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[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

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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.
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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.

I can see how that would work. Did you rotate the LED slightly to accommodate that? It makes me wonder whether your light pattern was affected, if so. The LEDs seemed designed for that replacement and might perform worse if even slightly off.

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.

Maybe you're right. I'll check the boot now that it's been running for a while. I've checked for heat from the assembly and it's always felt cool now (one of my goals), but I haven't checked the heatsink.

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.

Agreed about all of this. It was a hassle I didn't know how to characterize.


I'll add one thing: the plug was really frustratingly hard to push together. I mean hideously difficult, like the blades were actually thicker than the originals, and it didn't help that the plastic around it wasn't solid enough to push on. My plug right now still sits with 1mm gap just because I can't seem to push it in any further.

[pacificcricket]

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 had the opposite issue with those Opt7 bulbs from Amazon. They seem to project much higher than conventional bulbs in
two of my bikes (Zero & Yamaha) and my Toyota SUV. Had to adjust the reflectors to point lower.

[mrwilsn]

What is the part number for the running light too.

You can use any W3W or W5W bulb.  The difference is just 5 watt or 3 watt.  Of course, if you are converting to LED it will actually only be like 1 watt.

I used this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AIJY2ZM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02

The color is great and it looks a little better than some of the others I have seen where you can see the little cube with an LED on each side.

[mrwilsn]

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.

+1....definitely remove the whole assembly.

[pacificcricket]

You can use any W3W or W5W bulb.  The difference is just 5 watt or 3 watt.  Of course, if you are converting to LED it will actually only be like 1 watt.

I used this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AIJY2ZM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02

The color is great and it looks a little better than some of the others I have seen where you can see the little cube with an LED on each side.

I bought these for the running light replacement :
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CXGC8RC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Works pretty good in that capacity. Also used two of them to replace number plate bulbs. Not as good there - since there is no efficient reflector, front and some of the side diodes are
not projecting onto the number plate.

[mrwilsn]

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

When I click the link it takes me to a 60watt version that comes with two bulbs (for cars).  They sell a single bulb H4 version that works with our bikes in two different sizes and I'm assuming you got one of those.  Did you get the 40watt or the 80watt?  The SPEEDMETAL LED conversion kit I got from cycle gear burnt out and I'm looking for something with better quality.

[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

When I click the link it takes me to a 60watt version that comes with two bulbs (for cars).  They sell a single bulb H4 version that works with our bikes in two different sizes and I'm assuming you got one of those.  Did you get the 40watt or the 80watt?  The SPEEDMETAL LED conversion kit I got from cycle gear burnt out and I'm looking for something with better quality.

That listing has multiple bulb models. When you click the link, the default product showing is H11, which they list as 60 Watts. So just pick H4, which is the correct bulb type. Even there they list H4 as 80 Watts, but it's actually 40 Watts and they also have that in details (40 watts per bulb). Now that listing is indeed for two bulbs, which is what I bought - for two bikes. That way it's a few dollars cheaper per bulb But you can also buy singles from them here :

http://www.amazon.com/OPT7-Motorcycle-Headlight-Arc-Beam%2599-Clear/dp/B00WVJR0D8/ref=lp_9381516011_1_12?srs=9381516011&ie=UTF8&qid=1448295492&sr=8-12

[Kocho]

The 40W per bulb is probably the rating with both high and low beams on at the same time. Low beam alone is probably half that...

[Killroy]

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

I when out on the limb and installed this tonight and I'm disappointed in the results. 

As warned in this thread, the beam pattern is horrible.  Lots of glare. 

The headlight with the stock bulb has a very crisp rectangular beam pattern.  The top of the rectangular is a sharp cut off that does not send light up into the eyes of drivers.  Any light going above the line is glare to other drivers.

The headlight with the OPT7 has a blotchy  patter that is actually quite narrow top to bottom and it has a lot of glare, I could aim it down to eliminate the glare, but I would be left with dark spots.  I took a picture with my phone, but it tid not come out well.

The other bad part is install.  I dont know how they call the OPT 7 a H4 bulb, because many things are different from the stock bulb.  Getting the plastic ring that fastens the bulb to the reflector requires cutting the plastic ring and taking apart the metal ring on the bulb.  The plastic ring does not fit poperly and the metal ring is missing some small tabs that orient the bulb.  I'm going to ride it tomorrow and see what it is like.

[Killroy]

The first picture is the Opt7 low beam shined at a wall in my garage 6 feet away.
My 2015 SR is supported more or less straight up and down, so it's not leaning.

The top line of orange tape is as the same height as the headlight from the ground.  When aiming headlights, the light hot spots should not extend higher than this line or you shine other rode users in the eyes, which is called glare.  As you can see, a significant amount of light is going higher than it should be.  When you are riding at night what you see is trees, overpasses and the 2nd story of a building light up.  People on the sidewalk are shielding there eyes probably wondering why you have your high beam on.  Yes, you could aim the headlight down, but you would get those two dark spots just right and left of center that and still a lot of light would be going above the cut off line. 

It is very bright and white with a extra hot spot in the middle.  The bottom of the main hot spot is marked too.



This second photo is taken at the same camera setting with the stock bulb with the low beam ( 1/16 F2.0 ISO 100 55 mm)

Its more yellow and dimmer, but its beam pattern is what it should be.  Vary little light going above the cut off.  I left the orange tape form the Opt7 to compare.  The pattern is wider and puts more light right in front of the light for low speed stuff.  It has a hot spot in the center. 

[protomech]

Thanks for posting the photos, Killroy.

[xmjsilverx]

Just fyi, my beam pattern looks nothing like that but I also did not use the bulb you used.  I listed the bulb I used on the first or second page.  I have a definite cut-off on the top of the pattern and the is how I knew how to adjust the height of the beam.

[mrwilsn]

The first picture is the Opt7 low beam shined at a wall in my garage 6 feet away.
My 2015 SR is supported more or less straight up and down, so it's not leaning.

The top line of orange tape is as the same height as the headlight from the ground.  When aiming headlights, the light hot spots should not extend higher than this line or you shine other rode users in the eyes, which is called glare.  As you can see, a significant amount of light is going higher than it should be.  When you are riding at night what you see is trees, overpasses and the 2nd story of a building light up.  People on the sidewalk are shielding there eyes probably wondering why you have your high beam on.  Yes, you could aim the headlight down, but you would get those two dark spots just right and left of center that and still a lot of light would be going above the cut off line. 

It is very bright and white with a extra hot spot in the middle.  The bottom of the main hot spot is marked too.

I tried to repeat the test you described and I get different results.  I have the Opt7 and I did not adjust the angle of my headlight when I installed it...its at the same angle as it was with the stock headlight.

Do you have the LEDs facing left and right or up and down?  I had an LED from Cycle Gear made by SpeedMetal that needed the LEDs to face up and down.  For low beam only the LED on the bottom turned on and the LED on the top is added on with the high beam.  With the Opt7 the LEDs need to be facing left and right.  The forward LEDs on both sides will turn on with the low beam and the aft LEDs are added on with the high beam.  See first picture.  I had a really hard time getting it aligned properly when I installed it but eventually I got it perfectly aligned with the LEDs pointing left and right and the center line perpendicular to the ground.



I marked my garage door 3ft from the floor, which is what I measured the approximate height of the headlight to be (did you get the same measurement?).  I put the front of my front tire at exactly 6 feet from the garage door.  See results in second picture.



Now I repeated the test from a full 12 feet away.  See results in picture three.

[xmjsilverx]

Your results look the same to me as killroys.  The LED I used I had the leds aimed up.  I did not get the wavy top line of the light pattern like you both did.

[mrwilsn]

Your results look the same to me as killroys.  The LED I used I had the leds aimed up.  I did not get the wavy top line of the light pattern like you both did.

Really?  The shape of the pattern is somewhat similar...looks like a batman symbol to me.  When I look at Killroy's pics I see the head and wings of the bat above the orange/yellow tape clear across the picture.  In my pics the head of the bat is well below the black line in the middle with the bat wings on the side just barely going over and the bottom of the pattern is almost touching the bottom of the garage door.  In Killroys pictures it looks like the bottom of the beam pattern is well above the bottom of the door (maybe its just because the pics are kinda blurry?  I can't see an actual bottom of the door).

I am interested to see what your beam pattern looks like...can you post pics?  I saw pics of the installed headlight and someone else posted pics of the beam hitting the road but not shinning on a wall or door.