Nov 5 2009
First OCC electric chopper features advanced OSRAM LED forward lighting
Fans of the popular TLC show American Chopper will witness a first when they tune in this Thursday, November 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The Orange County Choppers (OCC) crew -- founder Paul Sr., -- forges new territory with the creation of their first electric-powered chopper.
Another first for an OCC creation is the use throughout the bike of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting for head, tail and signal lighting. Supplied by OSRAM SYLVANIA, a division of Siemens and a leader in automotive lighting innovation, the lighting array includes the first OEM installation of OSRAM SYLVANIA LEDs in a motorcycle head lighting application. The lighting company partnered with its sister companies Valeo Sylvania to develop a state-of-the-art headlamp cluster assembly and OSRAM Opto Semiconductors to provide high-powered LED chips.
The Smart Chopper's 4.5-inch custom headlamp design utilizes an OSRAM JFL2-based JOULE(TM) system. The JFL2 is the latest addition to a family of LED lighting solutions designed to offer the standardization of current automotive systems in a compact, energy-efficient package.
"The Siemens Smart Chopper embodies the next generation of lighting design for the cars and motorcycles of tomorrow," said David Hulick, marketing director for automotive LED systems division at OSRAM SYLVANIA. "OSRAM SYLVANIA LED technology is the choice for this project because of its durability, energy efficiency and of course, its versatility. LEDs offer endless design opportunities for car and motorcycle makers while reducing energy consumption by 85 percent over conventional lighting applications."
Along with the JFL2 JOULE(TM) system, the Siemens Smart Chopper features:
- Two Amber LED "MonoLED" one-inch dome front turn signals
- Two example lamps for use of "dome and tunnel" style design for the tail lamps (red stop and amber turn signal)
- Two boards each with six OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Advanced Power TOPLED in red and yellow for front and rear turn signals
- One LINEARlight Flex Top Colormix system for Red-Green-Blue (RGB) body lighting.
"This was the first time we used LED lighting exclusively in the design of a bike, but it won't be the last," said Paul Teutul Sr "OSRAM LEDs opened up new avenues for us to explore reaching beyond the practical use and more towards lighting as a purely aesthetic part of the design."
The efficiency of LED lighting makes it the perfect choice for an electric-powered motorcycle. A recent study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) compared the power consumption of an electric vehicle equipped with all incandescent lighting to a vehicle equipped with all LED lights. The results indicate that the efficiency of LED lighting has the potential to extend the range of an electric vehicle by up to two percent of the total distance driven.
"That's a huge benefit for electric bike riders," said Hulick. "It's the difference between a day of riding and a day with the bike sitting at home on the charger."