BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

So, I am interested in replacing the low-beam (and maybe high-beam??) bulbs on my '08 R with LEDs. I did a search, but couldn't find anything on this. Has anyone done this? How did it go? What bulbs did you use?

I'm pretty sure that the H7 lamps they sell will fit the 08', I tried them on the 15' RR with no luck with not enough room in the new housing.
Good news is this company will allow a return if it doesn't fit... very happy with the product.

http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/H ... _p_86.html



http://www.ninetowners.com/forum/electr ... rison.html


The text below was taken from my post the NineT forum:

I read through most of this thread on ADVrider.com and decided to take the plunge, seeing that the Vendor is a stand up guy and feeling if it didn't work out or fit I would just return it.
After doing the simple and straightforward install on the NineT I agree with how the vendor describes the "upgrade".

On this bike at least, it's doesn't keep the hard edges BMW designed into the low beam to keep the lights out of other drivers eyes, it kind of diffuses the area where the light falls off, I can see in my photos how it will work better, even on low beam, to get cagers attention. Even better with high beam on.
In the photos you can see better peripheral illumination for cornering and I like the color temperature too, it stands out in the crowd without being too blue or "cool".

Overall I feel it's a good upgrade and am happy with the purchase - to improve visibility to others and it obviously should give a much better spread for cornering at night.
The Cyclops doesn't seems to have quite a focused beam projecting light dead center downrange as the OEM lamp, but that's something I can deal with for the other benefits. My OEM high beam was good when going straight, but when turning it left a lot to be desired being a little too focused.
Par for the course to not have a perfectly focused beam when you change a light source and far better than any HID conversion lamp created beam spread I've tried to use.


**EDIT**
At the time of writing this it wasn't know we needed to drill a hole in the housing to allow some ventilation, there's now photos in later posts and I recommend following the new Cyclops instructions.







Shot on manual exposure, what you see is what you get.

Thanks for your response. I'm glad to hear that the light remains focused enough... who could not use a little more attention grabbing for the cagers!

Did you change out both the running light and the high beam?

I think the '08 takes an H11 bulb. Would I not want that one as opposed to the H7 in the link?? Are the interchangeable?

BTW the 9T looks stunning in white. Is that a trophy fairing with the low screen?

Interesting idea. I think the OP was about an 08 R1200R with a H11 lamp and it would be interesting to hear from some one that actually tried the conversion.
I tried two different HID conversions and they were both disasters, the focal point of the lamp wasn't correct for the reflector and although the light output was greatly improved the light pattern was all over the place..
I e-mailed two suppliers of H11 LED lamps with questions about can-bus compatibility and if the lamps are recommended for a R1200R.

http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/12834UNI ... d-car-lamp

Here there is another option for the H11. I would like to know any about the beam pattern.


Regards.

Both Cyclops and Opt-7 say that their lamps will work with can-bus and that they will not cause a lamp failure indication. Neither will say they have put their H11 lamp in a BMW R1200R, the big issue is if their is clearance room behind the lamp for the cooling element when mounted in the headlight shell.

Someone will have to be first.

I visited the Cyclops vendors booth at Billings. Their Led bulb assembly which has a cooling fan attached in the rear, is too long for the stock r12 headlamp shell. The rear of the shell must be "cut out" to accommodate the bulb assembly. The bulb cooling fan Is the problem. Why an LED bulb needs a cooling fan? The cyclops guy told me it was to cool the circuit board that drives the light. Anyway, I didn't want to cut out the housing so I didn't get one. Maybe there are other bulbs that will work. I only tried the Cyclops one.