Cree LED H7 upgrade?

I'm looking to get some more light out of my bike, and I think LEDs are finally becoming viable for auto lighting.

Has anybody tried them? Do they fit in a stock FZ6? Any recommendations?

Cycle Gear recently came out with an LED head lamp in the H7 and H4 configuration. It has gotten my interest because it looks like, for the first time there is an equal and better replacement for the halogen that will work in a standard H7/H4 reflector. They say the output of these LED lamps are 2.5 times that of the halogen. It looks like they've actually designed them to work properly so that they would also be legal. I will buy one and install it. If it's not what they say, it will be returned. If it works I'll buy the second unit for my SV1000s

Oh yeah, here's a link... SPEEDMETAL - LED Conversion Kit - Headlights - Electrical - Parts - Cycle Gear

Cliff,

Once you buy and install it, can you please post back how well it works.
The good bad and the ugly..

thanks, Scott :thumbup:

Only thing that I am still not sure of these are the fans that are mounted behind them - how well would they hold up against the elements?

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

Cliff,

Once you buy and install it, can you please post back how well it works.
The good bad and the ugly..

thanks, Scott :thumbup:

Click to expand...

According to the reviews on CG web site there may be no bad or ugly.

pulsar2 said:

Only thing that I am still not sure of these are the fans that are mounted behind them - how well would they hold up against the elements?

Click to expand...

I don't think those are fans. I think they may be special designed heat sinks that allow better cooling by letting air pass through and around to eliminate heat. As long as they're kept clean they should work fine even in weather.

Note: If you want hi/lo beam operation (faired version FZ6) from the H4 lamp you will still need a bd43 mod so the H4 LED lamp does not overheat.

If you already have a bd43 or Motogiro universal headlamp relay for you H4 (I don't make them anymore) you are good to go!

Motogiro said:

I don't think those are fans. I think they may be special designed heat sinks that allow better cooling by letting air pass through and around to eliminate heat. As long as they're kept clean they should work fine even in weather.

Click to expand...

Well, I assumed it has a tiny fan in it because of the mesh at the end and the construction. Also there are lot of similar H7 Cree led kits available on ebay (some cheaper too)and the one on CG is very similar to :

Genssi

For the price on ebay, I will be experimenting with one in the spring too :thumbup:.

Good to see the option out there. The FJ09 / tracer has full LED lighting. Hopefully the reviews will include some night riding.

From the size of the black box and rated output of the device I'd guess they modulate the output at a frequency above what our eyes detect?

If doing this, it allows them to exceed the LED MAX rating as the duty cycle is not 100% (it cools in the off state)... Just a guess as that box is huge for a current regulator!

Boldly go where no man has gone Cliff! :thumbup:

FinalImpact said:

From the size of the black box and rated output of the device I'd guess they modulate the output at a frequency above what our eyes detect?

If doing this, it allows them to exceed the LED MAX rating as the duty cycle is not 100% (it cools in the off state)... Just a guess as that box is huge for a current regulator!

Boldly go where no man has gone Cliff! [emoji106]

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They were on sale for $59. They're not on sale now and I agree it's probably high frequency pulse width modulation with the power supply. I will be waiting till they're on sale again.

Sent from Moto's Motorola

I love LED too the performance is no comparison to Xenon HD. I got the 4300K Xenon 35W and it gives at least 3000 lms and in addition 2 LED spotlights provide 1200 lms...that is 4200lms of my front forward headlights.

Is there any reason you don't want to use Xenon? It gives much brighter lights in 4300K!

2007Z6ALL-LED said:

I love LED too the performance is no comparison to Xenon HD. I got the 4300K Xenon 35W and it gives at least 3000 lms and in addition 2 LED spotlights provide 1200 lms...that is 4200lms of my front forward headlights.

Is there any reason you don't want to use Xenon? It gives much brighter lights in 4300K!

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That's a good question. The greatest consideration with many replacement lamps is with the reflector design. I've seen many vehicles, (some getting tickets) because the replacement lamp is not designed for the reflector. I see these bad replacements on the roads all the time. They are the equivalent of having two 3000 lumen lamps pointed right at you which dilates your pupils and reduces your forward vision. This is why there are laws and engineering considerations for lighting on the roadways.

If the Xenons replacement are designed to work in the H4 incandescent environment and have a cutoff as not to impair the vision of others, I think they would be great.

HID projector conversions are the best I've seen so far. They have a cutoff so the light is efficiently used in the area you need and they do not impair the vision of oncoming drivers/riders. When you hit the hi beam the shutter allows all of the light in the additional areas.

I was looking at the H4 version of the LED replacements and it looks like it has 2 separate areas on the unit that produce light, leading me to believe they've designed the units to work with reflectors that were designed for incandescent H4 halogens.

I like the LED idea of 2.5 times the light at 25 watts, designed to work as the H4 replacement. These are inline plug n play so they're really easy for people to install.

I'm going to look at them now.....

Motogiro said:

According to the reviews on CG web site there may be no bad or ugly.


I don't think those are fans. I think they may be special designed heat sinks that allow better cooling by letting air pass through and around to eliminate heat. As long as they're kept clean they should work fine even in weather.

Click to expand...

Those are fans. From the reviews online, I hear that they are waterproof.

Here a Youtube link I regarding the LED kits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zum69ROJUXE&list=UUtDdDl5N6NXI_I2pXePLYGg

I'm highly interested for next season!:thumbup:

Unless you're planning to ride more at night than during the day, upgrading bulbs to possibly PIAA's or even the Sylvania Silverstars would be the cheapest and easiest mod.

When it comes to riding at night, good bulbs are important including the dual headlight mod so that both lights are on when your low beams are on and most importantly, wearing reflective gear head to toe.

You can buy reflective tape and put them on your helmet or on the forks of your bike, like I have. There are different quality of reflectivity when it comes to reflective tape so you have to compare which one is best for you. You can also buy a reflective Hi-Viz vest if your gear doesn't or lack reflective material. Don't forget, the FZ6 doesn't have the best lighting from the rear, so you may also consider upgrading or adding additional lighting such as Hyperlites.

ErikNYC said:

Those are fans. From the reviews online, I hear that they are waterproof.

Here a Youtube link I regarding the LED kits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zum69ROJUXE&list=UUtDdDl5N6NXI_I2pXePLYGg

I'm highly interested for next season!:thumbup:

Click to expand...

The kit I'm referring to (at Cycle Gear) doesn't say they have fans although they may. They are a little different from those in the video. The Cycle Gear kit has only one set of wires to the LED lamp assembly and not the 2 additional harnesses as in the video.

Motogiro said:

The kit I'm referring to (at Cycle Gear) doesn't say they have fans although they may. They are a little different from those in the video. The Cycle Gear kit has only one set of wires to the LED lamp assembly and not the 2 additional harnesses as in the video.

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Okay, I wasn't aware led kits come without fans.

I'm highly interested.

What about H4? Cause now all the upgrade we can have is for the low beam, right?
And with two LEDs we save about 50 precious Watts. Enough for heated grips to work together with dual headlights while city riding.

Take a look (don't let the sticker shock scare you), these appear to be the same product in the typical Cycle Gear rebranding mode.
Personally I was wondering about the "black box" or LED light driver as they call it. Certainly not a ballast as LEDs are not high voltage rather, high current.

SubZero High-Energy LED Conversion Light Kit - H7 Bulb Type / Xenon White 5000K (Pair)
SubZero High-Energy LED Conversion Light

Also, some of you might want to look through here: http://www.lighting.philips.co.uk/a.../documents/automotive/pal_catalog_2013_en.pdf

^^^ Really EVERYONE READING this thread should LOOK in this PDF! A TON of Good info in it!
-->> DOWNLOAD PDF and SCAN through content! Products and details for Home, CAR, Motorcycle, Bicycle, walking.... It has everything! Even stuff like bulb lamp pictures, sizes, descriptions to ID just about every bulb made in the last 20 years.

ErikNYC said:

Okay, I wasn't aware led kits come without fans.

I'm highly interested.

Click to expand...

I don't know if the Cycle Gear LED units have fans or not. They may but I haven't confirmed it and they don't describe a fan cooling system. They also don't have separate wires to run a fan as in the video that was posted but the wires could possibly be integrated. Looking at the unit I think it does have a tiny fan. As soon as it's on sale again I'll have 2 units in my hands and can confirm it.

According to their 30,000 hrs. of life span, they should last a little over ten years if you rode 8 hrs. a day for 365 days a year.

I think brushes in a fan will wear out much sooner but maybe they're brushless fans?

FinalImpact said:

Take a look (don't let the sticker shock scare you), these appear to be the same product in the typical Cycle Gear rebranding mode.
Personally I was wondering about the "black box" or LED light driver as they call it. Certainly not a ballast as LEDs are not high voltage rather, high current.

SubZero High-Energy LED Conversion Light Kit - H7 Bulb Type / Xenon White 5000K (Pair)
SubZero High-Energy LED Conversion Light

Also, some of you might want to look through here: http://www.lighting.philips.co.uk/a.../documents/automotive/pal_catalog_2013_en.pdf

^^^ Really EVERYONE READING this thread should LOOK in this PDF! A TON of Good info in it!
-->> DOWNLOAD PDF and SCAN through content! Products and details for Home, CAR, Motorcycle, Bicycle, walking.... It has everything! Even stuff like bulb lamp pictures, sizes, descriptions to ID just about every bulb made in the last 20 years.

Click to expand...

Yes the sub Zero looks like the same unit Cycle Gear is selling and it incorporates a fan so I agree there is a fan in those units.

Thank you for the Philips link. Lots of great stuff!

Motogiro said:

Yes the sub Zero looks like the same unit Cycle Gear is selling and it incorporates a fan so I agree there is a fan in those units.

Thank you for the Philips link. Lots of great stuff!

Click to expand...

Rather entertaining is the price gouging across the same product yet different markets. Does that mean bike riders are CHEAP?

We've come near full circle again as the light output from a single sided LED is not like that of a Halogen H4. The clock is still running!