HID headlight conversion

[MrBlonde71]

I use my bike to get to work most months of the year, this means I ride quite a bit in the dark.(6am and 10pm)

My headlight is not very bright.

couple of questions:

Has anyone done a HID conversion on thier bike??

They claim to be 3 times brighter? are they?

I found a H4 to HID conversion kit on e-bay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xenon-HID-Motorcycle-Headlight-Conversation-Full-HI-LO-H4-Bulb-Kit-6000k-/330709113918?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4cffcc9c3e

Do the ballast packs get very hot? are they likely to melt the reflector if housed inside the 7" headlight?

Can my 10amp battery handle these as well as my heated grips(not sure what current the grips draw)?

What colour is best? Have seen 3800k, 6000k and 8000k not too sure what this means but the 8000k look blue?

Most importantly are they brighter?

Thanks for any help.

[Stu]

If you put that kit in your headlight you will blind everyone! and totally against the law!!

HID must be mounted in to projectors made for HID's

even on low beam they are too bright for a reflector unit

If your going to do it then get an old headlight unit remove the glass lens fit a projector unit with HID and cover with a clear lens this is still against the law but atleast your not blinding everyone with too much stray light from the reflector unit

HID's are really bright and can cause you to not see a thing for a while if you look at them...trust me I know I have them on the car..if you blind oncoming cars they might not see you or anything for a while

[Joeman]

Get a light from an 3series BMW. The projector lights on the E46 seem a common option for HID conversions.

[Tango]

Have you tried brighter bulbs as a starting place?.........you can get a pair of Osram Nightbreakers for around £10......deffo worth a try first if you haven't tried them already.....

Anyway....the ballast resistor will need to be mounted somewhere where the air can circulate around it.....or it could burn out and take stuff nearby with it.....

[Stu]

Anyway....the ballast resistor will need to be mounted somewhere where the air can circulate around it.....or it could burn out and take stuff nearby with it.....

 

Never heard of that Bob

The ones fitted to my model of Audi fit under the headlight with a cover over them and there is no air flow at all

anyway as Bob says try different bulbs first and check the headlight out make sure its all nice and clean and the reflector is in good condition also running the headlight off relays straight off the battery can help too as a lot of wiring is crap

[Tango]

Anyway....the ballast resistor will need to be mounted somewhere where the air can circulate around it.....or it could burn out and take stuff nearby with it.....

 

Never heard of that Bob

The ones fitted to my model of Audi fit under the headlight with a cover over them and there is no air flow at all

 

I'm sure I saw it somewhere Stu....where the fitting instructions said to make sure that the Ballast resistor was in a good airflow....

[Stu]

probably cheap chinese crap Bob

[Tango]

probably cheap chinese crap Bob

Aren't they all these days Stu.....

[MrBlonde71]

Thanks for the replies,

maybe i'll just replace the reflector inside and try an Osram

Thanks.

[Stu]

well yeah thats true unless you get a valeo or bosch or something but then they will be worth more then the OPs bike

[Tango]

well yeah thats true unless you get a valeo or bosch or something but then they will be worth more then the OPs bike

And they'll be made in China too mate....

[Tango]

Thanks for the replies,

maybe i'll just replace the reflector inside and try an Osram

Thanks.

Yeah....I'd try the Nightbreakers first and see how they go......

[Stu]

there is a better bulb then the nightbreakers but cant for life of me think of what they are called but its only marginally difference is brightness plus the cost of them was about twice that of the osram's

[MrBlonde71]

Just bought the nightbreakers and will see if they are better than my old £2 bulbs.

Hope so!!!

[Matt Strange]

First things first with dull lights, you should really check the basics like how clean the lens/reflector is.

Then check the voltage loss at the bulb holder and the condition of the earth wire before buying new bulbs.

Ignition on, lights on:

Positive side voltage loss, ideally no more than 0.3v, maximum 0.5v on the MM:

 

 

Earth side voltage loss, again no more than 0.3v and max 0.5v:

 

 

RE temp/colour, the bluer they are, the duller they are. Somewhere around 4000K should be the brightest.

[alexanderfoti]

If you are going to install them, do it in projectors.

as has been said, still illegal but not blinding!

A guide for a Fazer is here, but the concept is the same.

http://fotifixes.com/2012/12/27/hid-pro ... fazer-600/

[MrBlonde71]

Thanks for the replies,

I'm still considering it, but will try projectors if I do it.

I bought some osram nightbreakers and when I went to fit them noticed that the reflector was really dull? cleaned it up as best i could through the little hole and i think the combination of clean reflector and new lamp have made a huge difference.

Nice write up on your web site alexander.

Thanks.

[alexanderfoti]

No problem.

Yes, dulling of the reflector can make a big difference. Glad it made a big difference.

Many thanks!