led bulb #s for steamers

[MtheTiger]

Easy & simple......Just buy white T6.5 LEDs from the bay with Paypal and stick 'm in. Use the superbright ones (seller = Warden as I remember correctly). No more dim idiot lights.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-24- ... ccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-24-T6-5-Instrument-Panel-3-LED-Bulbs-Blue-White-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2ead17ad80QQitemZ200472505728QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

....and while U' re in there replace all the other ones also EXCEPT the low fuel indicator ' cause this one don't work with LEDs.

The bulbs for your instrument gauges can be replaced with ultrabright T10 LEDS. I used the sparky blue ones 'cause my Tigger is blue....very nice indeed !!!
http://cgi.ebay.de/2x-STANDLICHT-LED-SM ... 3359612e57 (http://cgi.ebay.de/2x-STANDLICHT-LED-SMD-T10-w5w-XENON-WEISS-6000K-PREMIUM-/220542873175?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Autoteile_Zubeh%C3%B6r&hash=item3359612e57)

I also replaced my rear/brake light and indicators with LEDS from superbright leds. LEDs draw only a fraction of the power needed for bulbs (1/10th or so). Because my headlights are the only bulbs left on the bike they get an voltage increase of a few % because of the LED conversion. This will let them shine MUCH more bright because the relation between voltage and light (lumen) output is not lineair.

For the indicators you need the High Power 4Watt 1156 bulbs in AMBER.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/ ... -x3X1W.htm (http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F115x-x3X1W.htm)

Always use the same color LEDs as the lens cover color.

IMPORTANT: LEDs only work when put in the right way round....so if your LED's don't light up turn 'm round 180 degrees.

[ZuluSafari]

Thought I would add a comment to this-

I used the SuperbrightLEDs website to order the necessary components for my Steamer, and had a great experience.  I replaced the Tail lights, Dash lights, and instrument lights - save two.  I also used their electronic flasher module as recommended by Mustang in another thread - glad I ordered it on the off chance, as the turn signal indicators in the dash would have been my downfall.  I also heeded the advice on several LED threads, forums, and retailers, and ordered the LED to match the lens covers.

The two lights I didn't replace were the Low Fuel and Hi-beam Indicator lights.  The low fuel, because I read it needs some resistance to work properly, and the Hi-beam because I messed up ordering the instrument lights!

The instruments needed two lights/each in the Tach and Speedo, and one light in the Temp gauge.  I also used the same light in the voltmeter replaced sometime in the past where the clock used to live.  I made the horrible assumption that the bulbs were all the same, as the ones I pulled out looked to be so.  In truth, the lower speedo light is a smaller #24 bulb (the T6.5 Euro size, I believe?) rather than the larger #194 (T10) like all the others.  Since I ordered my dash lights in the "sparky blue ones" just as MtheTiger did, that meant I was one blue bulb short.  Therefore, I snagged the blue #24 LED back out of the dash and put it in the lower Speedo position.

Other than having the old incandescent bulb in the Hi-beam spot, the dash and signal indicators are MUCH better!

You can see that the Hi-beam isn't as bright as the Oil Pressure or Turn Indicators.

As also mentioned in another thread:  Since the LED's use much less electricity to light up, they are pretty much instant-on.  This has the effect of flashing the Neutral light everytime I move between first and second, either up or down.  I was not sure what I was seeing at first, until I watched closer during my gear selector upgrade experiment.  The unintended benefit is, I can easily see now that I have made it all the way down when I am downshifting at stops.  The only time (so far) I have laid this bike over was due to a take-off attempt in second, around a corner.  I stalled out the motor, and she tipped right onto the curb before I could think about it!  Thankfully, it was the first ride after installing the ThunderBike crash bars, so the curb just left some concrete dust on the steel bars, instead of cracking the engine cover.

The rear bulbs I purchased were the ones with Red LEDs firing out the back, rimmed with White LEDs to keep the license plate lit.  I was worried it wouldn't look right, at first, until the lens was installed and everything tried out.  The White LEDs keep me legal without having to add in and wire a second License Plate illumination source - Lighted plate bolts, for instance - and the two-stage Red LEDs look great from the rear.  The White LEDs also shine outwards by the original reflectors, so the lighted ring is beneficial beyond the plate window.


I went with aftermarket Speed Metal LED turn signals purchased from Cycle Gear, and they are OK.  They are much more visible than the generic aftermarket replacements that were on her when I bought her, but still not ideal.  The front set looks better than the rear, so I like them fine.  Upon initial install, the signals flashed more rapidly than the incandescents, but not lightning speed like many other conversions I had seen.  I thought I might be fine with the Hella unit on the bike.  I ordered the electronic flasher anyway, just in case, as I really did feel the flash was a bit fast.  When I put the new #24 Green LEDs in the indicator positions, the Hella flasher no longer worked, and the Green LEDs just had a very dim, faint, glow.  At first, I was worried I ordered the wrong lights - there are several options available in the same sizes, and the light output and degrees of visible angle are the only differences!  It turns out that the incandescent dash indicator bulbs were the last bit of resistance needed to fire the flasher unit.  So, I installed the new electronic flasher in place of the Hella, and everything now works perfectly!  The indicators are very bright, much more visible in the sunlight, but not too much at night.  Hazard function looks great as well, and everything was pretty much plug and play!






One item of interest, is that in three different stores, looking at several different LED and Incandescent replacement Turn Indicators, none of the aftermarket sets are DOT listed.  I wonder if the DOT rating is part of the otherwise inexcusably high price for factory indicators?  The State of Texas doesn't require Turn Indicators on street bikes for licensing, so it isn't a legal issue here, but I am a smidgen concerned about Insurance Liability.  My conscience is greatly eased by the knowledge that the aftermarket LEDs are much more visible without being blinding than the incandescent replacements I swapped out.

As also mentioned above and elsewhere, the overall system voltage drop is much less running LEDs everywhere, and therefore my headlamps are much brighter!  I will be sourcing some additional LED driving lights for shoulder illumination, but so far the other LEDs are working as intended!!

My volt meter would routinely drop from 13.5v down to 12v at stoplights, while holding the brakes.  The needle would dip lower with each flash of the turn indicators, too.  Now, the needle stays right at 14v all the time, even with the hi-beams up.  The only regular drive  item that seems to make a difference now is the Horn!

In conclusion, this is an easy, worthwhile upgrade in my opinion, and cost me about $70.00US delivered.  I have an extra Blue T10/194 and still need the last Blue #24, but the verdict still stands.  Separate from the Dash and Tail LEDs, and the Electronic Flasher Module; the turn signals were about $20.00US each set, fronts and rears, and they are clear until lit, then brilliant orange.  The ones I ordered have nice orange lenses in the tips for extra side visibility.

I may order a slightly dimmer #168 blue LED for the volt meter - it is much brighter than the factory gauges with identical #194 bulbs.

Joshua

[Geoff W]

Very good  write up. I am looking at changing the dash/idiot lights soon. I will follow your advice.

[Sparky]

I just did all the dash and instrument lights on my Steamer and had a hard time determining exactly which bulbs to order from the Superbright web site as they have different lumen outputs and beam patterns.  I did green for the clock back lighting and the correct colours for the instrument lights, I did not try the low fuel indicator as I read this does not work with LED bulbs.

These are the part numbers I ordered and used:

4 of 74-GHP: Green colour, 10 lumen.   Left and right indicators, neutral indicator and one small bulb for the clock back light.
1 of 74-BHP: Blue colour, 10 lumen.  High beam indicator.
1 of 74-RHP: Red colour, 10 lumen.  Oil pressure indicator.
4 of WLED-G4-90: Green colour, 90 deg beam spread, 15 lumen.  Large bulbs for the clock back lights. 

I should clarify when I say clocks above I mean speedo, tach and temp gauge not the actual clock bulb as I forgot to order that one 

[arielAl]

I just replaced all but headlight bulbs on my '95 tiger. No one has mentioned the front side / park lights yet. Unless mine was a one off Friday night joke at the factory I found that the 5 smd bulbs I used didn't work though lit fine across the battery. Cause - the last connector to the front lights reverses the polarity for some reason. leds are polarity sensitive, so swop the wires over and have super bright park lights that you can leave on a while and still start the bike!

[Sidk]

Can anyone recommend a decent replacement LED for the rear Brake lights? possibly with a link?

Thanks in advance..