Anybody else waiting on the SoCal rectangular LEDs?

[Old Ryder]

Was going to get the 960's, but when I was at Daytona the guys at SoCal suggested that I wait and compare the new LEDs they got coming. Should be here in May. I was hoping somebody else would try them first. :icon_cool:

Anybody got plans?

[yellow rex]

Did they have any spec on the lights or price.

[Old Ryder]

http://www.socalmotogear.com/HONDA-GL1800-RECTANGULAR-LED-FOG-LIGHT-KIT-p/gl18rfl.htm

[Hornblower]

I don't see any specs on the site. I do like the DRL feature of these lights but, as far as really projecting light out-in-front, I wouldn't expect too much. Of course, that remains to be seen and someone will have to give them a shot to find out.

To support this somewhat negative leaning, I continue to be disappointed with SoCals LED high beam replacement bulbs and their continuing claim of 80 watts. Obviously, that spec is false. OTOH, the additional specs listed seem to be more reasonable, i.e. drawing around 1 amp and outputting 800 lumens. In fact, in my own ammeter tests, I determined the bulbs were closer to 10 watts. Anyone familiar with lumen output for headlights should know that 800 lumens is pretty useless. Those who have been following my LED headlight conversion thread will already know this. My low beam installation was successful and I will be pulling the SoCal LED's out of the high beams and installing real LED's. These bulbs are 20 watts and put out around 2400 lumens each. In fact, they put light down-the-road pretty much equal to the HID bulbs I had earlier. Just a note...any LED headlight bulbs you see that don't have a passive radiator or a fan attached, are not going to have enough power to do you any good as a headlight bulb. Of course, as technology advances, that could change but, for now, that's the way it is.

[Old Ryder]

They guy at the tent said they were going to be just as bright as the 960s---and if a salesman says it, it has to be true. :icon_rolleyes: I am still leaning 960s until I hear different. I wanted somebody else to bite the hook first. :stirthepot:

[Socalmotogear]

I don't see any specs on the site. I do like the DRL feature of these lights but, as far as really projecting light out-in-front, I wouldn't expect too much. Of course, that remains to be seen and someone will have to give them a shot to find out.

To support this somewhat negative leaning, I continue to be disappointed with SoCals LED high beam replacement bulbs and their continuing claim of 80 watts. Obviously, that spec is false. OTOH, the additional specs listed seem to be more reasonable, i.e. drawing around 1 amp and outputting 800 lumens. In fact, in my own ammeter tests, I determined the bulbs were closer to 10 watts. Anyone familiar with lumen output for headlights should know that 800 lumens is pretty useless. Those who have been following my LED headlight conversion thread will already know this. My low beam installation was successful and I will be pulling the SoCal LED's out of the high beams and installing real LED's. These bulbs are 20 watts and put out around 2400 lumens each. In fact, they put light down-the-road pretty much equal to the HID bulbs I had earlier. Just a note...any LED headlight bulbs you see that don't have a passive radiator or a fan attached, are not going to have enough power to do you any good as a headlight bulb. Of course, as technology advances, that could change but, for now, that's the way it is.

Reply from SoCalMotoGear:

Hi Ken!

Thanks for the post. I would like to clarify our description of the 80w reference to this bulb. Our claim of the 80w reference is that it's as bright as an 80w bulb but not actually running at 80w. We certainly don't want to have any false claims. We do however mention "While these LED lights are more noticeable on the road and output a nice clean white look, they do not throw a further beam than your current stock bulbs". Most customers are happy with this product is because the bulbs matches their HID setup and they work great as flash to pass bulbs. We are looking into newer LED technology/design that will both fit, work great and throw a good enough light in the Hi beam position. We value your comments and feedback, therefore the information has been updated on our website as shown below:

Reference of 80w equivalent in brightness. Actual power draw is 10w per bulb.

Best Regards,
Customer Service - JC

[Old Ryder]

Reply from SoCalMotoGear:

Hi Ken!

Thanks for the post. I would like to clarify our description of the 80w reference to this bulb. Our claim of the 80w reference is that it's as bright as an 80w bulb but not actually running at 80w. We certainly don't want to have any false claims. We do however mention "While these LED lights are more noticeable on the road and output a nice clean white look, they do not throw a further beam than your current stock bulbs". Most customers are happy with this product is because the bulbs matches their HID setup and they work great as flash to pass bulbs. We are looking into newer LED technology/design that will both fit, work great and throw a good enough light in the Hi beam position. We value your comments and feedback, therefore the information has been updated on our website as shown below:

Reference of 80w equivalent in brightness. Actual power draw is 10w per bulb.

Best Regards,
Customer Service - JC


What can you tell us about the rectangular driving lights? Any specs or information on how do they compare to the popular 960s or the Honda lights? I talked to the rep at the tent at the speedway at Daytona, but all the tech-no-speak is over my head.

[Hornblower]

Reply from SoCalMotoGear:

Hi Ken!

Thanks for the post. I would like to clarify our description of the 80w reference to this bulb. Our claim of the 80w reference is that it's as bright as an 80w bulb but not actually running at 80w. We certainly don't want to have any false claims. We do however mention "While these LED lights are more noticeable on the road and output a nice clean white look, they do not throw a further beam than your current stock bulbs". Most customers are happy with this product is because the bulbs matches their HID setup and they work great as flash to pass bulbs. We are looking into newer LED technology/design that will both fit, work great and throw a good enough light in the Hi beam position. We value your comments and feedback, therefore the information has been updated on our website as shown below:

Reference of 80w equivalent in brightness. Actual power draw is 10w per bulb.

Best Regards,
Customer Service - JC

I'm glad to see that you're following our threads. Don't get me wrong, I think you're a valuable vendor to our site and I do want to support you as much as possible. That said, your 10 watt LED bulbs aren't anywhere close to being as bright as a theoretical 80 watt halogen bulb. If fact, from what I've observed personally, they don't even project light down-the-road as well as a standard 55 watt halogen. So, if I may suggest, please consider removing all reference to 80 watts from your ad. You really aren't doing yourself a favor by leaving it on there. If you do want to continue marketing these bulbs, consider stating they are for color-matching to your HID's ONLY. That kind of advertising builds trust and credibility :2cents:.

[naga viper]

Just my opinion on these so far.
The led is trendy and will not help us nightriders.
the led projector would need multiple leds. To be brighter than 960s
Its great to have vendors trying new technology.
And different opinions, not the same old vanilla.

[Socalmotogear]

What can you tell us about the rectangular driving lights? Any specs or information on how do they compare to the popular 960s or the Honda lights? I talked to the rep at the tent at the speedway at Daytona, but all the tech-no-speak is over my head.

Hi there,

More information regarding this product is going to be available soon. Sorry, we do not have any more information than what is currently listed on the website, please check back at a later time.

For further inquiries, please email us: Service@SoCalMotogear.com

Best Regards,
Customer Service - JC

[Socalmotogear]

I'm glad to see that you're following our threads. Don't get me wrong, I think you're a valuable vendor to our site and I do want to support you as much as possible. That said, your 10 watt LED bulbs aren't anywhere close to being as bright as a theoretical 80 watt halogen bulb. If fact, from what I've observed personally, they don't even project light down-the-road as well as a standard 55 watt halogen. So, if I may suggest, please consider removing all reference to 80 watts from your ad. You really aren't doing yourself a favor by leaving it on there. If you do want to continue marketing these bulbs, consider stating they are for color-matching to your HID's ONLY. That kind of advertising builds trust and credibility :2cents:.

I will forward your comments to management.

Best Regards,
Customer Service - JC

[srt8-in-largo]

These are sure easy on the eyes, so to speak. Very nice looking product.

Regarding brightness and illuminating the road... we're talking about fog lights, mounted in fog light positions. It seems like some are expecting these to light up the road. Fog lights, mounted low on the vehicle, are meant for low speed operation in inclement weather to light up the sides of the road. Neither the design nor the position are intended to throw light down the road for use at high speed.

These also serve to increase consipicuity but personally I've been satisfied with the presence from the OEM headlights and the orange running lights on the mirrors.

I'd like to see a true set of quality driving lights mounted high on the bike... maybe tucked under the front fairing under the headlights, or even under the mirrors... installed on the high beam circuit... at LEAST 3,000 lumens per light with a long, forward beam pattern. Anybody else?



I'm glad to see that you're following our threads. Don't get me wrong, I think you're a valuable vendor to our site and I do want to support you as much as possible. That said, your 10 watt LED bulbs aren't anywhere close to being as bright as a theoretical 80 watt halogen bulb. If fact, from what I've observed personally, they don't even project light down-the-road as well as a standard 55 watt halogen. So, if I may suggest, please consider removing all reference to 80 watts from your ad. You really aren't doing yourself a favor by leaving it on there. If you do want to continue marketing these bulbs, consider stating they are for color-matching to your HID's ONLY. That kind of advertising builds trust and credibility :2cents:.

Ken, creating light and projecting it are two different things... are you saying the bulbs are dim... or that the reflector housing does not project the light?

If the latter, then this is understandable... and maybe expected. A headlight is designed as a system... the reflector is designed around a specific type of bulb.. if you use a different type of bulb in the reflector housing, then all bets are off. The bulb may generate 10,000 lumens but if the reflector does not project the light down the road, well, you know.

[Hornblower]

Ken, creating light and projecting it are two different things... are you saying the bulbs are dim... or that the reflector housing does not project the light?

If the latter, then this is understandable... and maybe expected. A headlight is designed as a system... the reflector is designed around a specific type of bulb.. if you use a different type of bulb in the reflector housing, then all bets are off. The bulb may generate 10,000 lumens but if the reflector does not project the light down the road, well, you know.

Sure, George, lumens is only part of the story. OTOH, it does require lumens, IMHO, to have a chance of projecting light down-the-road. My previous comments to SoCal were regarding their LED high beam headlight bulb. Rated at 800 lumens, that bulb never did have a chance of being a true high beam replacement and, in all fairness, maybe it's principal purpose was not that but to simply color match to their very good low beam HID bulbs. In that regard, they were fine. To further answer your question, I never said the bulbs were "dim". In fact, to look at them head-on, they are quite bright. Unfortunately, when you have bright low beam lights like HID's or even extra bright halogens, you could barely tell any difference, looking ahead, when you switched on those LED high beams.

All this LED conversion stuff is tricky business indeed. Companies routinely embellish the specs on wattage, lumens, color, and all the rest. To protect consumers, I think standards need to be developed to know what we're really buying and I imagine that will eventually happen. Beyond all that, as you suggested, knowing those specs is just the beginning. Then, it's about how the bulbs work with your reflectors. Is the light spread out in all directions and missing a clean cut-off? That seems to happen quite a bit with the HID bulbs and I suppose that's why some go to projectors. These latest LED bulbs I've found may not be the do-all, end-all but I'm pretty happy with them which is why I will be installing them next in my high beams. I guarantee I will know when they are switched on!

[srt8-in-largo]

Ah, the 800 lumen part escaped me for some reason... I'm with ya now. Yeah that ain't cuttin the mustard.

Standardizing can be a two edged sword, depending on what's driving it. Private companies joining together to form a technical consortium is what I'd like to see... but I'm not sure if I'd be thrilled about a government agency poking their nose into the lighting industry :icon_biggrin:

[Steve 0080]

SOOOOOOOO This is what Big Sexy was talking about.... he was bragging on the Keys trips of how jealous I would be..... time will tell.... :moon:

[grendl]

This is a subject I have been watching all over and at this point I am thoroughly confused. I recently installed the switchback turn signals without expecting them to cast light down the road.With a smoke lens and the brightness when looking at them I am happy with that mod.
They also showed my stock head lights to be yellow,so I am pushing the budget forward to what I really want and need.
Lights that shine down the road.Lights that will last.Lights that are functional at night. Lights that will not burn out on me in the middle of the night in the Colorado mountains and canyons (which is really a surreal experience).
All that said I was going for the HIDs from SoCal but went by my dealer today at an open house and asked them about it.
What they told me was to use an LED bulb that is rated at 80 watts,uses 10 watts of power,were in the 6k to 6.5 k color range . I've forgotten the lumens...and sorry I forgot the mfg of those lamps.
They also advised that the HIDs were subject to failure if they hit a bump and that they got too hot for the housing and would leave burn marks on the reflectors inside.
To their credit when I asked about the projection of light down the road they said they would call the MFG Tuesday and let me know if it was comparable to or better than stock.
On another thread there are a couple guys experimenting with a really powerful LED that is probably going to need a ventilation system to prevent melting the bike.
The truth is out there,does anyone have experience on this or am I going fishing until I find what I am looking for? BTW these LEDs are 59 bucks each.....Close enough to the price of HIDs so although money is always the object the differenc is acceptable if they do what I need. Or should I just hang a set of PIAAS under my mirrors and call it a day..:banghead:

[grendl]

Ooops,Moderators,I didnt mean to hijack this thread.Should I have started a new one?:icon_redface: Apologies..

[Steve 0080]

This is a subject I have been watching all over and at this point I am thoroughly confused. I recently installed the switchback turn signals without expecting them to cast light down the road.With a smoke lens and the brightness when looking at them I am happy with that mod.
They also showed my stock head lights to be yellow,so I am pushing the budget forward to what I really want and need.
Lights that shine down the road.Lights that will last.Lights that are functional at night. Lights that will not burn out on me in the middle of the night in the Colorado mountains and canyons (which is really a surreal experience).
All that said I was going for the HIDs from SoCal but went by my dealer today at an open house and asked them about it.
What they told me was to use an LED bulb that is rated at 80 watts,uses 10 watts of power,were in the 6k to 6.5 k color range . I've forgotten the lumens...and sorry I forgot the mfg of those lamps.
They also advised that the HIDs were subject to failure if they hit a bump and that they got too hot for the housing and would leave burn marks on the reflectors inside.
To their credit when I asked about the projection of light down the road they said they would call the MFG Tuesday and let me know if it was comparable to or better than stock.
On another thread there are a couple guys experimenting with a really powerful LED that is probably going to need a ventilation system to prevent melting the bike.
The truth is out there,does anyone have experience on this or am I going fishing until I find what I am looking for? BTW these LEDs are 59 bucks each.....Close enough to the price of HIDs so although money is always the object the differenc is acceptable if they do what I need. Or should I just hang a set of PIAAS under my mirrors and call it a day..:banghead:



All a lie !!!!!!!!!!! Led's SUX, period.... maybe one day they will be good, but not today !!!!
Go with the SoCal HID's...I have had HID's for over 10 years and have yet to replace a bulb...I did replace one igniter ! 6-8 vehicles...

[srt8-in-largo]

Hey Grendl,

Frankly, IMO, if you are after increased light output, better road coverage, and high reliability I don't think a simple bulb replacement is the best option. I'm not yet convinced that using a different bulb type, whether LED or HID, in a reflector housing designed for halogen bulbs will yield more usable light. Although Ken (Hornblower) may yet convince me otherwise.

If your dealer suggested using a 6,000 Kelvin or 6,500 Kelvin color temperature, I question how much they actually know about lighting. Maximum power spectral density, and hence light output, occurs at about 4,000 Kelvin. Any other temperature and you are trading light output for "style".

I am tempted to get these foglights for use in town and in traffic for better visibility to the cagers, but for the fun night rides on desolate mountain roads, nothing will be better than proper driving lights mounted high on the bike. I'd suggest the D2 Driving Lights from Rigid Industries (http://www.rigidindustries.com/led-lighting/50231)... 3100 lumens per light, 6200 lumens for a pair. Another good choice is either the Erica or Krista 2 driving lights from Clearwater (http://clearwaterlights.com/products2_pp.html); the Erica lights are 6,000 lumens per light, 12,000 lumens for the pair. This is an INCREDIBLE amount of light and not for use in traffic.

I'm not a fan of PIAA or Hella... they may sell some good lights but they also sell a lot of junk.

[cwjj2001]

SOOOOOOOO This is what Big Sexy was talking about.... he was bragging on the Keys trips of how jealous I would be..... time will tell.... :moon:

:shrug:

[grendl]

SRT*-in-largo !
This is what I am looking for ! Cosmetics are nice and I like all the ideas for matching the lights and such.
Appreciate all answers but maybe I wasn't asking the right question and explaining my need.Both of these sites have the lighting I need for those beautiful summer nights in the mountains.
For those that may not understand, at night the wildlife here thinks they OWN the roads.I went too far out last year and although our mountain roads are very good,there were times I wasn't sure WHAT I was (half) seeing...
The Clearwater selection even has a Goldwing Mirror mount,although I am thinking on top of the engine guard should do it...The Rigid has a set that I am thinking will mount under the center front fairing.I can check that out and go see them at Cabellas here in town.
Expensive yeah - but that's what I'm talkin' bout. THANX, Man !
Champagne taste-beer money...

[srt8-in-largo]

SRT*-in-largo !
This is what I am looking for ! Cosmetics are nice and I like all the ideas for matching the lights and such.
Appreciate all answers but maybe I wasn't asking the right question and explaining my need.Both of these sites have the lighting I need for those beautiful summer nights in the mountains.
For those that may not understand, at night the wildlife here thinks they OWN the roads.I went too far out last year and although our mountain roads are very good,there were times I wasn't sure WHAT I was (half) seeing...
The Clearwater selection even has a Goldwing Mirror mount,although I am thinking on top of the engine guard should do it...The Rigid has a set that I am thinking will mount under the center front fairing.I can check that out and go see them at Cabellas here in town.
Expensive yeah - but that's what I'm talkin' bout. THANX, Man !
Champagne taste-beer money...

You got it brother :yes:

Agree... price is the downside, but if you're serious about lighting, and need serious light, well you know :icon_biggrin:

The Clearwater lights come with a dimmer on the Krista lights; maybe with the Erica lights too but I'm not sure. They way it gets hooked up is that, when your low beams are on, the dimmer works to dim the aux lighting to a low enough level to be used in traffic. Or you can turn the dimmer to full output with low beams. But when you flip the high beams, the aux lighting automatically goes to full output.

I like this feature and have been leaning towards Clearwater for this reason... but I like the square-ish design of the Rigid Industries... and I'm thinking I can make a dimmer that works the same way.

But anyway I'm excited if your gonna get these babies; if you do hopefully you'll start a thread and show us how they work for ya.