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Driving lights??

Have you seen the new LED lights in the 2011 Harley catalog? You can get both the headlamp assmy (high and low) all LED now and you can swap in LED driving light lamps....supposedly very good light distribution and almost daylight color. The price is about what they want for HID but you dont have to do ballast, etc.....wonder what the cost of replacement LED units/bulbs are??
 
That is the reason why I got Projector lamps (Halogen) that look like turnsignals...don't let their small size deceive you. It is 50W each with integral projector reflector that allows the use of stock HD windscreens, along with the 80/100 bulb the front is lit with a wide and deep swath of light. :D

HDCarbonFiberHelmet.jpg
 
Hobbit said:
as much as i like the idea of LEDs on a bike i hate them on Audis and so on they are are just to bright and always on , also you cant see much with them LOL
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hmmmm, I thought idea was to BE bright. How do you mean you cant see much with them? You mean when they are in your eyes from another vehicle? The image in the catalog comparing halogen lighting to the new LED headlamp setup is dramatic in the amount of road, roadside, and the down-the-road view provided. I am just not able to find the replacement cost if you would need to do so...of course there is also the issue of if it goes down while out on the road you cant stop in the local auto parts store to do anything about it either. from the catalog, page 649 here in the States:
"Headlamps feature two horizontal "D" shaped lenses that focus light into a pool in front of the motorcycle, and separate high beam and low beam projector lenses that provide a focused beam of light in front."
LED Headlamp and Auxiliary Lamps | Genuine Motor Accessories | Harley-Davidson USA This on line listing doesnt have the comparison photo in the catalog...
 
Skooch, I initially wanted to put those puppies on, but my Lindby bars have foot rests on the upper portion of the guards, so projector Halogen turn signals worked fine in my case (replacement bulb & reflector is $15, but have not had to replace them in 3 years so far). They are bright, metal and chrome...with a tidy design. What more can one ask?:small3d018:
 
There is another disadvantage with LEDs...lifetime brightness, they do degrade over time...10 or 15%, not much, but can be significant because the loss of brightness is not noticeable day to day, in electronic commercial and military equipment use. Until you roll up similar equipment replacing 10 year old equipment using the same parts. That was also the "dig" against plasma TV's verses LCD...wonder how the new LED TV's will do (consumer is paying twice the bucks verses LCD).
 
I think most bulbs of most types lose brightness over time. the old projection tv's had bulbs that would slowly lose brightness and they were just normal bulbs (not sure if tungsten or what they were using for filament and what gas). LCD tv's usually use fluorescent bulbs for their light source and I think they lose brightness over time also. HID bulbs lose brightness over time also. The issue really is how long to lose that brightness. 10 years is a long time...at least for me if you are saying I would have reliable white light brighter than halogen for 10 years..longer than I would probably have the bike :)
 
One reason halogen lights do not lose much brightness is because an the inert gas does not provide a medium for metal particles to coat the inside glass like regular incadescent bulbs (I am sure you have seen the interior smoke/silver that occurs on standard lamps). The other thing is 10-15% may not seem like much, but remember LED semi-chip is a tiny spec using a fresnel lens to disperse the light, 10-15% is significant on that small scale, now add all the LEDs you need to achieve decent light, it IS a big deal...don't notice it because you adapt, but the degradation is still pretty big...200 feet in front of your bike. JMO
 
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