I have searched the forum for LED headlights and find a few with outdated links or brief discussions within another subject.
Am I correct that any 7" Jeep Wrangler or Harley Davidson light will fit on the air cooled Bonneville? Danny900 has a great review on one LED light but it is not available at amazon.ca. so I don't think I can get it Canada.
The prices seem to go from $50 what seems satisfactory to my needs to over $700 for the smart lights. Is there really a worth while reason to go half way or all the way to the top price?
I tucked one of 7” lights, recommended by Danny900, into the bucket on my 15 SE. It works fantastic and was worth every bit of the $50 or $60 bucks I spent on it. There’s a whole bunch of them on EBay as well, so if Amazon won’t come through for you, have a look there.
For my 2013 T100 Bonne, I run a Philips LumiLED bulb in the standard bucket (my bike has the 5-3/4" Scrambler style bucket). Fitment in there was tight and I heard fitting LED bulbs with big heatsink fans etc was difficult. Then I found the type with flexible ribbon heat sinks....works great. Here is a similar type of a different make:
I got one of these on my 09 Bonnevile SE and the light output and cut off are awesome. The only other light I would have preferred is the one that has the adaptive lean angle lights for cornering, but the cheapest of those I found was $400.
I got one of these on my 09 Bonnevile SE and the light output and cut off are awesome. The only other light I would have preferred is the one that has the adaptive lean angle lights for cornering, but the cheapest of those I found was $400.
Thanks for the links. I will probably buy something that someone on here has when I do get one. I also want to know if all 7" lights will work out of the box for the Bonnie.
I can't recommend it highly enough. Cheaper than the full trucklite-style assy, better light output, almost perfect stock appearance, just perfect in every way. Far and away the best mod I have done, especially in bang for the buck.
Did you have any trouble with fitting this in? Any modifications to the bucket? How is the light output? I really like the look of the halo lights and was looking at the same one.
I used an LED conversion for a couple of years in my America. When it failed prematurely I went back to a H-4 halogen. My priority was daytime visibility so I went with a yellow bulb. It is a Ford Motorcraft part # 48885. Plugs right in any H-4 socket. Legal ? I am more concerned with staying alive than legality. About $20 on Ebay. ...J.D.
I kind of feel the same way. If I wanted a modern bike, I'd buy one, not make my vintage bike look modern. I like the old stuff. I ride them by choice, not because I can't afford a new bike. ...J.D.
I have had a $60 Amazon Sunpie LED on my T100 for almost 2 years now. No issues. Money well spent. If it goes out tomorrow I have got my moneys worth out of it.
I'm on the same page...retain the retro look with stock shell and lens, and upgrade the H4 to an LED substitute.
Must admit going with the Eastern Beaver relay kit has seen a significant improvement over the stock, but still plan to go LED when the H4 fails. So the question is what are the current day options that will fit in the shell. Not much room.
Have read the latest technology has an integrated replacement and passive cooling without a box in line.
Thoughts anyone as to best/latest options?? I note the premium Philips versions are still pricey at over $200, so looking more a more affordable option.
Yes any 7” headlight will fit. Difference between $50-$120 chinese knock offs vs something like JW speaker basic none adaptive models is that they are much brighter, also 1 flaw I found in chinese versions is that the inside lens fogs up a bit when it’s cold outside, but will clear up after sitting in warmth for a bit. So perhaps the cheap version is not IP67/waterproof as many suppliers claim them to be. I’m sure chinese led headlight won’t last as long too. That’s the difference.
The light feels like great quality. It was JUST a bit too large for the outer ring of the bucket so I had to crimp the inside edges a bit. When I saw JUST a bit too large, I mean .000001mm or something. It was just enough that the ring would not sit flush. It took me 10 minutes to install and it looks great.
It certainly doesn't look original/retro, but in my opinion it's much closer than the JW type options. The darker shade matches my black bucket, and I was not crazy about the units with bug eyes. I'll try to post a pic of it on the bike later.
The light is much brighter than stock and has a clean cut off on the dim light. We'll see how long it lasts.
I used the Trucklite.
Very similar to the above.
I modded the assembly so it doesn't stick out as much as it did "stock".
Here's my post with what I did to get it in there, some amp draw stuff, etc... Hit-N-Run Bonnie may turn into Scramblerville Project
Trying to retain the stock headlight head shell (I prefer the classic/traditional look, although the Trucklite-style is closer than many), after much reading on the current crop of LED H4 replacements (seems like LEDs are in a constant state of evolution) have concluded that the fanless (passive) heatsink approach may be the best way to go for compactness and reliability (no moving parts).
I note there are several look alikes like the Beamtech on Amazon/ebay too!
Feedback appreciated. I know it used to be a no-no to try retaining the stock headshell, but looking for an update on opinions/experience. Thanks in advance.
The Trucklite unit sticks out WAY far... while the glass part does look more like a classic bulb...the unit itself protrudes oddly from the front of the headlamp shell. I did not like it.. I got it to stick out less, with a lot of work... but it still sticks out a lot (it looks odd).
When I had my KLR I used a 100w/55w halogen bulb in the stock housing. It was either a PIAA or Hella I think.
I put relays right in the headlamp housing for both beams with a large wire right to the battery to reduce voltage drop (looking back, coulda just done the high beam relay)
This setup took that abysmal headlight and made it quite nice, while allowing the low beam to stay agreeable to other motorists.
I might do this same thing with either the stock lamp housing or maybe a Hella unit on the Bonnie. I'm tired of fooling with other types.
I like the powerful bright white (and DOT approved) light from the Trucklite, and I will try it a bit longer before abandoning it..but if i do, I will go that way.
I put good quality LED replacement bulbs in my Titan (pickup) and the light was a mess.. scattered, glary, focused in all the wrong places... sent them back.
Had my first night ride on Saturday and it was phenomenal. Lots of light on low and high beam, plus never had any flashing lights from the low beams. I now only need it to last for quite a long time.
Went to fit a LED headlight to the Bonneville. Opened up the headlight and hello whats that mess? the dreaded reg/rect overheating plug.
Chopped out the melted connector and hard wired the wiring , had to extend the wiring a bit as the oveheated wires needed to be cut short.
Checked the Battery voltage with the bike off and it was 13.7v (Li Iorn ) so I dodged a bullet there as the LI Iorn don't recover if discharged below 11 v. Fortutious I guess that I went to change the headlight.
Anyway it would be too hard to fit the Led headlight to the Bonneville as the headlight grill and the GPS power supply in the bucket caused problems.
So I fitted the headlight to the Thruxton. Will have to try it out one night.
I just installed the Sunpie in my 09 Thruxton. Basically plug & play with the exception I had to file/bevel down the three U-shaped centering lugs for the Triumph retaining ring to fit snug against the light housing. In retrospect, I think I should've gotten the blackout version with the DRL since the Thruxton has a small running lamp that I never noticed before. But for $50 it was worth a try. The only negative is the rather soft lens - during the mounting process I somehow put some micro scratches on it that I'm going to have to polish out.
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