LED Headlight- anyone try one of these on a Gasser?

[gasgasman]

Ok.
I went back and reread the KTMTalk discussion, you will need the rectifier for A/C powered headlamps.

[Buysomerice]

Thinking about this for my 2012, are they ac or dc? Do I need the rectifier?

[VxZeroKnots]

I just ordered one up for my 2012 with rectifier.

I'll post back with some pictures and such when it comes in.

[VxZeroKnots]

I know there is a ton of info out there already on these, but I thought I'd add some Gasser specific content. My bike is a 2012.

Here is my stock light output at about 30ft, not even enough for my camera to focus:



Here is what came in the nicely packaged box I bought, this silver dohicky is the rectifier:



You can see the various base plates.



Behind the stock mask:



The baseplate I needed was a bit deformed but a minute with some snips and a file and it was cherry:



Here it is installed, getting the retainer spring on was a bit of pain but slow and steady did it.



I butchered the rubber boot trying to trim it to fit and made a mess of things. You could probably get away without trimming but installing it in the housing would be a real pain.



Waaaaay brighter and lights from the starter turning the motor instantly. There is no flickering above idle only when the engine is warming and running rough below normal idle speed (It's below freezing out right now when I was testing)



The unit is quite a bit larger than stock and mine rubbed on the head stock, I put some foam behind the mount straps to space it out but will try to come up with something more permanent.




Overall I'm pleased with the service, shipping time, and product. My bike is only wired for a low beam so I'm not sure if I'm missing out on any brightness. I'll have to do some research and see if I can just jump the high from the low and run both circuits simultaneously or if I need to do some rewiring.

I get caught out after dark enough times due to broken bikes, over-ambitious ride plans, or just plain sillyness that I wanted something dependable that ran right off the motor and didn't depend on the battery to work. I think this foots the bill nicely.

If I could get a some more light out of it by utilizing the high beam then I'd say it's bright enough for a decent trail pace. It's no squadron but for <$100 and ease of install it is a bargain for sure. For serious night riding I'm going to look into also running an additional light off the battery but expect that to be a full loss system.

[Buysomerice]

Thanks for the write up! So was this just the kit that was mentioned before? Plus the rectifier. Just want to get the specifics since we have the same bike.

[VxZeroKnots]

Originally Posted by Buysomerice

Thanks for the write up! So was this just the kit that was mentioned before? Plus the rectifier. Just want to get the specifics since we have the same bike.

Yup just click the link in the first post and check the add rectifier box

[Neil E.]

Overall I'm pleased with the service, shipping time, and product. My bike is only wired for a low beam so I'm not sure if I'm missing out on any brightness. I'll have to do some research and see if I can just jump the high from the low and run both circuits simultaneously or if I need to do some rewiring. If I could get a some more light out of it by utilizing the high beam then I'd say it's bright enough for a decent trail pace.

It's all the same power. Using your high beam wire will not gain anything. AC power goes to the stock switch then out to either the low beam or the high beam (based on the switch position). Any other switch will do the same thing.

Maybe if you used the stator white wire instead of the stator yellow wire, there might be a tiny gain in output. The available current could increase a bit. All this depends on what the rectifier is doing. It would be interesting to know the rectifier specifications (i.e. the voltage level that it clips the output to; maybe it's done special for that bulb).

[VxZeroKnots]

Originally Posted by Neil E.

It's all the same power. Using your high beam wire will not gain anything. AC power goes to the stock switch then out to either the low beam or the high beam (based on the switch position). Any other switch will do the same thing.

Maybe if you used the stator white wire instead of the stator yellow wire, there might be a tiny gain in output. The available current could increase a bit. All this depends on what the rectifier is doing. It would be interesting to know the rectifier specifications (i.e. the voltage level that it clips the output to; maybe it's done special for that bulb).

Sorry, I was a but unclear what my goals were with a potential rewire let me clarify.

The LED unit has three emitters and three wires coming out of it. On my bike these wires go into the rectifier which has three wires coming out of it and plugging into the bike. One wire is ground (green), the next is low(white) which lights two emitters, and the final one is high(blue)
My bike just has an on off switch and two wires going into the rectifier(yellow/green to the recs green and white to the recs white), coincidentally these are the low beam and ground wires on the rec so I'm only lighting two emitters presently.

I don't want to pump more juice into it, just access the ability to light all three emitters. I don't need high/low so I'm just going to move a wire in the plug to fire only the high beam and thus all three emitters. I'm sure this will increase the output but honestly I think the main limiting factor to light usability is going to end up being the stock reflector as the pattern isn't that great in my opinion.

I hope this post makes sense, I'll edit it with the correct wire colors and some pictures once I can get a chance.

[Neil E.]

Your post makes perfect sense (I enjoy these technical posts). The manufacturer's configuration would be handy for a "total loss" situation like bicycle lighting. On a moto, the high beam/3emitter setup is all you need.

I have a pair of ADV Monster 3 emitter flood lights on my bike. They work well, but will drain the battery on maximum output. I use a programmable PWM module from Skene Design to gain a low beam function. I use 40% output for normal lighting and only go to 100% when it's fully dark.

Your photo of the new light setup shows a reasonable pattern considering it's the stock housing. I prefer having a lamp on both sides since a center headlight creates a large "fender shadow" (annoying when riding single track).

[VxZeroKnots]

I updated my previous post with wire colors. I can't find a wiring diagram and am curious if anyone can anyone confirm the yellow/green is a ground and white is the low beam on the bikes?

Neil, If you don't mind me asking what specific lights are you running? What is your run time at 100% and full loss, what about at 40%? Have you tried programming it for say 50%-90% to see what run times you can get out of it or how much output you can task the charging system with before going full loss?

I am curious to try some different light shrouds and reflectors to see if I can find an ideal setup for riding the single track we have around here. Which is to say not super woodsy tight but rocky and lots of big elevation changes, off camber, and sharp blind turns.