Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: nashopolis on December 08, 2022, 11:49:12 AM
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Howdy all - I was commuting from my new shop in the country the other day after dark and suddenly realized that my stock lighting wasn’t ideal for dark 2 lane state roads. (And that my Speedo instrument light is out?!?). I guess I usually ride in the daylight!
There seem to be a lot of options out there for replacement led lights. I’m kind of overwhelmed by options.
What do you all like? What is an actual improvement over stock? There are super high end options and Amazon low end deals.
Anything a direct drop in replacement that you all have found?
While I’m at it, I might add some auxiliary lights. Same question!
Thanks for your help making my life a little safer!
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I use this one on my 98EV-------------------------
https://www.rivcoproducts.com/shop/indian/led-lighting-indian/headlights-led-lighting-indian/led-100/
On that speedo bulb, fix it. I seen that bulb short out & blow fusses from shorted socket.
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I went with H-4 direct replacement led. Paul
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My favorite LED bulb has been discontinued, so in the last two bikes I used this one.
https://www.amazon.com/DAYWALKER-H4-Motorcycle-Headlight-Headlamp/dp/B09WT8XKRT
For auxiliary lights, I have these on my Convert and they work very well, at a budget price.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X19TGND
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My thoughts....
I bought a brand X Motorcycle H4 LED for the V11 Lemans but it was too long to fit the headlight bucket by about 10mm so I installed it into my '87 LMIVSE and works great so far. Since then I have purchsed another brand X type mc H4 LED that is slighter shorter in length but haven't tried it in the V11 Lemans yet.
For the '72 Eldo, I bought a 7" round sealed LED... specified for a Jeep, works great, $46.99!
After seeing Charlie's post, I might go for a pair of the LED aux lights for the Eldo too. One of the Eldo incandescent aux lights burned out so, I ended up buying a 2 pack of 4411's incandescents for $22 but I'd preder the LED's.
As for how well or how long these aftermarket brand X LEDS will last, I don't know. The main reason for going to LED's, for me, is lower current draw, daylight conspicuity and hopefully longer life. I don't ride at night anymore so how good they perform in darkness isn't an issue for me.
Art
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Thanks (!) to Leafman60 on this site, I went with a Cyclops H4 replacement bulb (their "Ultra" option) for use in my 1981 T3 California:
https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/Cyclops-100-H4-LED-headlight-bulb_p_192.html
I had closely followed various "what LED" threads on this site but didn't really want to use one of the modern complete bulb/glass assemblies (some mentioned above) because I thought (IMHO) that they just didn't fit the aesthetics of the T3. Then Leafman60 from this site posted in a picture (in a different thread) of him riding his classic Guzzi with what he said was an LED headlight. But it looked like a headlight from the period. I corresponded with Leafman and decided to contact Cyclops (who are based in Washington state not far from where I grew up). They were quite helpful on the phone and I ordered their Ultra model on a trip to the US. Leafman had cautioned me that the Cyclops bulb had a miniature fan assembly at the back of the bulb that MIGHT be a problem fitting into the bucket on my bike. The bucket on my T3 has a recess at the back but the fan housing was JUST a bit too large in diameter for the whole thing to fit and allow me to put the headlight ring back on. What to do? Right angle grinder to the rescue-- a bit of VERY careful grinding on the fan housing and, voila, it fit! But, I was a bit concerned about this fan business and the rat's nest of wiring in the rest of the bucket (future project to tidy that up...?). An email to Cyclops tech support received a prompt reply reassuring me that if the fan housing fit, all would be fine and that most headlight buckets are a mess with wiring and not a problem for the heat their bulb generates (with fan). All good. The output of the bulb is a fantastic improvement over the original. The attached photo was taken in full daylight, at a distance of about 300 yards. My wife, who took the photo, was the one who originally mentioned to me that the stock light was awfully dim. I hadn't told her about the Cyclops purchase... but she immediately noticed the difference and commented to me after taking this photo:
(https://i.ibb.co/5TBGvLt/Cyclops-Headlight.jpg) (https://ibb.co/5TBGvLt)
photo url (https://imgbb.com/)
Thanks Leafman (and a small demonstration of the value of this forum).
Oh, and btw, Cyclops has acquired Skene (another great producer of bike lighting products);
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Thanks everyone for your responses.
Those cyclops lights look nice and the price on the Amazon option is definitely appealing!
I wonder how much difference there is between them in practice.
I appreciate the fog light ideas too. I’m adding something to the jackal but knowing about the nice looking leds will be good when I get around to upgrading the Eldorado
If anyone has tips on best tactics for wiring up led auxiliary lights and switches you like - I’ll happily imbibe in your knowledge. I see some folks using dimmers and black boxes to modulate the lighting output. Seems like a good idea.
Appreciate the tip about the speedo bulb short. I need to do that either way it was disconcerting to be guessing my speed on a dark country road.
Here’s to the season of lights.
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I appreciate the fog light ideas too. I’m adding something to the jackal but knowing about the nice looking leds will be good when I get around to upgrading the Eldorado
If anyone has tips on best tactics for wiring up led auxiliary lights and switches you like - I’ll happily imbibe in your knowledge. I see some folks using dimmers and black boxes to modulate the lighting output. Seems like a good idea.
Here’s to the season of lights.
Hi,
Maybe try reaching out to Greg Bender, I've gotten all my Guzzi harnesses & wiring from him.... https://www.thisoldtractor.com/moto_guzzi.html
I've also bought stuff from these folks for my non-Goose junk.....https://easternbeaver.com/
Art
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Thanks everyone for your responses.
Those cyclops lights look nice and the price on the Amazon option is definitely appealing!
I wonder how much difference there is between them in practice.
I appreciate the fog light ideas too. I’m adding something to the jackal but knowing about the nice looking leds will be good when I get around to upgrading the Eldorado
If anyone has tips on best tactics for wiring up led auxiliary lights and switches you like - I’ll happily imbibe in your knowledge. I see some folks using dimmers and black boxes to modulate the lighting output. Seems like a good idea.
Appreciate the tip about the speedo bulb short. I need to do that either way it was disconcerting to be guessing my speed on a dark country road.
Here’s to the season of lights.
When I installed "running lights" on my V50 III, I used this wiring kit. Cheap and works well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GTNHNMN
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I've got cheap replacements in both my Guzzis. Unfortunately neither are brighter than 55wt H4. Hopefully they draw less current, OTOH both bikes had failed regulators.
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When I installed "running lights" on my V50 III, I used this wiring kit. Cheap and works well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GTNHNMN
:thumb:
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I would suggest the secret LED from Revival for the Eldo. I realize it is not cheap but on your classics it has tons of light and nobody knows it’s an LED.
https://youtu.be/K6svagWPdmQ
(https://i.ibb.co/vJMZQK0/7-D0-D2787-2-BC4-45-F1-ABD3-5605-E1305-B8-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vJMZQK0)
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I can tell you one NOT to buy for your vintage Loop, V7 Sport etc. This one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/154194391880 . Also sold on Amazon and probably other places as well. The idea is great - vintage looks with LED brightness. The problem is it won't fit into a Loop headlight bucket without a fair amount of alteration around the locating tabs. Then once it's in place, you'll notice that the lens is crooked - the fluting that is supposed to be vertical is not, rotated a few degrees clockwise.
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The generator to alternator conversion on my Eldo doesn't look period correct so why should my LED Jeep looking headlight??!! :laugh:
Art