Airhead LED pr0n

[Bill Harris]

Actually I was thinking more along the lines of a sportbike instead of a full-dress Goldbling.

[ignatz72]

Hey! Take it easy now, I don't have any lights installed in my saddlebags, no stereo, and there's no back rest on the seat.

It's still a GS, just now with longer life, brighter bulbs.

Hmmm... LEDs in the saddlebags...

[Les_Garten]

I will say, once you've been hit from behind a few times, you really start getting rabid about these things!

[Uncle Pollo]

Originally Posted by ignatz72

Hmmm... LEDs in the saddlebags...

Just pulling your leg, and thank you for the write up.

Leds on the saddlebags is a good idea since it brings the light print at night almost car size.

[ignatz72]

Well, now I've gone and done it... more eager LED centerfolds arriving soon in the mail.

Stay tuned to this thread for more picts and info.

[Bill Harris]

Originally Posted by Les_Garten

I will say, once you've been hit from behind a few times, you really start getting rabid about these things!

The motto that you should always have in mind is "See and be Seen". A bike has a small visual footprint and needs extra lighting.

Originally Posted by Ignatz

Well, now I've gone and done it... more eager LED centerfolds arriving soon

Yes! Bring 'em on.

[hack2004]

On my 1975 BMW R90 sidecar rig what superbrightled would I use for the instrument backlighting? I have converted my turn signals, marker lights on the Luftmeister, and running 4" truck leds for tail.brake lights in addition to Motorrad Elekt led tailight.. Thanks in advance.

[ignatz72]

Originally Posted by hack2004

On my 1975 BMW R90 sidecar rig what superbrightled would I use for the instrument backlighting? I have converted my turn signals, marker lights on the Luftmeister, and running 4" truck leds for tail.brake lights in addition to Motorrad Elekt led tailight.. Thanks in advance.

Tell me, hack, do you have the following pod on your R90:
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fic...g&rnd=02321199

If so, the instrument bulbs should be 12v3w, T3-1/4 style. These are commonly known as 193, 194, 168, 161, or 158 bulbs. Max BMW offers the following bulb for this application:


These bulbs fit into a socket adapter then into the top left and right "wing" sockets of this circuit board within the cluster:



The SBLED.com equivalent to these are the WLED and 74/24 series bulbs. These bulbs are listed here:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...ini-wedge.html

The 74/24 bulbs would work for the 1.2w bulbs in the indicator section, and the WLEDs should work for the gauges. However, it's best to have good measurements of your current bulbs to compare to the measurements of the SBLED bulb offerings.

Disclaimer section:
I can only offer general recommendations now since I currently do not have a bike with this style instrument cluster. But if you can pull your cluster, open it up and get to the bulbs for measurement, I can offer a bit better advice. I know it's a bit of a pain in the ass to open these clusters, but measuring the current bulb is really the best way to find a good LED replacement. And if you're planning to replace the bulbs, you're going to have to crack it open eventually!


Hopefully you have a good caliper gauge (preferably digital), as it will give the most accurate measurements of an item like this (if you don't you can buy one at Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, or Lowe's for under $30). If you take overall bulb height (from top of the bulb to the base of the socket plug), and width (of both the bulb and the base socket) measurements, you will be able to find a good match at the SBLEDs link above.

Try to provide measurements in MM, it's easier and these are Euro bikes so we oughtta use metric anyway!

I'll be happy to assist once you have measurements, otherwise my advice might only be as good as some yokel on the street corner.

[ignatz72]

Originally Posted by Bill Harris

Yes! Bring 'em on.

Well unfortunately, I got an email this morning telling me that my new LED centerfolds are back-ordered and won't ship until the second week of February.



So be patient, I'm sure the new additions will be worth the wait.

[Bill Harris]

You've done created a run on these lights. Order first, proselytize later.

One idea I keep forgetting to mention. Bulbs have sockets because they burn out and need replacement at intervals. LEDs have the advantage of longer service life, so they can be hard-wired into place. You don't need an LED in a specific socket, you can solder the LED in place ALONG WITH THE NECESSARY CURRENT-LIMITING RESISTOR. SuperBright LEDs even has a page where you can calculate the resistor value. For my instrument lamps, I needed between 220 and 330 ohms, 1/4 watt resistors, for example.

Just a thought.

[R100LT]

As someone that has done a bit of riding behind Goldwings ... I am a HUGE FAN of all the lights that you can get on the back.

I can remember a few months back when I was riding my new bike back across Oz at night and I had all these cars almost running me over . I couldn't work it out until I pulled up for juice and realized that my rear light was out . I know we have all done this . Once I got home I quickly installed the extra lights . I will never ride again trusting only one small globe in rear.

Oh and I have the stereo ... so its slowly becoming a Goldwing .. now ... do I really need a CB radio ???

[ignatz72]

...and cupholders!

But seriously, my LED mods are with an eye to increasing brightness and visibility in the stock form.

I have nothing against Goldwings, LTs, or /5s with rows of lights and truck light pods.

To each his/her own! Whatever you like and makes you feel safer is all that matters.

[ignatz72]

Originally Posted by Bill Harris

You've done created a run on these lights. Order first, proselytize later.

One idea I keep forgetting to mention. Bulbs have sockets because they burn out and need replacement at intervals. LEDs have the advantage of longer service life, so they can be hard-wired into place. You don't need an LED in a specific socket, you can solder the LED in place ALONG WITH THE NECESSARY CURRENT-LIMITING RESISTOR. SuperBright LEDs even has a page where you can calculate the resistor value. For my instrument lamps, I needed between 220 and 330 ohms, 1/4 watt resistors, for example.

Just a thought.

Didn't see that resistor calculator page, ****linky?****

As for my thinking, I suppose for some applications a direct wire/solder job would be effective and sufficient but that relies on quite a few things. One, there's some math involved; two, there's soldering involved; three, the state of the existing wiring harness.

In my case, number one could be overcome but number two and three were deal-breakers. I have limited soldering skills and a pristine wiring harness, so finding direct-fit replacement bulbs was in order.

I suppose if I had a real beater of a bike or a wiring harness that had already been molested or I were a better solderer, I could've been convinced to do the soldering. Probably a good thought for anyone having to rebuild a harness wire by wire, since you wouldn't have to worry about sourcing the exact "correct" socket for every place on the bike.

And I can't take credit for the run on my most recent purchase, a write-up in an unnamed Owner's News mag is to blame for that.

[Bill Harris]

Didn't see that resistor calculator page, >>>>linky?<<<<

They moved it-- it's in with "Component LED Info":

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...2Fled_info.htm

And other sites with info:

http://members.misty.com/don/ledd.html
http://ledcalc.com/
http://ledz.com/?p=zz.led.resistor.calculator


And if you get in a pinch, just Google "led resistor calculator".

I've soldered and done electronics since I was a kid and I'm not adverse to improving on a circuit. I would be cautious, though, and get an extra printed circuit instrument board (or an old one with bad lamp sockets) for my R&D.

But, whatever. You're doing OK.

[ignatz72]

That's what I'm talking about Bill!

Thanks for the great info links. Should really help those so inclined... I've seen the Klipstein pages before in my searches. That is, I saw them until my eyes rolled backwards in my head and I passed out from all the electronic theory... Do wish I'd have known then what I know now, and I would have stuck with the engineering degree, probably electrical or comp sci. As it is, I barely remember the right-hand-rule.

Thanks again. Good stuff.