LED Bulbs ???

[Yorick]

My pal has a Ducati SP4 and wants brighter headlamp. He's suggested fitting LED bulb, but not sure if it can be done ?

I've no idea, so over to you ?

[Horse]

Brighter isn't better if the beam pattern is still rubbish.

Other than that sage advice, I can't help, sorry.

[Horse]

https://www.webbikeworld.com/ducati-des ... headlight/

[Horse]

And:


I have the ultimate headlight on my wifes ST2. It has a bi-xenon projector with 35 watt HID kit in place of the standard dip projector (provides dip and main beam). It also has two angel eye running lights which are on when the engine is running and the headlights are off. It has another spot projector in the main beam place with a 20 watt LED to give a headlight flasher function.
The bike is very visible in the day with the angel eyes, and the night vision is fantastic on both main and dip beams.
The other thing is that it puts much less strain on the puny generator.

[mangocrazy]

My pal has a Ducati SP4 and wants brighter headlamp. He's suggested fitting LED bulb, but not sure if it can be done ?

I've no idea, so over to you ?

Is that the early 90s Ducati 888 SP4? If so, whatever bulb you put in the OE headlight the beam pattern will be shite. You'll get a lot more light, but very little will be where you want it. And it's a brave man who hacks about rare classic plastics to fit a different headlight unit.

[Horse]

And it's a brave man who hacks about rare classic plastics to fit a different headlight unit.

From the link I posted:

The Ducati Designs ST headlight replacement is available painted in your choice of factory colors.

[mangocrazy]

That's a complete replacement for the existing headlight and the change can be reversed if required. I've never seen any alternative headlight options for the 888 SPx models, most folk tend to go the other way and convert them into race Corsa lookalikes.

I did see an 888 front fairing modified to take a single projector headlight in an endurance stylee, but that was done by a guy whose business was making carbon fibre replacement panels. The 851/888 models were made in such small numbers that there is very little aftermarket stuff made for them. There are a few people making replica parts (Jan de Vos is one guy) but the prices reflect the rarity.

[MrLongbeard]

From the link I posted:
The Ducati Designs ST headlight replacement is available painted in your choice of factory colors.

He'll have to hope and pray one comes on on ebay as they ain't been made for years

[mangocrazy]

I suspect that Yorick's mate has an ST4 Ducati, not an SP4 so the replacement headlight that Horse referred to might fit. But as MrLongbeard points out, good luck finding one. I don't think the manufacturer's of the replacement headlight are still even in business.

And my original comments about the OE headlight unit and the advisability (or not) of fitting an LED bulb still stand.

[Horse]

my original comments about the OE headlight unit and the advisability (or not) of fitting an LED bulb still stand.

See my first post (#2 in the thread):

Brighter isn't better if the beam pattern is still rubbish.

[Yorick]

I suspect that Yorick's mate has an ST4 Ducati, not an SP4 so the replacement headlight that Horse referred to might fit. But as MrLongbeard points out, good luck finding one. I don't think the manufacturer's of the replacement headlight are still even in business.

And my original comments about the OE headlight unit and the advisability (or not) of fitting an LED bulb still stand.

Yup. It's the ST4

55w dip
100w full

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[v8-powered]

Higher wattage lamps are not always a good thing unless the OEM wiring is either capable of taking the extra load or upgraded also.
Sometimes just have to suck-up the crap lighting or go the whole hog and fit a nice projector HID lamp inside the existing lense - that will sort out the poor design.

[Mussels]

Higher wattage lamps are not always a good thing unless the OEM wiring is either capable of taking the extra load or upgraded also.
Sometimes just have to suck-up the crap lighting or go the whole hog and fit a nice projector HID lamp inside the existing lense - that will sort out the poor design.

I burnt out the control stalk in my Mk1 Fiesta like that, there was no relay to protect the switch gear. I burnt out 12V supply wires on another car by plugging too much into the cigarette lighter socket, I now assume all vehicle electrics will never cope with a higher draw and that OEM fuses are over-rated.

[mangocrazy]

Ducatis of the ST4 era had very marginal cable sizes for just about everything, so the current draw of a 100w bulb will very probably fry the headlight wiring. My 888 had horribly undersized cables from the alternator to reg/rec (and just about everywhere else). LED bulbs are a better bet from that point of view as they generally draw less current than the standard incandescent or halogen bulbs (35w vs 55/60w). But using them with the OE lens just means more light is scattered.

[mangocrazy]

my original comments about the OE headlight unit and the advisability (or not) of fitting an LED bulb still stand.

See my first post (#2 in the thread):

Brighter isn't better if the beam pattern is still rubbish.

So we are in complete agreement!

[Taipan]

Afew years back I put a super LED bulb in a bike and it was, ahem, brilliant yet rubbish. The reason for that is they corrupt the beam pattern and just chuck out brilliant light everywhere. So to stop blinding everyone I had to lower the headlamp which meant that I only lit of about 10 feet in front of me excellently, but as my eyes adjusted to that i could see fook all past it! So it was less use than the standard bulb!

If the later LED bulbs maintain the beam pattern, then it'll be a superb improvement, but the LED bulbs are bulkier so check there is room first...

[mangocrazy]

In my experience, it's (unsurprisingly) the cheap, unbranded, generic Chinese LED bulbs that are the ones with the shite beam pattern. The more expensive branded (as long as it's not a cheap knock off of a major brand) items work well. I have a set in my VW T4 Transporter and they have transformed the lighting without causing any distress to other road users. By comparison, a set of cheapy Chinese LEDs in my old Focus failed an MoT due to light scatter.