LED bulb replacements

[d3vi@nt]

Been searching the forums but haven't found anything current. Anyone replace their turn signal and/or brake light bulbs with LED's?  And, more importantly, see any improvement?

I have the standard 12v-10watt turn signals and 12v-5/21watt tail light bulb. I'd like to get these as bright as possible without catching anything on fire.  I've also been finding that a lot of so-called replacement LEDs are actually worse performing than the stock replacements.

There aren't too many after-market options for my ST2, and I'm not looking to drop a ton of cash, so I'm hoping to find a budget oriented solution.

[stopintime]

I've done many hours of research on this, mailing electronics/LED specialists, studied what WebBikeWorld wrote and done my own comparisons side by side in daylight at distance.

My findings:

1. there are no off the shelf LEDs that outperform stock 10 watt bulb in a good clean reflector - they would have to be custom made with drivers and heat sinks.
2. the latest models Rizoma are brighter than previous models, but still not easier to see for a cager from a distance.
3. tail lights are more or less the same story, unless you have a Monster and can buy a Vizi-tec

[d3vi@nt]

Thanks, stopintime.

I've seen some 15w standard bulbs that looks like they should work for turn signals. Do you think the additional 5w would even be noticeable and/or cause problems?

[stopintime]

In my DP signals I run 23 watt amber BA9s bulbs with a homemade 'mirror tape' reflector. The reflector made it much better than with no reflector (still can't believe they sold those without reflectors), but quite a bit less output than 10 watts in a stock signal with good reflector.

The relay in my instrument cluster is rated a little bit below that kind of load, but nothing bad has happened yet.

15 watt will not be a problem. 23 watt (type 1156/1157?) are too large for a stock Monster signal, but the available space in your signals might be sufficient... Changing them is cheap and easy enough, so you might as well try - although 15 watt isn't that much better...

[oldndumb]

What am I missing here? Although I haven't done any intense research on the subject, I did read a few technical articles before switching to LEDs several years ago. My personal observations have been that they are an improvement in apparent visibility. I don't mind being proven wrong, so any information would be appreciated.

[stopintime]

I haven't saved the answers, but the LED vendors I contacted were clear that the light output of even their strongest multiLED towers could not match what stock lights in good reflectors put out. It has something to do with direction and beam angle. Manufacturers like Rizoma try to use the most powerful single LED they can build into an affordable housing without too much added electronics and spread the light through a lens.

My impression of LED lights is that they are sharp and appear very bright in dark places, but not in day light or from a distance. Like a camera flash, yes, it's bright, but is hard to tell where it came from. Maybe torque vs horse power is a suitable picture...

I think it's all about what a regular reflector does - directing all light in the intended direction(s) - LED is extremely bright in one direction, but when the output is spread, it's spread too thin.

My interpretation, anyway 

[d3vi@nt]

Bernard from Vizi-tec sells/recommends these: http://www.vizi-tec.com/1157-26led-bulb-replacement

Anyone tried them?

I seem to remember a thread where someone was having issues with the 23w bulbs --stopped blinking after a few seconds of use or something...