LED spotlights ??

[StephenB]

Also, when you look at the construction, does it appear to be waterproof as advertised? Grommets, O-ring seals?

[StephenB]

Hey Bigfella,

Since you agreed to be our guinea pig, can I dare ask another question?

The L-bracket looks a bit flimsy, appears to be stamped zinc plated sheetmetal, sandwiched between the two body halves that are what, threaded together? The critical bending would happen just above the L before the bracket is sandwiched between the two housing halves? Can you comment on that?

I like them but those sheetmetal L-brackets ... I don't know.

Stephen

[The Bigfella]

Sorry guys... I've been busy... and my test mule is off the road. The F650 decided to mix its oil and petrol together, so I've got the carbies off... and I've got a couple of work deadlines that are keeping me away from fixing it.

There's a guy over on ADV who did a good tear-down analysis on these lights.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost ... tcount=311

The bracket is stainless steel (I checked and its non-magnetic). See the link for lots of detail. Yep - O-ringed. The guy on ADV suggests an improvement - gluing the PCB board in with the correct adhesive.

I haven't done a full light penetration test yet - but down the back lane it looked like a cone of light to me - about 10 metres wide at about 30 metres out. The old reasonably dark grey concrete incinerator up the lane was illuminated enough for me to notice it easily - and I checked, its 150 metres up the lane.... and there was no other light source.

For my $200 (I bought 4) - I'm happy. Two will go on the F650 and two on the KTM 950SE. I haven't got the dimmer I've ordered from the US yet - they seem to have the odd issue going on with posting parcels - but I'll try that on the F650 to see if I can dim them for daytime use.

[Airbear]

I ordered a couple yesterday (OZ$95 including postage). Was very pleased to read the ADV report today. Thanks for posting that, Ian. It's kind of nice to have some backup justification for an expensive investment.

[She'llbe]

Charlie,
Next you'll want a heated bib and a new 450 watt alternator!!!!!!!!

[The Bigfella]

Don't worry about your alternator with these things. 54w for two. I used to run a 100w Cibie Super Oscar on the R90S - and it spent as more time switched on than not (late night Bells Line of Road runs to Cadia and back every week)... and had no worries.

[The Bigfella]

Well, I got around to mounting two on the KTM yesterday - using the supplied mounting brackets. All I had to do was drill the hole out to 8mm and then put them on the inboard mounting bolt for the barkbusters. They aren't wired in yet - and it was late at night, so I didn't start the bike (its somewhat loud)... but we hooked them up to a battery and pointed her down towards the bush at the back of our place. The difference from the stock light is amazing. Bright white light vs yellow.

I'm still planning on running these with the dimmer for normal everyday use and full power on high beam. They are too bright to run without the dimmer. I sort of wish I'd bought two of the 10w versions as well....

[Sibbo]

These are 50w Ian ?

[The Bigfella]

They are 27w each Peter. I found a relay in the basement... but I'm damned if I can find a working multimeter. I think my good new one is down on the boat. I've held off fitting my other +80 main bulb so that I can do a series of photos.

[Airbear]

I’ve just been doing some night testing of my new LED spotlights. I fitted them along with a new headlight – a chinese copy of a Ural ($100 on ebay) and an Acewell electronic speedo/tach ($250 from S3 Performance in Sydney). I wasn’t happy with the spread of light with the chinese lamp and reflector so fitted a 50/75W sealed beam unit which fits perfectly ($15 a couple of years ago from Super Cheap Auto). I hooked up the spotlights to the high-beam circuit but added an extra switch, mainly to help with adjusting. The results are very pleasing.

Here is low beam (50W) …


… and high beam (75W) alone …


… and high beam plus spotlights.


The pics don't do them justice. They really fill out the sides of the road with lots of lovely white light. I went for a decent ride tonight feeling a lot more confident about getting home safely. We hit a black cow on a midnight ride in 2003 with significant damage to all concerned, (especially the cow, which later died) so this is a big thing for me.

I'm a bit disappointed with the mounting/adjusting arrangement. The bracket and bolt supplied are a bit small and fiddly to adjust, and will certainly loosen in use, so I plan to fabricate something more substantial, using fatter bolts with wing-nuts to make them easier to adjust on the road.

Overall I am delighted with them. They cost $95 for the pair, delivered. They are solid and well made and greatly increase the available light for a mere additional 54W drain on the electrical system. I am also very pleased with the Acewell instrument and the Slash Five look of the headlight, which I'll report on later.



O, and while I was fiddling with wires I also added the extra earth cables recommended by GSPD and others – gearbox to frame and frame to diode board – definitely an improvement for the whole electrical system.