Just to share for anyone interested. The dash indicator bulbs are number "74's" and the speedo/tach bulbs are "194's." The blinkers are "1156's" and the tail/brake lamps are "1157's." These are the numbers that Super Bright LED's uses for bulb replacement/conversion selection. I'll let you know which actual end bulb part numbers I end up getting. Keep the rubber side down.
People need to confirm their own specs from country to country....i know the dash lights differ in Oz bikes,but the rest seem fine.
Helpful post though man.
Make sure u get one of these if you want your flasher indicator light to function properly...
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/motorcycle-accessories/metric-bike-diode-kit/1190/2805/
The 1157 LED taillight bulbs are useless, they simply do not work anywhere near as well as the standard globe. All those bulbs with banks of LED's cannot illuminate the tail lens properly. I recently purchased the http://www.amazon.com/Philips-1157-X-tremeVision-Exterior-light/dp/B00HWS7XGW (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-1157-X-tremeVision-Exterior-light/dp/B00HWS7XGW) that only have two tiny LED's in them and they did work better than the incandescents and do not have the problems of the LED's with multiple diodes.
However I deemed them to be less safe even though the brake light was a bit brighter and illuminated the lens as well as an incandescent. Why? Because the 5W running light was way too bright, meaning that even with the 21W brake light being brighter, the difference between the running light and the brake light was greatly diminished.
Apparently the Honda OEM tail lamp is a 25% improvement on the standard incandescent. I will be check them out soon and I will report back here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFDIN0K/?tag=2402507-20
The LEDs probably draw less current. Could an LED strip be stuffed into the stock housing in parallel with the KED 1157s, to make the brake lights extra bright? Also, what about the license plate? How will it remain white, not red?
@Rallyfan, I don't think illuminating the license plate with a bright red light which comes out pink on the plate, while not strictly legal, is a problem. No one I've spoken to has ever been done for that and quite frankly it would be difficult to see a situation where it would be noticed.
I think those numbers are correct for my bike. 09 GS500F in Oz.
I recently replaced speedo/tacho and the 194 just fit but work perfectly. I stupidly bought 194 for all of the dash guage lights and they are too big :icon_rolleyes:
Paid all that shipping to Oz and they are useless :technical:
I believe the 74's would be the right fit but i don't want to risk wasting more money :icon_sad:
Have not yet looked at tail light and i have changed the indicators when i converted it to a naked recently.
You have a Jaycar Electronics store available at all? ... go there! They have suitable leds
Quote from: Cainus83 on March 29, 2016, 03:13:36 AM
I think those numbers are correct for my bike. 09 GS500F in Oz.
Paid all that shipping to Oz and they are useless :technical:
I believe the 74's would be the right fit but i don't want to risk wasting more money :icon_sad:
It's been almost 3 years since i tried the dash conversion but i think your right about the 74's working.
I tried some(probably 194's) recommended by a member and they were too large.They then had to be returned to SuperBright who accepted them(in original packaging) without question.
Quote from: Janx101 on March 29, 2016, 03:32:41 AM
You have a Jaycar Electronics store available at all? ... go there! They have suitable leds
Thanks for the tip. I'll go check them out this weekend :thumb:
Been reading up a lot about led bulbs lately... searching and searching here on this forum for past threads and reading online...
Rallyfan, these are a bit pricey BUT it looks you weren't alone in worrying about that!! (In my case, my OCD would not be happy if I had a pinkish-red light on my license plate :icon_rolleyes: ) ...SO these are pretty cool... red aims out, white aims down:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/motorcycle-led-bulbs/1157-led-bulb-dual-function-25-led-motorcycle-bulb/170/
Cainus83, what about the 194's were too big? (For the indicator spots) I'm guessing too wide...?
These 74's are the ones I've been reading about... and if you look at the pic of the LED bulb next to a regular 74, the LED looks a tad (and I do mean a tad) longer but I'd guess they would work for the indicator lights ?
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/instrument-cluster-gauge/74-led-bulb-1-smd-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/227/
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on March 29, 2016, 06:52:35 PM
Been reading up a lot about led bulbs lately... searching and searching here on this forum for past threads and reading online...
Rallyfan, these are a bit pricey BUT it looks you weren't alone in worrying about that!! (In my case, my OCD would not be happy if I had a pinkish-red light on my license plate :icon_rolleyes: ) ...SO these are pretty cool... red aims out, white aims down:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/motorcycle-led-bulbs/1157-led-bulb-dual-function-25-led-motorcycle-bulb/170/
Cainus83, what about the 194's were too big? (For the indicator spots) I'm guessing too wide...?
These 74's are the ones I've been reading about... and if you look at the pic of the LED bulb next to a regular 74, the LED looks a tad (and I do mean a tad) longer but I'd guess they would work for the indicator lights ?
The base of the bulb was far too wide, needed to be half the size. Looking at the specs on the 74's i think they would be correct. (oil/indicator/neutral etc)
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/instrument-cluster-gauge/74-led-bulb-1-smd-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/227/
I used 4 of these for the dash indicators:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/74-led-bulb-1-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/226/1058/
2 of these for the guages (120 degree version):
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-1-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/197/852/
They all work on my bike (modifications were needed for the turn indicator), just make sure you put them in the correct way, diodes have polarity.
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on March 29, 2016, 06:52:35 PM
Rallyfan, these are a bit pricey BUT it looks you weren't alone in worrying about that!! (In my case, my OCD would not be happy if I had a pinkish-red light on my license plate :icon_rolleyes: ) ...SO these are pretty cool... red aims out, white aims down:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/motorcycle-led-bulbs/1157-led-bulb-dual-function-25-led-motorcycle-bulb/170/
Thanks I've had a look... I'm quite tempted, but first what I'm going to do is try out conventional 2357 bulbs instead. I could use a more pronounced difference between tail and brake light intensities and this might do it.
Rally, let us know how it turns out? I'd like to know !
Joester, are you happy with those 194s' brightness? If you are happy with them then I think those are the ones I'll go with.
The switch from Wagner 1157 to GE Nighthawk 2357 in the tail lamp did not improve running lights but did improve brake lights in terms of intensity, which is what I wanted. I'd say it's $4 well spent. I kept the old bulbs under the seat in case of a burn-out.
That is marvelous that they worked for what you wanted! Hopefully the info you shared will help others who want to do the same thing :)
@Rallyfan "I could use a more pronounced difference between tail and brake light intensities and this might do it."
That was my concern, which is why I got rid of the Philips Extreme Vision that I linked to in my earlier post, they are the only LEDs that work properly due to them having a point light source instead of a bank, but the running lights were too bright.
I'm currently waiting on delivery of the Honda OEM bulbs that I linked to that have the greatest difference between brake and running light. I also ordered the nighthawks to check them against but I'm expecting the Honda OEM's to be better, I'll post my thoughts when I get them but they are listed as 3/43 candlepower whereas the standard 5/21W is specified on the GS housing as 3/32 Candlepower so that's a decent increase in the brake/tail ratio.
That's an interesting experiment, great idea!
I'm just going to put this out there and say it directly. All the LED brake lights like the superbrights are going to be rubbish in the gs lens housing.
Except for the Philips Extreme Vision (and similarly designed Sylvania) because their design is completely different, so at least they aren't rubbish, but they don't provide the tail/brake ratio that is so important.
I wonder if adding reflective ("mirror") tape to the base of the housing (the part attached to the bike) could help. The stock setup is matte silver. I wonder if reflecting more of that light would increase apparent intensity to anyone following the bike.
@Rallyfan,
My guess would be 'no' because the lenses are designed very specifically for the light source which is why it works best with an incandescent bulb. A shiny silver surface would make the light more 'pointy' sharper if you will. Whereas if the surface has some texture, it give off a more diffused reflection and the lens will be designed exactly for that type of diffussion.
This is why photographers don't use mirrors to reflect light onto an object they use a white card, or if they do use a shiny surface then it will be very bubbly and textured.
Hm... So maybe that's why the base surface is matte grey. I might experiment with red reflecting strip tape in there; it's got facets and should angle reflected light. Anything to maximize visibility.
Just figured I'd post some information here (for search reasons) about my experience yesterday with the swap to LED bulbs.
EDIT: The bulbs I am now running in my red GSF style tail light lens are these here in cool white:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1157-can-bus-led-bulb-dual-function-26-smd-led-tower-bay15d-retrofit-car/1166/2985/
They are brighter than the stock bulbs and work great. The red doesn't look washed out and the white shines down onto the license plate.
I also bought these for my gauges which turned out to be a bit too dark for my liking... I bought a couple different colors to play with and blue one for the speedo wasn't bright enough to light up the trip counter.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-1-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/197/854/
BUT I'm glad I bought them because they are a perfect fit for in the Neutral, High Beam and Oil indicators. The E bikes must use the same socket as for the gauges because based on two other recent threads, the F bikes use the really small 74 bulb for the indicators.
That being said, these are the 74's I thought I needed but they were impossibly small and would not work (again, for my E bike... but others have said they work for the F's).
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/74-led-bulb-1-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/226/1060/
One final note I'll add is that based on what I experimented with, a white bulb behind the colored lenses looked just as nice as a colored bulb behind the colored lens. The white didn't wash out the color or look to bright IMO.
Don't know if they fit in a GS taillight housing, but I have these angel eyes on my GR650:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-headlight-accent-lights/led-halo-angel-eye-headlight-accent-lights/49/
Along with some of their other 1157 led bulbs (that I can't find right now....). The angel eye rings are only wired to the brake light, so the running light is fairly dim. Once the brake lights come on, it's a fairly impressive amount of light.
@Rallyfan,
I have received the GE nighthawk and they are pretty well identical in output to the original Stanley 32/3cp that I presume the bike came with.
However I eventually took delivery of the Honda OEM bulb which is a Stanley 43/3cp and I can confirm that they are much brighter than the nighthawks, which is what I would expect as they are rated higher yet are still 21/5W 12V.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272047902846 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272047902846)
Thanks for the info I appreciate it!