V11 with a front fairing: replacing the H4 Halogene by a Led; the owner's manual seems to be incorrect?

[Tomchri]

46 minutes ago, docc said:

Did you have to alter the spade connections?

In my early sport steel bucket Bosch, I had to bend them 90º for clearance to the back of the bucket:                              

   <fitted right in, no modification needed.

Cheers Tom.

[guzziart]

Hi Doc, Tomchri,

So, what is the general consensus....Auxito or Vintage Car?   Yeah, the Auxito price is more attractive.  My Lemans has the plastic bucket.

Also, whenever I have to do any work behind the fairing, I remove it (pull mirrors, unplug signals & remove 6 or so bolts).

Thanks,

Art

[docc]

My VintageCars LED has been the best "bulb" of any kind I have used in the early Sport steel bucket.

The AUXITO do "look" identical, but who can say if the are actually the same or another case of an identical-looking, cheaper copy?

FWIW, my (almost) two year old VCm3 (left) does not look exactly like the new ones:

[Tomchri]

A saying,   you usally get what .. Had to wait a couple of weeks extra for the VCm 3 from Vintage car, they were out. They were offering me more expensive H4 bulbs if I wanted to, no extra charge.  But knowing the VCm 3 fits right in, waited.   So called life time warranty. Ok, finished with H4 bulbs.

Cheers Tom.

[guzziart]

Hey Doc & Tom,

Thanks for the feedback!  I'll add the VCm3 to my V11 to do list.

Art

[Twin AH]

That one on the right looks like a fan cooled unit.

I have two American made metal fan drivers in my Stelvio for years with no issues just for the record is all.

PS ,,,, they weren't cheap.   

[docc]

19 hours ago, Twin AH said:

That one on the right looks like a fan cooled unit.

I have two American made metal fan drivers in my Stelvio for years with no issues just for the record is all.

PS ,,,, they weren't cheap.   

The LED pictured right was the cheap Chinese unit I bought. Poor beam patterns, failed after 2 1/2 years, 10,000 miles. Yes, I recall there was a fan in that finned heat sink. I was never sure how effective that could be closed inside the steel bucket.

[p6x]

On 6/25/2022 at 10:07 AM, footgoose said:

the Auxito linked here looks just like the Vintage Car bulb for less money but says 26w while the VC says 20w. is this a problem I wonder? If not I'll try them.

The Vintage Car Bulb is a proprietary design, but if you read the page, they are sold in sets of two. So the price is actually for two bulbs and not a single.

I also found this, from Canada: https://www.ledperf.ca/led-conversion-kit-bulb-for-motoguzzi-v-11-le-mans-mini-size-p-23477.html

They claim it is a plug and play replacement of the existing H4, and 4500 lumens! 5 years warranty. All these LED lights look identical, one from the other.

They may be manufactured by the same Chinese company with different brand names. The one I purchased looked exactly like those shown in the various specifications, and at no time did they inform they had a separate driver that was too large to fit in the bucket.

"No OBC" error; they must ignore that the V11 electrical circuit is not connected to the ECU.

[docc]

I bought my VintageCar LED singly. There is a checkout option for that, IIRC.

[p6x]

The Canadian "LedPerf" proposes a complete headlight replacement. https://www.ledperf.ca/led-headlight-for-motoguzzi-v-11-le-mans-round-motorcycle-optics-approved-p-33045.html

I don't know if I want the head light to look so extra terrestrial though...

[docc]

6 minutes ago, docc said:

I bought my VintageCar LED singly. There is a checkout option for that, IIRC.

When the VintageCar VCm3 page opens, see "Bulb QTY," drop down the menu and select "single - ONLY 1 bulb."

Still $84.50 US, but I would buy it again. 

[al_roethlisberger]

I too ran across the LEDPerf model that says it is "plug and play" for the Lemans, and wondered if anyone had actually tried to see if it indeed was a physical "plug and play" fit with the Lemans headlight setup.  Anyone?

 

It's not very expensive, relatively speaking, but then again that may or may not bode well for quality or accuracy of the product description.

 

I agree that I don't really love the high-tech look, but then again I really do like being able to see the road well at night 

 

Round LED headlight for Moto-Guzzi V11 Le Mans - 5 year warranty (ledperf.us)

 

[guzziart]

WOW, I like it!  I put a brand X ($15 ebay) style h4 led in my V11 Lemans last Fall. It fit fine, base was thin metal like the oe h4 and dimensionally (lengthwise) was the same, I encountered no clearance issues.  However, after I installed it I realized it looked a little crappy.  The light was bright white (nice) but the pilot light was the old incandescent (kinda yellowish) and my lens appeared a little hazy (from age??!!).  So, if this Cree brand actually fits/works I think I'd be game to spending the money for one.  It would resolve the haze & pilot bulb issue.  And, imho, Cree make a quality product, 5 year warranty is nice too.  FWIW, Walmart sells Sylvania 194 LED wedge bulbs for about $6.  Also, I picked up another 0.2 to 0.3vdc to overall charging system voltage at idle by going to an led headlight bulb.  I should probably swap out the S & T bulb with an led too.

On another note, I installed a plug & play led sealed beam into my '72 Eldo,  has no retro appearance but I can certainly be seen, I'm pleased with it.  It was marketed on ebay for Jeeps & motorcycles, $42.

Art

[Guzzi-in-Vancouver]

On 1/29/2023 at 1:59 PM, al_roethlisberger said:

I too ran across the LEDPerf model that says it is "plug and play" for the Lemans, and wondered if anyone had actually tried to see if it indeed was a physical "plug and play" fit with the Lemans headlight setup.  Anyone?

 

It's not very expensive, relatively speaking, but then again that may or may not bode well for quality or accuracy of the product description.

 

I agree that I don't really love the high-tech look, but then again I really do like being able to see the road well at night 

 

Round LED headlight for Moto-Guzzi V11 Le Mans - 5 year warranty (ledperf.us)

 

I think I have this headlight and while it’s not the original look it’s not bad. The bike now is less sport-naked and quite a bit more street-fighter. I was going to say sport-naked/street-fighter but that makes it sound like an erotic Jean Claude Van Damme movie. 

[Pressureangle]

I ran across something I've known for a decade, figured I'd present it for those who haven't seen it. I picked this thread at random as an LED lighting thread. 

I installed an LED in my '74 Aermacchi and it's enormously better than the stock sealed beam- or the more modern high output H4. But it was also very expensive. I chose it because I have only 140 watts of charging system to work with. 
I improved the light on my 1100 Sport by cleaning the inside of the lens; my '85 LeMans was *hugely* improved by adding a separate battery circuit and 30a relay to the H4. I haven't yet relayed the 'Sport, but I expect the same level of improvement. I don't LED.

https://danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html