The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: Adrian on February 07, 2019, 02:07:47 AM
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Hi once again .......
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Once my bike is finally fimished and running I intend to replace the main lights with LEDs.
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Motorworks has a direct replacement kit for the rear but can anyone recommend a kit for the headlamp.
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Thanks guys ........
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I just bought cheap Chinese lights until i found one that had decent light and an almost legal cutoff. i probably spent around $30 and of course I have a spare. Some of the rejects found themselves in our Kombi. There was really only one pair i bought that were utterly unusable - I binned them. I'm about to convert the instrument lighting to LED as well - going to leave the incandescent in the generator warning light spot for now.
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Hello
I've done that.
I followed the thread on ADVrider on the subject and bought a pair (they are sold like that) of EVITEK bulbs.
They are perfect because the cutoff is perfect and can be adapted to the actual glass of the headlight by turning the bulb in it's fixture.
You do not have to remove the center metallic mask of the light. Only drawback there is an electronic box to install in the headlight so if your Airhead is fitted with the connecting plate in the headlight, this will be problematic.
As per the ADVRider instructions, I contacted the person on the lower page of the web site and she offered a quote for a couple of bulbs. I paid and it took 2 to 4 weeks to have the bulbs in my hand. So keep calm ;-)
AdvRider thread :
https://advrider.com/f/threads/h4-led-by-evitek-f2-has-achived-the-same-focus-as-h4-halogen-bulb-new-2018.1286743/
Evitek site :
https://evitekhid.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-806384579/F2_LED_HEADLIGHT.html
Hope this helps !
P.S. : I forgot to add that I put LED lights on the gauges and on the dash. The gauges are from Katdash and, now, I can see the voltage or read the time on the clock at night...
For the dash, I bought bulbs with a W10 base and a LED on top. And put them on the speedo and tacho.
Be very careful while doing that because the leds I bought had the two wires showing on each side of the bulb base making a short when plugged into the speedo.
And I was obliged to screw the tacho bulb into it's support in order to prevent it to drop into the speedo case. (it is a PITA to get it out...)
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I have a cheap led headlight bulb with a fan in front of it. around town at night it is adequate, i don't ride at night on the open road. Like Tony i have replaced the parking and brake lights with cheap leds which were easy to find.
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http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/?fbclid=IwAR1koH6wYCLkI-i8kPjOuH9YKaLEHvMrtQ96jE9XsTElm7vy-1g6kCmKRKk
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I found this - the reviews are good - a couple of 80s bikes have them so this one might be the way to go.
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Well, if you are able to read the pages of ADVRiders about led lights, you'll find that the Evitek is more advanced and better at the job. Get your Snowbum glasses because it will take time and a looooot of reading ... ;-)
This is why I bought it.
But you may have a very different opinion depending on which bike you'll fit it.
On the R65, the Evitek is quite stunning.
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Does the assembly fit inside the head light bucket, or do you need to cut a hole in it for the heat sink ??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHyY-iI_Vac
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Evitek is more advanced and better at the job
I googled Evitek and saw three different ones, which one did you get?
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http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/?fbclid=IwAR1koH6wYCLkI-i8kPjOuH9YKaLEHvMrtQ96jE9XsTElm7vy-1g6kCmKRKk
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I found this - the reviews are good - a couple of 80s bikes have them so this one might be the way to go.
This was my first LED head light bulb
It worked OK but the High beam was dark out to about 15 meters so i used it with LED floods
Also required removing the baffle inside the headlight
It burnt out less than a year later or about 8000 miles of riding
So I would go with something else
I think their are better LED H4 bulbs now
After Adv monster burnt out I converted to a Purpose built LED Speaker brand headlight assembly
I ride at night and on a long distance trips and wanted some thing as dependable as I could get
Works very well but is pricey and requires changing the head light bucket
I had about $250 USD in the whole conversion
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Here are some pictures of the Bucket conversion
It is a very inexpensive EMGO bucket for British bikes
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Emgo-Lucas-Style-7in-Side-Mount-Headlight-Shells-Black-66-65068-2001-0824/331686929184?epid=209927756&hash=item4d3a14e320:g:D3kAAOSw4HNaT92F:rk:29:pf:0
I just had to JB weld some spacer to the mounting bosses to make up the difference in width
When you change to this bucket your head light choices are almost endless because it excepts standard 7 inch DOT Headlight assemblies
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http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/?fbclid=IwAR1koH6wYCLkI-i8kPjOuH9YKaLEHvMrtQ96jE9XsTElm7vy-1g6kCmKRKk
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I found this - the reviews are good - a couple of 80s bikes have them so this one might be the way to go.
This was my first LED head light bulb
It worked OK but the High beam was dark out to about 15 meters so i used it with LED floods
Also required removing the baffle inside the headlight
It burnt out less than a year later or about 8000 miles of riding
So I would go with something else
I think their are better LED H4 bulbs now
After Adv monster burnt out I converted to a Purpose built LED Speaker brand headlight assembly
I ride at night and on a long distance trips and wanted some thing as dependable as I could get
Works very well but is pricey and requires changing the head light bucket
I had about $250 USD in the whole conversion
That’s the same bulb as I have. it fitted in my 86 mono bike without modification. And it cost about $10.
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Georgesgiralt - can you explain "fitted with the connecting plate"? I'm not sure what you're referring to but I've also never been inside of my headlight.
I've read a ton of pages from ADV rider since you all started this post here. Most everything sounds good about the F2 bulb and my headlight is the last bulb that have to change to LED.
I guess that the box you mention is some sort of ballast? Could you tell us about how big it is? Interesting that I didn't see this box in any of the photos of these bulbs.
Thanks for the info.
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Georgesgiralt - can you explain "fitted with the connecting plate"? I'm not sure what you're referring to but I've also never been inside of my headlight.
I've read a ton of pages from ADV rider since you all started this post here. Most everything sounds good about the F2 bulb and my headlight is the last bulb that have to change to LED.
I guess that the box you mention is some sort of ballast? Could you tell us about how big it is? Interesting that I didn't see this box in any of the photos of these bulbs.
Thanks for the info.
The "box" attached to an LED (as opposed to a HID) bulb is a DC-DC voltage buck converter. BUT, depending on the LED itself it may be reducing the voltage to (for example) 5 volts, or increasing it to 24 or even 48 volts.
Low voltage LEDs are best for our purposes due to the lower heat dissipation problems. I dislike fan cooled LEDs but i do have one on the R65, but then I try not to ride that bike much at night anyway.
My GSA has passively cooled LED main beam that uses several somewhat large loops of braided copper as the heat sink - it works well.
i quickly found a similar product so you can see what I mean.
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Thanks Tony.
Regarding fan vs. no-fan - I'd seen a lot of mention of airflow and it sounded like most people thought the ones with fans were better in the enclosed lights, like our R65. I've seen the ones with the heat sinks like you showed but thought the fan version might be easier to deal with.
The specific one Georgesgiralt linked to has some good reviews as far as brightness and good beam/focus. And that's what I was looking for, one that had a proper beam.
The main thing I was wondering about with his post was the connecting plate - I'm not sure what he's referring to. Maybe airheads in general? I thought our R65's were blessedly free of most of the clutter inside the bucket that the other models had.
And that goes to the ballast box...... that's why I was wondering about the connecting plate, to understand how it would interfere with the box. And also I thought it was strange that none of the pictures of that particular bulb showed any kind of box, another reason I thought they might be a good choice, if they were easy to install.
We can wait for Georgesgiralt to reply and maybe he can give more details.
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Cooling Fan or no fan
Enough space in bucket
Focusing issue beam cutoff
Dependability
:o
All of the issues associated with trying to fit a LED bulb into the stock headlight assemblies is why I just gave up and installed a purpose built headlight assembly
C
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All of the issues associated with trying to fit a LED bulb into the stock headlight assemblies is why I just gave up and installed a purpose built headlight assembly
And an exceptional light it is too. I showed the specs to a friend who owns a truck and often drives at night. Whilst like most trucks his has spot lights, flood lights and "dip your bloody headlights moron" lights fitted the problem was those occasions when due to oncoming traffic all the "big" lights are off. He wanted good vision without blinding oncoming traffic and the "speakers" fitted the bill perfectly.
To return to the issues of fitting LED headlights to the R65, your problems may be lessened or compounded by whatever BMW fitted in your jurisdiction (and of course what those ever helpful POs did to the bike whilst in their hands.
in various locations BMW supplied the R65 with (what I call a component) headlight consisting of separate lens, and reflector, elsewhere got either a semi-sealed Bosch headlamp (which is now NLA world wide except for the individual in Switzerland who bought a quantity of them at an auction and who has beeen drip feedign them onto the market via eBay at around $AU200 each ever since. He selles them by Bosch part number so put that into Ebay search if you are well heeled and want one. They are "right dip" lenses so unlawful for Australia, Japan, UK etc that drive on the left.
For a period of time in the 90s BMW Australia was supplying a fully sealed beam for a time, when local supplies dried up there were no more. rumour has it that they were made for an indigenous car maker (Holden) who then decided to go with a more "standard" sized lamp body.
Finally, you get whatever a PO fitted when they either could not buy a genuine lamp, didn't like the price or wanted something better.
I have an original semi-sealed lamp courtesy of a former member here and whilst there was insufficient room for most fan-cooled LED bulbs, I was lucky enough to buy one that did fit. It had the micro-adjustment so you could correct beam cut-off (I thought they all did, but apparently not). As to what brand etc. I've no idea as I bought a number of cheap kits knowing that i would use them all, one way or the the other.
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In the case Tony speaks of
After someone installs the Emgo bucket they could get a standard Halogen H4 Headlight bucket from Hella or any other supplier and then fit a H4 LED bulb and carry the Halogen bulb as a spare
It is less expansive than the Speaker or Truck-Lite LED
I know Hella makes them for both right and left hand drive
In any case one should update all the bulbs they can to LED (except the GEN lamp)
The difference it makes on the ability for your charging system to charge your battery at low RPM levels is significant
I know my battery voltage does not fall bellow 12.5 until my rpm falls below about 1000 rpm
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Sorry,
I'm just back from a funeral.
On other bikes than the R6( the wiring use a printed circuit to connect various parts of the loom. This takes a lot of space in the headlight bucket and make installing the necessary voltage regulator difficult.
The bulbs Tony recommend are prohibited because the "fins" are metallic so prone to make shorts.
I'll make some picture of the bulb I use, one on the shelf and one installed.
Have a nice day.
P.S. : reducing voltage is not a good idea. Because it increase current for a given wattage. Bear in mind that the produced heat W is known as W=RI²t where R is the resistance of the circuit, I is obviously the current and t is the duration in seconds of the use. So if you increase current, the I² term in the equation becomes huge....
Of course, this is not the whole picture because LEDs produce light at an electron level. So it is not only electricity at play here but also quantum physics. (and I'm not good at it ;-) )
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The bulbs Tony recommend are prohibited because the "fins" are metallic so prone to make shorts.
"Prohibited" you mean by government regulation? Where? Or an imperfect English translation? I Carefully checked the Braids on the bulb I installed in the GSA and there is no electrical connection to them at all.
P.S. : reducing voltage is not a good idea. Because it increase current for a given wattage. Bear in mind that the produced heat W is known as W=RI²t where R is the resistance of the circuit, I is obviously the current and t is the duration in seconds of the use. So if you increase current, the I² term in the equation becomes huge....
Of course, this is not the whole picture because LEDs produce light at an electron level. So it is not only electricity at play here but also quantum physics. (and I'm not good at it ;-) )
What you say is 100% correct for a resistive load such as a filament bulb. However ti does not apply to LEDs.
In fact LEDs have an interesting property in that they output a fairly high proportion of their potential output at relatively low output. You can verify this yourself as the next time you notice the led in your hand torch getting dull due to failing batteries, take those batteries out and put them in a filament bulb torch - chances are there will be little more than a dull glow.
In terms of the lumen output of an LED, a (nominal) 12 volt led will output 90% of its potential lumen output from 4 volts. This phenomenon is used by some manufacturers to enhance life expectancy by under-driving the LED
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MrClubike - I agree with your ideas completely about your set-up but it's just not budget friendly for me at the moment, and I have some other projects to do before I could get into changing the headlight assembly. If I was a daily commuter on mine it'd be a different story.
This particular bulb interested me because the reviews were good on its performance and it sounds to be plug & play. I figured if I could get a decent one for $40 or less and not have to do much other than putting it in, I'd give it a shot.
My other question had to do with what interference Georgesgiralt was talking about but his explanation above sounds like what I suspected - that he meant airheads in general, since many of the others have the spaghetti bowl going on.
I've put LED'S in my taillight and turn signals already. I'd like to do my gauges as well but the headlight was the last big thing as far as power draw. I didn't want to have a wonky beam just to save power, so that's why I've kept the regular bulb so far. But it sounds like technology *might* be catching up and maybe there is a simple and suitable alternative available in LED bulb form now.
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Hello !
I've been asked privately as what Evitek bulb i choose in the F2 range.
As the F2 refers to the technology used by Evitek, I obviously choose to buy one that fits on my headlight bucket, so an H4 bulb.
Here is the link to the bulb in question and it provides some pictures also.
https://evitekhid.en.alibaba.com/product/60825282607-806384579/36W_6000LM_Auto_lighting_system_Motorcycle_Car_Headlight_C_ree_F2_LED_Headlight_Bulbs_with_driver.html?spm=a2700.icbuShop.41413.7.139512407ZbFp0
Enjoy !
Have a nice day
P.S. I choose to respond in the forum in order to future queries being answered using the search engine.
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Thanks for the info Georgesgiralt!
Their site is confusing to navigate and I saw 3 or 4 H4 versions but couldn't figure out the differences, or if they were actually all the same. Thanks!
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Good day everyone, I don't mean to hijack this thread but I figure it has to do with LED lights so it might be okay. I bought a Monster LED light and thought it worked very well, however, the fan has become very loud to the point of every time I turn the key and the light goes on I say, "Contact" because it sounds like and one prop fighter plane starting up. ;D It has also started acting up by not having the high beam setting all of the time. Okay short story long :) I saw that MRclubike bought a new bucket to fit a really cool light. I am looking to do the same thing. Mrclubike has a regular R65, does anyone know if the regular R65 has the same bucket as the LS version? I checked out the website he posted for the new bucket he bought and it says it will not fit the LS but I tried the regular r65 and it said it would not fit that one either, but seeing as how he did it, it must work. Thank you all for your help.
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Headlight buckets are the same on the standard R65 and LS version .
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Sweeeeet. Thank you very much Bob_Roller. Looks like my LS is getting a face lift......or eye lift? :) a new light.
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I saw that MRclubike bought a new bucket to fit a really cool light. I am looking to do the same thing. Mrclubike has a regular R65, does anyone know if the regular R65 has the same bucket as the LS version? I checked out the website he posted for the new bucket he bought and it says it will not fit the LS but I tried the regular r65 and it said it would not fit that one either, but seeing as how he did it, it must work. Thank you all for your help.
It will work but you have to add some spacers to the sides of the bucket
I found some thick fender type washers at the local Farm And Home store
I JB welded one on each side to take up the space
I then cut some small groves into the spacer to grip the rubber washers that are sandwiched in between the bucket and the ears
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Mrclubike, thank you for the heads up with the washers. I just need to find a light that I like as I just received the bucket yesterday :D We are supposed to have crappy snow/rain for the next week so Ill have some time to figure it out and get it all ordered. Cant wait to ride.
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I also am interested in changing my "83 r65 LS over to LED's. I came across the following apparently "plug and play" H 4 LED headlight bulb : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Plug-and-play-led-motorcycle-headlight-H4-HS1-hi-low-8w-scooter-motorbike-headlamp-motorcycle-Accessories/32796692230.html?spm=2114.10010108.100009.4.51506520ZgjYvL&traffic_analysisId=recommend_2037_null_null_null&scm=1007.13482.91320.0&pvid=98bc90f2-30be-4b1a-8f96-93cb23475634&tpp=1 but know nothing about it. Has anyone had any experience with it??
Thanks in advance!
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8 watt is not very bright I have a 20w led in mine it is good for day and around town at night but not for the open road.
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I came across the following apparently "plug and play" H 4 LED headlight bulb : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Plug-and-play-led-motorcycle-headlight-H4-HS1-hi-low-8w-scooter-motorbike-headlamp-motorcycle-Accessories/32796692230.html?spm=2114.10010108.100009.4.51506520ZgjYvL&traffic_analysisId=recommend_2037_null_null_null&scm=1007.13482.91320.0&pvid=98bc90f2-30be-4b1a-8f96-93cb23475634&tpp=1 but know nothing about it. Has anyone had any experience with it??
I agree with SkippyC that 8 watts is grossly inadequate. My bicycle's 1,000 lumen "Magicshine" headlight is significantly more powerful than that.
That said, too much wattage is just as big a problem as the R65 headlight bucket is relatively small and is not ventilated which means that the bulb has to transfer heat to the air trapped inside the bucket and then that hea has to transfer to teh outside wolrd via the outer surface of the bucket. Neither a very efficient or "powerful" means of handling heat. I would go for nothing more than 20 watts. You will need a fan cooled lamp as the passive coolers (except for those using multiple braided metal strips) will be way too large - many fan cooled models will likewise be too long. #####The only braid cooled lights I have the braid is electrically isolated, I've seen comments elsewhere that in some lamps tthe braid may be connected to ground (which should be harmless) or in others connected to 12 volt +ve (which is idiotic)#### Also note that the braid cooled bulbs I have are H1 pattern and fitted to the GSA.
Given how cheap AliExpress is, you could do what I did and buy 3 or 4 different type lamps and use the one that fits/gives the best light and pattern.