H4 LED - 2018 Evitek, F2 replaces G6

[ST Gui]

it is optimized for "a softer transition" and LED only.

I'm glad there is an offering of a modulator that's street legal. If I every get roundtoit I'll take my chances with SDC's version (incandescent only) used for lane splitting and some unusual circumstance (late for a Then Came Bronson marathon). And using it on low beam could be less irritating to the GIF (Guy In Front).

 

[Catmandu2]

The fan will continue to spin at a slightly slower rate. Heat will be lower.

Just back from my latest Cannonball ride,,, And the F2's did a great job. As far as modulation goes,,, we used it all the way,, on both high and low beams. And as far as driver reaction is concerned,,, I had some different and interesting reactions, compared to H4's. But that is a topic for a modulation thread. The point here is,, the F2's performed well,, despite the fan speed being impaired by more than %50,, in imho. I don't have anyway of measuring the result,, other than that they did not fail. Only further testing will tell. Obviously,,, being able to power the fans at their full intended speed would be preferable,,, but maybe it does not matter,,, Cat'

OH, one neat thing. I used to wish I had some kind of a dash indicator that shows when the H4's were modulating. With the F2's,,, you don't need that,,, because you can see the pulsing reflection in the road signs,,, even in the brightest sunshine !!

 

[BendBill]

Installed a pair of Katana F2 [30w 6000 lumens] from Amazon. Brilliant white light--a nice upgrade. Thanks to spiderman for the tip. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078W5566S?tag=viglink20849-20

 

[cdnemsguy]

Hi everyone, If you are looking at lighting for your rides, don't make the same error I did when I ordered the switchback lighting. I have the Evitek and the position lights in, looking good, but did the switchbacks and whoops, wrong color. Look very blue/purple...Then ST Gui points out a very important spec. The Evitek is 6500k. my switchbacks are 8000k. The higher number the more blue, the lower number the more orange yellow. The amber is 3000k. News to me and didn't do my homework. Well ordering new bulbs for the switchbacks now...but love the Evitek and position bulb color.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Well ordering new bulbs for the switchbacks now...but love the Evitek and position bulb color.

FWIW I installed Fyre Flys 120 LED Dual Color Switchback 7443 7444 Turn Signal Lights based on the information and research in this thread- Switchback LEDs. If you read through the thread he did a lot of research before settling on these even though they are more expensive than many. I was lazy so I piggy-backed on his research and spent the money- I was hoping to avoid premature failure that many who purchased cheaper bulbs experienced. It has been two riding seasons and so far so good. Another reason I went with these is that while in the white mode they match the Evitek G6 LED bulb colour just about as perfectly as you can get. That thread contains a link to the Fyre Flys but it no longer works and the Fyre Flys website seems to have disappeared. However, I have given this link to two people. As far as I can tell they are the same bulbs that were linked to in the original switchback thread and they are also from Fyre Flys. They seem identical to mine in every way. Both people have installed these bulbs and the colour is also identical to mine.

 

[ST Gui]

I was lazy so I piggy-backed on his research and spent the money- I was hoping to avoid premature failure that many who purchased cheaper bulbs experienced.

I did the same thing with the same results. At the time the bulbs were ~$55 and maybe shipping. I bought a set from the eBay link and I believe it's the same vendor. They're also cheaper now.

My avatar shows the Fyre Fly switchbacks with the factory headlights. But with the G6s the color is now very close.

The F2s at 6000K are a little bit whiter and might be a better match.

 

[Pete in PA]

just ordered. I work nights and need to see deer!

 

[Pete in PA]

any how to for these lights? where to secure the ballast?

 

[ST Gui]

any how to for these lights? where to secure the ballast?

Short form as I recall my installation:

Clip two bottom tabs
separate fan from G6/F2
remove wiring connector from current bulb* (*easier said than done)
pull rubber boot / unclip bale* / remove bulb
Insert bulb/clip bale* / install rubber boot
connect fan to bulb
find convenient place to tie-wrap LED driver
I don't think it gets very hot so I just 'wrapped' it to a harness that was close.
connect headlight connector to G6 connector.
test the light then rinse repeat

I don't think there's any one/best way to secure the driver box and just went with what was convenient. The Tup was already removed so this was fairly easy. When you test the first light you'll see a pretty dramatic difference.

 

[Pete in PA]

Got them installed. what a great pain, no room to work in there and see at the same time. Zip tied the igniter boxes to the subframe.

Now onto rotational adjustment....Is the bulb supposed to be straight up and down or a slight lean? There is a slight play in the tab to headlight housing. Which way should it be?

Can't test ride or shine on a wall till it stops raining, IDK late next week some time.

Looks good from the front though.

 

[Soontobeone]

Got them installed. what a great pain, no room to work in there and see at the same time. Zip tied the igniter boxes to the subframe.

Now onto rotational adjustment....Is the bulb supposed to be straight up and down or a slight lean? There is a slight play in the tab to headlight housing. Which way should it be?

Can't test ride or shine on a wall till it stops raining, IDK late next week some time.

Looks good from the front though.

As I understand it, the aluminum bar should be oriented vertically, so that the LED's are facing "left and right", and not facing "up or down".

 

[Catmandu2]

As I understand it, the aluminum bar should be oriented vertically, so that the LED's are facing "left and right", and not facing "up or down".

Yes,,, that is the way mine are. I placed orientation marks on my new F2's,, so that I would not accidentally rotate the bulbs. It is a bit counter intuitive,, but vertical is correct. It is easy to change,,, btw,,,, Cat'

 

[ST Gui]

There is a slight play in the tab to headlight housing.

There was very little play when I install my G6 LEDs. To level the beam to horizontal I had to twist the base within the tabbed mount. The play in the tab to headlight mount was irrelevant.

 

[Pete in PA]

OK, So I ordered these from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078RHZGLP?tag=viglink20849-20 They are on spiderman302's list.

I find that since the socket in the headlight housing is tilted counterclockwise from the drivers seat, the LED doesn't lock in any of the ball detent holes to be perfectly vertical. I don't like it held in there with only friction. I fear that if I try to drill a slightly offset hole it will be too close to the original ones.

anybody else notice this and how did you fix it?

 

[Ltimb]

Figuring this is where I started (This post) and ended up with a nice set of F2s... Here is my experience.... Once installed the retaining clip leaves no space for the rubber boot.... This caused pressure to the side of the fan housing and slightly moved the LED so it didn't fit flush in position... I noticed both movement when on bench and looking through front as I pushed on the back housing of the LED and when I was adjusting light I tried the same push on back and I could see the light pattern move.. Maybe not significant to some but my OCD was whispering in my ear... (Before you say anything, yes I did separate the tab base from the LED and installed that, then the rubber boot, then the LED itself on final installation, this is for demonstration purposes only) So cut off part of the clip and re-bent...

Then found a good spot to mount.. Notice 1st try wires would be rubbed by the brake lines when turning wheel...

 

[Pete in PA]

So I ordered another set for my FZ-07 but only need 1 for that so now I have a spare to experiment with. Drilling or elongating the hole didn't help to hold it locked in place. What worked was slightly clamping the base only to make it slightly out of round. This gives friction and holds the LED tight at the correct orientation.

Works great, night and day difference on the FZ also. I highly recommend upgrading with these new F2 bulbs.

 

[spiderman302]

The retaining clip has been an issue with any LED replacement bulb with a heat sink and fan. I have had to tweak my clip several times in the beginning. Once set I have not had to readjust my F2 bulbs. The ST1300 has an excellent beam pattern with this bulb.

 

[MV_Dave]

Any opinions on how the F2s work on the ST1100? I assume the shims position them correctly in the housing like another H4 bulb?

 

[ibike2havefun]

Not having a lot of luck when I add the model numbers (F2, G6, S1, etc.) in various searches. Amazon reported results for Evitek E8 H4(9003/HB2) but that one's not listed in the thread, anywhere that I could find. Any info on this?

Or do I need to follow the herd to Cindy @ Evitek and deal direct?

TIA-

EDIT

Initial email sent to Cindy @ 21.35
Less than 30 minutes later I received confirmation that she had received it, in the form of a PayPal payment request (and a separate reply from Cindy by email)
Within 90 minutes total time the deal was done. I am now awaiting my bulbs. COOL.

 

[SMSW]

Not having a lot of luck when I add the model numbers (F2, G6, S1, etc.) in various searches. Amazon reported results for Evitek E8 H4(9003/HB2) but that one's not listed in the thread, anywhere that I could find. Any info on this?

Or do I need to follow the herd to Cindy @ Evitek and deal direct?

TIA-

Probably Cindy. I ordered a set of G6's and F2's about a year apart and described them by those names/numbers, so she will know what you want using this nomenclature. Besides, Cindy is a bit cheaper, though it might take a few days (week or two) longer to get them from her.