HID Lights

Hey guys, new to the forum

I want to open adiscussion on HID lighting for your ride.... whatever your opinion is, good or bad. There is a lot of mis-information out there from the reading I have been doing, so if I can clear up any questions/concerns, or if anyone has any questions at all, lets get them going in here. I'd be more than happy to help anyone out.

An expert opinion might be useful in this HID thread.....

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303981

-jeff

Ain't nobody on this forum as confused about these as I am. Start talking.

Well for starters on HID conversions, most people simply use a re-based bulb to upgrade their halogen reflector headlights. There are many different types of halogens bulbs used in auto's/bikes, eg. H1, H3 H4, H6, H7, H8, H9, H10, H11, H13, 9003, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, 9008 (some of these are the same bulb). in bikes, a majority of them use a 9003/H4 bulb. They can also use others types as well like a H7 etc...

Doing a simple upgrade like this consists of a HID capsule, HID ballast, cable(s) to hook up, and some hardware for mounting. The upgrade can take anywhere from 15 minutes to hours to complete depending how hard it is get at your bulbs, and finding a suitable place to mount the ballast.

Each bulb requires its own ballast to fire up the HID capsule. When the lights are turned on, the ballast ignites the gases inside the bulb using over 20,000V. High-intensity discharge lamps are similar to fluorescents in that an arc is generated between two electrodes. The arc in a HID bulb is shorter, yet it generates much more light, heat, and pressure within the capsule.

There are several advantages to HID sources:

• relatively long life (3000+ hrs) halogens typically last around 300-500 hours
• high lumen output per watt. Halogens are around 900 lumens for a low beam, whereas a HID bulb provides about 3200 lumens(4300K)
• lower power requiements compared to halogen bulbs (35W compared to 55/65W)
• less heat generated than stock bulbs

However, the following operating limitations must also be considered. First, HID lamps require time to warm up. The average warm-up time is 4 to 6 seconds. So when used in high beam applications, they do not work well for flashing due to the warm up time. If that's not an issue for you then it's irrellavent.

Doing a conversion from a halogen can offer mixed results depending on a variety of factors. First, and most importanly the design of the reflector largely determines how the HID bulb will react when installed. Since the reflector is designed for halogens, the HID bulb's pattern will never be exactly the same. Second is the design of the HID capsule. Not all HID's are created equal. Quality on aftermarket bulbs is all over the place. If the arc is not exactly in the same position where the halogen filament was, the light can be very scattered and throw off tons of glare to oncoming traffic. A high quality HID bulb can give you very good results, and not scatter the light beam.

If you get lured into buying a 'cheap' HID kit off eBay, don't expect to get very good results or to get a long service life out of the components. You do get what you pay for in most cases.

The best HID light source uses a projector lens that is designed for HID light as seen in many new luxury vehicles. There are aftermarket projector lens you can use to do your own retrofit, but you must know what your doing when attempting this type of upgrade. If done right it can be just as good as an OEM set-up, but keep in mind this is still not DOT compliant light souce, so it is still considered illegal for on-road use.
THERE ARE NO HID CONVERSION KITS THAT ARE STREET LEGAL!!
(Don't let anyone tell you anything different)
Here's what they can look like:
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/images/projector/projector%20lens.jpg
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/images/projector/projector%20retrofit.gif

For bikes that use a 7" round sealed beam:
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/images/projector/H6024%207_inch.jpg

Color options for HID are:
3000K - Yellow (good for fog applications)
4300K - Pure white (this is what OEM's use)
6000K - touch of blue
8000K - blue
10,000K - deep blue
12,000K - deep purple
Other colors can be offered as well, pink, green, extreme blue's purple, etc...

The higher you go in Kelvin(K) temperature, the less light output you get.
4300K & 6000K are highly recommended, as they provide the most amount of light, and offer a more natural light color.

Not sure if this is the type of information you are looking for, but it should get things started here.

Ok, so is there anyway to retrofit a light like the R1200GS low beam that will provide good light and last?

Some of the kits use existing head light wiring for power, would wiring straight to the battery running it through a relay give better results?

Which components are best?

What is the source?

There is a detailed thread specific to your application here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288538

If you read through the thread, a few members got there kits off eBay for real cheap, and had failures shortly after (get what you pay for!)

With a quality set, and single beam bulbs like your bike, having the wiring running straight to the battery is not necessary, the results would be the same either way, the extra cable just offers a little more protection on the factory harness. I have never had a customer have a problem when not using the extra harness.

Your bike uses H7 bulbs for both low & high.
We have an automotive set here: (this will do both low & high beam)
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/product_info.php?products_id=46

All sellers will tell you their components are best, so I'll save that for them. We have a 18 month replacement warranty to back up our claims on quality. If you just want to do a low beam conversion only, its not posted on the site, but we have that option as well.

Source is from a factory we work closely with in Asia. We could never offer this price with kits from Germany. Components come from Germany, Japan, and Korea, but are assembled in China to keep labour cost way down to get an inexpensive high quality product, cause this is what everyone wants, right?
Many sellers claim there kits are from Germany or Japan and some even using the Philips name yet they are selling them for $50-$100 or whatever. This is total BS. First of all they Philips does not re-base HID bulbs, and their prices for HID components are way higher.

There are many factories making these in Asia now, and very few of them use quality components to manufacture them, many copy cats out there, so it is very hard to tell quality by looking at them as most kits look the same.

I've just recently installed HID's to my 06 KTM 950. The stock KTM headlight comes with an H4 bulb which is rather poor in lighting capabilities. I tried to retrofit an HID in it but was unsuccessfull. I then had to purchase the Euro headlight, which comes with a H3/H7 set-up and retrofitted it with 6000 rated HID's, both high and low. Expensive, yes. Worth it? These lights lite up the night, just incredible. Let's put it this way. I want to be seen during the daytime. I want to see and be seen at night. I've also installed aux 35wt halogen lights. Redundant I know but as I said, I want to be seen. Anything to improve the odds vs the cagers and any four legged creatures. What's your life worth?

I think aux lights are especially important at night for being recognized by the cars. That way they can tell you are not just a saturn or a jeep that is a ways off. The more seperation from the headlights the better.

What kind of ballast do you have and what type of bulb are you using?
Also do you have any servo assist bulbs?

Thanks!

Also, what are your opinions on High/Low bulbs? I have a 9007 in my truck that I would like to HID, but I can't find a High/Low setup to work and I don't want to give up the High beams.

From all the the conversions I have heard of on the KTM 950, using the Euro headlight is the way to go. The stock headlight uses a plastic clip that interferes with the bulb base on the H4. You should be able to clip one of the tabs off the base and still use the H4 on the stock headlight. Correct me if I'm wrong on this, I'm just working with photos on this bike, not actual experience. I had a similar issue with a H4 install on my Honda ATV. i just clipped on of the tabs off, and it fit perfect.

we have a 9007 high/low system that works great, this is not the type that has a halogen bulb for high, but uses one bulb to provide HID light in low & high beam.
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/product_info.php?products_id=32


What kind of truck is it for?

1999 Expedition. I looked at the Sylvania HID replacement lenses a couple of years ago but they were in the $500 range :eek1 .

Since I am in Canada, it also has DRL's but I figured I would just bypass that circuit and leave the low beams on all the time.

The harness pack included on the dual beam kits usually addresses the DRL issue since it draws power direct from the battery, but as you mentioned the low's will be on all the time.

I have been looking to upgrade the auxiliary lights on my Caponord to HID to reduce drain on the charging system. My greatest concern is the length of the harness from ballast to bulb. Could you tell me (us) how long the harness is, since that can be a factor for mounting in motorcycle applications?

Your bike uses 2-H4 bulbs, so you can buy the motorcycle kit which has just one H4 bulb(45" harness):
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/product_info.php?products_id=49

or the automotive kit which is essentially the same, except it has 2 bulbs & 2 ballasts(89" harness):
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/product_info.php?products_id=30

Both kit's harnesses are plenty long enough to do any bike install.

Thanks for the info. I should have included that my aux driving lights use H3 bulbs. I see you have the H3-EXP kit, does that come with 2 long harnesses?

Doesn't come with the kit, but is available. It's the same harness used on the fog light kits. ($15).

The EXP ballasts are rather bulky (3.25"X2.75"X1.25"), so that's something to keep in mind for install.
Slim ballasts are available, (not in stock - will have within 2 weeks), and the price is an extra $45/per pair.
http://www.futurevisionhid.com/image...ni_ballast.JPG

I put a 7" bi-xenon true HID on my R1150R in the Hannigan fairing. The light's performance is incredible. This item keeps the burner going all the time and a solenoid refocuses it between high and low beam. Lots of these have halogen high beam because the HID is too slow to switch it on and off. I like the bi-xenon approach better. Another plus, all this light for 35 watts. Sweet