7moore7

Or if it doesn't work you could rig the little fan to a drip system pointed at you so you have a mister on a hot day.

bmidd

I'm glad you did it! I'm on the fence about keeping my Hawk, I really want to get another dirt bike so I might list it for trade. I have an HID retrofit in my DD Accord and would love to try out the LED's on our Sonata.

Wolverine

dudeitscristhian

I recently got these for my Superhawk and my buddy's F4. Each bulb uses 25W and has given me improved night vision without the need of headlight modification. I have attached the examples from both bikes. Here is the album with better resolution.

CruxGNZ

Hmm...seems to be the exact same as the one Mr. Marquez just bought, but you get two for $79.95.

If Erik gives the thumbs up on this LED light setup, then I will go in halves with someone on the kit that has the two lights. I'm serious. I guess we will find out in ~5-7 days

E.Marquez

They look close, but from pics alone, this Auto 2 bulb kit looks to use a different ballast.. The bulb looks the same though.

You just never know with this stuff... could be fake CREE's, used in one or both of these Ebay items, might be crappy work in the ballast, poor soldiering on the CREE or wiring..or...or... or...

Might all come from the same facility in different packaging to confuse us all. You just never know.

I received a shipping notice this morning from the Ebayer... expected delivery 27 Jan ~5 Mar... Not the 5-7 days I thought, but not terrible coming from the other side of the world.

mikstr

Looking forward to reading about your results

NHSH

+1 same here

7moore7

Sometimes with the stuff made overseas, they run a "third shift" on products. First two shifts are legitimate, QC controlled by parent company. Then they bring in a cheaper labor group and skip some of the QC checks and can sell for cheaper because the parent company doesn't know and doesn't take profit off of the top... so it's the same product made in the same facility at most likely inferior quality under a different seller.

E.Marquez

You smell a Guinea Pig?
Dude, get your kids a Dog.... Or at least make the kids clean the furry things cage.

Jack Flash

Everything we purchase today comes from this method of working. Companies all sub contract from one company, and have their own little
specs added for advertisement purposes.
Whether you buy a Maytag, GE, Inglis or Whirlpool, it's all the same.

That being said, thanks for being what Wolv so eloquently illustrated for us. I honestly smell another expense coming soon.

E.Marquez

Not bad ordered the 15th, arrives on the 21st Thats only 5 business days from Hong Kong to Texas

Jack Flash

Is it in ? Have you installed it ? How well does it work ? Do I sound like your wife just about now ?...

E.Marquez

Yes
Yes
Pretty good, less so than a HID in a projector lens for sure, but on par with a good H4 bulb
Worse....she don't nag as much and puts out... so far your not batting well on this one


I have only had it out in the real dark in my drive way and a short ride home after hours ....

It needs a good night ride on a dark road (no street lights) and it's been too damn cold for that...

Lots of miles in the day light so far, but no rear test of the LED at night.

NHSH

Marquez, I know you haven't tested that in full, but I would love to see how would you categorize the led light, or lets say, where would you scale it between 1 - 10 having the H4 as 1 and HID projector as 10?

E.Marquez

Ok well..
lets do this
All running true full voltage , 13.8 or so and FRESH bulbs.. All Halogen lights start getting dimmer from the second it is lit. It is a slow process as materiel is deposited and coating the inside of the glass envelope. But compare a two of the same type, brand bulbs, a new one and a 1 year old one.. and you will see the difference.

1-60/55watt OEM 3100k or so and yellowish light
2-
3-LED twin CREE
4-60/55 watt Aftermarket H4 say PIAA Extreme white 4200k or Silvanya Silver Star Ultra
5-
6-Hella 100/55w Standard Halogen Bulb (more light but yellowish 3200K and less visible than whiter light)
7-HELLA H4 100/80W High Performance Xenon Blue (whiter light, not positive in the K rating)
8-
9-
10- HID in a true HID projector lens

Overall the LED light is just a tad whiter and bit brighter than a good aftermarket white H4 in standard wattage.... The pattern is ok as well. What I see as an advantage is life cycle.. I was getting short life from the PIAA Extreme white 4200k or Silvanya Silver Star Ultra. The LED was roughly twice as much,,, but if it last more than a year Im even on cost.

Personally I would not run a 100/55 or 100/80 in a SH without using a relay system.. Others will disagree .. to each his own. ( I use 20A micro relays made by Panasonic for my SH, even with H4 60/55 bulb to ensure Im getting full voltage to the bulb)

Hands down a GOOD projector lens HID in 4300K is the BEST choice.
But there are better choices than an OEM bulb for sure.

This summer sometime I'll likely swap to a HID from The Retrofit Source Inc

NHSH

Marquez, this is a great report on your experience, thanks bro'.
I'm already running a Retrofit Source HID projector and it is the best I ever had so far, but I was hoping that the CREE LED's can produce at list similar result to the HID projector in a more cost effective package, so I can use them on my other bikes, I guess that is not the case yet!

Jack Flash

Will you go with the standard Elite system, or opt for the Stage 1 kit, bi-xenon ? The stage one kit looks pretty awesome. More time spent installing, but probably worth the coin.

E.Marquez

Well, that depends....

The 100 watt H4 bulbs toss out a **** ton of heat...that's a down side
In my opinion they require the use of a relay system. That means more building or buying or both.
In my experience high wattage (all aftermarket) bulbs have less bulb life then Stock H4, or HID capsules.. Time will tell if the LED out lives Higher wattage H4 bulbs in Texas Summer heat.

For the rider that needs a no MOD, simply sway.. the PIAA or Silverstar or LED is a great choice.

For those that can take the extra step of adding a pre-made relay set up or building their own... they will see better light but less bulb life (more voltage= less life in my experience)

And then we have the King.. for those willing and able to remove the headlight housing, open it up, modify it a bit for correct alignment of the projector, put it all back together, mount the components and wire it up..The $150 plus shipping Bi-xenon: Sportbike Stage I Kit - Complete Retrofit Kits from The Retrofit Source Inc option of a Projector HID is the BEST solution IMHO at this time

nnjhawk02

Marquez

Is the CREE LED plug & play?

Meaning - can I get my small handed Nippon bush woman to remove the stock bulb & plug in the LED & I'm done? Or do I need a relay or something else?

E.Marquez

It is...plug and play.

Remove plug from H4 bulb
Remove rubber boot
Remove H4 bulb
Install LED "bulb"
Screw on fan to back of LED "bulb"
Plug fan and LED "bulb" in to the ballast
Plug the stock female light plug into ballast male socket (same type design as the 3 prong bulb one)
Mount the ballast.... I used some 3M double stick tape and mounted it for now to the black air duct.

Might have been a 10 min install

nnjhawk02

Cool - I might get one as well. I really don't want to spend the $ or modify like crazy for the HID.

Would U say this is a good alternate?

is this where U ordered from?

1x Motorcycle Bike 1800Lm H4 50W CREE CXA1512 LED Headlight Head Beam Auto Bulb | eBay

E.Marquez

So finally had some time and weather to do a night ride.

60 miles after teaching an MSF class.

The light is a nice 4300 K or so white, Thats a plus

The Low beam pattern is not terrible, the spread, cut off and distance is pretty spot on.. there is a bright band right in front of the bike, a dark band 2 through 3 feet in front..... and good light from there.

The dark band is not in a "riding" area... ie not a place where light matters or is useful... so not having full pattern light there is not missed performance wise.

High beam.. Spread is very good.. nice and wide to light up them critters coming across the road., fill from nose to as far as light penetrates is good,,,but that IS the problem... no real distance the light pattern is not "enough" to really light of up the road at a distance I expect from a performance H4 bulb.

Any of the H4 100 watt hi beams (60/100 or 80/100) would beat this LED light hands down with distance fill light.

So.. If you need a in town, on lighted highway, no long distance light.. This LED with its nice white, light would be a ok choice.

But anyone looking for some distance, so as to not over ride the light available.. PASS on the LED for now.

E.Marquez

NO not a good alternative.

Better is a relay system and a Hella/H4 12 Volt 100/80 Watts blue high performance xenon bulb

Better still is the HID from the Retrofit source.. the MOD is pretty darn simple and only $150

smokinjoe73

Eric, thanks for the review. So often when someone buys something they are praising it just to show they were smart for buying it.

Thanks for the unbiased review.

CruxGNZ

Well...nuts. I had high hopes for the newcomer. Thanks for being the guinea pig and doing a review for all of us.

Speaking of LED's, I just saw a comercial for the new Lincoln MKZ which has LED headlights. As LED headlights get more common, there will be more choices and cheaper options. Just have to wait is all.

E.Marquez

I absolutely will never install an HID bulb in a lens designed for a H4..

The HID light must go in a projector lens designed for HID to be useful and produce quality light down the road.

So yes, I'll open the head light housing and install a projector and shroud ... it is very easy to do.... like as in stupid simple

NHSH

+1 No doubt, don't waste your time on just HID light bulb replacement, you will get a really bad light distribution, you will see allot worse than with a regular H4, while blinding all the upcoming traffic, which is a bonus risk added factor to already dizzy light setup. Not a good combination!

mikstr

Thanks for the report. Guess I'll be sticking my Eastern Beaver relay kit and Hella 55/100W set-up. I should note one caveat, however, as the set-up tried is an eBay "China Inc" special and NOT the kit listed at the start of the thread..... may have gotten a different result with the latter (maybe not too, who knows)

CruxGNZ

With everything looking equal, the only thing we couldn't see was inside the drivers. I would guess that's where the difference lies. Only way to find out is to buy the LED kit at the start of the thread.

Not it!