Could you post pictures of your mounting method.
I'm debating driving vs/fog. I do like how these are wired to dim 50% on low beam. Any info on the mounting and wiring would be much appreciated.
Any suggestions on improving the low-beam headlight on HS
- Thread starter jimtucker
- Start date
Could you post pictures of your mounting method.
I'm debating driving vs/fog. I do like how these are wired to dim 50% on low beam. Any info on the mounting and wiring would be much appreciated.
Joined May 2015
925 Posts | 9+
Dallas, Texas
https://www.clearwaterlights.com/infopg_darla.html
Typically, the Clearwater Darla LED lights are easily mounted to the front fork/fender with simple angled steel mounts.
This is unsprung weight, moving up and down with the wheel.
I prefer adding all weight to the sprung portion of the motorcycle.
As such I made a simple steel bracket and mounted it to the fork end of the front fender.
Clearwater LEDs come with a relay and wiring package that can be tied to the horn and/or high beam. This allows flashing the high beam, or sounding the horn, to cause the LED lights to go to 100% brightness.
If one wanted the best value very bright LED the Darla is a great way to go.
On a bigger budget, the larger Krista or Erica put out so much light that it can vaporize vehicles in front of you.
My Darla LEDs off-axis on the left. The GS has one Erica upper left and one Krista upper right because of the light pattern. Below are Darla LEDs.
My Darla LEDs on-axis along with the replacement LED headlight bulb. The power savings with the headlight powers the Darla LEDs.
Typically, the Clearwater Darla LED lights are easily mounted to the front fork/fender with simple angled steel mounts.
This is unsprung weight, moving up and down with the wheel.
I prefer adding all weight to the sprung portion of the motorcycle.
As such I made a simple steel bracket and mounted it to the fork end of the front fender.
Clearwater LEDs come with a relay and wiring package that can be tied to the horn and/or high beam. This allows flashing the high beam, or sounding the horn, to cause the LED lights to go to 100% brightness.
If one wanted the best value very bright LED the Darla is a great way to go.
On a bigger budget, the larger Krista or Erica put out so much light that it can vaporize vehicles in front of you.
My Darla LEDs off-axis on the left. The GS has one Erica upper left and one Krista upper right because of the light pattern. Below are Darla LEDs.
My Darla LEDs on-axis along with the replacement LED headlight bulb. The power savings with the headlight powers the Darla LEDs.
Joined May 2015
925 Posts | 9+
Dallas, Texas
Joined May 2015
925 Posts | 9+
Dallas, Texas
This is the bulb I installed. Very tight fit.
20w on low beam.
20w on low beam.
I've just fitted one of these. £30 on eBay. You can fit the whole thing inside the light unit and get the cover closed but remember to spread the cooling tapes as best you can. The light output is huge in comparison and it's lower power so no fuse chances. 40W 6000LM H4 HB2 9003 CREE LED.
https://www.clearwaterlights.com/infopg_darla.html
Typically, the Clearwater Darla LED lights are easily mounted to the front fork/fender with simple angled steel mounts.
This is unsprung weight, moving up and down with the wheel.
I prefer adding all weight to the sprung portion of the motorcycle.
As such I made a simple steel bracket and mounted it to the fork end of the front fender.
Clearwater LEDs come with a relay and wiring package that can be tied to the horn and/or high beam. This allows flashing the high beam, or sounding the horn, to cause the LED lights to go to 100% brightness.
If one wanted the best value very bright LED the Darla is a great way to go.
On a bigger budget, the larger Krista or Erica put out so much light that it can vaporize vehicles in front of you.
My Darla LEDs off-axis on the left. The GS has one Erica upper left and one Krista upper right because of the light pattern. Below are Darla LEDs.
My Darla LEDs on-axis along with the replacement LED headlight bulb. The power savings with the headlight powers the Darla LEDs.
Thanks for taking the time to give a detailed description. When I get aux lights, this is the mounting method I'll use.
Neutrino Black Box
This probably deserves a thread of its own, but it does relate to lighting. One thing that holds me back is having to wire relays etc - and dimmers etc.. It all adds up in terms of complexity and money.
This bad boy seems pretty remarkable - the outputs can be programmed for different amperages - and are resettable. Each output is cam be remotely controlled and can act in various ways: it can be triggered by ambient light levels, by temperature (electric clothing for example), and the output can be modulated or switched on and off. They have pwm built in so you can - via your smart phone - dim your lights to whatever level you like. No additional dimmers/switches.
There's a ton of other stuff it can do - monitor voltage etc.. Has usb charging output.
It looks pretty remarkable - the only catch is that if your smart phone goes down you're stuck with your last settings until it's up again. Modern life.
Details
This probably deserves a thread of its own, but it does relate to lighting. One thing that holds me back is having to wire relays etc - and dimmers etc.. It all adds up in terms of complexity and money.
This bad boy seems pretty remarkable - the outputs can be programmed for different amperages - and are resettable. Each output is cam be remotely controlled and can act in various ways: it can be triggered by ambient light levels, by temperature (electric clothing for example), and the output can be modulated or switched on and off. They have pwm built in so you can - via your smart phone - dim your lights to whatever level you like. No additional dimmers/switches.
There's a ton of other stuff it can do - monitor voltage etc.. Has usb charging output.
It looks pretty remarkable - the only catch is that if your smart phone goes down you're stuck with your last settings until it's up again. Modern life.
Details
Joined May 2015
925 Posts | 9+
Dallas, Texas
I decided to do a very basic Darla LED light installation. Very simple. No dimmer, no switch, just a delay and relay. A relay that powers every add-on. One simple relay tied to the license plate light as the low power source.
I've shown bits and pieces of what I did here, but not it all. I've shown other parts over on AdvRider, but not all.
The way I see the Hyperstrada (Motard too) is that it is a super fun and capable bike with just the basics. Not all the weight and complexity of the MultiStrada, GS, etc...
That's why the system I installed is so basic. It has evolved to eliminate the tank bag too.
So, without the fancy power distribution system, just one relay and in-line delay, I have: GPS, Escort Redline radar detector, Motochello integrations system and the Darla LED lights. (The Motochello hosts my iPhone, all the sound from the GPS and detector, as well as a B2B GMRS radio.)
All with a single connection to the battery, relay, delay to allow for the alternator voltage to normalize, and a power wire shoved under the gas tank panel to the front of the bike.
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That's pretty impressive wiring. I think most people would have miles of wires and taps running around to get all that stuff working. The neutrino would be an alternative if you don't have the know-how, and if you want to add to the system later.
One guy has it programmed to delay the gps on/off after turning off the ignition. He can refuel, have a tasty beverage, start the bike , and the gps is right where he left it. It offers that flexibility. It can also monitor all the systems to help diagnose failures.
I'm throwing it our there as something to think about. The massive benefits have a massive downside - if the thing craps out you lose everything at once. Of course, I'm typing on a computer that is my life's blood for fun and money - it is the dilemma, and fragility, of modern life.
One guy has it programmed to delay the gps on/off after turning off the ignition. He can refuel, have a tasty beverage, start the bike , and the gps is right where he left it. It offers that flexibility. It can also monitor all the systems to help diagnose failures.
I'm throwing it our there as something to think about. The massive benefits have a massive downside - if the thing craps out you lose everything at once. Of course, I'm typing on a computer that is my life's blood for fun and money - it is the dilemma, and fragility, of modern life.
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Joined Oct 2015
545 Posts | 0+
Minnesota
I've also installed the LED light from ebay that was listed previously. I'd like to share my thoughts on the light. Overall it seems to provide more lumens than stock, for sure, but there does also seem to be a bit more light scatter. You'll see below the differences between a stock bulb (55/65w, blue tint), a new hella bulb (55/65w, no tint), and one of the ebay LED bulbs.
I also installed some of the 10w 40° fog lights from ebay on either side of my radiator. I don't have them completely hooked up at the moment, I'm waiting for the handlebar switch to come in the mail. I chose to use an OEM multistrada fog light switch to keep the "stock" look.
Here are photos of the stock bulb. In order, the headlight, low beam, then high beam. No adjustments were made between swapping the bulbs. Keep in mind these were shot with a cell phone, the light output you see in the photos will not be accurate due to autofocus, I'm simply trying to show the cutoff pattern and color of the bulbs.
Here is the Hella halogen bulb. Notice the slightly different color to stock. Same wattage.
Here is the LED bulb. Notice with the low beam, there is largely noticeable scatter on either sides. While I don't think this is good for other drivers on the road, I'm willing to accept this because of how terrible the stock bulb is for my own visibility. Make your own call here, these bulbs are technically illegal to use.
For the record, I also bought a 35w H4 High/Low HID kit from DDM tuning. This kit had a hilariously bad light pattern that wasn't even worth showing. I returned it. If I can get my hands on an OEM used headlight on ebay, I would consider modifying it to fit a projector, and upgrading to an HID kit in the future. Considering a stock headlight assembly is around $600+ in the US, this is a definite no-go for me right now while I'm under warranty.
Some other observations about the LED bulb: I hooked the high beam up directly to a battery inside my house, and let it sit for 20 minutes. With an infrared thermometer, I took the temperature of the components to see if I had to worry about melting the headlight assembly. Here was the temp of the mesh heatsinks after 20 minutes:
Here was the temperature of the ballast/driver for the LED. You'll see a picture of what it looks like further down.
In my opinion, while these may seem hot, I do not believe these will cause damage to the headlight. Halogen bulbs get much hotter. I will find out with time.
Here's a comparison photo of the bulbs if you're curious.
Here's a photo of just the LED bulb and the driver:
I'll weight in on the LED fog lights this spring once I get them properly hooked up and adjusted. For now, here's a teaser:
I also installed some of the 10w 40° fog lights from ebay on either side of my radiator. I don't have them completely hooked up at the moment, I'm waiting for the handlebar switch to come in the mail. I chose to use an OEM multistrada fog light switch to keep the "stock" look.
Here are photos of the stock bulb. In order, the headlight, low beam, then high beam. No adjustments were made between swapping the bulbs. Keep in mind these were shot with a cell phone, the light output you see in the photos will not be accurate due to autofocus, I'm simply trying to show the cutoff pattern and color of the bulbs.
Here is the Hella halogen bulb. Notice the slightly different color to stock. Same wattage.
Here is the LED bulb. Notice with the low beam, there is largely noticeable scatter on either sides. While I don't think this is good for other drivers on the road, I'm willing to accept this because of how terrible the stock bulb is for my own visibility. Make your own call here, these bulbs are technically illegal to use.
For the record, I also bought a 35w H4 High/Low HID kit from DDM tuning. This kit had a hilariously bad light pattern that wasn't even worth showing. I returned it. If I can get my hands on an OEM used headlight on ebay, I would consider modifying it to fit a projector, and upgrading to an HID kit in the future. Considering a stock headlight assembly is around $600+ in the US, this is a definite no-go for me right now while I'm under warranty.
Some other observations about the LED bulb: I hooked the high beam up directly to a battery inside my house, and let it sit for 20 minutes. With an infrared thermometer, I took the temperature of the components to see if I had to worry about melting the headlight assembly. Here was the temp of the mesh heatsinks after 20 minutes:
Here was the temperature of the ballast/driver for the LED. You'll see a picture of what it looks like further down.
In my opinion, while these may seem hot, I do not believe these will cause damage to the headlight. Halogen bulbs get much hotter. I will find out with time.
Here's a comparison photo of the bulbs if you're curious.
Here's a photo of just the LED bulb and the driver:
I'll weight in on the LED fog lights this spring once I get them properly hooked up and adjusted. For now, here's a teaser:
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Joined Oct 2015
545 Posts | 0+
Minnesota
Photos work for me. I had the same experience with those. Definitely Better than stock. If anyone is looking for some let me know. I have extra pair left.
This is all a little too complex for me. Is there anyway to get a "little" better by just replacing a bulb maybe?? 
I'm serious. Recommendations?
I'm serious. Recommendations?This is pretty simple, you take the old bulb out, tuck the cables and put the new bulb. Everything fits inside
Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I'm thinking of installing a fog light set up over the winter. There is a write up on led beam patterns with a description of a DYI shield to fix low beam cutoff : How to Modify H4 LED to reduce glare -- This is the one you want. | Adventure Rider
It seems some H4 lights are coming with these shields but not H7s yet.
Resurecting a thread -I installed one of these: 3800 Lumen H4 LED Headlight bulb
and fitting the ballast etc is not too hard. These have a cutoff shield on the low beam, that works OK but there is still some scatter.
The trick with this, and I think some other LED bulbs, is that the low beam emitter is slightly high relative to the reflector. This results in less light being projected. Placing a 20 gauge wire shim on the top of the base, when clipping it in place, brings it to the proper place.
I also found that the light needed to be aimed substantially lower.
With this done, it is much better than stock.
and fitting the ballast etc is not too hard. These have a cutoff shield on the low beam, that works OK but there is still some scatter.
The trick with this, and I think some other LED bulbs, is that the low beam emitter is slightly high relative to the reflector. This results in less light being projected. Placing a 20 gauge wire shim on the top of the base, when clipping it in place, brings it to the proper place.
I also found that the light needed to be aimed substantially lower.
With this done, it is much better than stock.
Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
I installed a Cyclops H4. Better than stock but barely fits "adequate" in function. It looks bright when you look at it from the street, but in the saddle it just scatters and has slightly more throw than stock.
Only way to improve the stock beam is install an HID projector or slap some aux lights on the frame.
Only way to improve the stock beam is install an HID projector or slap some aux lights on the frame.
I'm tempted to try either the LED bulb or a projector. Problem with a projector is finding a spot for the ballast and finding one with a proper cutoff. That and I'm waiting to see how Kuksul's accessory lights improve things. Given how infrequently I ride at night, and that the places I need more light are usually backroads, those may do the trick.
I have to say, I like the Morimotor approach (http://hyperstrada.com/mechanical-technical/506-xenon.html) but someone probably already pointed this out.
Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
Oh, Kuksuls kit is all you need. The LED was easy, cheap and I didn't like the ****** halogen blemishing the aux light setup. I love HID projectors in cars but it's an intensive job on a bike. If I never rode at night and wasn't going to hang extra lights, I'd probably go this route.
Gotta say, biggest benefit of stupid bright lights is getting douchers out of the fast lane (epidemic in the US). I flash somebody in my car...nothing. I flash someone with Kuksuls lamps, they move quick.
Gotta say, biggest benefit of stupid bright lights is getting douchers out of the fast lane (epidemic in the US). I flash somebody in my car...nothing. I flash someone with Kuksuls lamps, they move quick.
