Currently have a HID conversion (take a second to warm up) and am toying with 'upgrading' to LEDs. What experience do people have of LEDs on the 1150's?
LEDs for an 1150GSA?
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Loads about them in this thread
https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showt...ights-LED-HID-What-s-the-latest?highlight=LED
Mine are still working, they’re brighter without dazzling other road users (well they don’t flash me) and it passed an MOT after the tester said “they are a BMW part aren’t they Andy?” Obviously I replied that they were, he smiled and passed it.
https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showt...ights-LED-HID-What-s-the-latest?highlight=LED
Mine are still working, they’re brighter without dazzling other road users (well they don’t flash me) and it passed an MOT after the tester said “they are a BMW part aren’t they Andy?” Obviously I replied that they were, he smiled and passed it.
I swapped from HID last year and they still work and passed the MOT last month. Happy days...
I bought a pair of led bulbs on ebay a couple of years ago, the ones with the wee cooling fans in the heatsink at the back of the bulb for the main headlights. I also fitted led driving lights and spots which came from ebay too. Better light with less stress on the alternator and battery is a win win as far as I am concerned.
So what's with HID's failing MOTs these days? Mine passed last year with the HIDs fitted, but he did mention something about them... And so why are the LED's fine for MOTs?
According to my favoured tester they’re not fine if they’re not designed to fit the bike but all you do is say they were supplied by a BMW dealer as being suitable for that model and you’re in.
He was convinced we’d have to change the angle on mine because he thought it looked high but when he put it on the machine it was spot on. I set them by putting a chalk mark on a fence at home before I removed the original H4 rubbish and making sure the new ones weren’t any higher then followed my wife in her car as a double check. I’ve never had anyone flash me even when riding in Europe where you’d expect a problem if you were going to get one anywhere.
Mine are good on country roads where you’re not going to be ragging it after dark but I find that on unlit trunk roads at 80mph I need the auxiliary lights on as well. It’s not a massive investment to try them out and if you’re not happy go back to what you had. Even in daylight others say that the LED lights make you much more visible to other road users compared to the old H4 bulbs so that alone made them worth the effort to me because I like to go away to Europe in winter and German motorways are one place where you really want to be seen.
He was convinced we’d have to change the angle on mine because he thought it looked high but when he put it on the machine it was spot on. I set them by putting a chalk mark on a fence at home before I removed the original H4 rubbish and making sure the new ones weren’t any higher then followed my wife in her car as a double check. I’ve never had anyone flash me even when riding in Europe where you’d expect a problem if you were going to get one anywhere.
Mine are good on country roads where you’re not going to be ragging it after dark but I find that on unlit trunk roads at 80mph I need the auxiliary lights on as well. It’s not a massive investment to try them out and if you’re not happy go back to what you had. Even in daylight others say that the LED lights make you much more visible to other road users compared to the old H4 bulbs so that alone made them worth the effort to me because I like to go away to Europe in winter and German motorways are one place where you really want to be seen.
Hid's are an MOT failure,
for motorbikes it's if and only if they are fitted to headlamp unit's they are not approved for
Hid's are meant to be in self leveling headlight's units fitted with a wash
& or wash wipe system to prevent glare to other road users.
So if you retrospectively fit them to your bike, technically there not approved for a boggo reflector lamp unit hence the fail
But it says nothing about LED, other than they are legal as a light source
So Hid no ... LED yes
for motorbikes it's if and only if they are fitted to headlamp unit's they are not approved for
Hid's are meant to be in self leveling headlight's units fitted with a wash
& or wash wipe system to prevent glare to other road users.
So if you retrospectively fit them to your bike, technically there not approved for a boggo reflector lamp unit hence the fail
But it says nothing about LED, other than they are legal as a light source
So Hid no ... LED yes
Santa,
Not quite right.
If you have a bike such as the K1600 which has HID as std. It does not have wash or wipe, but it does have self alignment.
Not quite right.
If you have a bike such as the K1600 which has HID as std. It does not have wash or wipe, but it does have self alignment.
Love HID's and damn the transport minister.
With the big adventure alternator, what is to save. These lights are bright enough in my opinion. Even riding at night on back roads.
Sent from my MI 9 using Tapatalk
With the big adventure alternator, what is to save. These lights are bright enough in my opinion. Even riding at night on back roads.
Sent from my MI 9 using Tapatalk
So bit the bullet and changed from HID to LED. The ones Gabriel_GS used were currently unavailable (4000LM per bulb, 6500K), so I went for the newer, brighter version (9000LM, 6000K) which have a fan and cost £40. I needed to modify the metal bulb holder slightly so allow the notches to align, but no big deal with the Dremel. Also picked up some LED dust caps which slot straight over the top, leaving loads of space around it so the original ones are now superfluous. I also drilled a small hole on the underside to help with cooling. Replaced the stock connecters with waterproof bullet connectors and tidied everything up with cable ties. Looks good to me, but its too light right now to test them properly and the MOT is tomorrow... fingers crossed, and hopefully, they last!
I tried, but feared I'd break it! 
Better to risk knackering a £20 LED than a £150 light unit.........
FFS, will tossers stop posting such item, I’ve just ordered these, no idea why as I never ride after dark, I’m a sucker for buying stuff that my GS doesn’t need.
The locating collar rotates, it’s stiff, but it’s designed to rotate so you can align it to suit your housing and to maintain the led in the correct position. No need for any drilling/grinding.
Too late now of course..........
Fitted this morning, only on the dipped beam, I’ll swap the mIn beam over tomorrow. No drilling or grinding. 
FFS, will tossers stop posting such item, I’ve just ordered these, no idea why as I never ride after dark, I’m a sucker for buying stuff that my GS doesn’t need.
Wizards-Online
Going Overground
So bit the bullet and changed from HID to LED. The ones Gabriel_GS used were currently unavailable (4000LM per bulb, 6500K), so I went for the newer, brighter version (9000LM, 6000K) which have a fan and cost £40. I needed to modify the metal bulb holder slightly so allow the notches to align, but no big deal with the Dremel. Also picked up some LED dust caps which slot straight over the top, leaving loads of space around it so the original ones are now superfluous. I also drilled a small hole on the underside to help with cooling. Replaced the stock connecters with waterproof bullet connectors and tidied everything up with cable ties. Looks good to me, but its too light right now to test them properly and the MOT is tomorrow... fingers crossed, and hopefully, they last!
I can’t remember what size of bulb the 1150 takes. Anyone able to confirm before I start delving through the books.
Ta.
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H1, one each side 
These are the ones I bought, fitted dipped beam, ther are 2 in the box £39 something.
H1, one each side
You’ll be wanting the Osram LED t4 bulb for the parking light too... 
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