The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2

Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: mrclubike on May 10, 2018, 10:38:24 PM

Title: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: mrclubike on May 10, 2018, 10:38:24 PM

I was running a Adventure monster LED head light bulb in the OEM head light assembly to save wattage
It work well but failed after 14 months or about 11000 miles
I also had problems with condensation on the inside of the head lamp
So instead of going the replacement bulb route again I decided to fit a purpose built head light assembly 

I found a 7inch Speaker 8700 EVO 2 (not dual burn) for $200 shipped on eBay
But the 7 inch does not fit the OEM bucket

I found the Lucas 7 inch reproduction buckets on eBay for $33 shipped

Believe it or not the new bucket fit fine
I Only need to ad some spacers to the side to match the width and get  two  5/16 24 bolts

Of course the charging system works great with all of the LED's fitted with no discharge at 1100 rpm

Title: Re: LED Head light and & inch bucket
Post by: mrclubike on May 10, 2018, 10:44:17 PM

You think $200 is high look at the cost of  a new Bosch unit

The Speaker 8700 is a top of the line LED head light

Title: Re: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: mrclubike on May 20, 2018, 10:41:02 AM

I ended up JB (epoxy) welding the spacer to the sides of the bucket
two 3mm spacers on each side for a total of 12mm

To epoxy these on just make sure you put a coating of grease on the bolt before you screw it all together
Then after it sets up remove the bolt and clean the grease off and reassemble

Title: Re: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: mrclubike on May 20, 2018, 10:41:38 AM

Another very good LED head light is the Truck lite

I really like the looks of this light better
It is a dual burn type
When on High beam both the High and Low  are on together
This conversion could be done for less than $200 USD

In the EU you can get this light with the parking bulb

Title: Re: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: mrclubike on May 20, 2018, 10:54:53 AM

Here Is the EU version

Title: Re: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: Justin B. on May 20, 2018, 12:17:09 PM

Interesting.  I've not tried LED headlights but did convert to HID on the Junkyard Dawg and my '95 R100RT.  I have been thinking about HID on my '81 R100RT but maybe I'll rethink an LED solution.

Title: Re: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: georgesgiralt on May 21, 2018, 02:17:01 AM

There is a discussion on ADVrider about Evitek H4 LEDs and why they are very good.
I would prefer an H4 equivalent in order to conceal the lighting modification... Just in case the LEO search for something...

Title: Re: LED Head light and & 7 inch bucket
Post by: mrclubike on April 16, 2021, 10:25:58 PM

I moved the JW speaker 8700 head light to my R1150R
I now have a Truck-Lite 7 inch LED on the R65
I think it is a better performing light than the single burn 8700
But the TL  is a dual burn meaning the low beam stays on with the high beam.
The the newer 8700's are  dual burn
I suspect they are equal to or better than the TL
I think the JW's low beam is slightly better but the TL's high beam is a lot better
Both lights have a very sharp cut off