Modern Vespa

I'm a simple man. I like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food. I also like simple vehicles and simple upgrades that fit a simple budget.

So I found a simple LED product that doesn't try to be the brightest. At 1,600 lumen is about 300% brighter than most stock H4 headlights, but not bright enough like some of the crazy LED stuff out there that needlessly burns the corneas of oncoming cagers (12,000 lumens).

I also liked that it was 300% more efficient, using only 15 watts instead of 45 watts (low beam) or 60ish watts (high beam). I am switching all my running lights to LED to save enough wattage to cover the 60 watts that heated grips will use up. Then I can run heated grips on max without putting any additional draw on my charging system/battery.

Lastly, I liked that it was only $20 with free shipping to my house, free returns, and I could keep my original light in my truck as a road-side spare.

I did consider the Vespa Scooter West San Diego Motorsport LED upgrade but they don't tell you how many the lumens, and they are asking for $130 for their mystery bulb.

Simple man doesn't do $130 mystery bulbs.

If you'd like to see how to do a quick and easy-ish installation, and see how much of a difference a $20 LED can make for your Vespa, you can check out my video:

PARTS NEEDED
1x LED HEADLIGHT: https://amzn.to/3JBeeBt
1x Flat Head Screwdriver
1x Philips Screwdriver
1x Sandpaper (you'll see lol)

UPDATE: Full walkthrough here: How To Install an LED Headlight On a Vespa

great video thanks
Which direction do you put the bulb in chipset facing where ?

So the H4 bulb plug shape looks like this: | _ |
Basically whatever direction/angle it was in when I unplugged it was how I put it back in.

I don't remember if it was | _ | or | ‾ | or |= or =| because I filmed this almost a year ago, but however it came out, I just plugged the bulb in and put it back as it was.

PS: Thank you. Hopefully this comment was helpful as well if not ask all of the questions and I'll answer what I can

Wow! Very interesting. Thanks for posting this. Is there heat problem within the assembly?

Thanks Rick. Personally I don't think there is, but another rider had this problem: Melting head lamps

It seems like it was from having the headlight covered however. In normal circumstances it wouldn't be a problem unless you're running a really powerful light.

Example: Many of the wilder LED lights will have all kinds of cooling stuff. You get a simple bulb that doesn't get too crazy and it's chill, and much more chill then the stock incandescent bulb. Similar to replacing the incandescent bulbs in your home with LEDs.

Hope this was helpful, if you have any questions just let me know!

I'm intrigued by this because the H4 replacement LED bulbs I've bought have loops of metal mesh that are apparently quite important to cool down the bulb and housing. The mesh is in lieu of and far superior to a fan, which is noisy, adds length to a tight installation possibly to the point of not being viable, and prone to failure. How does this bulb not require some degree of passive cooling, even with the less-than-max output?

And note that this bulb requires a DC circuit to run! If the headlight comes on when you turn the key, but before you start the motor, it's a DC circuit. If the bulb only comes on once the engine is started, as is the case on some 50cc machines, it's an AC circuit and needs some extra gear or an AC-compatible bulb to function.

EDIT: I'm not sure your before/after photos really show an improvement. The LED is whiter, for sure, but not necessarily brighter across the range of view. I understand the energy savings benefit but would need better proof of true illumination coverage to be sold on that particular bulb. My S150's Scooterwest LED was much more expensive but is unequivocally a better bulb than the stock.

No, it's not at all like replacing a home incandescent with an LED.

A headlight needs to be properly focused as a system with its reflector to avoid blinding oncoming driver/riders. The top cutoff of the beam particularly needs to be sharp and precise.

The reflector on the original headlight was designed to give that sharp focus with a particular lamp filament size, shape, and position, and it is extremely unlikely the radiating element on an inexpensive LED will be the same size, shape, and position. And that will totally destroy the focus.

And that is why I'm certain you will see the following statement on the box: "Intended for off-road use only"

A better headlight is about a lot more than putting more lumens on the road. It's also about respecting the other drivers who will encounter you coming from the opposite direction.

That's taken quite out of context, isn't it? If you'll check back you'll see that I am referring only to temperature in that message. Yes, I agree 100%.

Like you, I do not see any LED bulbs on the market saying they are both explicitly designed for our scooters AND compliant with on-road rules.

Even the one from Scooter West for $130 says:
"**FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY**"[/quote]

Shoot me a link to the ones you're referring to and we can dive in and see.
I would assume they're probably putting out a lot more juice then my little guy.

Also keep in mind the design of the bulb, the ridges on the side, I'm assuming are for heat dispersion.

All I can say for certain is I've taken mine on many hour long parade rides this summer celebrating Euro Cup victories in 30 degree weather (86 degrees in american), at gridlock pace and never had an issue with heat. Cool! Do those 50ccs use a different stock headlight from their 150cc equivalents then? That's probably my bad, I suck at video and that was shot almost a year ago when I knew even less. In hindsight I probably would have done things differently, maybe on a tripod, or with a 360 camera so you can look around. Sometimes (like dead of winter videos) I'm also rushing because it's cold as hell in Canada, and I have to turn my garage heat off when I'm shooting or it's way too noisy.

You said "to be sold on that particular bulb" - to be clear, I'm not trying to sell anyone on anything. There are a dozen $20 LED bulbs out there. Any of the ones with good reviews are probably halfway decent. My goal isn't to push a product, just to try to help some people out while sharing my story.

If enough people are seriously interested, I can bring a spare 12v battery outside with me and use it to bench test the H4 bulb I removed. Then turn on my Vespa next to it for a comparison. Just keep in mind it's below freezing outside so I want a handful of people to express interest in this because I go freeze my ass off to entertain a small audience lol

Likewise, why not bench test your stock bulb and then bench test your LED bulb and see how the difference shows up when you film it? You might find the difference looks much less noticeable on video for you as well

Nice to see your face! 😃

Is part of your LED-ification to move the turn signals into the legshield?

Nice find!!! although the bulbs are now 32
from what I understand the bulb only draws 15 watts and is not as powerful as some LED kits and so the heatsink included in this bulb works well enough to dissipate the heat and does not require a fan or the butterfly.
Same goes for the odx spark ( a little more expensive same idea) available from f9
bulbs made specifically for motorcycles.

E.

It's only 21 freedom dollars!

The external heat sinks are required to reduce the temperature of the LED die. This extends the useful life of the LED which is usually quoted as 50,000 hours which is the time they guarantee at least 70% brightness. The heat sinks are definitely not required if full brightness is just required for the length of time it takes to make a YouTube vid and seem extraneous to customers perusing off road only bulbs on Amazon.

Its not Round

Brightest. But can you see any further?

Adri,

Thanks for this post. Very interesting and the video really helps. My 2015 Primavera 50 has na HS1 Halogen bulb(part 231215) and the pins on the back look like the LED bulb you suggest.

On my scooter, the bulb does not light until the bike is running. So I'm wondering if the LED bulb will work. Did you replace the bulb on your 50cc S50 scooter? Thanks much!

I found that replacing the H4 Halogen with H4 LED in my GTS did result in some "light scatter". I corrected for this by adjusting the aiming of the headlight as far down as it would allow. I don't know if the other models allow for adjusting the aiming of the headlight.

Here's a thread I started to document my LED journey. My initial LED Headlight upgrade required some fettling to mount in the housing to accommodate the larger bulb fitment. I replaced that later with a dedicated projector housing that yielded even better results, but it was pricey.

LED Upgrades complete on GTS - Updated June 2020

I thought about that, because it would look aesthetically a lot more pleasing... but going back to simple man likes simple things, I decided against it. Just didn't want to be cutting into wiring harness, splicing stuff in, and introducing a weak point that could fail on me in the dead of winter. I ride year round in Canada... knowing my luck, if it did fail, it would happen on the coldest day in January lol.

I like that mod though. If I was fairweathering the Vespa as I do my other bikes I would lean towards doing it!

Truthfully, I can't remember well enough to say yes or no to being able to see FURTHER for certain.

I don't think it throws the light any FURTHER.

However, I can say for certain that everything I can see, I can see much CLEARER. Meaning I can register on what something is, and have a clear idea of what I'm dealing with faster.

So while I won't say that I can any further, I can identify what the conditions/objects are much more quickly because they appear much more clearly.

Hope that makes sense / is understandable.

I've put a couple thousand kilometers on it since putting on this bulb last winter, so far so good!

Honestly my Vespa is a different model with 30,000+ km ridden by some very eccentric owners, so it might not be a good reflection of your Vespa of a different model.

Best advice I can give you:

- Get a free Amazon Prime one month subscription (or a friend who already has it)
- Order up whatever LED bulb tickles your fancy (doesn't matter to me
- Open up your handlebar surround (5 screws max)
- Pop off the stock H4, pop on the LED
- Try to turn on your Vespa with everything still open and see if it works
- If it works for you, sand a little space if you need to make it fit, then let us know if you like it
- If it doesn't, you put it back in the package, print a label from Amazon, drop it in the mail box and return it for free and all it cost you was maybe 30-60 minutes depending on how far your mail box is.


In hindsight, you could probably save yourself the time by making a phone call to your dealer's service department. They would probably right away better than I would on your particular model. Might be worth the call!

That's a really great thread for anyone interested in this sort of thing. Really great looking parts too!

These HS1 bulbs are AC-compatible and have worked very well in my and several friends' Buddy 50s for several years. Big improvement over the stock anemic light (hopefully the Vespa 50s are better!). They require no reflector modification but do have the wire mesh passive cooling system. Supply seems to come and go on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KTXL7FW/
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32958893401.html

Thanks Juan. That does seem to be the bulb I need because it's AC comparable. The bulb the OP used is not AC compatible. But I cannot find the Boodlied bulb anywhere in stock for now.

Whatever gets you seeing and being seen better!

I did the same thing on my last 2 motorcycles. I avoided the LED's that required a big heat sink (or fan) and got cheap ones that did like yours...tripling the Lumen output. Plug and play.

I will wait till the old one burns out, as on a Liberty replacing looks like a PITA.

Your point on saving Amps is good. I also want to do heated grips at some time. With a lower draw headlight and taillight this will be less of a worry.

For a taillight, consider one that has the built-in "flash" when you brake. A nice safety feature. I did this on both of my motorcycles.

I think the heat sink is only needed on the high lumen units. These are low enough output so as to not produce that much heat. I have had them on a couple of motorcycles for around 3000 miles or so and no issues.

Sorry. I couldn't find a direct substitute on Amazon, AliExpress, or Wish myself either. This one is labeled and described to work with AC - interestingly, no mesh or fan cooling system either!
https://www.amazon.com/MAXGTRS-Motorcycle-Headlight-Conversion-1600LM/dp/B07Z4W1FW7

Nice. Sometimes less is more. And in this case, less is still 3x more, which is plenty lol Yeah it's really the riding year round thing, including through the winter. If I was only fairweather riding it I wouldn't be as cautious, but the cold is hard on batteries. I tried one that pulsed when braking, it looked like something out of the original star trek series, and I hated it, but that was a year ago and now I can't remember why... I think it might have continued flashing while I was holding the brake and never went solid. I would be open to trying another one. Any recommendations?

Also produces 1,600 lumen, same as mine, which could tie into what Goob mentioned in the reply above yours.

EDIT: Also only $21 too and it will work for those with 50ccs as well, nice find! Hope Bill sees this.

So I would logically conclude from that that they are ALL unsuitable for road use. So why ignore that fact?

Sounds like a very selfish approach to me.

What are the other road users... chopped liver?

The ones I had didn't keep flashing. About 6-8 quick stobes when you applied the brake. I think I got it on e-bay or Amazon, but the purchase search only goes back to 2020. I think I would like the one that continues to stobe...good for waiting at a stop light.

Here is one on Amazon. It is an 1157 lamp, and I am not sure what is in Vespa's or Piaggio's. I have a Liberty and the manual doesn't state type. I haven't bought one yet because I am not sure and didn't want to spend the $ (though it is not much) and then find out it doesn't fit.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KQM2LB2/ref=emc_b_5_t

Do you have a link to the garden variety H4 bulbs that produce 400lm? I'm seeing 1100 to 1650.
https://www.svetila.com/en/car-bulbs-for-upgrading-tuning/10640-h4-12v-60-55w-p43t-38-longlife-ecovision.html

The standards for anything that is allowed in automotive are very strict. These alternative LED manufacturers simply did not have their product tested and therefore are not suitable for road use.

It is not only lamps. Take Malossi products for your engine or transmission or exhaust. It always says that the product is intended for race track only.

I am an engineer and my advice always is to keep it original, and if the original does not satisfy then look for some other but original that does.
It is by far the best way to encourage the manufacturers to bring to the market improved and street legal products.

the only thing that encourages manufacturers to bring anything to market is money.

Indeed. Sales.

I bought these monsters
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082YW963W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
They are too big so I left the covers off, very bright
The pins don't quite line up, but they lock in, one pin could be filed off
Riding in the rain isn't something I do & my experience is as long as turn signal/running lights aren't under water

1156 are close, the piaggio sockets are flexible/cheap enough, that a bit of wiggling gets them plugged in
Bright from any direction

Longer term I'm replacing with running light/turnsignal combos

Wait... You didn't read the third or fourth sentence of the thread... but you're jumping to conclusions and you're calling me the selfish one?!

selfish... I think you're using that word and you don't know what it means.

anyway, I like how you fire off posts and then go back and delete them or edit them. or circle back and try to relitigate what you've said. it's rather humorous.

I don't have a dog in this race, I'm just following along from the sidelines for the comedy factor.