Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

Have you tried them?
Where to buy?
Money down the drain?

I do ride at night sometimes, and a brighter taillight would be nice,or at least one that stays bright at stop lights.
I have a halogen headlight that helps up front, but my charging system seems to JUST keep up, so hotter bulbs may be out of the question.

When I ride at night, I use a bike LED in back. The LED technologies they have on bike lamps are incredibly bright and the batteries last forever. Almost all the models have constant on function.

Well worth 15 bucks. Throw one in your tank bag in case you get stuck out at night and have to run in traffic.

Scottie

There are two different LED /2 specific tail lights that I know of. Vech carries one that is made by Bulbsthatlast4ever and there is another made by www.CuLayer.com (Jim Franzen, a nice guy who I have had the pleasure of meeting). I think the CuLayer tail light is in its second generation to resolve some relative brightness issues between tail and brake light functions. I can't tell you which of the /2 lights are better (I don't have a /2), but I have heard good things about both.

I have LEDs for my prewar Bosch JN-5 and JN-7 tail lights made by Bulbsthatlast4ever and have been happy with them.

Bruce

You might consider some day in the future Benchmark Works' 12-volt conversion.

http://benchmarkworks.com/articles/howt ... nator.html

I have it now in two of my /2s. You get 200 watts of 12 volt power instead of 60 watts of 6 volts. Powers brighter lights all-around as well as common 12-volt accessories.

Here is a photo of my last installation:



I plan to add one to another /2 this winter.

I think that changing over to the modern alternator takes a lot of the simplicity and charm away from the bike. Converting to solid state electronics where you have to worry about battery state of charge and protecting a diode board is a big compromise moving in the direction complexity. One of the great joys of maintaining these old bikes is interacting with the original, simple, and ingenious approach to the various systems. I have a more modern fuel injected BMW when I decide to ride fast, far from home, in the rain, and at night. Why is there a compulsion to "modernize" a sweet, old /2? Sometimes it's necessary to "upgrade" or modify if the old components fail and parts are no longer available. However, if the original electrical system is operational, I say keep it and maintain the true ethos of the motorcycle. I agree that having a safety bicycle light on tap is a good idea. A buddy of mine used to have one of the /2 LED inserts and it made a little ring of lights that looked way out of character with the vintage look of the bike.

...I totally agree, and I could not have said it better...if you want a modern motorcycle, well then buy yourself a modern motorcycle...

The LED tail/brake sold by Vech, made by Bulbsthatlast4ever.com, works very well - very, very small drain on the system - VERY bright brake/tail. However, if you intend to run rear saddle bag lights in parallel, (either brake or tail), then you will have to install blocking diodes,, OR,, make sure you get the "new design" LED board with blocking diodes already installed on the board.

No offense, but this is an endless debate and nobody's mind is likely to be changed. I have ridden these bikes since they were new, and maybe that brings a sense of entitlement. I have always thought that it makes sense to take advantage of easy, sensible, reversible upgrades that make the bikes safer and more versatile. I also have a contemporary R12RT, but that doesn't mean that the /2 is confined to granny runs around the neighborhood. I love my 12V 60W H4 headlight, my boffo LED tail/brake light and my LED turn signals. I love being able to go any damn where, any damn time, just like when it was new. (In half a day, by the way, it could be back to original.)

My attitude is the same regarding the R12RT. HID headlights for a start! Louder horn! Better seat! Forty years from now someone will complain that I ruined the authenticity.

Have you tried them?
Where to buy?
Money down the drain?

I do ride at night sometimes, and a brighter taillight would be nice,or at least one that stays bright at stop lights.
I have a halogen headlight that helps up front, but my charging system seems to JUST keep up, so hotter bulbs may be out of the question.

I am Bob Porecha #7062 . I have DIRECT replacement LED bulbs 6 or 12 volt in stock. Please contact me at bobporecha@hotmail.com.
LED fpr head light is not available but I can supply direct replacement Halogan bulb.
Hope this helps.

Bob,

Your email address is not working.
Can you shoot me an email back about your bulbs.
greg.pinch@rogers.com