30,000 hours? I don't
think so.
[ Wednesday - August 15, 201]
I had read reviews about folks out in the wilds using LED bulb
conversions for their cars. H7, H4, and the like. In a
lot of the reviews, they said the LED conversion is a rip off.
Most of the people experienced a very short life expectancy for
their LED conversions. Most people are experiencing multi
month life expectancy. At $50 a pop, I can understand why
they're disappointed or even enraged.
In my case I switched to using the Cyclops LED bulbs on the GSW back
in March of 2017: Never
blinking eye (Cyclops LED). The Touratech
USA Cyclops website said the bulb has 30,000 hours life
expectancy. That's easily 3 years life span. Despite
what is advertised, when reality sets in, the bulb only lasted 1 1/2
years. Not bad, but that is, at best, half of the claimed life
expectancy. I was surprised, yesterday (Tuesday), when the
main lamp warning light came on. My initial reaction was, "oh
no, the parking light died again." When I check the GPS for
the fault (at a red light), the message claims my main lamp is
out. "How odd... that's not right," I thought. "The LED
light is suppose to be good for a long time..." At least that
was the idea. As I was moving again, I stood up on the foot
pegs and peered at the headlight protector for the bright reflection
from the main lamp. Sure enough, no headlight
reflection. Only the parking light reflection was visible.
There you have it, the GSW ECU doesn't lie.
In terms of how the Cyclops LED failure, the bulb failed because the
clear silicone beads, that normally sits on top of the LED element
protecting the elements from direct atmosphere exposure, broke off
or burned off. The exposed LED elements didn't stand a chance
being exposed to the atmosphere (oxygen). Both left and right
LED element were destroyed. Ever see a incandescent light bulb
with power coursing through the element (tungsten) without being in
a vacuum tube? Pretty cool pyro. The silicone bead
crumbled as I pulled the bulb out of the headlight housing.
I have another Cyclops LED bulb, but at $64 per bulb lasting 1 1/2
years the LED bulb is a bit questionable economically. A pair
of Philips H7 Xtremevision +130% halogen cost $21. I've used
the Xtremevision in the past. For both the 800GS and the
R12R. The bulb last about six months max. In some cases
only three months.
In the end, nothing lasts forever and it's just a matter of
preference. At first I thought, I thought it might have been a
bad idea to get a GSW with halogen lights. Now I think it's
better because I can go with either halogen or LED
conversions. I'm going back to halogen for a while. I'll
probably switch to the Cyclops for the winter months.
Written on: August 15, 2018
Last modified: August 15, 2018