When it comes to riding a motorcycle, one the of the most important rules of thumb is to be seen! This means to wear bright clothing, high beam during the day if legally allowed, and obvious and visible lighting.
A great way to do that is to upgrade to LED lighting. So, what is the best LED lighting for your motorcycle? Simply put, the brightest.
There you go! Article over!
Okay… Okay… I’ll go into some more detail. It really is that simple though. If you have an older bike, chances are you have incandescent bulbs for your blinkers, brake light/tail light, and headlight. While they have been doing the job for many decades, they are not as good as their modern LED counterparts when talking about longevity and brightness.
Downsides of Incandescent Bulbs
The first lightbulb was made in 1879, and while technology has drastically improved, the basic operation of an incandescent bulb works the same: a filament inside has an electrical current that passes through it, it heats up, and it glows. That’s the light.
Bulbs like this are fragile. Shake a bulb, and you can see the delicate filament vibrate. Over time, they will break, and on a vehicle that moves around a lot, it’s always sooner than you would like.
Over time, these bulbs can also tend to get dimmer. While this is not always drastic, did you ever notice that when you put in a new bulb, it always seems brighter? The heating and cooling of the filament over time causes its resistance to increase, meaning less light.
One of the last big points is the main point of this article: brightness. An incandescent bulb has a limit to how bright it can get. Size and electrical current generally determine how bright a bulb can be. Your blinker can’t be much brighter unless you intend to draw far more power then plausible, or have a much bigger bulb. This is obvious with something like the headlight on these older bikes, which is generally a halogen bulb.
What is the Difference between Halogen and Incandescent Bulbs?
Not to get confusing, but a halogen bulb IS an incandescent bulb. It’s just a specific type. The size, filament, and temperature at which a halogen bulb burns produces a much brighter (and whiter) light. Even notice those smaller bulbs have a more “yellow” look to them?
In terms of old school technology, they make great headlights. The size and heat they put off limits them in other uses such as blinkers and brake lights.
Benefits of LED Lighting in your Motorcycle
Now that you have a good rundown on lightbulb history and technology, let’s get to the main topic: LED lighting for your motorcycle. What are the benefits of LED lighting? LED bulbs are far more efficient in terms of using power, and it puts much less of a strain on your battery.
Longevity is another big thing. LED bulbs typically last longer. You do always run the risk of getting a bad bulb. Let’s keep in mind that they have far more circuitry and electronics in them than ANY incandescent bulb ever will. Things fail, but if everything was made correctly, you can expect a typical LED bulb to last 50,000 hours, compared to an incandescent bulb that will only last around 10,000 hours.
Cost is always a big factor when upgrading your bike. While LED bulbs are a bit more expensive, they can be worth it considering they can last five times the amount.
Let’s do some quick math… A two pack of 1156 incandescent bulbs will run you about $5. A pack of LED 1156 bulbs is around $15. While that is three times the amount, assuming you get the best length of each possible, you would have to buy 5 packs of the incandescent ones to get to the 50,000 hours of the LEDs. That would mean you’re spending $25.
I would caution you to avoid the cheap LED bulbs. I’ll have a video at the end showing what I mean...
Last but not least… LED bulbs are just simply brighter. The technology behind LED lighting is insane. That amount of brightness you can get from a small LED bulb would never be possible from a small incandescent.
To sum it up
LED bulbs are the way to go for your older bike. Transforming all of the lights on your bike will cost you less than $100 if you go a cheaper route, and probably not much more if you look for a more brand name.
Being seen on a bike is one of the most important things you can do, and with something so easy to do, why would you not?
I would like to end with a video of my attempt at what happened when I did go the cheapest route with Temu LED light for my motorcycle. Let’s just say I ended up getting my money back for most of it.
Please be safe on the roads! Be seen, and be safe. While you’re here, check out my socials! Thanks for stopping by.
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