Yes, that is all true. But I think the landscape has just now changed.

I am installing the Yamaha dual headlamp, so I have two lamps now.
I can't run two 55 watt low bulbs. (70 watts for the two if I run the 35 watt version)
The best Silver Star bulbs are rated around 1,000 lumens on low beams and about 4000k light color.

The new LED bulbs are running about 20-30 watts on the low beam, so I can now run both lamps.
Whether you believe the claims or not, the new LED lamps are stating around 3,000 - 4,000 lumens, and they are running around 6000k color which is a whiter light.

Since I can get some of the new LED bulbs for the same price as SilverStars, I think I'll try it out and see what it looks like. ($50) I'm not seeing a down side yet.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231599925053?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Your results may vary.

Still looking for some reasonably unbiased testing for any of these lights (LED, silver stars or otherwise) to verify any of this, and I can't seem to find anything. I am always one to take advertising claims with a grain of salt, as I have seen first hand what marketing can do to a statement of fact.

Cheers, Phil

Here's a review of the Cyclops H4s that was placed on the Yahoo Ducati Sport Touring group.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/st2 ... ?reverse=1
There are almost sixty messages in this thread but the one I refer to is NickST4 on 23rd November.

In case the thread is not visible to non-group members, the relevant part of his review is pasted below:
"An update from my perspective: I bought one H4 and two H8/9/11 bulbs from Cyclops, brought over to the UK by my sweet lady.

I must say I'm very impressed with the thought that has gone into making LED emitters do the job of filaments in optics designed for the latter. All three bulbs (if that's the right term for things that don't have a glass envelope!) have surface-mounted LEDs on both side of a central carrier, thus producing 360degrees of light emission.

So far, I've only tried installing the H4 as it is the type that has the most technical challenges, incorporating both high and low beams. In two different brands of Japanese headlamps, it produces an excellent beam pattern with the high overlaying the low instead of it being one or the other as is necessary in a halogen bulb if you don't want the whole unit to melt. A couple of cork spacers are provided for minor adjustment of the beam pattern but they don't appear necessary for the two bikes I tried it in. The whirring of the cooling fan is rather engaging and the lighting is instantaneous: not like the lag period of HID arcs. It goes without saying that the light is very powerful and wondrous-white!

The driver for the LEDs adds some bulk that either needs to be accommodated inside the headlamp shell or can be positioned outside it with the lead to the lamp itself being long enough to permit that. Looking at both headlamp shells, it appears that there is already enough ventilation for the cooling system to work and, interestingly, the helpful instructions make no mention of any need to improve ventilation, so I assume that it isn't critical... Cyclops LEDs look to be a major step forward in vehicle lighting if they prove to be reliable. Hopefully, the firm will establish suppliers on this side of The Pond!

NickW, UK"

LED headlights may be the future but those headlights (meaning the lenses, reflectors and magnifiers) were developed to match the LED lighting.
More lumen doesn`t mean a better light just like more megapixels on a digital camera don`t necessarily mean better quality pictures.
The main issue I see is that LEDs have a directional lighting while a filament bulb is omnidirectional hence the shape of the reflector. The arrangement on "360°" LED bulbs is just an attempt to create something similar. Some LED bulbs include a chromed cone to disperse the light. Still the combination of a standard headlight and a LED bulb can`t have the same quality result. I think this was proven in the past.
The way to "correct" this now seems to be using stronger LEDs.

On the internet you often see pictures of the front of a vehicle. The headlights one with filament bulb vs one with LED bulb. Of course the second seems always brighter if you look at it as the light is bundled and has a much colder colour.

There was a good german article I think from a car magazine were they really did measure everything but I can`t find it. It wasn`t that old. Overall filament bulbs were ahead.
The result was like this:

It`s HID on the left, aftermarket filament bulb in the middle and CREE LED on ther right. At low beam.
The bottom row is the same but combined with a filament bulb at high beam.

Results will vary depending on the headlight, reflector and lens of course but I just don`t think LED bulbs in old headlights is an ideal combination.

just to throw one more twist in the mix laser headlights are coming. Less energy used to produce a light said to be near daylight in color and up to 1000 times more lumens than led.


ADVANTAGES:

• very energy efficient
• small packaging
• 1,000 times brighter than LED headlights with double the range

DISADVANTAGES:

• extremely expensive
• currently they can’t be used for both low- and high-beams, requiring a regular LED or HID system to work in tandem
• they still need cooling, as they create much more heat than LED systems

I realise that there are all sorts of reasons why LED's might not work too well in headlamps that weren't designed for them; light output, beam pattern, light spread, focus of the bulb, etc. But these things are getting so cheap, at as little as $50 a pair, just try them and see instead of condemning the out of hand. If they work fine, if they don't it's not a lot of money anyway and nobody learns if no one is prepared to give them a go.

I didn't hear anyone condemn them, I think we are all eager for them to work just not sure they are there yet.I think very soon they will be a great option for even our old style lens. Especially for those who have upgraded the regulator.

A bit lazy I know but this thread way back in 2008 was on a similar theme and I thought I might just add that my own HID single headlight set is working very well still with no electrical issues at all. There is a clear comparison on the HID lights quality and the systems now available are so much smaller you could easily fit a twin set up on your bike and probably see clear for 2 miles down the road ?

It only failed once on me and that was a fault in a wire connection I put to much strain on when a cable tie was used, as i carry a spare normal bulb and it is simply a job of removing the six Button fairing screws and replacing just the bulb filament as you retain the original it really was a simple on the road job done in less than 30 minutes.

Interestingly enough I actually included my Camera details at the time of this thread so clear comparison is available regarding light quality and cameras used etc, also regarding that noisy movement of the bulb stated it is not that bad now after many hi/low beam switching operations.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2872&hilit=lights


I have found this site pretty good for equipment

https://www.wish.com/geek/m/search/hid%20%20hi/lo

Have been looking at LED-head lights too for a while, however have decided not to install them. Our Paso lamps were designed with a mirror focal point where the filament would be for optimum position to throw the light.
Current LED lights have multiple LED elements, however non is in the vocal point of the mirror so light beams are redirected / reflected wrong.
On top of that, here is a lens construction in the glass from the headlight, these lines you see work as a lense. This to make a further correction on the beam projectory forwards. When the light is reflected falsely by the mirror, this glass lens will even make it more worse.
So for me there are no LED lamps to be used, or if you want to blind oncoming trafic and light the sky.

Powerconsumpton could be less however a lot of power is dissipated in the ballast so is it truly drawing less amps? Best alternative would be a HID-lamp in a color near 6000 Kelvin to go with the time period of the bike.
Installed the Yamaha dual headlamp operating both lamps in sync on dim and high beam. New rectifier can deliver sufficiently, used some solenoids so wiring mod is reversable and it works for me fine. More full look, better light, standing out in the crowd of other time period Ducati's.