HID Lighting anyone?

[cropbiker]

Hi All,

thinking of replacing the standard bulbs with HID's for the extra brightness and longevity... had to replace 2 bulbs already in 14,000 miles of riding....

Anyone done this yet? Had any problems? Hints or tips on where to mount ballasts? Especially those guys who have had all the fairings off if you haven't actually fitted HIDs did you notice anywhere that might be a good mounting point?

This will probably be my Christmas week project so I will report back on the results but some research up front is always worth doing I find!

Kevin

[gfxmonkey]

I haven't heard anyone doing the HID route yet. I did put Philips X-treme Vision H4 bulbs into mine. Twin pack off Amazon £20.20. They are a lot brighter and whiter but don't pull anymore juice off the system.

Glen

[Stoney]

Funny, I just ordered the same bulbs from Amazon yesterday! I also have a set of PIAA Cross-Country HID lights, and I'll install them as soon as I can figure out where best to mount them (probably under the mirrors).  As far as retro-fitting HID bulbs into existing headlamps, I don't recommend it, ever.  You will get a lot of light, just not where you want it, as the whole lamp assembly needs to be designed together as a functional unit.  There's plenty of good reading on the topic if you search the internet.  A good source is Daniel Stern Lighting.  Here's a link to his HID article:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

Happy reading!

[EFin]

Was wondering how the non HID lights off Amazon were working....

And... what was the result of the PIAA mounting?  I've seen another member mounted some lights under his mirror as well as he said there was lots of dead space in the mirror housing, but can't find his post again.

cheers

[Saaz]

I have some Clearwater ericas mounted under the mirror. A good strong mount. I am using some h4 LEDs which have a beam pattern like the halogens but stronger. I have used hids on an st1100 and the beam pattern was not great and you had to aim low a lot lower.

I will post more info when I get home

[EFin]

I'll look up your lights, thanks for the info!

[EFin]

SAAZ....  forgot to ask, did the Clearwaters simply plug right into existing mounts et? Or did you have to do anything special?  For $50 those seem like a very nice cheap upgrade.... not much sense in waiting till my originals burn out...or waiting till I nearly get hit by someone! :)

[Saaz]

The LED H4s I am using (have more than 10,000kms on them so they have outlasted +90 H4s that cost about the same are these ones. They just plug into the existing wiring harness, easy to fit as the fan screws on after fitting the LED light part. The rubber boot can also be used. The small ballasts I put double sided velcro on and stuck them on the shelf under the head light, plenty of room.  Make sure to look for ones that look like these, as I know this type work and are easy to fit.


http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Super-bright-3200lm-h4-led-headlight-hi-lo-beam-car-led-h4-Headlamp-Bulb-35w-12V/32284744257.html?spm=2114.32010308.4.2.Ht1EqY

Originally Posted by EFin

SAAZ....  forgot to ask, did the Clearwaters simply plug right into existing mounts et? Or did you have to do anything special?  For $50 those seem like a very nice cheap upgrade.... not much sense in waiting till my originals burn out...or waiting till I nearly get hit by someone! :)