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Old 05-14-2008, 09:04 PM   #11
Badbob
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I've been thinking about trying them but I'm not willing to spend $100 to do it. There are not many options that will fit a GZ250 because of the side ways mounted lights. LEDs are very directional. Incandescent bulbs are not.

One 3 watt Luxeon LED puts out more light than an 1156 or 1157.

Incandescent bulbs have slow reaction times because the filament has to heat up and that takes time. If you pay attention you can see it happen. LEDs are practically instant on with no fade in fade out effect. LEDs begin emitting light as soon as the voltage is applied. This may do something negate a lack of brightness.

I really don't trust the web bike world LED reviews very much some of them are getting pretty old and their testing methods are some what limited and very subjective. However, they are right about one thing. LEDs have a long way to go before they are ready for prime time.

Not many if any of the LED replacements for 1156/57 bulbs are DOT approved. Technically its illegal to use them on a US highway if they are not DOT approved. Perhaps the best thing to do is to wait until DOT approved LED replacements are hanging on the rack at AutoZone.



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Old 05-15-2008, 04:26 AM   #12
Water Warrior 2
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I tried LEDs in the Strom and tossed them out. Too directional for signals and not as bright as promised. Tail/brake light was not near good enough in my opinion. Back to standard bulbs for me. What the Strom has that actually works is an extra tail/brake light that was built with LEDs. It is actually a 3 3/4 inch trailer light that replaces the license plate light and has white LEDs for the plate. Hope that makes sense. Works very well and is noticeable from behind.
I think adding LEDs to a housing designed for a regular bulb is going to be a hit or miss gamble until the lenses are designed differently.
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Old 05-15-2008, 08:50 AM   #13
jonathan180iq
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WebBikeWorld also has some videos of the comparisons on Youtube. There is really no discounting what you see on the video.

I agree with WW. Until the lense design is altered, the LED replacements that I have seen aren't going to cut it. I am interested about the turn signal LED board, but when I replace one, I want to replace them all and I'm going throw, as BadBob said, $100 into something that I may not like.

Now, on sportbikes, I have some seen more really nice rear end replacement housings with LEDs that flash from side to side and they are really bright on the brake light. However, those can cost upwards of $150. So, that's out of the question.

It would be nice if someone would do it and give us a review.
Maybe we can all pitch in a few bucks and try out different designs. Maybe not.



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Old 05-30-2008, 07:20 PM   #14
IndyKTM
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Well, I have a buddy who just started a Motorcycle accessory business. He gave me a brochure and in it are several LED light kits that he says a fool proof to install. They may not fit inside our rear lens perfectly(but they may) but there looks to be several that would fit where the reflector is above the rear lens, or you could leave the reflector and mount them to the fender by drilling a couple of holes. He has the ones that can flash for 5 seconds then go solid and the dual brightness ones that run at 30% untill you step on the brake then ramp up to 100%. One set was like $150 but it came with everything and it had 3 lights I think which you can program how you want them to work. The cheapest one was a single for around $50, again with everything to wire it up. You can have your choice of 8 or 16 LED's on the light. Just throwing that out there.....

I'll look for the brochure and give better specifics.
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Old 05-31-2008, 06:39 AM   #15
Water Warrior 2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IndyKTM
Well, I have a buddy who just started a Motorcycle accessory business. He gave me a brochure and in it are several LED light kits that he says a fool proof to install. They may not fit inside our rear lens perfectly(but they may) but there looks to be several that would fit where the reflector is above the rear lens, or you could leave the reflector and mount them to the fender by drilling a couple of holes. He has the ones that can flash for 5 seconds then go solid and the dual brightness ones that run at 30% untill you step on the brake then ramp up to 100%. One set was like $150 but it came with everything and it had 3 lights I think which you can program how you want them to work. The cheapest one was a single for around $50, again with everything to wire it up. You can have your choice of 8 or 16 LED's on the light. Just throwing that out there.....

I'll look for the brochure and give better specifics.
Does he have a website yet. Would be good to see his wares. Wish him luck cause he has some stiff competition out there.



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Old 05-31-2008, 12:32 PM   #16
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Especially with those prices...
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