LED headlamps for NT

mikesim

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I spoke with a Sylvania engineer yesterday and he advised that they will have an LED replacement for the H7 in another month or two. There are already H7 LEDs out there but they do not match the beam dispersement pattern of the Halogen bulb, thus many people are disappointed with them. He said that Osram spent a great deal of time engineering in the proper beam displacement into their replacement line. I saw a prototype yesterday vs a stock Halogen and there was a marked difference. Much brighter and much whiter. A good complement to the Denalis methinks.
 

RedLdr1

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It would be nice to have a real LED option that actually works instead of the cheap ricer crap off ebay....:rolleyes1: If Osram does get the beam pattern right I'll be replacing my SilverStar Ultras with LEDs.
 
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mikesim

mikesim

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As soon as they become available I will get a set and report back
 

junglejim

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As soon as they become available I will get a set and report back

There's a gonna be a lot a people watchin' this one Mike. We old people with dim eyes need bright lights. (well you know what I mean)
 
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mikesim

mikesim

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There's a gonna be a lot a people watchin' this one Mike. We old people with dim eyes need bright lights. (well you know what I mean)
Yeah, you olde fartz need all the help you can get.

:rofl1:

Mike
 
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With all the work that has been done on LED's I'm a little surprised there aren't more direct replacements for the originals.
I guess it is not a huge market and there are obstacles to overcome like the light pattern and the heat dissipation needed.
I really like the extra light using the Denali's so I may be interested in these.
I am younger than many here but suffer from old eye (ear, joints, etc) syndrome.

Brad
 

RedLdr1

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I'm curious to see if the Osram design will need a fan to cool it. Since it has to fit in automotive fixtures I don't think it will.
 
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mikesim

mikesim

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The illustration that I saw from Sylvania indicates no fan, just a heat sink with a caveat that the bulb has a slightly larger footprint. With regard as to why there aren't more LED replacements for Halogen bulbs? Sylvania said that FMVSS prohibit the use or installation of any LED bulb that is designated exclusively for headlamp usage. Since the H7 in the NT is also used as a fog lamp bulb in many automotive applications it can skirt around the FMVSS prohibition. Sylvania said that they have approached the Fed's about relaxing that rule as it limits available technology to the owners detriment.

Mike
 
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Well, I was also looking at this option too as I have been using the H-4 LEDs for many years now. The biggest issue that I came across was the stock dust covers (diagram in red) and the required clearance for the LED Bulbs that would extend past the dust caps normal seated position. Another concern is getting a good seal to keep out debris from the headlight assembly. Unwanted water in the assembly will cuase a bunch of havoc.

NT700V_HeadlightDustCaps.jpg

All the other bikes where I used the H-4 LED Unit is passed through the stock dust caps just like the prongs of a standard H-4 bulb would.

So I decided to use Halogen bulbs with nonstandard temperature ratings. I got a variety of units in 5000K, 5500K and 6000K.



I will be interested to see what these unit look like and if they can be used on this particular bike and configuration. :cool1:
 
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I agree - the dust cap issue appears to be a problem on the NT....there just isn't room to get an LED that will fit behind the dust cover.

What did Daboo do that allowed him to use an LED in the NT?
 
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mikesim

mikesim

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I ordered in a pair of the new Sylvania H7 LED's and got a peek at 'em today. Sadly, I don't think they will work for the NT. The heat sink adds about another 1-1/2" to the back of the bulb so the dust cap won't fit. Also, the heat sink will not allow the wire bail that holds the conventional bulb in to go around the LED to secure it into position. There is also a six inch wire lead that comes out of the bulb housing and leads to a ballast which must be secured somewhere and spade connectors then hook to the current headlamp plug. The are sold in sets and a set of two is $149.95... ouch!

Oh well, it was a good thought.

Mike
 
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I ordered in a pair of the new Sylvania H7 LED's and got a peek at 'em today. Sadly, I don't think they will work for the NT. The heat sink adds about another 1-1/2" to the back of the bulb so the dust cap won't fit. Also, the heat sink will not allow the wire bail that holds the conventional bulb in to go around the LED to secure it into position. There is also a six inch wire lead that comes out of the bulb housing and leads to a ballast which must be secured somewhere and spade connectors then hook to the current headlamp plug. The are sold in sets and a set of two is $149.95... ouch!

Oh well, it was a good thought.

Mike
Well Mike, I hate to be the one to say that "I Told You So". However, it seems to go without saying now. :doh1:

I found this out shortly after getting my bike. If this bike had a traditional H4 bulb, then there would be numerous options to choose from. But, alias Honda had to use the H7 bulb on this bike, which is really a fog lamp bulb.

TypicalLEDBulb.JPG
 
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I will need to eventually have to replace my headlight assembly as it has cracked in the plastic at top and water occasionally works its way inside. Once I pull out the old headlight unit, I may start to look for a solution to the LED bulb dilemma. We are not completely out of solutions, its just a temporary set back.

A new headlight assembly is about $120 and that wiring harness for it is about $28 from my online supply dealer.
 
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Looks like you'd make some headway with one of those. But how would you adapt the wire bail that holds the headlight in place?

;
Again this is something that I will be looking into in the future when I change out my headlight assembly. Once I have a solution that will work, I will share it with the group.

 
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