BMW R1200RT LED Headlight Upgrade Review And Installation

Upgrading the standard incandescent halogen headlight bulbs to newer LED lights is a popular upgrade for the RT motorcycle, but there are several potential issues, including the CANBUS network and the physical size with a bulb cooling fan. In this video I will discuss and install a brand of inexpensive LED bulb which I have proven will work in the RT without causing an error on the dash. A link is provided below. I'll also give some tips on how to install the bulbs successfully. I have been very pleased with the additional brightness and visibility of these bulbs.
►To Purchase:
amzn.to/3GcBnuF (Mars Auto H7 LED headlight bulbs)
amzn.to/46vdQ38 (Mars Auto 194 parking light LED bulbs)
As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@dougmckenzie1279]

2005 RT. My BMW dealer suggested a guy who sold me 3 LED halogen style, direct replacement bulbs, no wire, no fan. 2 ‘peanut’ LED bulbs /running lights (because otherwise they can’t be seen) and a rear LED rear bulb replacement for brake / running. I am thrilled and happy knowing drivers can really see me front and rear. The brake light is instant and bright. No CANBUS errors. For installation I had my 13 year old neighbour’s son help me. He did the work and I coached. 10 min.

[@gckshea]

Brand?

[@MatthewMcClellan]

What brand?

[@41chevyman]

What brand and where did you purchase them?

[@suzyamerica4679]

@@41chevyman Just found something like that at the superbrightleds page. Ordered a pair.

[@burakbudan]

I would be happy to have LEDs, but using them without proper lenses can become blinding for incoming traffic. As the original headlight reflectors are designed to amplify the halogen lights, LEDs are becoming too strong, even though this is good for visibility, which might cause other safety issues for the other drivers (I experienced that myself). That is why I keep refraining from LEDs even though I like the looks of them. Thanks for the video, it is quite helpful for the people who want/need an LED solution.

[@leeman491]

Once again another great video. You always make it look so easy. I have 2011 and always have problems with the Tupperware. Wish there was a video showing step by step on removal of the faring. Keep em coming.

[@tinderboxarts]

That's actually on the list, a video showing the tupperware removal.

[@leeman491]

@@tinderboxarts I looked though your list of videos and didn't see it. Is it related to a separate title?

[@tinderboxarts]

Sorry, I meant on my list to be done! I haven't made that video yet, but I hope to get to it in the near future.

[@ronbray6778]

Another great video. I'll be doing this conversion on my 07 RT this winter.

[@earlwebster9230]

Thank you again for another highly informative video!

[@wildbill1297]

Great video. Did the same upgrade on my 2011, game changer with visibility.

[@fredzuccarelli]

Another great how-to video John!!!!

[@donreece655]

Thanks for your excellent video. I appreciate your effort

[@eduardocernadas826]

Thank you very much. Great video, very useful 👍

[@richardspencer4617]

I’m really glad you did this video. You described well how the (CANBUS) system works and why you need the correct current draw so as not to get a “bulb error” indication. I have changed out most of my bulbs to LED, and have added Denali D2 & D3 lights, so the stock halogen look out of place; I’ve been looking for a solution that works, because compatibility isn’t always guaranteed. One thing I would do is to power one up using a 12VDC source, and seeing if the in-line resistor gets hot (actually you could do that on the bike before putting the back cover on), just for piece of mind. I wonder if some provision should be added to allow for fresh air to get to the fans with all the covers on. Maybe it's not an issue since the halogens produce a lot of heat also. FYI, the turn signal housings can be removed by pushing the lower outside corner of the mirror in so that the top inside corner moves away from the housing enough to insert a TX25 torx driver down inside the top corner of the housing to reach the screw without removing the mirror. Thanks again for doing this video!

[@tinderboxarts]

I don't think the heat of the LED is a problem, it is definitely less than the halogen versions. The little cooling fans just draw air over the heat sink and there is enough space with these particular bulbs for airflow even with the dust covers on. As for the housing removal, I know some people have been able to do what you describe, but it may be that there are differences among model years or particular bikes. On my bike I just can't get the alignment needed with the mirror still installed.

[@stevewolf2620]

Yup - I had to purchase a long screwdriver type torx to remove the mirror on my '10. On the '09 they just push off.@@tinderboxarts

[@stevewolf2620]

Yes, a resister will create heat, and it will be interesting if you do a 10K mile follow-up to see if there is any melting or excessive heat build up by-product. Very good video.

[@tinderboxarts]

The resistor is in the little disc, presumably. These produce far less heat than the halogen bulbs.

[@richardspencer4617]

These LED lights looked like a good choice, so I ordered them and installed them over the last few days and thought I would give my assessment. I decided to remove the front fairing and headlight assembly, since I have never done that before; gave me a chance to clean things up while apart. The LEDs draw 4.8 amps vs 3.8 for halogen. The LED temperature measured about 200 deg F, while the halogen was closer to 400 deg. The metal bars attached to the LEDs seemed to do a good job transferring the heat to the heat sink where the fan is (it got pretty hot). The metal disc only got to about 90 deg F. I decided to vent the housing caps with perforated metal and a dust filter in order to provide fresh air to the LED heat sinks. I’m afraid that recirculating hot air might reduce the life of the LEDs. I also mounted a 12VDC 2” fan (and filter) at the top of the housing to help with circulation by drawing warm air out. These are very bright - can’t wait to try them out!

[@SuperBRG]

I bought the bulbs you suggested of your linq and they set of my light alarm immediately thanks

[@tinderboxarts]

Which bike, and which model year? In the video I showed a specific generation of bike.

[@SuperBRG]

@@tinderboxarts a 2007 rt why else would i be watching? but dont worry about it. thanks.

[@tinderboxarts]

Okay, well that model should be similar or identical to the 2012 in the video. So before you give up, consider some other potential factors. Did the fault message indicate that a single bulb was bad or all of them? Did you connect a GS-911 or Motoscan app to see the code? It's possible your issue is not the bulbs but the sockets, or the harness connection to the housing, or other wiring issues. That bulb manufacturer does offer a free resistor you can email and ask them to provide, but it was not necessary for my RT.

[@clayfarnet970]

Happy Thanksgiving Tinder. Your expert advice is much appreciated. I hate to ask, but the LED manufacturer backed you the LED’s right after your post. Can you recommend another LED? Thanks 👍👍

[@tinderboxarts]

It appears that the same bulb is available, but the link got changed, that's all. Try this link and see if it works: amzn.to/3GcBnuF

[@clayfarnet970]

@@tinderboxarts Thanks, much appreciated.

[@41chevyman]

Thanks for the video. I have a 2006 Rt and was thinking of switching over to these LED bulbs but the Amazon link you posted is no longer working. I also did a web search for the H7 replacement LED light bulbs and on the Mars site they are no longer selling these headlight bulbs.

[@tinderboxarts]

This is the problem with LED's in general--the manufacturers are all Chinese, and the availability of the products can vary greatly. Mind you, it could well be that Marsauto is about to bring out an updated version, and next week they will be available again. Other than that hope, all you can do is try other brands and test for yourself, I'm afraid.

[@billytate8952]

Thank you so very much. I did as you said and my lights work great. I am having issues replacing tail lights. Have you found led tail lights that will work? So far 3 different sets that would not work.

[@tinderboxarts]

Many of the RT model years create a different output for the brake/tail light by modulating the voltage. This works with incandescent bulbs, but not with LED. Another option is to add supplemental brake lights, perhaps in your top box or on your fender. I did this using the Hex ezCAN device: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iprNmpaPq8qNbpIsi=ToVPtxIju2N1ZPgg

[@billytate8952]

Thank you very much. You have been a life saver for me. I went from an "Old School" Yahama FJR to a 2013 Anniversary Edition 1200RT and the lighting has been somewhat of an issue. Have made some changes using relays. I have owned many Japanese brands and this is my 2nd BMW RT, first one being a 2004 1150RT. Again, Thank You.

[@brucejohnson5882]

Great video! No mention of Canbus errors with the park lights. Do those bulbs have a resistor in them as well?

[@tinderboxarts]

That's a great question. In my experiments, the parking lights do not seem to be as sensitive to errors as the headlights. In fact, I wonder if it matters at all. Possibly the pre-programmed values in the ECU for those lights leave more latitude, or perhaps the LED versions are close enough to the incandescent versions that it doesn't matter. I'm not really sure, but all of the LED bulbs I've tried in those sockets worked fine.

[@skoutelarxos]

good morning. where can we buy these bulbs?

[@gerhardk98]

I had LED bulbs for a while on my RT but I found the light pattern to actually have less useable light, even though the bulbs were brighter they lit the road ahead poorly. In my case good for daytime visibility not so good for lighting the road ahead.

[@tinderboxarts]

The quality and the designs of LED bulbs has varied a lot in the last few years. Some are very poor quality, others are pretty good. So your troubles probably shouldn't be blamed on the LED technology itself, but the particular brands you've tried. That's been the problem for everybody--finding a decent brand which works with the CANBUS system.

[@gerhardk98]

@@tinderboxarts I was told it was the result of the bulb filament and the LED lighting the headlights reflector slightly differently. I haven’t tried any other LED bulbs so maybe I should give them another try.

[@tinderboxarts]

Yes, the reflector housing was designed for incandescent bulbs, which produce light pretty equally in all directions. LED bulbs consist of individual light emitting diodes, and there is more directionality to the light produced by each diode. And some LED bulbs have more diodes than others. So it is can be frustrating to find a brand or design which works well in each particular circumstance. The upside is more light output and a bluer light which appears brighter, as well as a longer lasting bulb. The downside is that the light pattern may not be ideal.

[@almarjcook]

I may. have missed something, but is the high beam using the same bulb as the low beam?

[@tinderboxarts]

On this generation, yes.

[@alanrichardson1672]

Great video but for information I understand these bulb conversions are not legal in the UK and if fitted it's extremely likely the motorcycle will fail the annual MOT test mandatory for all vehicles above 3 years old. They are only permitted for off-road use on private land. Crazy, but that's how it is here.

[@tinderboxarts]

I don't pretend to know the rules in the UK. However, I do know from forum interactions of several UK riders who have switched to LED. I'm not sure if the rules are different than you thought, or if they just get away with it because of lenient inspectors? Maybe you could ask at your next MOT, because the difference is dramatic.

[@gckshea]

How is the actual light dispersion, hot spot, and cut-off line? With the LEDs at 3 and 9 o'clock only, they are not in same positions as the 360° emmittance of an incandescent bulb's filament. Often reflector housings that were designed for halogen/incandescent bulbs fail miserably with aftermarket LEDs, even though to look directly at the bulb, you'd swear it was better. But look down the road and to the sides of the road and it's hideous.

[@tinderboxarts]

I know just what you mean. No question, the light down the road is different. I'll say the beam is flatter in a sense. But, it's also brighter, so overall the road is better lit at night. And the bluer color temperature seems to improve recognition down the road. If you do a lot of night riding maybe you'd find it less desirable, but that will be personal preference. Personally I don't do that much night riding so I find the additional daytime presence to be the best part of the LED bulbs.

[@AMCTrips-yb6nl]

@@tinderboxarts I can confirm @gckshea's concerns. Some time ago I purchased cheap Chinese LED bulbs for my 2005 RT. They do work, but the light dispersion is miserable. The beam is all over the place. Useless. I put my old H7 bulbs back. My other concern (can't confirm this from experience) is heat dissipation. Although the H7 bulbs release most of their consumed power as heat (incandescent bulbs are very inefficient) and the current design of the lights assembly supports that heat, I'm not sure what will happen if the electronics which control the LED bulb are used in the same hot environment. The integrated fan is meant to keep the LED cool, but the hot air has nowhere to go and therefore the fan will just be blowing hot air around inside the housing. Any thoughts or even experience? PS: you mention (like many others) the CAN bus as being the item which monitors power consumption of the bulbs. The CAN bus is merely the communication line between smart units on the bike (such as the plug where you connect an OBD tool or between the ECU and the ABS unit and finally between the ECU and the dash. And if you have a radio on the bike, CAN will connect the radio and the dash to display the station information). The real power monitoring is done by the ECU and the ECU will report any deviation from the expected values. The ECU also controls electronic fuses if the power consumption exceeds a set value. Many vendors will advertise their LEDs as "CAN bus compatible". This is incorrect. The CAN bus has nothing to do with it. It's the ECU which verifies if the LEDs are compatible or not.

[@tinderboxarts]

In common usage the "CANBUS system" refers to both the communications network and the firmware in the ECU with the logic. Otherwise it becomes ponderous to discuss. The vendors who advertise canbus compatibility are merely indicating that they have included a resistor in the LED circuit which mimics the resistance of an incandescent bulb of the same type. I can't blame them for shortening the description for marketing purposes, most people don't get that deep into the weeds with this stuff. As for the heat, I think you'll find that the incandescent bulbs are worse in this regard. Many RT owners find that the bulb sockets are destroyed by heat in a few years, for example. The LED bulb cooling is there for the circuitry in the bulb rather than for protection of the housing. In fact, one reason there is more heat is that resistor built into the circuit for the canbus system! And, as they attempt to get more light output they are stuffing more diodes into the same space, which creates more heat. I've had my LEDs sealed in the housing since that video was made, and I've done numerous 10-12 hour days in ambient temps in the 90s and over 100. So far so good.

[@Radar100RS]

Sadly those are NLA! Perhaps a substitute?

[@tinderboxarts]

I see they have been removed from Amazon. You may find that the manufacturer will offer an updated version, but we'll have to see. All you can do is test other brands which appear to be designed well, but it's a crap shoot.