[G_Loc]

They seem to have a LED bulb for nearly every single kind of incandescent bulb. I was hoping maybe someone had tried their bulbs on a Vulcan. I'd like to switch over to LED turn signals.

Here's their site: http://www.v-leds.com/

 

[CLARK47]

I cant tell you what will work or not but I highly sugest if you havent allready, do a search for "led turnsignals" on here. I just did a quick glance and there is plenty of info on LED lighting. How to wire and what parts will work.

Hope this helps

 

[G_Loc]

Hey thanks

I've searched and read a few threads, but its hard to find anything LED specific since the word "led" is too short for the search function

 

[antiq]

Most of the LED bulbs designed to replace incandescent bulbs have resistors built in so do NOT lighten the load electrically. I've not read of any that produce as much light either. The best results it seams has been in replacing with whole LED units.

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

I see no advantage to replacing existing lights/bulbs with LEDs. Regular incandescent bulbs work great, and are cheap and easy to replace when they burn out, and they don't require any kind of special wiring. I'm all for improving things, when it is an actual improvement, and when it does not cause more problems than it solves, but this does not seem to be the case with LEDs. Jerry.

 

[OlHossCanada]

On a somewhat related topic, my son-in-law just showed me his new LED flashlight, which is small enough to be almost entirely enclosed in my hand when I make a fist. Here is a link to it: http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297&products_id=1599

This light has several light levels, from "moonlight" to check your watch without compromising your night vision, up to 230 lumens, which lit up my back yard.
With LED bulbs like this available in a flashlight, there must be some suitable for auxillary driving lights on a motorcycle.

 

[skalding]

I've often wondered if there's not an easy way to convert LED flashlights into driving lights. Haven't gotten around to exploring that yet. Some of those Harbor Freight lights are pretty strong and cost a fraction of what driving lights cost.

 

[rubyrick]

I see no advantage to replacing existing lights/bulbs with LEDs. Regular incandescent bulbs work great, and are cheap and easy to replace when they burn out, and they don't require any kind of special wiring. I'm all for improving things, when it is an actual improvement, and when it does not cause more problems than it solves, but this does not seem to be the case with LEDs. Jerry.

Jerry, here's an LED that gives you a good reason to consider switching. The EclipzeLED front turn signals make you more visible to oncoming traffic because they keep the running lights on HIGH intensity and when you use the turn signals they blink off and on. This is the opposite of normal, where the running lights are at low intensity and blink low to high and back again.

According the the Hurt Report, the most common type of motorcycle accident that involves more than one vehicle was an oncoming idiot making a left turn in front of a motorcycle they didn't see. Perhaps these higher intensity running lights can help the nearly blind to see us better, without having to add more lights to the bike so we keep that stock look to it.

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

Very possible. I have already ordered headlight and brakelight modulators (kind of a Christmas present to myself), and almost always ride wearing a solid white full face helmet and orange reflective vest. I do agree that visibility is probably the most important safety concern while riding a motorcycle. Unfortunately, with most of todays cage herders doing pretty much everything BUT driving and paying attention to what is going on around them, many of them will not see you anyway. But, every little bit helps.

BTW, I did some research a couple of years ago, and found a noticeable rise in stopped school buses being rear ended by cars over the past few years, one by a Hummer H2, whose driver was killed. No one on the bus was seriously injured. If these idiots can't see a school bus parked in front of them, with lights flashing, they aren't going to see anything. Still, I agree that motorcyclists need to do everything we can to increase visibility. Jerry.

 

[G_Loc]

I've often wondered if there's not an easy way to convert LED flashlights into driving lights. Haven't gotten around to exploring that yet. Some of those Harbor Freight lights are pretty strong and cost a fraction of what driving lights cost.

I've seen those cheap Harbor Freight lights... They just pack a whole bunch of LEDs into them. I have a little MOLLE light made by the now defunct Pentagon Lights (thanks to a lawsuit by Surefire) which is brighter than most of those, but just uses a single LED and a AA battery.

rubyrick,

Thanks for that link!

 

[slimvulcanrider]

hmm a surefire lite on the bike....johnny law won't have any qualms with that

 

[G_Loc]

Just a follow up... I ended up buying LED turn signals for my car from v-leds.com... WOW. Much brighter than standard bulbs and they look better. Front and rear turn signals plus the LED flasher ended up costing me $146, so it definitely wasn't cheap.

Now I definitely need to do this to the motorcycle at some point

 

[93VN750]

I kept blowing my tail light on my Meanie, switched to an LED 1157 style bulb. Have not blown it in almost 2 years, and it is M U C H brighter than the incandescent bulb in both tail light and brake light modes. Best $ 20 I have spent in a long time.

If you do not see the advantage of LED over incandescent's, you're looking in the wrong place.

Jon

 

[G_Loc]

I went through 3 or 4 brake bulbs on my Vulcan in less than 5,000 miles. All the vibration must've been killing them

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

In 44,000 miles on my '02 Vulcan, I have replaced one right front turn signal bulb, and a halogen headlight bulb, when the low beam filament burned out in it, and the little warning light came on on the dash panel. I continued to use it on high for a couple of months before finally replacing it, because I was afraid the high beam filament would burn out too, leaving me in the dark.

As far a vibration, what vibration? My Vulcan 750 is probably the most vibration motorcycle I've ever owned, amazing since it uses a single crankpin. That balancer must be doing a great job. It has a slight rumble as low speeds, which goes away at higher speeds. And it lacks the "buzz" of an inline four.

A friend of mine with an '08 Dodge pickup had a tail light go out on him, it had a row of LEDs in it, and a circuit board, but it was a one piece sealed unit. fixing it required replacing the entire tail light assembly, at close to $300 bucks. If a tail light burns out on my '66 Ford pickup, it's a $2 bulb, and even the complete lens is $45, from a vintage Ford parts catalog, the reason it is so expensive is because it is a reproduction, and the price is proportional to how many they sell.

I have found it is best to stick with old technology, unless there is a REALLY good reason not to. Just because something is obsolete does not mean it is no good, it just means they don't make it anymore. Fortunately, I have a huge stack of catalogs full of obsolete Ford parts. Jerry.



BTW, Harbor Freight sells mostly junk, some of it is better than most of it. I have owned a Harbor Freight hydraulic engine crane for several years, and it still works fine. It has been used several times, not only for engines, but to hold up motorcycles (mostly dirtbikes) so I can work on them. I also have a drill and a 4" die grinder I bought from them several years ago, and both still work fine. OTOH, the cheap imitation Dremel I got from them lasted less than 2 months, while my real Dremel lasted 10+ years of abuse. I now own another real Dremel. Jerry.

 

[jebusbud]

replaced my T/S with LEDs all around. you will need a dual load equalizer or LED flasher relay to make them flash at the regular rate (if you replace front and back) got mine from jp cycles for about $40 a set, amber front and red rear with the kuryaken run turn stop controler (which ended up not working right on the brake function after a while.) ended up removing the turn signals all together during my current bobber project, but was very happy with them while i had them.

 

[G_Loc]

Incandescent light bulbs are too 19th century for me :zzz:

 

[ramcharger]

I've often wondered if there's not an easy way to convert LED flashlights into driving lights. Haven't gotten around to exploring that yet. Some of those Harbor Freight lights are pretty strong and cost a fraction of what driving lights cost.

sure there is and its one word......ductape! lol.... hey it worked for my friends truck.. we had a wreck hit a telephone pole doing 40 head on took out the right light. well till we got paid we had to have a truck to drive in..so we busted out the back of the head light and put a flashlight in there with ductape to hold it in place rofl.. worked for 1 1/2 weeks and never got pulled over... put out better light too =)

 

[newOldUser]

I've often wondered if there's not an easy way to convert LED flashlights into driving lights. Haven't gotten around to exploring that yet. Some of those Harbor Freight lights are pretty strong and cost a fraction of what driving lights cost.

I know I'm bringing this thread back from the dead, and hijacking it to boot but...

Skalding, I had the same thought the first time I got a free flashlight from Harbor Freight. Dang, those things are bright and small. They are about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide and have 9 leds in them. Powered by 3 AA batteries. You could replace the batteries with rechargeable ones and then just recharge them after every ride. Or get really slick and add some solar cells and recharge them while you ride. Maybe one, 2"x2", solar panel for each light would do it.

A little velcro, zip-ties, duct tape and some paint.....hmmmmm....

 

[G_Loc]

If you want LEDs for DRLs, a better bet is to fork out the cash for a quality product. Buy a nice housing then pick a bulb that will fit from here: http://www.v-leds.com/DRLFOG-LED/c438854-2-3//page/1/checkForLanding/true

Cheap LED flashlights may seem bright at first, but they flat out suck.