Headlight Upgrade

15568 Views 25 Replies 11 Participants Last post by steeve, Oct 9, 2017

Alaska_Duc

Discussion Starter · Mar 22, 2017

From what I can see the Supersport comes with regular old incandescent light bulbs which is ridiculous on a bike at this price point in the 2017 model year, but I digress.

Does anybody know if there are kits that can switch them over to HID or preferably LED? What does the Panigale come with? I'll be riding quite a bit in the dark and bright lights are very important. Nothing like seeing a 1500lb moose in the road at the last second...

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steeve

· #2 · Mar 22, 2017

Panigale has a row of superbright LED's. From looking at both together it doesnt look as though the light unit will fit.

Odd thing is the owners manual shows one H1 and one H7 bulb. I've never seen that before.

I'll probably change my bulbs to PIAA superwhite bulbs. Increased performance with no increase in current draw or heat. Lens and reflector are both plastic I think.

Reactions: 1

rz33v4

· #3 · Mar 22, 2017

Alaska_Duc said:
From what I can see the Supersport comes with regular old incandescent light bulbs which is ridiculous on a bike at this price point in the 2017 model year, but I digress.

Does anybody know if there are kits that can switch them over to HID or preferably LED? What does the Panigale come with? I'll be riding quite a bit in the dark and bright lights are very important. Nothing like seeing a 1500lb moose in the road at the last second...

You're assuming the SS lamps are ineffective. Shouldn't you ride one in the dark before you spend money on replacement technology? The are some poor and very good incandescent lamps out there

Reactions: 2

steeve

· #4 · Mar 22, 2017 (Edited)

Alaska_Duc said:
From what I can see the Supersport comes with regular old incandescent light bulbs which is ridiculous on a bike at this price point in the 2017 model year, but I digress.

Does anybody know if there are kits that can switch them over to HID or preferably LED? What does the Panigale come with? I'll be riding quite a bit in the dark and bright lights are very important. Nothing like seeing a 1500lb moose in the road at the last second...

I'm with you. I've had quite a number of different bikes and I've yet to have any with decent lights (I actually sold a Triumph Sprint ST because it was unusable in the dark) . I haven't ridden all the bikes there are, so there could be some out there with good lights. Just I haven't found one.

But a new bike should have had LED's. Even a Tracer has LED lights..

Reactions: 1

Alaska_Duc

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 22, 2017

rz33v4 said:
You're assuming the SS lamps are ineffective. Shouldn't you ride one in the dark before you spend money on replacement technology? The are some poor and very good incandescent lamps out there

My 2016 Ford F150 has stock LED headlights and no stock halogen headlight on any vehicle comes close to their performance. Aside from the technical failings they just look cheap. The 2014 base Honda Interceptor I was looking had LEDS.

oldndumb

· #6 · Mar 22, 2017

That settles it! I'm going shopping for an LED equipped bike right now!! To think I've wasted all this time pining for a dim bulb bike!! :crying:

titus.sensei

· #7 · Mar 22, 2017

My monster 796 had H1 and H7 bulb, and i switched it with H1 and H7 Led in 20min.
Should be the same here.

Reactions: 1

Patrick604

· #8 · Mar 22, 2017

Alaska_Duc said:
Nothing like seeing a 1500lb moose in the road at the last second...

Quit your whining, AD. You get a moose pop out in front of you it's no big deal, just ride underneath it. Now these deer we have here in Michigan are another story. Too small to go under, too big to go over. You have it much better there where you are.

oldndumb

· #9 · Mar 23, 2017

Patrick604 said:
Quit your whining, AD. You get a moose pop out in front of you it's no big deal, just ride underneath it. Now these deer we have here in Michigan are another story. Too small to go under, too big to go over. You have it much better there where you are.

First deer is just to scare you. The second one is the one you don't miss! :surprise:

Alaska_Duc

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 23, 2017

titus.sensei said:
My monster 796 had H1 and H7 bulb, and i switched it with H1 and H7 Led in 20min.
Should be the same here.

Cool, no issues with voltage faults? LEDs are so cheap now I don't understand why they weren't included. This isn't an entry level Scrambler.

Reactions: 1

Alaska_Duc

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 24, 2017

So I was looking at these bulbs on Amazon. They have cooling fans on them, so I wonder if that would work size wise on the SS. I am also thinking that since the bike only has a reflector housing, and not a projector housing these LEDs may blind people.

https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headl...01LCE19NO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

steeve

· #12 · Mar 24, 2017

There's always the problem that fitting LED's or HID's into lamp unit designed for incandescent bulbs will dazzle oncoming traffic and not produce a light pattern that is ideal.

The other issue is that you may not be able to fit a cooled LED into the lamp holders on the Supersport.

Reactions: 1

Alaska_Duc

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 24, 2017

steeve said:
There's always the problem that fitting LED's or HID's into lamp unit designed for incandescent bulbs will dazzle oncoming traffic and not produce a light pattern that is ideal.

The other issue is that you may not be able to fit a cooled LED into the lamp holders on the Supersport.

Do you know why they have fans? I know LEDs produce little if any heat compared to halogen or HIDs.

oldndumb

· #14 · Mar 24, 2017

steeve said:
.....
Odd thing is the owners manual shows one H1 and one H7 bulb. I've never seen that before......

The parts manual illustration shows both sides to be the same. The part number for each is also the same, ergo they must be the same. The drawing looks more like an H7 than a H1, which would make sense considering how many Duc models use the H7.

I think I've read somewhere that Ducati is considering a proposal to form a study committee to evaluate whether or not it would be beneficial to allow Owner Manual writers free access to the Parts Fisches.

oldndumb

· #15 · Mar 24, 2017

Alaska_Duc said:
Do you know why they have fans? I know LEDs produce little if any heat compared to halogen or HIDs.

It aint the diode. It is the control circuitry needed to ensure correct current (drivers). Too high/too low, no light. With incandescent, current fluctuations are usually tolerated.

Reactions: 1

Triple S

· #16 · Jun 27, 2017

oldndumb said:
First deer is just to scare you. The second one is the one you don't miss! :surprise:

what is a deer with no eyes ?

Triple S

· #17 · Jun 27, 2017

The ss bulbs are h11 55w for high and low
I put these in my bike from STEDI Australia they have compatability for can bus and copper braid heat sinks that can be arranged to miss the fork legs when fully turned.
the drivers are very small and cable tie nicely into the front of the aluminium headlight bracket above the headlight on either side, it has a short cable connecting to the bulbs that is out of the way too.
The pitch of the connector pins seems slightly wider than the oem pins so had to be bent in about 1mm but I did not have to force the connection Also the connector is not keyed same as the oem so could be connected in reverse.So you must observe polarity printed on the STEDI connector and know the polarity of the bike connector
I would rate the low beam as very good with good cut off for oncoming traffic and the high beam would be daylight at 200 meters but fairly narrow.
$129 AUD delivered to aus
just rode home from Queensland a nine hour trip and got home at 9pm so about 4 hours of Night riding and very impressed with the headlights on highway running I did not go on back roads but I am sure they will be better than stock in the twistys at nite.
the sku below is for one pair so you only need quantity one

Item
Sku Qty Copper Head H11 LED Head Light Conversion Kit LEDCONV-H11-CH 1

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Reactions: 1

se7en

· #18 · Jun 27, 2017

@Triple S - show us some pics. I would like to see the installed pics showing how they look from the riders point of view. I don't care to see the head on shots showing color...I already know what they look like from that perspective. Just curious about what they look like in the cockpit, fully installed. Want to see how the heat sink belts look just hanging loose...or did you find a way to keep them nice and tidy?

Reactions: 1

Triple S

· #19 · Jun 28, 2017

se7en said:
@Triple S - show us some pics. I would like to see the installed pics showing how they look from the riders point of view. I don't care to see the head on shots showing color...I already know what they look like from that perspective. Just curious about what they look like in the cockpit, fully installed. Want to see how the heat sink belts look just hanging loose...or did you find a way to keep them nice and tidy?

Well you cant see them while riding. But if you stand up on the pegs and really go looking you can see them. There are three pairs of belts at 120deg apart, the pair that points horizontal toward the middle of the headlight has to be left flat againts the back of the headlight so the fork leg clears it when full lock but the other Four you fan out to get best cooling and looks a bit like a metal flower so not the prettiest just dont let people look down there.:grin2:

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2

se7en

· #20 · Jun 28, 2017

Thanks for the pics. I have those type LEDs on my truck and they're great...in that application. IDK, I may get used to the look of the heat sink belts...might be a future upgrade.

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