you have more desire to call me out than actually effect change.
Get off my nuts bro

 

[mean dad]

Except he hasn’t said anything that is incorrect, really. First, LED replacements for halogens are not NHTSA approved for use in on road vehicles. Second, halogen light housings are explicitly designed with the focal length from the filament to the reflector surface as a critical dimension. It is not physically possible to recreate that focal length with an LED bulb.

OP did not ask about legality nor did ST touch upon that, so...sweet non-sequitor bro?

...and just to be sure, I double-checked the original post and there was nothing about the overall length of focal beam. Again, OP did not ask for a scientific study to be done. He asked, point blank, what people's real-world experiences are.

 

[mean dad]

I was just thinking about this the other day walking past the rows of halogen lights at the shop thatI haven’t used in ages. I’m glad that replacement lights have evolved from the bulky converter style unit to more stream-lined versions. Not a reason to change, but battery charging voltage at idle sometimes gets a small boost.

Anecdotally, I've noticed an increase in 'white' headlights on my commute. They're a bit less than a third of all headlights I see vs the older yellowish lights.

Won't be long until they're the outliers.

 

[augustiron]

Can I run Rotella T6 in my R1 with an LED bulb, and will it be superior to a V4 Honda?

 

[Tally Whacker]

Yes it will.

 

[JimX]

Especially if you add a Scotts steering damper

 

[tzrider]

OP did not ask about legality nor did ST touch upon that, so...sweet non-sequitor bro?

...and just to be sure, I double-checked the original post and there was nothing about the overall length of focal beam. Again, OP did not ask for a scientific study to be done. He asked, point blank, what people's real-world experiences are.

And putting LED’s or HID bulbs in housings designed for halogens is illegal.

Are you lying or just wrong?

Kevin, I mentioned the focal length because IT IS THE REASON that it is not physically possible to make an LED replacement that has the same beam pattern as the halogen. This was in response to everyone telling ST that he's posting false information.

He's not. You just disagree about whether the results are acceptable. "Get off his nuts," man.

 

[mean dad]

Are you lying or just wrong?

Kevin, I mentioned the focal length because IT IS THE REASON that it is not physically possible to make an LED replacement that has the same beam pattern as the halogen.

Wholly incorrect. I did not see this reply. Apologies.

I stand by my posts regarding OP's original query of real world experience being the question not the legality or lab results of X vs Y vs Z.

If someone posts a thread requesting data-driven results and scientific analysis of the varying beam patterns inherent in incompatible bulb/housings I will acquiesce but for this thread I maintain he's arguing against people's actual mileage which is what Climber asked.