Headlight LED -- F2 vs F3 vs NB35

Thanks guys, guess I will just leave the shim out as it seems to seat fine in the housing and would be easier to lock in the bail (or bale?) retainer.
 
STFlips said:
Thanks guys, guess I will just leave the shim out as it seems to seat fine in the housing and would be easier to lock in the bail (or bale?) retainer.
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If you are installing them in a ST1100, you should use the shim or it can 'dip' into the headlight assembly.
I had to bend the 'bail' wire a little bit to get it not to hit the base and knock it out of kilter.
I don't know about on the ST1300.
 
Ahh, on secondary inspection I see a boss at the bottom of the housing and the shim holds the assembly away from it and keeps things level, otherwise the base can wobble.
I'm not good, but good and slow too!
 
If you don't use the shim on the 1100, the bulb will end up further in to headlamp housing at the bottom of the reflector. The bulb will be tilted upwards, meaning that your light will be shining downwards.

The shim goes in first to provide a solid base supported by all three tabs of the shim. The bulb then installs against the shim so that it will be supported 360 degrees around to remain parallel to the headlamp housing.
 
I purchased the KATANA H4 bulbs for my 92 ST1100. A little modification to the headlight housing and they're in.
However.
The bulbs are adjustable in that they can rotate 360º for best light pattern. When I put them in, the hi/lo switch seemed to operate backwards - on 'lo' the beam was up on the wall, and on 'hi' it was lower. No problem - I'll just rotate the bulbs 180º... nope. Didn't change the pattern.
I've never had so much problem with a light bulb.
Those who have the Katana H4s: on the clock face, what "hour" does your wire exit the housing? This should get me close to the correct beam pattern.
 
The wire should hang off the bottom, at 6 o'clock.
The low beam shields should be on the bottom.
Low beam light only lights up the top half of the reflector.
 
After some time around town at night, I figured I'd post a review: big improvement, well worth the coin.

Nobody flashed their lights at me, even creating hills opposite traffic. I can clearly see further down the street upon which I reside, and can make out the stop sign (reflective) from my driveway and the white curb (non-reflective), as well. Neither were visible with the 45w/45w halogen bulbs previously; this is an objective and obvious improvement.

The scatter challenges I have on my Buell are non-existent on the ST1300... and they should be, with a much larger, more modern reflector and two lit elements. It does make me curious about swapping one of these into the Buell, though.
 
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randii said:
It does make me curious about swapping one of these into the Buell, though.
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Assuming the back portion of the bulb fits (fan, power supply) then the bulb should work similar to an incandescent h4 bulb as the LED's emitters are close to the same position as an OEM bulb.
 
One more thought... 15+ years with halogen bulbs does a real number on the headlight connector. I've experienced verdigris and overheating on plugs before, and both ST1300 connectors were showing significant oxidation, enough so that I walked back to the shop and grabbed my can of De-Oxy It contact cleaner and gave them a good bath.

This might not have been necessary on the lower-draw, lower-heat LEDs but I've melted plugs before on other motorcycles with halogen bulbs, so I'd rather have clean connectors. A dab of silicone dielectric grease should keep things happy and clean for years to come.
 
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randii said:
A dab of silicone dielectric grease should keep things happy and clean for years to come.
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Maybe, maybe not. Dielectric grease is an insulator. If it is scraped off by the connector pieces as they mate, the clean metal surfaces will pass electricity from the source to the equipment. If the grease melts and seeps between the metal tabs, it insulates and resistance goes up. For widely spaced contacts like a headlight connector use something like vaseline and a small dab at the base of the male prong to seal out moisture. Better yet, leave these dry. I've never had a problem with my car connectors (unless I've 'improved' things by putting in high wattage Halogen lamps).
 
You can increase each contact's grip on the prong by squeezing the edges closed a bit with needle nose pliers.
 
I understand your concerns about dielectric grease (DG). That said, the connectors were previously corroded and oxidized and cleaning but not protecting doesn't make sense IMHO for used connectors. I'd rather use DG to keep water displaced out, and with LEDs, I have little concern of heat from incandescent filaments or high current. YMMV, but I like this approach.
 
So it's been a while since this topic has surfaced. I have been using F2 led headlight bulbs for 5 or 6 years now,, and am really happy with them. But they don't last for a 100,000 hours,,, and I have had two bulbs expire now. Because, I run the two bikes,, I had purchased 3 pair over time, replacing them as a set,,, and keeping still functioning bulbs as spares. Well the spares are just used up now,,, and I am checking the market to see how the product has evolved. The last couple of F2's I bought came in dusty musty boxes,,, that seemed to have been on someone's shelf for a good long while. So has anyone purchased the latest iteration lately ?? I am in no panic,, as the season is done. But I do like to have a set in the parts box for next time. The F2 lable no longer seems available. But I did find these,,, and the price and delivery are awesome !! cheers @spiderman302 , CAt'


 
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