Deezalman Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 BMW's website posts LED lighting available Feb '07. Considering the dealer took delivery of his first '07 today.. which means plenty of riding time available till the first snow flake falls.. I'm wondering if it is worth the wait for LEDs. I love the function/look and idea of never replacing a bulb. Call me crazy.. Link to comment
RFW Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 BMW's website posts LED lighting available Feb '07. Considering the dealer took delivery of his first '07 today.. which means plenty of riding time available till the first snow flake falls.. I'm wondering if it is worth the wait for LEDs. I love the function/look and idea of never replacing a bulb. Call me crazy.. As long as they emit light, who really cares how or by what technology? Seems pretty odd to put off a major purchase, and a riding in the nice weather in the fall, just because the bike uses light bulbs instead of LEDs. Besides, it is not like it takes more than a minute or two to replace a bulb, so never having to replace them has to be really lowq on the list of benefits. Best advice is not to get fixated on insignficant details, and ....just ride! Link to comment
Ken H. Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 There are several conversion kits out there also. I did my 12GS. Link to comment
R4ND0M_AX3 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 LEDs have the advantage of very fast response time. Response time at speed equals distance. Link to comment
RFW Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 LEDs have the advantage of very fast response time. Response time at speed equals distance. In practice, this is not a significant advantage at all. A standard filament brake light reaches over 70% of full brightness in less than 100 mS. At 30MPH (44 ft/S), 100mS equates to a grand total of less than 4.4 feet. That is not much more than half a bike length! The Instant-On characteristics of LEDs are commonly quoted as a big advantage by those who haven't bothered to work out the actual numbers. Link to comment
R4ND0M_AX3 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 That's 11 feet at 75mph. I'll take what I can get. Link to comment
RFW Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 That's 11 feet at 75mph. I'll take what I can get. Actually, you'll get less than that in reality, because the driver behind you will start to see a standard brakelight well before the 100ms mark. A regular brakelight exhibits significant brightness by around 50mS or before, and then progressively brightens until it reaches essentially full brightness at around 150mS. As a proportion of total reaction time and stopping distances, this is a pretty insignificant contributor. Most rear enders occur with enough impact that the extra few feet margin an LED light provides, would not save you. For my money, I'd be perfectly happy if a new bike I bought came with LEDs, but I see no convincing reason, other than gimmick appeal, to spend money to replace a normal brake lamp. As for replacing turn signls with LEDs, that is pure gimmick appeal, since there is no other tangeable benefit. Link to comment
Ken H. Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 This may go down as the most AR BMWST thread yet! You guys must have a different kind of driver behind you in your neck of the woods than I do! Their reaction time of 100ms vs. 150ms!?! Hah! I just consider it a good day if they react at all! Link to comment
Deezalman Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 ummm.. ok then.. well.. where to begin.. I was wondering if anyone else was as crazy as me to consider waiting a few extra months for such a minor feature. Response time and all that jazz is great but what I meant is.. I really just like the way they LEDS function and look. I don't want to participate in any leasure activity requiring me to analyze milliseconds. As far as the replacement issue, I agree.. five minutes to replace a bulb certainly isn't causing me to lose sleep at night.. but it is a nice feature. When I see LED lighting on some of the newer bikes.. I think it compliments the "modern" or "futuristic" look of the newer bikes available.. 1200RT included. So.. in summation, I guess I was making more of a statement then a question.. hoping for some additional re-assurance from other crazies Link to comment
Jon_M Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I guess I was making more of a statement then a question.. hoping for some additional re-assurance from other crazies A simple rule applies here: Buy exactly what you want! Link to comment
jbargenquast Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 IMO: Get a bike before 9/16 so you can get the free GPS. http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/events_promos/aug_promotion.jsp Break the bike in, enjoy fall with your new, free, GPS, and spend the winter looking over the posts to see if you can buy the parts and exchange them. Other than the lights, there is a new ABS system for '07. I was planning on a spring purchase but I found out that red was going to discontinued, so I jumped on one at my dealer. BMW was nice enough to provide me with a free GPS. Link to comment
GelStra Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 hoping for some additional re-assurance from other crazies Oh, that's a good one!! On my first post here, I asked what "must have" gear I should carry. Read a few of the first responses. A friggin' accordian?? The "crazy" part is, I still love this place! You're on your own, kid! Link to comment
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