Standard Halogen headlight globes vs equivalent LED headlight bulbs?

[Guzzoo]

Hi All,
My first post

I'm still counting down the days waiting for my first Moto Guzzi 2014 California Custom to arrive by transport.
So, .....in the meantime I've been sucked into the vortex of choice and cost of performance parts and accessories!

Does anyone have any experience replacing the standard H7 and H3 halogen headlight globes with equivalent LED headlight bulbs for example -
https://www.iilumo.com/products/cosmic-plus-h7
and
https://www.iilumo.com/products/cosmic-plus-h3

I believe they are pretty much just plug and play, as long as there is enough room for the extra 3cm length.

If anyone has a photo of the internals of the Custom headlight that would be really helpful?
Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

 

[Paul Ash]

Hi there and welcome. I’d wait till you have the bike. There’s a biconvex lens inside the lamp that is close to the end of the bulb when inserted so 3cm may be (is likely to be) impossible. Also the current bulb sits at the hyper focal point of the reflector and you’d need to know whether the led one did (probably not).

I’d say wait. And I’d also think even of it fitted, the beam pattern would be horrible. It’s just physics.

Best regards

Paul

 

[Guzzoo]

Hi there and welcome. I’d wait till you have the bike. There’s a biconvex lens inside the lamp that is close to the end of the bulb when inserted so 3cm may be (is likely to be) impossible. Also the current bulb sits at the hyper focal point of the reflector and you’d need to know whether the led one did (probably not).

I’d say wait. And I’d also think even of it fitted, the beam pattern would be horrible. It’s just physics.

Best regards

Paul

Hi Paul, thanks for the welcome and reply.
I understand your first comments and agree that I will wait now.

Could you just elaborate a bit more on the beam pattern please? Just going by the advertised comparison photo, it appears much better.

 

[Paul Ash]

The issue is that reflectors on lamps are generally parabolic. A parabolic reflector has an ideal position for the lamp where the majority of the rays are send out parallel towards the target (see Wikipedia 'Parabolic Reflector') and attached diagram. If you start messing with the bulb length and also direction of light output (leds tend to push light forwards, filament lamps (halogen) tend to send it 360 degrees sideways) then you mess with the design parameters of the lamp.

I'm not saying that it won't work, but I am 100% sure it won't work as per the adverts you show. The light will have a much cooler colour temperature too. All I am saying is that use of different bulbs in a parabolic system (compounded in the Guzzi's case by the bi-convex lens) is non-trivial and fraught at best.

My 10 cents worth is that I don't think it will fit, and if it does fit you will be entering a world of pain. But that is just my opinion.

Best regards

Paul

 

[Guzzoo]

Thank You. Makes sense to me now!
I'll go with standard replacements -
- Philips H7 X-TREME Vision Plus Bulb Headlight Globes 12v/55w 130%
and
- Philips H3 WhiteVision Ultra Light Globes 12v /55w 4200K

....appreciate your help Paul!

 

[Paul Ash]

Don't forget to let us all have a pic of the bike when you get it

 

[Guzzoo]

Absolutely! ....Thanks.

 

[James Chance]

Pretty sure there was a discussion of this over on WildGuzzi a good while back. Somebody found something Denali sells that was an improvement IIRC. As I rarely ride for any significant distances in full dark, I didn't pay that much attention...

 

[Guzzoo]

Cheers James ....I'll have a look!

 

[roadventure]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any experience replacing the standard H7 and H3 halogen headlight globes with equivalent LED headlight bulbs for example -

Cheers!

Why? Maybe you should let your bike arrive and then ride it for a while. IF you then find anything deficient, then look into what you can do to correct that "problem".

FYI, the only stupid things that I have found on my 2014 MG California have been:

1. the airbox design. It is almost impossible to change the air filter without removing MANY parts in and around the airbox first.

2. the cosmetic cover on the rear drive that requires you to remove the rear wheel in order to change the rear drive lube. (I simply removed that cover and stuck it in a box of MG California items that will go with the bike when sole eventually)

3. the crossover pipe in the exhaust WILL CRACK and fail at the welds where it attaches to the header pipes. (order Todd's replacement H-Pipe here on this site. Install it and problem cured forever)

I think that's about it.

 

[roadventure]

The issue is that reflectors on lamps are generally parabolic. A parabolic reflector has an ideal position for the lamp where the majority of the rays are send out parallel towards the target (see Wikipedia 'Parabolic Reflector') and attached diagram. If you start messing with the bulb length and also direction of light output (leds tend to push light forwards, filament lamps (halogen) tend to send it 360 degrees sideways) then you mess with the design parameters of the lamp.

I'm not saying that it won't work, but I am 100% sure it won't work as per the adverts you show. The light will have a much cooler colour temperature too. All I am saying is that use of different bulbs in a parabolic system (compounded in the Guzzi's case by the bi-convex lens) is non-trivial and fraught at best.

My 10 cents worth is that I don't think it will fit, and if it does fit you will be entering a world of pain. But that is just my opinion.

Best regards

PaulView attachment 20420

I agree here. This is an opportunity to avoid a self inflicted problem.