Results: Osram HL H4 LED's fitted to GL1500

[Sadanorakman]

I asked for advice regarding LED H4's for a GL 1500 in the following thread:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=68369&p=408390#p408390

So this post possibly has a bit better exposure, I just wanted to start a new thread to share my test results.

Here in the UK, Its legal to replace a Halogen bulb with an LED, in a headlamp unit originally designed for halogen lamps only on a motorcycle, not on any other road going vehicle. It must pass strict beam alignment and cut-off criterion though.

I settled on a pair of Osram HL H4 lamps, as these had their emitters positioned really close to where the filaments would be in an original Halogen lamp. They also carry a five year warranty, and are passively cooled. At 14 watts each, they are not the very brightest LED available, but struck me as quality over quantity.

Firstly, here are the passively-cooled Osram HL H4's:

The Halogens I took out were Osram Halogen H4's. Nothing fancy like Nightbreakers, but 55W/60W as opposed to the 45W/45W fitted to older GL1500's. The headlamp unit does have 60/55 printed on it, so maybe this was a thing in later models. They still provided pretty marginal illumination to be honest.

Here's the headlamp unit, with one original halogen in, and next to it the mounting collar for one of the new Osram LED lamps fitted:

And the rubber gasket refitted:

Here is one of the Osram lamps without it's mounting collar on. notice the small tab on the neck of the lamp. The idea is to push the lamp into it's mounting collar once the headlamp rubber seal is back in place, then twist the lamp to lock it in place (bayonet-fixing method).
The O-ring at the neck of the lamp provides just enough interference with the mounting collar when rotating the lamp to fix it in position.

And one of the OSram LED's fitted into the headlight housing. The lamps are quite stiff to lock into place, and this compresses the internal headlight fittings a bit. You need to be careful not to apply too much force, as another member found when they bent their headlamp internals doing something similar!

These lamps have a very short flying lead: too short to reposition the connectors into the rectangular fairing opening behind the headlamp. This was a bit of an issue, and I had to carefully locate the two connectors just above the heatsinks, as that's the only place that offered enough space to fit the headlamp back in without forcing anything.

The beam photos I think stand for themselves. I set up a Digital SLR on a tripod, and projected against the back of a sheet of cushion flooring about 9 feet away. The flooring is kind of off-white. Camera set to fixed exposure: Daylight white-balance (6500K), ISO 800, 1/160th second, F5.0 Aperture to get accurate comparison:

Good cut-off for the LED's. Brighter output everywhere in the frame, so no black hole in the lower part of the beam like I have seen with some other LEDs.
Even the brightest spot of the halogens sits comfortably within the measuring capabilities of the camera sensor. The LED's are so much brighter, that almost the whole of the hotspot exceeds the camera's capacity to capture it at these exposure settings (i.e. this part of the image is completely blown-out, exposure-wise (exceeds 100% brightness):

Low Beam comparison

Main/high Beam comparison. I adjusted the high beam down a little after fitting the LEDs, using the appropriate adjusting screw, as my high beam was always a little too high for my liking with the Halogens. The LED's offer much better fore-ground lighting when on main beam than the Halogens did. With the Halogens, there was a real darkening in the fore-ground, directly in front of the bike.

Am VERY VERY happy with these!

Just need to get my driving lamp bulbs replaced with some led's now.

[blupupher]

Nice. Let us know how your inspection goes (it is called "MOT" there, correct?).

[Sadanorakman]

Nice. Let us know how your inspection goes (it is called "MOT" there, correct?).

Correct blupupher, M.O.T. stands for 'Ministry Of Transport', which as a body was initiated by a parliamentary act in 1919, and long since defunct! Now we have the 'Department for Transport', but it has toggled back and forth between many names!

1919–1941: Ministry of Transport
1941–1946: Ministry of War Transport, after absorption of Ministry of Shipping
1946–1953: Ministry of Transport
1953–1959: Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation
1959–1970: Ministry of Transport
1970–1976: Department of the Environment
1976–1997: Department of Transport
1997–2001: Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
2001–2002: Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
2002–present: Department for Transport

My test isn't due until May, but I will come back and update you all how I get on. I could get it retested now, but I see no point in throwing away several month's remaining validity.

Thanks for all your valued input and comments. I'm really enjoying the Madstad now too! I really enjoyed Texas when I visited for business a couple of years ago.

[minimac]

Very nicely done. Thanks!

[Sadanorakman]

Very nicely done. Thanks!

You are most welcome minimac. There's a lot of mis-information about LED replacement lamps, and an awful lot of Chinese manufactured crap out there.

I'm glad to have shared my adventure with you all.

[landisr]

Do these require the 'adapter ring' for the later headlight units? ie Would I need to purchase them for this application? And are they still available?

Thanks.

Ron in AZ

[Rambozo]

The adapters are only required if you have the 1998-2000 style GL1500 headlight. They are still available at Cyclemax, if you need some.

https://cyclemax.com/products/gl1500-h- ... bulb-shims

[landisr]

Thanks!

20 characters...

[Sadanorakman]

Do these require the 'adapter ring' for the later headlight units? ie Would I need to purchase them for this application? And are they still available?

Thanks.

Ron in AZ

My 1500 is a 2000 model, BUT it's UK spec, so still has a glass beaded lens, not the clear plastic. These standard H4 lamps fit straight into this particular housing.

I would guess that you would need the adapter to fit your clear-lensed housing.

[Tim 1956]

Very nicely done. Thanks!

You are most welcome minimac. There's a lot of mis-information about LED replacement lamps, and an awful lot of Chinese manufactured crap out there.

I'm glad to have shared my adventure with you all.

and how difficult is it to find where the bulbs go? Do I still have to remove my seat, all 3 trunks, exhaust system, fake tank covers and front and rear wheels??? Nothing ever seems to be simple on the 1500's.

[Sadanorakman]

Two screws to remove the windscreen garnish, I think two more to remove the trim beneath the headlight, and if I remember, four screws to remove the headlamp. It's been a while now. since I did it.

Biggest problem was the lack of space behind the headlamp.

[Sadanorakman]

Nice. Let us know how your inspection goes (it is called "MOT" there, correct?).

Bike flew through its MOT (road worthyness) test about a month ago. No problem with the LED H4 beam patterns.

[Tim 1956]

Two screws to remove the windscreen garnish, I think two more to remove the trim beneath the headlight, and if I remember, four screws to remove the headlamp. It's been a while now. since I did it.

Biggest problem was the lack of space behind the headlamp.

Ok, thanks. So I get to leave the bags and tires and everything else on. There's not to many things that don't require a total tear down disassemble. Now I have to decide what bulbs to put in. I never ride at night. Is it better for daytime riding? Anything that would make people see you better in the day is a plus. I don't even know the part numbers for the stock bulbs in it. Thanks.
Tim

[Tim 1956]

video on how what to remove to get to the bulbs just found.

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[WingAdmin]

video on how what to remove to get to the bulbs just found.

A step-by-step tutorial with pictures is also here: How to install LED Headlights

[Tim 1956]

video on how what to remove to get to the bulbs just found.

A step-by-step tutorial with pictures is also here: How to install LED Headlights

What is the bulb number and name for the led? The 9003 sylvania says off road only. Even though I don't ride at night. Anything to make me more visible and an excuse to take something apart on my bike.