Since I bought my bike, I've never been happy with the brightness of the headlight. I thought having the passing lamps on would help but they were dim. I decided to upgrade to a Halogen when they came out and it helped quite a bit. The passing lamps were still dim and I went ahead and got the HD upgrade: from sealed beams to H3 halogens. The H3's weren't any brighter but now the 35 watt bulb could be replaced with a 55 watt bulb. I put the 55 watt's in and - NO BRIGHTER. Seems that the system doesn't have enough power to really push the load. So - frustrated I only use the passing lamps on really dark roads but mostly run the high beam.

I've been looking for a solution to my problem - I came across a guy that told my his buddy has LED lights in his passing lamps "and they are bright as hell".
So I searched the internet and found what he was talking about and went ahead and got a set over the last couple weeks. They came in last Friday and I put them in.

I had to modify the new bulbs by cutting off part of the base and installing it through the back way instead of just putting it through the base normally. This will void your warranty!! But they are just too round to go in the standard way. The LED bulbs are 3/4" longer than standard H3 bulbs so I also had to remove the reflective hood - luckily, that just pops out. I was able to keep the HD lamps stock so If I find a different bulb in the future I can still use them.

The light looks like a small corn cob to me but in a cool way inside the lamp. It's suppose to put out 450 Lumens but in reality its not super bright. I'll probably upgrade to some thing brighter when I find something. The upside is - these lights only use 3.5 watts each / 7 watts total compared to the 55 watt bulbs that use 110 watts total... that's nearly a 9 amp savings on my system. Now the head light doesn't dim down when flip on my passing lamps. I now run with the lights on so I"m more visible. I can use them at night because they don't really blind anyone. They have a cool blueish tint next to the headlight and that makes the bike more visible. At least now I use them - before they were off almost 100% of the time.

Here is a pic of the bulb that I bought, I'll take pics of the lamps/bike soon.

Ever consider getting a hid kit

No, I haven't. I guess they make them for our bikes but they seem pricey.
HID's still use 35 watts each side, so there might be a lack of power still.

The leds are fairly low cost- less than 9 bucks total for both - delivered.
7 watts total. Pretty bright - not blinding - but bright to look at.
They don't put a lot of light out on the ground.

Here's how they look installed on my bike.
Lights off so you can see the bulbs.

Here's what they look like lit up.

Back years ago with my 1983 FL I put 55/100 bulps. 55 was low beam and of course 100 was the blinding high beam. Can't remember the maker or if they made them for passing lamps. I'll poke around the www to see. I do remember it was after market and you couldn't touch the bulp with your fingers they were that sensitive.

I saw those, but they burn out fast from what I heard, so I opted for something else.

My next thread is on the Head light Bulb I found - I could only buy it from the UK.
Legal 55-60 watts - new technology made by Phillips. I love it.

My old 35 watt passing lamp bulbs didn't really put much light on the ground. The 55 watt bulbs were dim so they didn't really put much light on the ground either. As for these LED's, they don't put much light on the ground either but, at least they are bright and stand out.

Been getting feed back - seems people like the look of the led's. So far a couple guys in cars asked what I was using. "cool look"... At least they see me now!!

UP-DATE
So I had to make some modifications to the bulbs so they would fit in the housings...
I had to make some more:
Since the bulbs are so long - they osilate in the housings - this made the base weak and the weld break.

I was riding behind a shiney new pick up and noticed in the refection at the stop light the one of the passing lamps was flickering. When I got home it was dangling in the socket. The base had broken off the bulb.
I pulled the bulb, was able to solder it back on and then I reinforced the other side with solder. While I was at it I did the other bulb and reinforced it with a thick bead of solder.
Lights are back in - working - and no longer osilate - should solve that problem.

UP-DATE:
Been running these bulbs for a few months now - Thought I give you all an update on how well they work.

The led bulbs haven't missed a beat since I reinforced them - I occasionally get a motorist ask what they are after I've ridden behind them and then pull up next to them. I see a difference in motorist reactions meaning I'm being seen more with them then before I installed them. Because of the low voltage draw there is no dimming when I switch them on so the main head light stays nice and bright too.

I saw some newer technology bulbs I'm going to check out, once they come down in price. Each bulb is 15 watts with 5 cree emitters on it... that will be a new thread.