1985 LTD LED Headlight Replacement

Took the opportunity today because of foul weather to replace the H4 bulb in the headlight of my bike. I have replaced it with an LED from China (I know, but Cyclemax did not have any that fit in stock). The headlight came in quick order and the only thing mssing were instructions, but there seems to be only one way to install.

The first group of pictures are of the box and contents:
The box is quite compact and details contents
Contents of the box, several attachments - choose the one that fits/works
LED Specs - low beam 20W - High 30W - 3000 lumens
LED bulb - it is a triangular LED bulb

This picture shows the original headlight and the brightness compared to the LED driving lights:
There is a difference in the light intensity between the headlight and driving lights. The headlight seems less intense and actually has an orange tinge to it.

Now for the install. I did read the OEM service manual, but it does not cover everything. Went slow and all worked out fine.

Start of LED light install.

First item(s) to be removed are the side mirrors so that the upper trim can be removed.
The upper bolt of each side mirror secures the upper front trim in place. Use phillips screwdriver or 10 mm socket to remove the side mirrors. The side mirror securing bolts are different lengths so pay attention to which goes where.

The upper trim piece can now be removed by gently prying the trim piece upwards using the headlight as the fulcrum.
This picture shows how the upper trim piece fits into the trim holder that also secures the top of the headlight. Two 10 mm head bolts hold the headlight in place - remove.

Post Number 2. The lower garnish piece (I did not invent the terminology) has to be removed as does the bracket that holds this piece. Once the garnish piece bracket is removed, the headlight can be jockeyed out for work.
garnish piece removed. Two small screws hold it to the connector piece.

This connector piece holds the lower part of the headlight to the bike as well as securing the garnish piece to the bike. Two bolts, 10 mm socket to remove.

Once the headlight is free to be moved, I disconnected the sidelights and the up/down adjuster, and the bulb connector to remove the headlight.

The adjustment on the right of this picture is for left/right orientation of the headlight. The left adjustment is for up/down and is remotely controlled by a knob on the dash.

I removed the bulb, bulb cover and disconnected the sidelights in situ on the bike.

Original bulb and bulb keeper still installed.

Bulb keeper removed and bulb out.

Back of headlight assembly with bulb removed.

Post number 3.

Took the headlight assembly and moved it to the workbench. I took the sidelights off and had a look at the bulbs. The bulbs are too big to be removed from the sidelight assembly (see pic).The size of the sidelight bulbs are too big for the opening. Hope they last a while.

I took the front lens off as well. It is kept in place with 4 spring clips. The condition of the reflector is quite good, and the adjusting mechanisms are as well.
Headlight lens installed with spring clips.
Removed the lens to check the condition of the reflector. Condition of headlight reflector is quite good.

Adjustment mechanism(s) are in good shape.

The next step was to fit the new LED bulb by choosing the appropriate connector, then dry fit the LED light on the workbench. LED bulb with attachment (spring not used). I chose the attaching piece by fitting each one to the headlight assembly.

LED fit while on workbench. There is lots of room inside the headlight for an LED bulb.

Led fit while on workbench. This picture and the preceding one show the triangular nature of this LED bulb.

Post number 4.

At this point I had to cut the connectors off the back of the LED light and connect some bayonet fittings. The new connectors fit into the original bulb connector.

Once I had the new connector on, I hooked the light up and did a trial test on the new bulb install. Low and high beam worked well. The aluminum power supply has a small fan in it and it does work.

I reinstalled the sidelights and cleaned the adjusters. I did not install the rubber bulb cover as it would impede cooling/heat removal by the LED bulb cooling fan.

To put the headlight back in, I had to push the bulb wiring connector out of the way into the wiring harness pocket in the fairing. I reinstalled the headlight in the reverse order to how it was removed. The garnish trim piece holder was installed, securing the lower section of the headlight. The upper trim bracket was installed, securing the top of the headlight. The garnish piece was installed. Next was the installation of the upper trim piece, followed by the side mirrors. The bike is now back together and time for a test of the new headlight.

This picture shows how the intensity of the new LED bulb matches the LED driving lights. Initial LED install test.
Initial LED install test.
Bike rolled out and lights on. The intensity of the new LED light tends to match that of the driving lights.
Original H4 bulb for comparison.

Will now have to wait for nightfall to check out the benefit that I expect to get from the new LED headlight bulb. Hopefully my $30.00 CDN investment will be worth it.

Very well written and detailed. Thank you, the led looks much brighter!

Tried to get it all in. The OEM manual does leave a few gaps in the process. Still want to know how to get the bulbs out of the sidelights.

Cheers

Very interesting. I'm also very interested in your night ride report.

good work and im doing the same thing ...ive got two of them going in my head light

Nice job :good:

Great write up! Looking forward to the night ride report! :yes: :moped:

Very nice write-up. I also am waiting on the night ride report. Specifically, how the new high beam compares to old in distance coverage.

Went out last night for a ride, no video (not that advanced technology wise). The LED light is only 3000 lumens so it is going to be a soft light. When riding without driving lights on, the light extended out in a cone fashion, illuminating the ditch side of the road quite well. The other side of the road was also illuminated but approximately 25 feet in front of the bike. The low beam extended quite far in front of the bike and I did not get any response from oncoming traffic. The high beam is ineffective, and only gives more light in the upward direction.

When I switched on the driving lights, the light area became quite bright and clear. My driving lights have 6 small LEDs each and are a higher lumen count. These complimented the new headlight quite nicely. The area in front of the bike out to about 200 feet was well lit. I did get flashed a couple of times from oncoming traffic with these on. A small adjustment is needed.

I stopped at the local rec centre to get an idea of distance for the new headlight. Using parking stalls for distance, and a tennis court that is approximately 40 feet past the last stall, the new LED headlight illuminated 20 parking stalls and up to the tennis court. I estimate this to be approximately 200 feet. A huge improvement over the stock H4 bulb. This area was further illuminated when I switched on the driving lights that are rated for some 150 feet.

A huge improvement for a $30.00 CDN investment. I'm happy for the time being. May try a better, higher lumen bulb in the future. Now to see how long this Chinese knock off lasts.

Cheers

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=180795#p180795:e4kihzft said:

Rednaxs60 » September 17th, 2016, 9:22 pm[/url]":e4kihzft]
Tried to get it all in. The OEM manual does leave a few gaps in the process. Still want to know how to get the bulbs out of the sidelights.

Cheers

Click to expand...

Those side lights are no where near like the ones in mine. If they went in they should come out. Take it that they wouldn't come out any way but where they are mounted? Ones in mine look like a 2 prong push in bulb. Don't remember number right off hand. Have you tried buttering the bulb?

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=180903#p180903:1pexg7rc said:

julimike54 » Today, 6:57 am[/url]":1pexg7rc]

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=180795#p180795:1pexg7rc said:

Rednaxs60 » September 17th, 2016, 9:22 pm[/url]":1pexg7rc]
Tried to get it all in. The OEM manual does leave a few gaps in the process. Still want to know how to get the bulbs out of the sidelights.

Cheers

Click to expand...

Those side lights are no where near like the ones in mine. If they went in they should come out. Take it that they wouldn't come out any way but where they are mounted? Ones in mine look like a 2 prong push in bulb. Don't remember number right off hand. Have you tried buttering the bulb?

Click to expand...

Mine are a push and twist fitting. Even looked into taking off the lens but it did not want to come off easily. More work to be done on this.

One way or another they WILL come out. :smilie_happy: Take the base of the bulb with the lite, to the store & find the right bulb. :yes: Or look in the manual for the number at the last resort. :roll: