Miles By Motorcycle
established 11 years ago
Is it Okay to Use LED Headlights?Subscribe to this blog RSS Feed
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    1 of 12
    toetailemoboy0421
    7 years ago
    Hi guys, Is it okay to use LED headlights? Is it banned in other countries? as far as I know LED headlights throw extremely intense light with very little draw on your car’s electrical system that's why it's banned in other countries. according to this article
    Link #45323
    Yermo
    7 years ago

    Should You Swap Your Headlight Bulbs For LEDs?

    LED headlights throw extremely intense light with very little draw on your car s electrical system. Now that they re trickling down to the aftermarket, you can buy a simple plug-in LED retrofit kit that straight swaps your halogen bulbs. We installed a set to see if that s actually a good idea.

    https://thegarage.jalopnik.com/shou...

     last around 20 times longer and consume up to 90% less energy when compared to halogen or incandescent lighting, which helps you save money on your energy bills. While still maintaining similar levels of light quality, and they also come in a wide variety of unique colors, meaning you can achieve a great look to your applications. So maybe it is a good substitution for my headlights>?
    2 of 12
    Yermo
    7 years ago
    I'm running an LED h4 bulb replacement on my 2009 Suzuki DR650SE. It's a big improvement.
    3 of 12
    toetailemoboy0421
    7 years ago
    how long are you using it? I want to have my headlights replacement this coming Sunday. I'm not so sure about LED yet, Can you recommend long lasting brands? and ive heard that LED is way much cheaper than other bulbs?
    4 of 12
    Yermo
    7 years ago
    I've had this one on my bike for a year and it survived the Trans Am Trail just fine.
    5 of 12
    buffalo
    7 years ago
    My understanding is that at least in the US they're supposed to be DOT approved. Jalopnik has this to say about it: 

    https://thegarage.jalopnik.com/should-you-swap-your-hea....

    personally, I'm running a HID setup in my K13 but will likely replace it with an LED kit when it fails. I'm probably going to try Procycle's kit for my DR650 here soon and am already running an LED tail light in that bike--much brighter than stock....
    6 of 12
    Yermo
    7 years ago
    There are a number of manufacturers out there:
    Link #45324
    Yermo
    7 years ago

    Bike Master LED Headlight Conversion Kit - RevZilla

    Purchase the Bike Master LED Headlight Conversion Kit at RevZilla Motorsports. Get the best free shipping & exchange deal anywhere, no restock fees and the lowest prices -- guaranteed.

    https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle...
    7 of 12
    Michael Stout
    7 years ago
    I cannot speak about other companies, but I have been running LED's in my Harley Road Glide for the last 5 years and almost 114K miles. They are known as Harley "Day Makers", and they are very bright and help me see from ditch to ditch while riding.

    The ones on my current bike are a "projector" style. I have purchased a new Road Glide, and they come stock with a "reflector" style LED head lamp. I'm hoping the reflector models are as effective as the projector model.

    I believe that LED's are becoming more and more popular, on various brands of motorcycles. I believe Indian is installing them now, as "stock" items. They really do provide a LOT of light, but their costs are, or were, rather high. Well worth the money though, as they will last quite a while.
    8 of 12
    JoeMama
    7 years ago
    My 2016 Honda CB500X came stock with LEDs all around - headlights, tail/brake lights, turn signals.  A number of makers now offer LEDs as stock equipment.

    My guess is legality is more an issue of light color and/or intensity (lumens) than it is one of light bulb form factor - incandescent, halogen, LED.

    Blue lights (blue dot tail lights, underbody neons, etc) for example are illegal in a number of places  due to blue being the usual police lighting color.

    Intensity i.e. lumens, may not have a specifically designated illegal number value, but will likely get you pulled over if you have a lighting set-up bright enough to fry the optic nerves of oncoming drivers!
    9 of 12
    JoeMama
    7 years ago
    Not exactly motorcycle news but below is a four year old Popular Mechanics article link about some auto headlight and other gizmos vs. U.S. DOT laws.  Looks like Europe is a bit more permissive / lax / innovative with new tech.

    Link #45342
    Yermo
    7 years ago

    10 Car Options the Law Won't Let You Have

    Innovation moves much faster than legislation. No surprise, then, that automakers develop cool new car technologies faster than regulators can approve them. These are some of the automotive gadgets Americans aren't yet allowed to have.

    http://www.popularmechanics.com/car...
    10 of 12
    Tattoomike
    6 years ago
    sorry to dredge up an old old thread but I converted my car over to the LED H4 Replacements and they're purple anodized aluminum bases with built-in cooling fans and then they have a factory plug in that you don't have to switch harnesses or anything with their extremely nice stream Lee bright and I bought the pair for like $25 on Amazon I'm considering throwing one in my 96 Bandit however they do tend to Flicker at lower input voltages like as in daytime running lights in my Chevy Aveo so it's possible at a very low idle that they might flicker otherwise they're really good but I was under the impression it motorcycle headlamps even if it's an H4 base are higher wattage than Factory car headlights are instead of being like 4555 what they're like 8595 what so is that a concern or would it still be an improvement is what I'm trying to figure out
    11 of 12
    Yermo
    6 years ago
    I run an LED H4 bulb replacement on my '09 Suzuki DR650SE without issue. In my use case, it's a dramatic improvement.
    12 of 12
    Tattoomike
    6 years ago
    fair enough I believe the ones out of my car will actually fit my motorcycle so I might just pull one out tonight and put it in there and just see how it works worst that happens I change it back I guess