A brilliant idea: replace conventional lights with LED lamps

LED lighting technology has long become a daily thing in our daily lives. Flashlights, indoor light bulbs, lamps, traffic lights, industrial lighting... in all spheres this type of lighting more effective and efficient has been inserted in front of the light bulb of low consumption and the fluorescent tube.

What is LED
The traditional light bulb or incandescent filament works when an electric current is passed through a very fine filament, which turns bright red, emitting heat and light. It is not very efficient, since much of the energy is lost in the form of heat and lasts little, because high temperatures and thermal changes weaken the filament.
Without going into technicalities we say that an LED lamp, or rather an LED diode, works based on the photoelectric effect, discovered by Albert Einstein, which consists of some semiconductor materials emitting light when crossed by an electric current.
The advantages of LED lighting are several:
-The LED is a solid state lamp, so it is very resistant to shock and vibration and can last more than 50,000 hours.
-Apes emits heat, and consumes 10 times less energy.
-The size is less than that of a conventional light bulb at equal luminosity, allows the blinkers and exaggeratedly small pilots to be legal.
-LED diodes are brighter than a bulb, and in addition, the light is not concentrated in one point (like the filament of the bulb) but the whole diode shines equally. That means that we will see better the ditches and get more power in the center of the road, without dazzling whoever comes in the opposite lane.

-The light emitted in automotive LEDs is whiter, around 5500k,

providing greater clarity and depth of field, which causes the driver to gain better night vision, increasing safety and minimizing eye fatigue.

Custom Solutions
LED technology on motorcycles has been installed in signalling devices for years (riders, flashers, witnesses...) and as prices become more competitive (do not forget that today is still a high price product) they are also introduced in the main lighting in the series models, as for example in the new Rushmore family of Harley-Davidson.

Companies like Speaker and Rivera Primo have also launched their similar products.

Improving the Present
The modification we will make in this article will be the replacement of the main headlamp in a Softail Breakout Screamin 'Eagle model with a headlamp in the Daymaker series of the HD catalog, obtaining improved functionality and a design more in line with the rest of the motorcycle assembly.

We can see in the back of the lighthouse that it is quite similar in dimensions to the original lighthouse, and its installation totally "Plug And Play," we only have to place a small band anti-vibrations on the back and we can already connect it.

Installation
We will start by loosening the screw that holds the retention ring

and we can now disconnect the original optics.

We connected the new lighthouse in the same way

and we carefully place it in its position, re-screwing the hoop in its position.

To complement the modern look and improve performance we have also replaced the light bulbs of the front turn signals with other LEDs.

Adjustment
We only need to verify that everything works correctly and to adjust the height and position of the headlamp, for this task it is necessary to follow the instructions of the manufacturer in a very exact way.

Finally we will do a test on the road, this time at night and on a known route to check the effectiveness of the system and get used to the new luminous beam.

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley