The bike that I have just bought has a very good LED headlight, it gives a very good light, however I aim to return the bike to original spec and replace it with an OEM headlight, problem is that I can't find one. If anyone has one in the loft that they would like to sell (or swap) please let me know, Thanks Tim
I replaced the halogen headlight bulb on my Street Scrambler with a H4 LED and I'm very pleased with the results. Some classic owners like the retro look of crap halogen lighting but personally I value lighting performance more.
I replaced the halogen bulb in my Ducati with an LED unit. Brilliant white light which looks great, but don’t expect good results in the dark. The reason is the reflector/light source relationship will be wrong. If you are lucky enough to have a circular headlight on your machine buy a headlamp unit comprising a reflector and LED bulb. Like the one Tim wants sell above. Also some may tell you that it’s an MoT failure. Well, sort of but my Ducati passes every time. What does he do? Switch on the lights to see if they all light up when they should. I have never had my beam alignment checked. The reason why it is illegal to fit an LED bulb in a reflector designed for a halogen bulb is LED upgrade bulbs can’t be classed as road legal because they cannot be E marked or have the British Standard mark. This is because LED upgrade bulbs can’t be E marked as no legislation exists for the use of LED technology in a headlight unit built for halogen bulbs.
Fitting LED or HID bulbs in OEM headlight housings designed for filament bulbs is, as you say, technically a MOT failure but lighting performance/beam pattern varies greatly bulb to bulb and vehicle to vehicle. I have fitted LED's in the 4x4 and the results are excellent and better than the halogens. I tried some H4 HID's a few years ago and the beams were not only rubbish but hazardous to oncoming traffic so I stuck with the halogens. The bulb in the SS works great and better than OEM halogens. The problem with beam scatter is due to the actual light source (the LED itself or the HID arc) sitting in a different position in the bulb relative to the reflector and lens compared to a filament bulb for which the lights were designed. Some of the newer LED bulbs available are a much better design and give good beam and light output but still technically illegal.
I did fit an H4 HID to my R9T with a good degree of success in terms of light output. Got through an MOT with it, too, but I guess I was lucky in terms of the OEM reflectors.
I had to remove this to get the bulb in. It just screws onto the back of the reflector so is easy to remove and put back in if required.
There is one LED bulb i know, that has an approval (in Germany) for Speed/Street Twin/Scrambler (headlamp approval number Ex 11895). Unfortunately not for Bonneville's T100/T200 with headlamp Ex 11894. A mechanic from a local garage means, the Bonnevill's headlamp is the same as in Speed Twin's. I think, I wold try the bulb out next season ...
Replacement LED bulbs are now allowed in MOT tests. I fitted a Cenmoll H4 LED to my Thruxton R and it has passed it's MOT with no problems. I also fitted one to my friend's T100. Yesterday, he and another friend who still has the halogen bulb were following me. The LED light was a pure white light, and the halogen looked like a yellow candle.
No they are not, on vehicles post 1st April 1986. The regs were updated in 2021 to include retro fitting of HID & LED bulbs. Just because your bike passed doesn't make them legal. My old Street Scrambler and my car has them.
When you say that replacement LED “bulbs” are now allowed in MoT tests are you quoting from an official document or is your statement purely based upon the fact that your MoT tester merely checked that the headlight did light and the appearance did alter when the dip switch was operated? Whilst the LED “bulb” gives a nice pure white appearance during daytime running I think you might be less enthusiastic when you take the bike out in the hours of darkness when you will find that the new light source does not work with the geometry of the existing reflector.
