HID Conversion on a 12GS (pictorial)

[GSQuester]

Originally Posted by tallguy-09

I saw some pictures of damaged reflectors due to the more heat? or light? of the 55W kits. I think it must have to do with the more light output but then how can this damage the reflector? Is it the Photons?

It's the heat. Not all the electrical power delivered to an HID bulb is converted into photons - some is just waste heat. So for a 35W HID system let's say 20W is converted to photons (and let's be generous and say you have a perfect reflector so 100% of those photons are reflected out of the headlight and none are simply absorbed internally and converted to heat), then that leaves 15W of heat being dissipated inside the headlight.

Now use a 55W bulb and the same conversion efficacy and you have about 24W of heat inside the headlight. The reality though is some percentage of the light is getting absorbed as well, and with a brighter bulb, that's even more heat. In that small a space with maybe close to 30W of heat, you're definitely going to get plastic melting...

[birdie_xx]

Has anyone tried this kit ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10-BM...#ht_6222wt_941

Thanks,

PS...sorry if I missed it somewhere in 56 pages of this thread...

[Stressfest]

That's the set i was looking at before i bought this set... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The sportiva's got a bit of a mixed review around the net so i decided to go with the above mentioned... not a single error and 36 month warranty on the ballasts. Not a bad deal

[R1200GSA]

I just replaced my High beam and Hella FF50s with this kit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ht_5039wt_1167

He accepted a best offer of $37.00 ea, free shipping and I had them in 3 days.

Anyway. I have had my low beam VVME kit (same as original post) installed since Nov. 2007. One of the ballasts was bad, is why I only did my low beam.

So on a whim, well, after reading one of the posts where one of you did the HID upgrade to their Hella FF50's, I wanted to do the same.

The Ballast is REALLY SMALL, and its still plug and play. My high beam does not throw any Canbus faults, yet anyway.

I cut the plugs off the end of the bulb wire and utilized the existing grommets on the back of the FF50s, no drilling, not mess.

The only complaint so far is that there are no grommets included with this kit. Not a deal breaker though.

Anyway for comparison. Here is my bike back in 2006 with OEM bulbs in all lights.



Now for what I played with tonight.



How the material was packaged.... Not very well to be honest, but everything is serviceable, and I bench tested all 4 bulbs and Ballasts prior to installing.



The size of the ballast.





And what 4 35w HIDs look like from the front.... Low Beam is still the VVME 4300k bulb and ballast from 2007, the 2 Hella FF50's and High Beam are all 5000k, but I cant tell a difference in color or intensity.



My Hellas are still slaved via relay from the High Beam, and powered from a Blue Seas fuse block. That way when I hit the high beams, they come on too.

Again, after a brief shake down ride, no canbus faults... More miles will tell the full story though. And yes, H11 Bulbs are on their way to me so I can upgrade my factory fog lights to HID as well. Over kill, yes, but I am ok with that.

[birdie_xx]

I have their kit in my Accord, but it's the standard ballast kit. I have the 5K bulbs and I wish they offered the 4300... The auction shows square ballasts and you received cylindrical ones ? Were they easy to install ?

Cheers,

[R1200GSA]

Originally Posted by ebay auction

The listing below has been updated by the seller, but you can see the item you purchased

Hmmm.... Looks like he updated the auction recently. As for the install, Very easy, easier than the VVME, because of the small ballast.

[R1200GSA]

Haven't a clue.

That ballast and the bulb is the entire kit.

To do 1 light this is what is provided. The box comes with 2 of each.

1 ea. Bulb and 6~8 inches of wire with plug connectors affixed.
1 ea. Ballast with ~3 inches Power In and Power out wires with plug connectors affixed.
1 eat. 12~14 inches Power wire with plug connector on one end spade connector on the other end.

I will grab a pic later as I stil have 1 bulb assembly left because I only used 3 of the for for last nights project.

EDIT: Heres the pic.

[R1200GSA]

Just wanted to update. I did about 100 miles this afternoon on back roads, left the high beam on as much a possible depending on traffic. NO Canbus faults, and all appears to be 5 by 5.

[birdie_xx]

Thanks Duke :)

Are the H11s you ordered with the 90 degree or the straight plug ?

Cheers,

[R1200GSA]

Originally Posted by birdie_xx

Thanks Duke :)

Are the H11s you ordered with the 90 degree or the straight plug ?

Cheers,

Ugh... Well I hope they come as the 90 degree plug. I just ordered H11 and did not specify, and to honest, I didn't even know that they came with as a straight plug. When I replaced a burnt bulb a couple of years ago on the factory fogs, I just ordered H11 bulbs and thankfully they were the 90 degree connectors.

If I get the strait ones... well... I guess I will have a decision to make...

[GSA John]

Originally Posted by R1200GSA

Ugh... Well I hope they come as the 90 degree plug. I just ordered H11 and did not specify, and to honest, I didn't even know that they came with as a straight plug. When I replaced a burnt bulb a couple of years ago on the factory fogs, I just ordered H11 bulbs and thankfully they were the 90 degree connectors.

If I get the strait ones... well... I guess I will have a decision to make...

If it's not the 90 degree, you can get them here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_4790wt_1141

DO MENTION you need the 90 degree version, otherwise it will be the straight version.

[GSguy]

Originally Posted by R1200GSA

Ugh... Well I hope they come as the 90 degree plug. I just ordered H11 and did not specify, and to honest, I didn't even know that they came with as a straight plug. When I replaced a burnt bulb a couple of years ago on the factory fogs, I just ordered H11 bulbs and thankfully they were the 90 degree connectors.

If I get the strait ones... well... I guess I will have a decision to make...

It's strange but for some reason the H11's in HID come with a straight connector or 90 degree. If you get straight it will require hoging out the back of the housing to make it fit.

[waynegs]

I bought a pair of these ($37) and received the flat ballasts as shown on the EBay picture. One of the two ballasts was bad, the other is OK. I've asked for a replacement via email but haven't heard back yet.

I haven't pulled the connector off the high beam bulb since it's a pain to get to yet. Did you just shove the two spades off the red / black wires into the connector? There were two connector shells in the box, but I don't see how they would be useful here.

Originally Posted by R1200GSA

Haven't a clue.

That ballast and the bulb is the entire kit.

To do 1 light this is what is provided. The box comes with 2 of each.

1 ea. Bulb and 6~8 inches of wire with plug connectors affixed.
1 ea. Ballast with ~3 inches Power In and Power out wires with plug connectors affixed.
1 eat. 12~14 inches Power wire with plug connector on one end spade connector on the other end.

I will grab a pic later as I stil have 1 bulb assembly left because I only used 3 of the for for last nights project.

EDIT: Heres the pic.

[R1200GSA]

Originally Posted by waynegs

I bought a pair of these ($37) and received the flat ballasts as shown on the EBay picture. One of the two ballasts was bad, the other is OK. I've asked for a replacement via email but haven't heard back yet.

I haven't pulled the connector off the high beam bulb since it's a pain to get to yet. Did you just shove the two spades off the red / black wires into the connector? There were two connector shells in the box, but I don't see how they would be useful here.

Just got home and thought of this thread.

I left my house last night at 8pm and rode to my family farm 2.5 hours away, and one of the ballasts died on me half way there. Another thing, man oh man it takes the bulbs a loooooooooooooooong time to get to full brightness. The 5 year old VVME kit is practically instant.. sub 1 second. These things take upwards of a 5 count. I did not notice this at all the other night when I took it out for a shake down ride. I guess because there was frequent traffic they just didn't stay on long enough.

I CAN NOT RECOMMEND THIS Ultra Slim Kit.

To answer your question, yes that is exactly what I did.

[waynegs]

Yeah, I noticed the bulbs come up slowly. Not a problem for your FF50's. I have a pair of those too, maybe I'll use them there instead. I got the same crappy shipment - stuffed in a box in a paper bag.

Nice day down here for a ride though! Tomorrow's supposed to be even better up here in Austin.
Wayne

Originally Posted by R1200GSA

Just got home and thought of this thread.

I left my house last night at 8pm and rode to my family farm 2.5 hours away, and one of the ballasts died on me half way there. Another thing, man oh man it takes the bulbs a loooooooooooooooong time to get to full brightness. The 5 year old VVME kit is practically instant.. sub 1 second. These things take upwards of a 5 count. I did not notice this at all the other night when I took it out for a shake down ride. I guess because there was frequent traffic they just didn't stay on long enough.

I CAN NOT RECOMMEND THIS Ultra Slim Kit.

To answer your question, yes that is exactly what I did.