Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB500/550 => Topic started by: JezzaPeach on August 12, 2020, 08:54:27 AM
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There is another thread saying that using a H4 headlight bulb can put too much through the 15A fuse if brake and indicator are on at the same time as the headlight.
Have many had this problem?
One suggested solution is use a led tail/brake light.
Can anyone say if there there a spec for a dual tail/brake led bulb or point to one?
On eBay the results are hard to tell if what is listed is single or dual filament.
Finally a source for (one or two, not 10-20) 15A fuses, as my token fuse holder is hard as rock and they won’t come out!
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Definitely no problem! Realise that on continental Europe some models came standard with a 55/60 Watts H4. I sincerly hope the US hysteria does not spread to here. There is no harm however in checking there's no voltage drop over the 15A fuse ends. Dead simple. If you suspect a problem there, clean clamps as well as the fuse's ends.
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When i used to ride like a hooligan H4 with all standard bulbs worked fine and fuse was no problem but that was redlining it in first 3 and not often hitting top.
As to fuse i pay 30p each so add on postage and i will let you have a few at that
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If it is a single fuse holder, just replace the plastic holder and the connectors. Julie sells them, cheap as chips ;)
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Many thanks all.
Trigger Re the actual fuse carrier I’ll check that. It’s my 3 fuse ‘holder’ I bought as a ‘detail’ touch, it’s OE and rock hard and the fuses are there to stay!
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I don’t know the 500/550, but given both the ‘750 & 400 fours have 13A alternators I’ll assume the same for this bike. (quoted at 5000rpm for the 400F, and I guess similar for 550/750)
Ball park numbers...
Alt field coil... 2A
Ignition coil... 2A (assuming one at a time)
Tail lamp ....0.5A (5W)
Brake..... 2A (21W)
Indicators... 3A (@ 18W each)
Headlamp ... 5A (60W proposed)
.... totalling 14.5A + loom / bullet connector / corrosion losses if your bike a bit weary.
Of course it’s unlikely all will be on together, but simply riding with the headlamp on will be needing 9.5A - a tall ask of the alternator if not at high’ish rpm.
I had to get interested in this guff as one day drained the battery on a low speed day in town traffic - I now try to switch off the headlamp if <3000RPM.
Happy to stand corrected!
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G’day Lobo, many thanks for your time laying that out. As an electrical ignoramus that helps me understand a lot better. If I’m going down a long hill decelerating with full beam on, braking and indicating, I’d better not sound the horn!!!!😂😂😂
Sounds from other comments that non-USA bikes are better ‘covered’. Mine came from Italy so I may be fine but I’ll look at getting an led tail/brake light as an easy win.
Best wishes and thanks to all.
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Don't forget the idiot bulbs and speedo and tacho illumination, maybe another amp.
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... so I may be fine but I’ll look at getting an led tail/brake light as an easy win...
I don't quite understand. Is there a problem then?
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I started the thread after seeing a comment elsewhere that changing the headlight bulb to a ‘modern’ H4 might overload the 15A fuse if headlight + rear, indicator and brake were all applied together, although it’s possible the comment was a one off.
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My comment might well be a one off but the occurrence wasn't. It happened 3 times. Luckily, I keep some spare fuses in the tool tray. The conductor size on the older bikes are larger than modern bikes (and cars), so I was justified in going up to a 20A fuse. I checked the temperature of the conductors and found it was OK. If there was an appreciable rise in temperature, I would have fitted a relay but found it quite unnecessary.
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Thanks Mike. Did the 3 instances all happen with the headlight, brake and indicator scenario?
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It did. Headlamp on, signalling and braking for the corner.
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Has anybody fitted led bulbs to their sohc bikes, i don’t mean replacement light fittings, I mean replacement led bulbs in the original fittings.... I believe they are available, they are expensive but will definitely look good and give the charging system an easy ride... If anybody has I would be interested to know which bulbs and where from.
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They are not expensive and have them fitted to a few of my bikes >>> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H4-LED-3-COB-Motorcycle-Headlight-Bulb-6000K-Hi-Lo-Beam-Light-White-2000LM-18W/274407066926?hash=item3fe3ef8d2e:g:yF8AAOSwCWte8xPq
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Rob... recently discussed in the 400F area under, Stanley Light Bulb.
As a general comment on a 55/60W headlamp, there seems to be a focus on fuse size, little has been said on battery charging .... which too will be adversely affected.
Given the age of our bikes, and the endless topics on corrosion, gremlin connections, corrosion, decrepit fuse holders, corrosion, bodged looms etc my gut feeling is that sticking bigger fuses in is not the way to solve electrical problems. Unless of course, your loom and components are new / verified tickety-boo.
A 55W lamp will indeed be brighter than a 45W bulb, but given there are LED offerings out there quoting 18W with the equivalent illumination of an 80W Halogen.... why wouldn’t you if needing to ride at night? Then add in the reliability of LED factor...
In the Stanley Light Bulb post, K2-K2 offered this... take a look at the numbers / specs - very impressive.
https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/latest-led-headlights-p45t
EDIT - sorry Trig...our posts crossed and I’ve only just seen yours. Doh!
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All helpful stuff 👍
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Then add in the reliability of LED factor...
Maybe you can explain, I see quite some cars that have only one side lit (DRL). I would not expect to much reliability of Chinese products. I myself will not buy any product from China, be it for more than one reason... The tabulation of ampères in reply #5 is all too simple and may lead to confusion. Riding we'll see a higher voltage than the theoretical 12V, which implies less current drawn. The 15A main fuse has proved to be quite capable of dealing with the 55/60 Watts H4 on mine for the last 40 years...
Furthermore there's more needed to have a good vision (beam pattern) than just replacing an incandescent bulb by a LED. Leds need their own, special projectors.
Here's a question, I have not solved yet. Due to a lame PA switch, I sometimes had both filaments in the H4 on. On entering a tunnel, I would detect this by the lit blue idiot light. I've fixed the PA switch some years ago. But te question remains: why did it not blow the 15A fuse?
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Delta you may think you are not buying from China but a lot of the big firms you buy from do
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Then add in the reliability of LED factor...
Maybe you can explain, I see quite some cars that have only one side lit (DRL). I would not expect to much reliability of Chinese products. I myself will not buy any product from China, be it for more than one reason... The tabulation of ampères in reply #5 is all too simple and may lead to confusion. Riding we'll see a higher voltage than the theoretical 12V, which implies less current drawn. The 15A main fuse has proved to be quite capable of dealing with the 55/60 Watts H4 on mine for the last 40 years...
Furthermore there's more needed to have a good vision (beam pattern) than just replacing an incandescent bulb by a LED. Leds need their own, special projectors.
Here's a question, I have not solved yet. Due to a lame PA switch, I sometimes had both filaments in the H4 on. On entering a tunnel, I would detect this by the lit blue idiot light. I've fixed the PA switch some years ago. But te question remains: why did it not blow the 15A fuse?
55 + 60 = 115W. 115W @ 12v = 9.5A. 115w @ 14v = 8.2A.
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sye’s formula, which I forgot due to daydreaming of Hondas in my school physics lessons, maybe helps answer other posts on condenser etc problems with a weak battery combined with poor coils/plugs/caps.
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55 + 60 = 115W. 115W @ 12v = 9.5A. 115w @ 14v = 8.2A.
I know. I hinted at that myself in reply #17, but how is it, the fuse didn't blow, giving all the other oh, so demanding consumers, many are happy to sum up, whenever they feel the urge to buy just another thingie? In other words: I don't see Jeremy's problem.
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Yes mine isn’t a problem, just concerned reading it in the other post. So maybe when it’s a problem for someone it’s due to other bad connections or parts.
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Some interesting points raised, and before I go on I’ll declare I’m no official sparky...
(1) Reliability of Chinese products. Agreed, but 2 issues, the first of which Bryan promptly answered, and secondly, when put into perspective of a conventional bulb... well, I’d reckon the Chinese LED would win through.
Point of manufacture aside, these LEDs appear to have a very broad voltage range (10-30v DC) which further assists in making ‘em bullet proof in respect of 50yo agricultural voltage regulators!
(2) my tabulation of post #5 is indeed simple, I declared it ball park and was aimed at giving a basic feel of it all. I don’t however agree with the amps decreasing in relation to the voltage increasing...if this were the case the lumens would remain constant as you revved the bike from idle to 5000rpm. They don’t; we all know the headlamp brightens with increased voltage through experience...
(the resistance of a light bulb is fixed, so if you increase the Voltage, then using Ohms law I=V/R then the current (I) must increase too. Yea, I know.... ZZZzzzzz)
(3) Appreciate the point about beam pattern. However, the quality manufacturers seem to be at pains pointing out their products mimic the make up dimensions of the equivalent Halogen... and given stringent Western automotive standards you’d kinda think they’d be keen to get it right? (I honestly don’t know, but am happy to take a punt here)
(4) your own bike deltarider / 40yrs etc, there are differing circuit options / specs across the bikes and I wouldn’t know what yours is. Assuming though a UK spec the numbers are not outside of the fuse rating. (unless adding in indicators, brake lights etc when your fuse might be working hard and managing to keep its head above water when additional loads are temporarily On.
(5) your ‘dual’ dipped + full beam; yep I’m surprised you got away without blowing a fuse, though if NO other loads on (brake light etc) you might just get away with it.
Oh hang on... you did!
Horses for courses etc, personally it seems to me that (1) battery charging is being overlooked, and (2) a more elegant fix is available than the Jeremy Clarkson approach of.. “MORE POWER!!!” 😂
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Amperage drops as voltage increases.
120w @ 12v = 10.0a
120w @ 120v = 1.0a
120w @ 240v = 0.5a
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Ok, here's my take. In my house practically all lights are LED and, although as for ambiance, nothing beats halogen, I'm happy with the results. LED in the workshop is a nightmare. Light is everywhere, reflecting from all parts, making it very difficult to work.
Now to the bike itself. As far as headlight, I'm always open for innovation, but I prefer to wait for a product by Philips or Osram, that will come as a unit and will be a direct replacement for reflector and bulb combined and then only after I've seen independent tests. Under tests I do NOT count reviews by consumers which are possibly biased by the expenditure they had to do. So far I have not seen LED headlight performances that could convince me. The brightness that some see as a quality, to me is an annoyance and I wonder if I could live with the reflecting light, seen my experience in the workshop.
As for brake- and indicator lights, I really don't see the gain. Energy saved isn't really that much and you'll have to accept the miss of the glow on glow off effect which incandescent bulbs offer. The latter category is also better noticed at an angle. As for longevity, my brake/taillight was replaced only once and two of the four indicator bulbs are still the same the bike had, when it left the assembly line. Not a bad result for 44 years. Conventional bulbs are dead cheap and widely approved. Fitting LEDS for indicators IMO is too much a hassle. You need another relay and diodes. Why people do it? No idea. Maybe they like to tinker.
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Some interesting links there trigger and lobo. I will certainly give the led bulbs a try.. The reason i said “they’re expensive” is because i have tried cheap led’s before (although not that type) in the car i used about 6 bulbs in the rear lighting, 3 of them failed within a day so i took them out and wrote the idea off...but at the time i did notice that branded equivalents were much more expensive. I will try the bulbs in triggers link..on the CB and RD250 which is especially poor with a std bulb.. cheers.
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Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.
Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.
Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?
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Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.
Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.
Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?
You are right of course, the power output does indeed increase with revs, sometimes to 14v. The headlamp filament is a crude affair that glows white hot by the heat created by the current passing through it. The higher the voltage, the brighter the lamp. If the voltage gets too high the lamp will blow. LED is deffinately the way to go.
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Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.
Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.
Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?
I have had the cob type fitted to a 750 and a 550 for about a year or so and the 750 is just over a couple of thousand miles, since fitted with no problems. They are white light and not the yellow light you get from basic H4's.
I bought a trade pack of them and they worked out around £3 per bulb. I am no expert when it comes to electrics and can't understand why some of them have a cooling fan (which will not fit in the headlight bowl) and the cob type don't.
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Hi Trig. Did this type fit?
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Yes, that cob type fit the H4 headlight but, there are some that have a fan on the back that are too long to fit in the headlight bowl ;)
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Many thanks👍
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You are right of course, the power output does indeed increase with revs, sometimes to 14v. The headlamp filament is a crude affair that glows white hot by the heat created by the current passing through it. The higher the voltage, the brighter the lamp. If the voltage gets too high the lamp will blow.
Yes, but not because of a higher current which we express in A. Ever wondered why 6V cars and bikes need thicker wires?
So... the problem, the worry over possibly blowing a fuse, has now shifted to a worry over blowing a bulb? Anymore worries? Ever heard of cognitive dissonance?
LED is deffinately the way to go.
But... which led then? Have you seen tests that can help you make a choice? On H4s we have seen several over the years, all carried out by consumer organisations like the ANWB and ADAC (the Dutch and German AA, resp). What offers are you prepared to make? Extra costs? A reflector that will not fit properly anymore? Irritating oncoming traffic? Being blinded by your own LED light's reflections either by road signs or in less than perfect, read hazy, atmospheric conditions? In the UK your bikes are subject to periodic tests, I believe. Any risks there?
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I think the blowing of fuses etc has been well documented in the forum, and with elderly or corroded electrics and tired batteries on bikes not used as everyday rides, makes it worth considering the options, and a useful discussion many of us can learn from.
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In the UK your bikes are subject to periodic tests, I believe. Any risks there?
Tests are not required legally for most vehicles over 40 years old. But LED lighting for headlight, rear and indicators in not legal unless incorporated into new vehicles as part of their construction and use approval.
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As an ex tester the only non legal light is HID which must self dip. Led is legal as long as the paytern iscgood and the dip angle correct
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The Historic bikes of ours that I choose to still have MOT'd and that have LED's fitted pass the MOT with no problem, which as we know, has nothing to do with the C&U regs.
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Hi Jeremy
Try this link they have a good stock of 30mm glass fuses in packs of 10 I brought some as spares and they look good. https://www.mandp.co.uk/search?q=30mm+glass+fuse
I have a trade account here but you need a order to be £50 + to get a good discount for you but always happy to quote for you
Rgds
Nigel
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Hi Nigel that’s very kind of you. I may have a source now, if not will be in touch.
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PS do you think these would fit?
15A 30mm
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Yup, they'll do
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Perfect thanks Mike. In my rush to find a spare fuse carrier I bought an old one that’s gone rock hard but at least it has 3 fuses in it! New ones will be wrapped up nearby.
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IIRC, length of fuses is 25mm...
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Just checked and mine is 30mm x 6mm, and 25mm will also fit. The wires just have open grips on the ends that can be pinched slightly to ensure a snug fit. That then fits into a simple lozenge shaped case.
My fuse says 12.5A “constant”, 25A “blow”. I’m assuming 15A means 15A continuous/30A blow.
I have seen comments that originals are the blade shape (“better vs vibration” - in theory I dare say), mine is the thin wire and doesn’t look original. I see both types listed on eBay as genuine Honda, and not sure about the thin ones, but the Honda “marine” blade ones look genuine.
I’m sure either filament will do. Either way, I may as well go for the apparent standard 15A blade type while I’m at it.
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The fuses are 1¼". Domestic fuses are 1".
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Some more info on fuse limits:
https://www.pat-testing-training.net/articles/fuse-operation-characteristics.php
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Update. New led headlight bulb fitted. Better clearer beam. Thanks Trig 👍
An H4 headlamp only takes less than 1amp more than the original spec.
A 15amp fuse can take more than 25amps for brief periods, so normal running with H4 full beam and other constant drains will only use about 9-10amps. Brake and indicators going on momentarily will be well within the 25-30amp ‘blow’ capacity.
The main benefit of a super bright led headlight seems to be just that. Better light at night. And the main cause of a 15amp fuse blowing may be a fault somewhere.
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Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.
Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.
Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?
I have had the cob type fitted to a 750 and a 550 for about a year or so and the 750 is just over a couple of thousand miles, since fitted with no problems. They are white light and not the yellow light you get from basic H4's.
I bought a trade pack of them and they worked out around £3 per bulb. I am no expert when it comes to electrics and can't understand why some of them have a cooling fan (which will not fit in the headlight bowl) and the cob type don't.
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
I bought some of these bulbs by following the link that trigger posted.... that particular item was sold out but i did manage to find an exact same item for something like £1.98 each iirc. So i bought 3. They were due to arrive in mid sept but actually turned up in about 3 or 4 days, so i fitted them yesterday and they work and look great. I put one in each of the yamaha’s but kept the third as a spare since it wont fit in the Honda as it is still running the original sealed beam type unit and i would need to buy a replacement shell to fit it... prefer to keep her original if i can.. But if and when it ever fails i will definitely go with the leds.. at 6 quid for 3 bulbs its a no-brainer!
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Even cheaper! Agreed, I can already see my light reflected off car boots in daytime. Feels safer anyway!
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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-4-Side-LED-Headlight-660W-72000LM-Bulb-Kit-9006-9005-H4-HB2-9003-H7-H8-H9-H11/233294327251?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
I upgraded our old Jeep WJ with some LED bulbs I purchased from e-bay the Jeeps have some weird bulbs so it took me a while to find the right type of H4 without Canbus they were about £15.00 for a pair. Mine have a variant 9005 & 9006 our other Jeep has straight H4's. Luckily plenty of room behind our lamps for the quite large alloy heat sink that has a small fan built into it. My bulbs came with adapters so no change of wiring was required for the Jeep.
I will certainly look at fitting this type of bulb as they use less power than a standard QI H4 bulb and push out a whopping amount of high frequency white light with a slight tinge of blue but not enough to detract. Unfortunately there is quite a lot lost in translation they are about 66 Watts including the fan not 660 Watts as stated. Our old bulbs would usually blow every 18-24 months so far I am not sure if the claimed lifespan is true. To date they have been in place for 8 months or so with no issues.
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Sye... whilst power divided by volts indeed gives amps it’s not the full story when resistance is then bought into the equation. Your post fails to explain why lamps brighten as you increase the voltage - which you’ll know from 1st hand experience. The current (A) actually increases as you increase the voltage through the filament...the power rating of a lamp will be only be valid at the stated voltage .
Anyways, please don’t take my word on it, but rather google the explanation.
Yea, Deltarider, horses for courses. I’m gonna take a punt on the LED headlamp bulb, and will report back in due course. They annoyingly come in pairs... so if fail early I’ll have a spare 😂.
Trig... you say you’ve got LED replacement ‘globes’.... how are they performing?
I have had the cob type fitted to a 750 and a 550 for about a year or so and the 750 is just over a couple of thousand miles, since fitted with no problems. They are white light and not the yellow light you get from basic H4's.
I bought a trade pack of them and they worked out around £3 per bulb. I am no expert when it comes to electrics and can't understand why some of them have a cooling fan (which will not fit in the headlight bowl) and the cob type don't.
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
I bought some of these bulbs by following the link that trigger posted.... that particular item was sold out but i did manage to find an exact same item for something like £1.98 each iirc. So i bought 3. They were due to arrive in mid sept but actually turned up in about 3 or 4 days, so i fitted them yesterday and they work and look great. I put one in each of the yamaha’s but kept the third as a spare since it wont fit in the Honda as it is still running the original sealed beam type unit and i would need to buy a replacement shell to fit it... prefer to keep her original if i can.. But if and when it ever fails i will definitely go with the leds.. at 6 quid for 3 bulbs its a no-brainer!
I have had quite a range of LED bulbs & lamps over the last 5 years or so - maybe things are improving with quality now but my early experience was that within 6 months -or much less in some cases LED clusters would either start strobing, flashing or just pack up completely. Depending on your MoT station retrofitting of LED bulbs can be an automatic fail especially if the dip cut off is poor.
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Havent read the testers manual for a while but it used to be rears had to be red(not pink) fronts have to white and a definitive dip pattern to the left, all lenses to have the correct e number and rear reflector the correct BS number which is why Honda fitted the small red reflectors at the bottom of the long plastic mudguards, failed a lot of 250 N for having L plate over the reflector
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At least here, in Slovakia and Czech republic LED bulbs are illegal as retrofit of H4 bulb. And I think that also as bulb retrofit into tail/stop light (21W/5W bulb) or flasher (21W) are illegal too.
There is no LED replacement H4 bulb that is certified for road use to my knowledge (and will highly likely never be) due to its "beam" geometry, when in case of standard bulb source of light is very small piece of wire filament (kind of point source that is placed into specific place into headlight parabola to ensure defined beam geometry), while LED bulb uses multiple LEDs that emits light from other places compare to standard bulb and H4 parabolas are not designed for...
Only legal solution is to replace whole headlight that is "E" certified for motorbike.
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At least here, in Slovakia and Czech republic LED bulbs are illegal as retrofit of H4 bulb. And I think that also as bulb retrofit into tail/stop light (21W/5W bulb) or flasher (21W) are illegal too.
There is no LED replacement H4 bulb that is certified for road use to my knowledge (and will highly likely never be) due to its "beam" geometry, when in case of standard bulb source of light is very small piece of wire filament (kind of point source that is placed into specific place into headlight parabola to ensure defined beam geometry), while LED bulb uses multiple LEDs that emits light from other places compare to standard bulb and H4 parabolas are not designed for...
Only legal solution is to replace whole headlight that is "E" certified for motorbike.
Spot on, Erny! So far what buyers have 'seen'*, has not been confirmed by independent tests. What has been found however by the British AA, the German ADAC, the Dutch ANWB and the Austrian ÖAMTC, is that blinding headlights are the number one annoyance in todays traffic...
* What others, including me, see, is mostly: choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization.
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At least here, in Slovakia and Czech republic LED bulbs are illegal as retrofit of H4 bulb. And I think that also as bulb retrofit into tail/stop light (21W/5W bulb) or flasher (21W) are illegal too.
There is no LED replacement H4 bulb that is certified for road use to my knowledge (and will highly likely never be) due to its "beam" geometry, when in case of standard bulb source of light is very small piece of wire filament (kind of point source that is placed into specific place into headlight parabola to ensure defined beam geometry), while LED bulb uses multiple LEDs that emits light from other places compare to standard bulb and H4 parabolas are not designed for...
Only legal solution is to replace whole headlight that is "E" certified for motorbike.
Spot on, Erny! So far what buyers have 'seen'*, has not been confirmed by independent tests. What has been found however by the British AA, the German ADAC, the Dutch ANWB and the Austrian ÖAMTC, is that blinding headlights are the number one annoyance in todays traffic...
* What others, including me, see, is mostly: choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization.
Most of the blinding headlamps I have experienced have been from manufacturers Bi Xenons not folk with old vehicles wanting something brighter than a candle as the reflectors go dull with age & the Polycarbonate goes milky. lol
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Brightness is not a quality, not in itself. There is so much more to lights than brightness. I know special H4 all weather lamps that have been coated inside 6 times with blue and 4 times with yellow to perform better in rain, fog and snow, especially on unlit roads. If you're looking for just brightness, you can limit yourself to reading the advertisements but... you will be trapped in a spiral as others want more brightness than you have. What you need, is good vision at night and be seen during the day, street legal and not irritating to others, just like you don't want to be irritated by them. That's all. The rest is a childish projection, if you ask me.
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I'll add one 2 more experience with LED headlight - I have factory fitted LED headlight on my 2 other bikes - BMW R1200 GS (2016) and Honda CB650R (2019). While one on BMW performs excellent (perfect beam shape) one on Honda is total fail (at least on my bike), I wonder how it could gain approvals for road use. Having there any standard H4 would be much better. Fortunately, I do not ride outside city when dark..
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There are LED H4 lamps currently seeking approval. They have come a long way and are undoubtedly what everyone will be using in a few short years. The bulb below mimics a halogen H4 perfectly and has an ideal beam pattern. It's also the same size as a standard H4 and fits in any headlight shell.
The downside is that they currently cost around £30 each but that will drop to around a fiver in the next few years.
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Interesting. If they will get approval, I'll go for it for my 550K1 due to permament charging issues
Can you share more details who is manufacturer / seller, where to find more details?
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There are LED H4 lamps currently seeking approval. They have come a long way and are undoubtedly what everyone will be using in a few short years. The bulb below mimics a halogen H4 perfectly and has an ideal beam pattern. It's also the same size as a standard H4 and fits in any headlight shell.
The downside is that they currently cost around £30 each but that will drop to around a fiver in the next few years.
You are right the price will drop probably quite quickly as its a pretty big market world wide .Not sure how they can get the heat sink to be so small with a decent lifespan - not seen that shape before who is selling them - have you a link?
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just found it here https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/twenty20-led-headlight-bulbs-H4-pair.html
they stay rated ~20W (what is good), colour temp ~6000K (not so good, this is reason to be stopped by police...).
Curious to know plans for approvals
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They appear (from their pictures on link) to be using two array at different angle to mimic the radial dispersal of a tungsten filament. With geometric placement that also looks to replicate tungsten, it seems to offer a potentially accurate reproduction. After all, various parts of tungsten filaments are often shielded to prevent light scatter in unwanted directions.
It seems reasonable to approach it from the opposite direction from a technical perspective, ie. tungsten with high radial dispersal "barn door" shuttered to control light direction with attendant losses, versus led arrangements in a "spread" array to arrive at something very close.
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just found it here https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/twenty20-led-headlight-bulbs-H4-pair.html
they stay rated ~20W (what is good), colour temp ~6000K (not so good, this is reason to be stopped by police...).
Curious to know plans for approvals
Thanks Erny I have saved that site for future reference.
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Soon after buying my 550F2 in 1977, I discovered Paddy Hopkirk had a shop/warehouse somewhere out near Leighton Buzzard/Wing area (I can't remember) and sold a Cibie Z Beam conversion. This used a headlamp bezel from a Mini to enable it to fit the headlamp bowl on the 550F2. It was a transformation. It's still on the bike, still works just fine.