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[EVFX]

One of my biggest pet peeves with having a nice new electric vehicle, is when that vehicle comes with halogen lights.
Unfortunately for the FX, even using LED bulbs in the factory headlight housings isn't enough. In fact it's worse than halogen.
I work 2nd shift so I normally go home at 1-2 am. Plenty of deer and other wild life around here. I needed a better solution.

So I found "Morimoto Sealed3" LED Retrofit housings.

They are offered in a Low Beam, High Beam and Combination Low and High Beam. I ordered a pair of the Combo Low/High Lights.
I personally am not a fan of the asymmetrical high and low beam setup.

I drew up a bracket in CAD and asked a local machine shop to machine it for me out of any scrap material they had laying around, I wanted a cheap prototype.
They delivered with a bracket made from PVC and I couldn't be happier with how it came out for a crude/quick drawing.


The lights fit the bracket as expected, and then I could install it onto the bike and see how well it works


And they fit the bike perfectly! 


In fact, the spacing even worked out that they're just nearly flush with the upper cowl piece


Now for the best part, the light output!
The camera automatically tries to adjust light balance in these photos. LED bulbs in OEM housings isn't nearly as bright as halogen.


All comparison pics were shot on the same stretch of road facing slightly up hill.

The Morimoto lights have a MUCH MUCH wider throw, and they're just supremely bright. Even the step cut-off line worked out pretty well.
I have a couple minor changes to make the bracket a little nicer looking. Then I'll be getting one made from aluminum and likely black anodized.



One final comparison my security camera got.
These are the 3 thumbnail pics from each of my test drives. They snapped at the same location and without white balance changes.
You can see the LED light is way less intense than Halogen. While the Morimoto lights on the bottom pic are so bright it actually zoomed out the thumbnail
The light above the bike is a neighbor's street side light.


Top: LED in Stock Housing (Barely visible on the road)
Mid: Stock Halogen
Bottom: Morimoto Sealed3


Any questions, comments or criticisms? I'd love to hear em! I keep debating and going back and forth with some ideas and thought maybe I should see what you guys think.

[ESokoloff]

Bright white light......
What’s not to love?
How many watts?

I went with this for my 2016 DSR
https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/adaptive-led-headlights-model-8691-adaptive-2/
Managed to cram it into the stock housing thus retaining the wire “bucket”.

[EVFX]

Morimoto state the combo light is 22 watts for low and 33 watts for high. Per light. I haven't measured current draw to see if that's true....yet

[mdjak1]

I wonder if your CAD drawing could be converted to a 3D printable part?    And does this part and light work with 2021 and earlier FX/FXS models that have a different upper cowl piece?

[EVFX]

Another note on wattage, the back of each light I have states: 36.8 watts for low, and 39.8 watts for high. I'll have to measure the current draw and get exact figures.

The lights have some weight to them and they do get warm. I haven't given it a long enough test to see how the plastic bracket holds up.
My ultimate goal is aluminum for the final product.

I would hope it fits the older cowl the same as the stock lights, they should be in the same position just larger. Hopefully I can find someone locally with an older model FX that I can test fit them onto. Or possibly find a cowl if the mounting bracket behind it is the same as my bike.
I would like it to fit the older models too, if people are interested in it for their own bikes.

[itisempty]

wow, this looks the a great upgrade. Are these 2 of the 90mm morimoto? Did you have to do any wiring changes?

[T.S. Zarathustra]

Nice upgrade. I don't get why they put Halogen lights on expensive electric motorcycle to begin with.

The combined Morimoto also looks interesting.

Just a word on LED bulbs in Halogen housing. There are hundreds of different LED bulbs available. Many have the LED incorrectly located so they don't give you the correct spread of light. They are also available in different brightnesses and colors. The correct bulb (in LED placement, brightness and color) should give more improvement than you got.

[EVFX]

wow, this looks the a great upgrade. Are these 2 of the 90mm morimoto? Did you have to do any wiring changes?

Yea 2 of their 90mm lights, they label them as the Sealed3.
I ordered mine with the 3 pin connector, I just wired that connector with spade connectors to fit the bike's stock wiring. So it's plug and play and easily reversible.

It occurred to me I could use only one light and add running lights next to it (at least on the 22+ models with a flat cowl)

Nice upgrade. I don't get why they put Halogen lights on expensive electric motorcycle to begin with.

I agree, in my opinion the stock housings look exactly like fog light housings found on countless cars, only one doesn't have a cut-off line installed.
I also simply dislike H3 light bulbs.

Just a word on LED bulbs in Halogen housing. There are hundreds of different LEDs available. Many have the LED incorrectly located so they don't give you the correct spread of light. There are also different available in brightnesses and colors. The correct bulb (in LED placement brightness and color) should give more improvement than you got.

You hit the nail on the head there, I went through the whole game with my car until I finally found a brand I liked.

In the case of the FX, it doesn't appear to have much room behind the lights. Any quality built LED light usually has a heat sink with a fan on the back. The fans running would sound neat sitting at a red light at 3am though, but I don't think they'd have the wide throw the Morimoto lights have. I did try two different LED bulbs but I think they suffered from low brightness, because I got puny ones that couldn't handle the heat (I assume)

The Morimoto lights take up very little space behind them. I'm thinking of putting a louder horn up there.

The first day I was able to ride to work was already such an improvement. I typically ride home at 2-3am and the wide throw of the lights already proved useful. I spotted a racoon on the side of the road (thanks to it's reflective eyes) and sure enough it decided to run into the road and cross my path, at least I was ready for it.

[T.S. Zarathustra]

You hit the nail on the head there, I went through the whole game with my car until I finally found a brand I liked.

In the case of the FX, it doesn't appear to have much room behind the lights. Any quality built LED light usually has a heat sink with a fan on the back. The fans running would sound neat sitting at a red light at 3am though, but I don't think they'd have the wide throw the Morimoto lights have. I did try two different LED bulbs but I think they suffered from low brightness, because I got puny ones that couldn't handle the heat (I assume)

When I was last looking at the selection of automobile LEDs at Amazon, there were bulbs available with the electronics separate from the bulb. It would make for neat installation behind small fairings. Randomly purchasing bulbs that don't work as intended can get expensive quickly.
I put Novsight HB3 in my car. Perfect spread of light, very bright, still working after 18 months.

[EVFX]

When I was last looking at the selection of automobile LEDs at Amazon, there were bulbs available with the electronics separate from the bulb. It would make for neat installation behind small fairings. Randomly purchasing bulbs that don't work as intended can get expensive quickly.
I put Novsight HB3 in my car. Perfect spread of light, very bright, still working after 18 months.

I'll have to take another look at those types of LEDs with the separate electronics. I put LED bulbs in the tail light and all around my vintage Honda without issue.
In my car I finally dropped the money on a set from V-LEDs, so far 6 years of trouble free service and perfect light output. Couldn't be happier.

I did put a set of Amazon bulbs in my older s10, "Fahren" brand I think. The s10 lights don't rely on the mirror to create the pattern, but rather the lens is shaped to form the beam pattern, I feel those style lights are a little more forgiving to LED bulb swaps.

[iH8teu2]

Would you be willing to release the file for that bracket? id like to 3D print it out of ASA and test this conversion out on my 2017 FXS.

[EVFX]

I FINALLY got a bracket made from aluminum and powder coated.
I'm very pleased with the results so of course I have to share some updated photos.

[Ipeleptic]

The bracket and headlight set up look great!
Any chance you want to share the CAD file with the rest of so we can get our own made. 
I hate the smell of those filament bulbs burning as you sit idle.

[Specter]

Well, since this topic got resurrected,  how are they holding out for you?
Id worry about heat dissipation, those high power led's can get mighty hot and can cause issues after some use.

Ditto on the weird light throw.  My energica, the high beam looks like it's throwing a huge Bat Symbol on the road in front of me, IM waiting for batman to show up any second and say Hey!!  Give me that!!!

Aaron

[EVFX]

Holding up great! No issues at all with the lights.
Only problem I do have is trying to tune the front suspension, it's a little bouncy at certain points and the cut off line of the lights reflecting on street signs down the road almost acts like a strobe light. The cut off line is a little too crisp.

As for heat, There's enough airflow while riding that it isn't a concern. After a ride I can rest my hand on the housing of the lights themselves and it just feels warm. They're made from cast aluminum bolted to an aluminum bracket which is itself bolted to the aluminum on the bike. Much better than the halogen bulbs in the plastic housings. There's also more room behind the lights so the heat doesn't really concentrate anywhere.

It would be cool to get those adaptive lights I've been seeing that light up an extra portion through a turn.