Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CeroC]

Still satisfied with LED conversion?

[xmjsilverx]

Yes, I rarely ever ride at night but I did a few nights ago and I was thinking how great this LED was.  I would recommend it but I do believe it needs to be aimed up once the LED is in.  That's what I did with mine and I think it is way better than the halogen.

[CeroC]

Thanks, did the install. As I leave for work before dawn every morning, will get plenty of experience. Preemptively raised level while I had it apart.

[mikesubzero]

Are the lights the same for the fx 2013 as the ds ? bulb wise

also has anyone converted there 2013 fx to use leds or HIDS?  if so id really like that information just acquired my fx and while the halogen are ok they def seems wasteful power wise as there always on and i dont want to have to put an override on to lessen the power use for offroad and whatnot if i can just switch to something more efficient power wise

[xmjsilverx]

I would suggest downloading the manual for your bike from zero, it will tell you what bulbs it runs.  If it's an H4 then you can use any of the links to the bulbs we have provided.  The only thing to worry about is your enclosure.  I believe the fx uses a projector lens and this led has a large heatsink on the back plus a small chip inline with the connector.  If you can get a good picture of the back of your headlamp assy while installed I may be able to tell you if it's enough room.

[mikesubzero]

Yeah its definitely an H4 ill take a look at your previous links then ideally want plug and play without modding it.

loving the fx its pretty gnarly all around bike just limited range but i have been riding super agressive

[xmjsilverx]

It is plug in play as long as you have enough room for the heatsink and connector.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I did have to modify the locking ring a little bit.  I would recommend it for $30.

I just installed this one and it does work great. I will add the detail about the locking ring that is on another thread:

The locking ring has two tabs that face the lamp and this LED model fixture has screw mountings that collide with the tabs. You have to file off maybe 3mm of the tabs where they collide to get the assembly to lock in correctly.

Also, the rubber boot that covers the lamp has to be extended to cover the heat sink or forced inward. I went with extending it.

Finally, think about how you want to route the extra wiring. Behind my headlight is now a jumble of wires. A zip tie or two helps.

[manitou]

An old Honda of mine had a very limited charging capability.  I swapped out the head light and it made a big difference in keeping the battery charged (at low engine speed, it didn't generate enough juice otherwise). 
No thought to increased range on a zero?  Anyone with a parts list to change them all to LED? (The head light would be the only one with a chance to affect range.. The others would be just for cool factor)

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

No thought to increased range on a zero?

The range argument crops up with 12V accessories, but a little math shows the scale:

At an average 100Wh consumed per mile, the motor consumes far more electricity than the entire 12V circuit possibly could. 12V times the 15A fuse limit yields 300W (that's much more than the builtin headlamp at 60W).

If you ride the bike for 100 miles, for maybe 2 hours assuming 50mph which is pretty efficient, you'll use 10kWh out of your battery on the motor, and maybe 600Wh = (300W * 2h, or 0.6kWh) or 6% wasted through the 12V circuit.

But that's a theoretic maximum for the circuit. On average, you're consuming (with a stock 12V load) 20% of that which is maybe 100Wh per 100 mile trip or 1% range difference (one mile).

LED replacement will reduce that by half (assuming high beams are not on the whole time). The only way to get close to the maximum is to add and turn to a maximum all of Zero's heated accessories, like grips, seat, etc, and add more lighting or a speaker system.

So, why get LEDs? It does seem to heat up the inside of the headlamp enclosure less, which seems to make a difference to me on foggy nights. This particular product in the Zero makes an arguably better light pattern. And it probably will never fail.

[pacificcricket]

I've installed one of these :




http://www.amazon.com/OPT7-Headlight-Bulbs-Clear-Arc-Beam/dp/B00VNBDWPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1446883182&sr=1-1&keywords=opt7

Main goal was to get more brightness out of the headlight for safer riding at night and / or rain. It does seem much brighter, though the pattern on the road is a bit weird, kind of like the reflector itself

[xmjsilverx]

That one looks like it has a fan, is the noise noticeable?

[mrwilsn]

That one looks like it has a fan, is the noise noticeable?

I can't speak to that specific model but I have an LED headlight and the noise from the fan is only noticeable if the bike is stopped, there isn't much ambient noise, I don't have a helmet on and I listen closely.  However, since the bike is electric and has no vibration at all when stopped I can sometimes feel the whir of the fan in the handle bars.  Its not even close to the buzz that ICE bikes can get in the handle bars.

[pacificcricket]

That one looks like it has a fan, is the noise noticeable?

Yes, this one has a fan. I can't really hear it on the street even at a stop (helmet, plus noise from other vehicles). Otherwise it's barely noticeable.

[hein]

-
The locking ring has two tabs that face the lamp and this LED model fixture has screw mountings that collide with the tabs. You have to file off maybe 3mm of the tabs where they collide to get the assembly to lock in correctly.
-
Also, the rubber boot that covers the lamp has to be extended to cover the heat sink or forced inward. I went with extending it.

I also ordered the Astra Depot High Power 30W Xenon White H4 9003 HB2 XM-L2 CREE LED Hi/Lo to replace the H4. The low beam seemed a bit too low without adjusting, but I like the combination with the high beam, so I think I'll leave it. I like it.

Brian
1) I decided to only saw off and file down one of the tabs on the nylon lock ring. That did enough to avoid the annoying screws on the removable H4 base plate.

2) I don't think you want that boot to cover the heat-sink. With a bit of hustling I got the boot to slide over the larger diameter heat-tube, and fit between base-plate and heat-sink.

Others,
It was too much fumbling to get it sorted out with the headlight in place.
Decided to remove it for more work space, and put back once assembled. Highly recommended.
You need a 3mm and 4mm hex bit to remove the headlight assembly.  Why were they not all 4mm? Oh well.

I replaced the running light with LED also. It needed an intense tug to get the rubber out of the hole.
I got a bag full (50?)  general purpose LED's for $10 for that.

Tail/number plate needed more dis-assembly than I expected. Just 4 deep Philips screws. no big deal.

Headlight beam Adjustment screws seems awkward to get at.

Nothing is made for easy maintenance is it now?
Hein