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TECHNICAL MOTOBRICK WRENCHING In Remembrance of Inge K. => The Motobrick Workshop => Topic started by: The Mighty Gryphon on December 20, 2014, 07:15:32 PM
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One of the things I wanted to do to my bikes this winter was to retrofit LED's in place of the wimpy bulb that is there. I wanted to get that hip eyebrow look without doing anything that could not be reversed if it didn't work out.
Because of the diffraction of the lens I wanted the LED's as close to it as possible. I decided to try putting them on some foam put on top of the original reflector. That worked pretty well, but I didn't like the way the strip showed through the lens, so I put a mask over them. Whole job took about an hour and a half once the headlight was out of the fairing.
Total materials was a couple waterproof strips of the brightest white LED's I could find on eBay(50cm 30LED waterproof smd5050 strips), some 1/2" and 1/4" gray foam, wire and connectors, shrink tube, black paint, and 3M Super 77 spray contact adhesive.
I cut two strips of 1/2" foam wide enough to be a friction fit in the reflector. I glued them together to make a piece 1" thick. I stuck them into the reflector after cutting a pocket in the back to take the old bulb.
Next I cut a piece of 1/4" foam a bit wider than the pieces I stuck into the reflector. I laid out the spacing for a number of 3/8" holes to let the LED's shine through. I painted it black with some spray paint and them put Super 77 on the back to stick the mask to the LED's.
While the paint was drying I peeled the backing off the LED's and stuck them to the foam. I drilled a hole in the housing to let the wire out, and soldered the the leads and put the connectors on. A cable tie for a strain relief and some shrink tubing finished the wiring.
With the wiring complete, I put the mask over the LED's and put the lens back on and powered things up. The lights had shifted slightly so I took the lens back off, adjusted them and put it back on. They are BRIGHT! The pictures don't come near showing how good they look.
Assuming you have some scraps of foam and wire available you should be able to do them pretty cheap. I did two bikes for under $10 total.
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I did it without the foam in version 1, but the LED's were back from the lens and the light was diffused by the lens. I used the foam to push them right up to the glass to get nice point source focus. The point source focus makes the LED's output appear more intense and IMO more visible.
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What type of Fog lights are those!
Did you install them?
I was looking at installing some on my K75!
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Here are some nice ones I put on my bikes. They mount easily under the chin of the RT and RS fairings. 10w LED, so less than 2A. draw for both of them. Like looking at a welder, and the two of them throw almost as much light as my hi beam.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-10W-Cree-LED-Work-Light-Spot-Lamp-Driving-Fog-Light-Car-Motorcycle-Boat-ATV-/131328193130?hash=item1e93c5326a&vxp=mtr
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Thanks... I was looking at getting some for mine but now sure!
I do ride to and from work and I get home at night so lights to aluminate the road more might be nice.
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If you have blank switch spot in your dash pad get a heated grip switch. It has two on positions with a center off.
I wired mine so the top position was connected to the high beam power which I believe is a White wire.
The lower position was wired to the supply to the Headlight dimmer switch on the left grip. I think this is a white/yellow wire. You want to make the connections to these wires with Posi-Taps. I got mine on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Posi-tap-10pc-Black-12-18-Gauge-Positap-Electrical-Connector-POPULAR-SIZE-/141547438340?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f4e28104
Hook up wire in colors:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-ft-200-Ft-18-Gauge-BLUE-RED-Yellow-Black-Green-Orange-Purp-Primary-Wire-CABLE-/230691220228?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b644ab04
I use the "lo" position during the day. It has the lights on all the time for conspicuity. At night I switch to the "hi" position so they are only on with the headlight's high beam. This is so they do not blind oncoming drivers.
You might also want to get a headlight relay harness from Eastern Beaver. This will brighten your headlight and save wear and tear on the switches by bypassing the dimmer switch. You can get it here:
http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Wiring_Kits/H4_Kits/h4_kits.html#h4single
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I did mine without the foam, but looks similar to yours, I ran the wires through the original hole and then sealed it with a rubber grommet.
Bob and Mighty Gryphon... Just curious, where did you folks get your headlight protectors or did you make them? I want to get one for my K75RT and had one on my K100 but can't seem to source one locally...
Eric...
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Aeroflow headlight cover. Google it
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The Airflow shield has a slight curve at the top. If you can live without it, you can save about $50 by cutting a chunk of lexan sheet and attaching it with 3m Dual Lock.
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OK folks, just had a near miss (flying rock) with my new Parabellum windshield (it's great!) but have just sent an email off to Aeroflow for the headlight shield. I would not want to try to get a new headlight here... :mbird
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Here are some nice ones I put on my bikes. They mount easily under the chin of the RT and RS fairings. 10w LED, so less than 2A. draw for both of them. Like looking at a welder, and the two of them throw almost as much light as my hi beam.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-10W-Cree-LED-Work-Light-Spot-Lamp-Driving-Fog-Light-Car-Motorcycle-Boat-ATV-/131328193130?hash=item1e93c5326a&vxp=mtr
I've been thinking of getting these and the EB headlight kit with the driving light lead - anyone have the parts list for the McMaster-Carr parts needed for the fork mount?