Carello Headlamp

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steveyacht

steveyacht

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When it was new, I replaced the Lucas headlamp with a Carello unit that was compatible with the "new" H4 Halogen bulbs. HUGE improvement in 1973. Fasst forward to today..... I replaced all bulbs with LED's, to include the headlamp.

I have yet to get the bike out on the road after dark but I have made this observation. Previously, the Carello made a sharp, well defined beam pattern on the garage wall. Now, while brighter, the beam pattern is more of a blob than anything I would call well defined or sharp. Is this normal when using LED headlamps?
 
Purpose-built LED headlamps have reflectors specifically designed for the beam thrown by the LED. When you put an LED replacement headlamp bulb behind a regular H4 lens in front of the conventional reflector, the focus is different and not always ideal. Factory-installed LED bike headlights always seem to have clear lenses and the parabolic reflectors focus the light beam.

I have an Avis (formerly) H4 headlight in the SS clone and it seems to focus my replacement LED fairly well.
 
steveyacht said:
When it was new, I replaced the Lucas headlamp with a Carello unit that was compatible with the "new" H4 Halogen bulbs. HUGE improvement in 1973. Fasst forward to today..... I replaced all bulbs with LED's, to include the headlamp.

I have yet to get the bike out on the road after dark but I have made this observation. Previously, the Carello made a sharp, well defined beam pattern on the garage wall. Now, while brighter, the beam pattern is more of a blob than anything I would call well defined or sharp. Is this normal when using LED headlamps?
Click to expand...

I thought perhaps my eyesight was going bad as I was having a terrible time riding the Norton at night. After the eye exam the Doc said I was fine. Upon further diagnosis I discovered that the reflective surface of my 40 year old Carrelo was corroded and peeling off.
A new headlamp from Phil @ Fair Spares fixed my problem. Now I feel more confident riding at night.
I believe Mr. Lucas said that "a proper gentleman does not motor about at night!" Well nobody ever called me "proper" that's for sure.
Ride On (brightly)
Dave
 
The Buckeye Rider said:
I thought perhaps my eyesight was going bad as I was having a terrible time riding the Norton at night. After the eye exam the Doc said I was fine. Upon further diagnosis I discovered that the reflective surface of my 40 year old Carrelo was corroded and peeling off.
A new headlamp from Phil @ Fair Spares fixed my problem. Now I feel more confident riding at night.
I believe Mr. Lucas said that "a proper gentleman does not motor about at night!" Well nobody ever called me "proper" that's for sure.
Ride On (brightly)
Dave
Click to expand...
Nope, not the case here. Reflector is in great shape.
 
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