adkfinn

Keef, this is good stuff. Thanks for all the info.

Kevin - I did see you post about filters and have been enjoying @ducnut 's FB thread on refurb also. I would humor and cut mine open, but it is already gone with the trash.

This is good info Stray, thank you.

M1962, I did notice they were quite different when I was looking at the 6th Gen oil lines. I still wonder if they would fit.... The engine is the same, the exhaust is the same, it looks like the cooling setup/hoses are very nearly the same.... I may grab a cheap used set some time just to investigate it further.

Small add here: The one thing we haven't discussed in this thread yet is the newer LED projectors that have hit the market: https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/led-projectors.html I have no experience with these and I haven't searched for meaningful reviews yet, but in theory something like this could be the best of both worlds, a quality projector housing with excellent intensity and beam focus... with a very bright, efficient, and simple LED bulb behind it. Any thoughts or experience from anyone here?

That is essentially what I have just decided. I grabbed a used set off of fleabay this am and will be blasting them and sending them to a friend for powdercoating (in an attempt to achieve the longest lasting finish I can). No real updates or progress on the bike since my last update. Life/work/other projects have claimed most of my time the last bunch of days and nights. I am waiting on the master cylinder rebuild kits from Partzilla and am planning on digging into the brakes and clutch in earnest once parts show up the end of this week.

I am running the xb35 ballast, relay kit, and H11 style amp bulbs - all morimoto from theretrofitsource.com . I am using them in the factory projectors, beam pattern and cutoff is acceptable despite these projectors being designed for a halogen bulb. My plan is to retrofit bixenon projectors at some point here as well. I am using a set of the original DDM Saber LED's in my high beams, they use two CREE XHP50 emitters per bulb and are very bright. If I could change anything I'd actually decrease a little of the foreground and ahead right (street sign area) output pattern as it is borderline too bright. My 4Runner is a 2007, which uses the high and low beam in conjunction when you are on high beams, my combined set up is very bright. I have a few sweet flashlights as well - I've been using Nitecore products for three years or so and am more than satisfied with their products (lights/batteries/chargers) and price point.

fonque - I doubt its all bad luck, and I know you aren't the only one that had trouble with the longevity of aftermarket parts, I just wanted to offer that it wasn't a universal truth and not everyone had the same experience. Who knows, I could be one of the lucky ones or in the minority? Either way, in general I agree with you. LEDs present a simpler solution than a projector retrofit for sure. My concern about running LED's is the reflector housing and glare. The current LED tech certainly exceeds halogen in output, now they just have nail the bulb design. I haven't tried the bulbs you have pictured, maybe I should give them a whirl. vfr350 - I found this video that shows the wattage draw of a comparable luxeon z es based bulb, it looks like those emitters typically draw 5.4W each, based on the draw of 21-22W per bulb when in use (same consumption for each 'filament' section, they don't run concurrently). http://godialy.com/video/jGu7YAop3x0/Power Consumption of Philips lumiled Luxeon ZES LED chip H4 Head Light

vfr350: Those JDM Astar bulbs use the same Luxeon Z ES emitter as the ones you linked yesterday and I posted the link to the data sheet for, meaning they are basically the same light output (given they use the same number of LED's per bulb, the only difference would lie in the stalk design/shield/build quality/etc. The Hikari you posted appear to only have three LED's per 'filament', whereas the JDM Astar bulb is pictured with 4 LED's per 'filament', so they will consume a few more watts and there will be a bit more light, but probably not more throw/distance. For what it is worth, I have used some of the JDM Astar led's for small bulb replacement (reverse lights, running lights, etc.) and they seem to be well made and I haven't had any issues. fonque: Sorry you had trouble with your HID setup, but I have to differ with you about the reliability of aftermarket HID ballasts and relays. This may have been true of older product generations, but isn't my experience with the current products. I have been using a full Morimoto setup in my 4Runner for three years and it has been completely trouble free since day one.

the datasheet you are looking for is linked on this page: https://www.lumileds.com/support/documentation/datasheets

R/R's - My understanding : our bikes use a shunting type of system, where the regulator is dissipating excess voltage by turning it into heat via resistance. So, if you are concerned about that you wouldn't want to run bulbs with significantly lower draw than the factory bulbs that the system was designed for, which would increase the 'work' the r/r would have to do to keep system voltage under 14.6V. In some sense, running a higher/slightly higher wattage could actually lighten the load on the r/r, given that you have a properly working electrical system. I know this is a slipshod explanation/articulation - if someone better equipped would like to chime in and/or correct this please do. I would skip a light bar, most of them adhere to the 'this 5W LED is capable of putting out 500lm, so if we put 10 or 20 of them in a light bar that must mean it puts out 5,000 or 10,000 lumens'. I find this logic to be highly flawed and results in poor performance for a primary light source as it doesn't have enough throw/distance (but does make for a good flood light for offroad). If you had one candle, then lined up 19 more next to it... would you have light that is 20x as bright as a single candle? No, you'd just have more candlelight, the idea that there is a multiplicative effect is bunk. My advice would be to stick to the newest/newer high wattage LED's with real output. Funny enough, the bigger lighting companies are usually farther behind on adoption of newer technology. My guess is that it is due to the fact that they have a lot more invested in housing design/production/marketing/etc for the established products and need to try to sustain a longer product lifespan in order to recoup costs/maintain profits. This leaves the big boys like Baja Designs and Rigid way behind the eight ball on emitters from what I have seen. Bi-xenon - Yes this would be a custom job, although not that hard to do well given the volume of aftermarket parts available. Basically you heat your assembly, separate the clear lens from the housing, install your projector of choice ( such as these: https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php/components/hid-projectors/bixenon-q5r-projectors-1500.html ), re-assemble the housing with some fresh sealant, then install bulbs and wire up the ballasts, re-aim your lights and you are good to go.

Simplest solution - get LED bulbs that draw the same wattage as your current bulbs (true wattage, not the BS equivalent nonsense). Your charging system won't know the difference. 45 watts is your target, I'll even get you rolling: https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headlight-Conversion-9600lm-Warranty/dp/B01LCE19PW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1528593783&sr=8-3&keywords=hikari+h4 https://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Saber-50W-H4HL-LED-PR There is a set that draws ~32W and a set that draws ~50W. Personally I am a fan of the CREE XHP50 emitter. Ignore the lumen listing of all the sellers, the emitter usually runs about 16W ea and about 2,200 lumens (18W max (12v) and 2,600lm). If you want real detail the best place to look is the spec sheet from the LED manufacturer - http://www.cree.com/led-components/media/documents/ds-XHP50.pdf The bigger issue with LED bulbs is the light pattern and glare since the bulb/emitter doesn't have a shroud that is as effective as the one around the filament in an H4 bulb. I currently have the hikari bulbs linked above in my bike. I bought them to try (the other LED's I have used have been in different applications... 9005 bulb types, etc) and I think that the amount of glare is just about at what I think is a reasonable limit. I am not really satisfied with LED in these housings and will probably retrofit a true bi-xenon setup soon. Hope this helps, sorry for the ramble.

Happy to share some more details: The main degreaser I am using is from CRC, it is this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/CRC-Heavy-Duty-Pro-Degreaser/821986826 . It looks like this particular flavor might be discontinued, but there appears to be an equivalent replacement (probably just re-packaged I'd guess): https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Heavy-Degreaser-Aerosol-Clear/dp/B0013J1UEM . You can see the full details here: http://www.crcindustries.com/products/heavy-duty-degreaser-19-wt-oz-03095.html ... it looks like CRC makes a whole bunch of other degreasers also, but I haven't tried them. This stuff works very well. Combined with brushing it was almost all I needed. Heavy grease came up well, baked on tar needed a brass bristle brush or a stronger chemical. Hoses clean up really well with minimal brushing. Safe on plastics/painted surfaces/rubber/etc. Nice balance of strength and risk of use. The oven cleaner (which I tried based on the reported success of others and I think what GreginDenver mentioned using): https://www.walmart.com/ip/Easy-Off-Heavy-Duty-Oven-Cleaner-Regular-Scent-14-5oz-Can/25162098 . This stuff is STRONG. If you use it, be very careful with it on/around painted surfaces, plastic, rubber, etc. It is the kind of stuff that perhaps a bit too strong to leave for very long on soft/lesser metals. We are talking your rag comes up grey/metal colored when you wipe it off strong. Simple green aviation: https://simplegreen.com/industrial/products/extreme-aircraft-precision-cleaner/ but it appears they've also been playing around with the packaging on this one as well. Nice light degreaser, I mix it in a big spray bottle (50-50), safe on everything, not strong enough for heavy oil or grease. I am not sure if I would rate this as any different/better than the regular Simple Green product. Brushes - Primarily a couple of plastic bristled dish brushes, found in the household cleaning aisle, run of the mill stuff really. One softer and one firmer. I also used a couple of small metal bristled brushes. One steel and one brass. Just like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M34Q848/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . I used another spray bottle of just water to rinse as I went along. I am working in my Barn (timber floors) so I didn't use a hose to minimize the amount of water. I also went through a whole bunch of cotton rags, etc. Hopefully this will give you some ideas and a jump start in your search for cleaning materials. Best of luck!

Thoughts and questions - Will the full oil cooler and lines from the 6th gen fit right up to the 5th Gen? This seems like it might be the way to go... snag an extra row of cooling capacity and newer/more readily available lines. Can anyone confirm? Also, I noticed that the 8th Gen oil cooler is much bigger, has anyone tried to fit that sucker? I would imagine you'd struggle to make it play nice with the cooling hose and headers without some a very custom mount or more serious work.

Thanks for the info and like you, I already have my feelers out on fleabay. Mine aren't terrible yet, but they will be on the short list for future replacement. Worst case, I will cough it up for two new ones and have them powdercoated before they ever see a drop of oil. What a silly thing for Honda to cheap out on...