Turn Signals: LED or Incandescent / Which are better?

P

Philip M

New member
I have a pair of the Clear Alternatives 1" Amber LED lamps (19 LED's ea) and Clear Lenses in my rear turn signals, and am considering getting a set of the 1157's and clear lenses for my front as well.

I have been reading where many feel that the actual amber incandescent bulbs are brighter than the LED's.

Is this true?
Would it also be true for the 1.5" LED (30 LED's ea.) version?
 
LED's tend to be more reliable as they have longer life. There is also many LEDs in an array versus 1 incandescent. So, if an LED goes out, you have more left. In my personal experience, the LEDs are brighter. But like everything else, there are exceptions to every rule. If you are going for a certain look, then go with what works best for you.
 
:plus1: Typically that's true. Some people are always going to be overly "safety" conscious and feel that any mod. that takes the bike away from stock is not safe. What's the fun in that? Have fun, mod your bike, make it your own and be reasonable.

I was just in Florida last weekend and saw nothing but custom harleys, choppers, many with no turn signals at all and nobody wearing helmets. I'm not saying I agree with that, but it's all relative. I'm sure what your proposing will be just fine.

Oh and I actually stopped at a harley dealership because they were having a big outdoor sale with alot of bikes. There was a Victory Arlen Ness special edition 2004 (forget the model name) with custom burgundy to eggplant color fade paint finish with, get this, 242 miles on it and they were asking $9,900.00. Sat on it and really liked it. Apparently the guy has money to burn and bought two of them at the same time. Never rode one of them and traded back in. Must be nice.
 
I just looked it up and new MSRP was $19,990. A very sharp bike but looks better to me at $9,000 rather than $19,000.

2004_12_arlenness.jpg
 
Yep that's the one. But it also had aftermarket exhaust on it as well. When I was leaving there was a guy that was looking very serious at buying it. If I had the money I would have been to.
 
No, LEDs are not brighter. GOOD LEDs are brighter. CHEAP LEDS are not brighter, and very hard to see during the day. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
 
I changed the turns on my S50 to LEDs and love them. I bought the ones that replace the entire plastic lens and have 18 LEDs in each one. The front are dual intensity. You just loosen the bottom screw turn and remove and take out the bulb. The new ones have a 1157 and 1156 plug wired to the leads and just plug in put the new lens in tighten screw and your done. I also replaced the flasher to one for LEDs or they flashed faster. I didn't want to put a quad load on it because that kills the power saving that the LEDs give you. Your just heating up a resister instead of a filament thats why the load balancers have heat sinks on them.
 
Thanks for the info Miker. I have been thinking of a flasher as well, to keep the current draw lower.

Where did you get yours and was it hard to install?
 

Miker,
Thanks for the info.
I see that these are the large ones that replace the entire lens.
How do you like these LED them?



Water Warrior,
So are you running LED's at all or did yo go back to bulbs?
 
old new biker. I was using LEDs in my tail/brake light on my Vstrom but they were not nearly as bright as I had hoped and did not fill out the complete lense with light. I got what I paid for I suppose. Back to the regular bulbs. I also added an extra brake/tail light. It is a little over 3 inches in diameter and is usually used as a trailer light. It is an LED unit and works very well. Both brake lights are hooked to a brake light modulator and very noticable.
 
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