HID conversion

[97tiger885]

Anyone out there done the HID conversion?  I can do it for a little under US$100 for the dual 55W hi/lo kit from DDM.   I have heard good things about DDM.  My only concern is finding a place to mount two ballasts.  There isn't a lot of room under the instruments and behind the headlights.  My understanding is the ballast should be weather protected and throws off a fair amount of heat.  I couldn't find the ballast dimensions on the site, but they are fairly small.

[rybes]

i was lookin into fittin HIDs to my tiger when i was rebuildin it. after findin a few articles on it i decided not to bother. aparntly HIDs need a specail lense in the headlight. without it the beam that leaves the light is irregular and dont really work proper. just had a look for a video i saw on it but couldnt find it. personally, id save ya money and just buy a decent set of bulbs

[Zojirushi]

Anyone replaced the bulbs with stronger ones?  I have some 55/100s sitting around.  Don't want to fry any harnesses, though.   :twisted:

[Mustang]

Anyone replaced the bulbs with stronger ones?  I have some 55/100s sitting around.  Don't want to fry any harnesses, though.   :twisted:

100 watt high beams are gonna suck up a lot of your available 360 watts total......jus sayin

[CoolHandLuke]

Get LED accessory lights:

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/hstria ... Detail.bok

or

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/hstria ... Detail.bok

I have used both and both are a lot brighter than the PIAA Cross Country HIDs I have also used:

http://www.piaalights.com/details.php?p ... NTRY%20HID

(which in turn are rebranded and more expensive Trailtech lights)
http://www.trailtech.net/single_hid_scmr16.html

[Zojirushi]

Luke,
I had looked at those ADVMonster lights before.  They look very good, but I am hesitant as to how long they will last.  I would rather pay more for something that will last 5 years than less for something with a shorter life.  Seems a number of these fail after ~1 year.  Given, Sanjoh does a good job of repairing them.

[CoolHandLuke]

Luke,
I had looked at those ADVMonster lights before.  They look very good, but I am hesitant as to how long they will last.  I would rather pay more for something that will last 5 years than less for something with a shorter life.  Seems a number of these fail after ~1 year.  Given, Sanjoh does a good job of repairing them.

Well, both sets have lasted longer than the HID bulbs did.  And at £70 to replace the HID bulbs, I decided to ditch them.  I can buy a whole LED light fitting for that!

[Zojirushi]

I absolutely agree the LEDs > HID bulbs.  How long have you been using the ADVMonsters?  I am comparing those vs the Denali D2s.

[97tiger885]

Get LED accessory lights:

I have used both and both are a lot brighter than the PIAA Cross Country HIDs I have also used:

(which in turn are rebranded and more expensive Trailtech lights)
http://www.trailtech.net/single_hid_scmr16.html

I don't want to add another light source;  I want to replace the H4s that I have in the headlights.  It is not increased lighting I am after; it is a reduction in amount of power the headlights are drawing.  Increased visibility would be  a side benefit.  I have talked to three people who have done this.  The two BMW people have dual bulbs and replaced only the low beam.  The other, a Steamer person, claimed success with the conversion but I am now thinking he went from a two to a four bulb set-up in the headlights.

[CoolHandLuke]

I tried *a lot* of H4 bulbs before I was happy.  My favourites were the Philips Motovision followed by the Osram Nightbreakers.

The Motovision won it on full beam, for me.

The problem with HID, is that is not legal to retrofit it to older bikes in most EU countries and America.  The standard H4 reflectors are not designed for HID bulbs and the light pattern is not correct causing a lot of scatter that will blind oncoming traffic and not put the light on the road where you want it.

Why do you want the headlights to draw less power?  I have changed all my running lights, apart from the H4 bulbs and the idiot lights, to LEDs which allows me plenty of spare power from the alternator.

HID conversions are thorn in my side.  Being on a bike and being on the receiving end of a lot of old sh*tters  that people have stuck HID bulbs in, isn't pleasant on a country road at night.

[Mustang]

The problem with HID, is that is not legal to retrofit it to older bikes in most EU countries and USA.  The standard H4 reflectors are not designed for HID bulbs and the light pattern is not correct causing a lot of scatter that will blind oncoming traffic and not put the light on the road where you want it.

absolutely 100 % correct if it didn't come with them as OEM they are not DOT approved for highway use and completely  illegal in all 50 states
I think in some states you can legally convert to HID if you have the proper projection style lenses rather than the std reflector lense , but where in the hell are you gonna get a projection lense for a steamer ?

Also (even tho it is done quite often) the blue Halogen bulbs are illegal in a lot of states. need to check your state laws

[97tiger885]

The problem with HID, is that is not legal to retrofit it to older bikes in most EU countries and America.

News to me re legal status.  That shoots down that idea.

Why do you want the headlights to draw less power?

Hoping it might help with my killing of my AGMs.

HID conversions are thorn in my side.  Being on a bike and being on the receiving end of a lot of old sh*tters  that people have stuck HID bulbs in, isn't pleasant on a country road at night.

Been there, hated that.  Didn't realize  those were (bad) HID conversions.   I have noticed a decrease in the number of the blinding HIDs.  Have no desire to be one of those folks.  

Ok, so much for that idea.  Thanks for the input.

+++
Jon

[TripleTragic]

HIDs don't actually save you a huge amount. Sure the globe only draws 35W but most people forget the 10W or so that the ballast draws..  I have been down this road with the 7" light on my speedtriple. If it had not blown up I was planning to return to the original H4 globe as it had a much better light pattern. Yes, the hid was brighter but as I was running spots as.well I found that there was just too much 'spill' close to the bike which was distracting and didn't help me see roos at all.

For the cost and effort, if you are trying to reduce draw, I would start with led instrument lights and tail light. You will probably go close to getting the same net gain.(although I haven't done the sums on it)