LED replacement bulbs on bikes

[irvingj]

I'm thinking of trying to help out the ol' magneto-generated 6V system on my XL250.... Sure wish it was a 12V system, but it isn't. Apply the brakes, turn on the brake light, and turn signals fade into nothing... even at an idle with the brake off, there's barely enough juice to run the turn signal; and forget about the neutral light being anything other than a dull green glow!

I find myself at an intersection holding the bike still with my feet (no brake light), keeping it in first (no neutral light), and revving it up a bit so the turn signals are --sort of-- visible.

Has anyone tried to replace 6V 1129/1156 bulbs with the "new" bayonet-base LED bulbs? Do they work? If the covers for the turns are amber, would I need an amber LED or a white one? How about the dual-filament brake light?

That's the only thing that makes me leery of using the 250 more-- that 6V lighting system really stinks! If lower-amperage LED lights would help that, I'd be really ineterested, even at what looks like almost $10 apiece!

Thanks for any advice/experience... WBB in NH

 

[Ray_Fort_White]

I've been using a 12v LED Brake & Stop bulb replacement in my street bike for several years. I tried replacing the rear turn signal bulbs but they wouldn't blink. I don't think they pulled enough current for the flasher unit. They make a load module to fix that but it doesn't make sense to buy something expensive to replace a 99 cent bulb.

 

[Skyco]

Just be sure your XL250 has DC powered lights! LEDs don't like AC.
On my XR400 the lights are run on 12V AC believe it or not.
Found that out setting it up for a brakelight to make it a quasi-legal street licensed dual sport.:thumbsup:

 

[irvingj]

Thanks, Ray-- that was one of the potential problems I was thinking about. Certainly, the idea is to lower the load, and that '76 bike uses the old current-induced, heated bi-metal strip type of flasher-- which may not "flash" if the load's too small...

I got an electronic flasher for the 360 (12V system), so the flash rate would stay relatively constant instead of slowing to a crawl at idle and flashing so fast it's hard to see at speed. Guess I might see if there's a 6V version made. It seems to work well on the 360, and wasn't too expensive --maybe $8 or so.

SKYCO-- thanks! I hadn't even thought about that- I just assumed it was rectified to DC.... OOPS!