HID Xenon upgrade kits

[FastBikeGear]

Ahh, I missed that in my skim of the site. Who would have thought they cared about the few countries (or even knew about them) that drove on opposing sides?

Yep they must know about us because they went to the trouble to fit the handle to the opposite side of my car to the version they sell in the US.

[FastBikeGear]

OK I promised to do a follow up to my original post.

Here it is.

HID upgrades are illegal when you retrofit into standard headlight assemblies due to the different 'filament' positioning and the greater potential for glare they have due to the spectral characteristics.

Secondly self leveling head lights are a requirement in most countries for HID lights - and to my knowledge no bike has a self leveling system. Probably due to weight and bikes pitch more than cars (think wheelie and stoppie at the extremes!)

Some bikes like a modern Yamaha R1 have awesome lights as standard and don't need much if any improvement. Most older bikes have pathetic lights bordering on dangerous. So here's the alternative for older bikes.

I finished upgrading the headlights on my bike yesterday. The difference in brightness is astounding! Comparing it with a standard setup to a friends bike (same model) shows that my bike puts out a bright white light while by comparison his displays a yellowy orange candelish glow. (By the way I hereby copyright the new verb candelish and the alternative spelling option candleish)

Firstly I replaced my old head light with a better condition original item that I got from a wrecker. My original headlight had lost much of the silver reflector material. More on the possible reason for this later.

I then measured the voltage across my head light bulb while switched on and found it was somewhat short of the 13.8 volts I would have expected with the bike running. Various charts on the Internet show that a small drop in voltage gives a larger and disproportionate percentage drop in output lumens (brightness)!

I then upgraded the wiring, installed a couple of relays, shortened the wiring path, and got rid of some unnecessary components in the current path.

I think the way I installed my relays has some advantages over some of the alternatives. My configuration is the same as most auto electricians would set up separate high and low relays in a car and is not some clever invention that I can lay claim to.

Here's what I did
This will work on any bike that is not already fitted with head light relays.

I had thought of using a special single 'dual' operation relay to operate both the low and high beam, as per my earlier post in this thread, but I used two separate relays in the end. I used standard 4 connector 30 amp rated automotive relays as you don't need a change over switch in the relays with the following configuration. 30 amp relays are more than what is needed as my high beam will only ever draw less than 5 amps - but I figured 30 amp relays should be more robust and more reliable than smaller rated units.

One relay is used for the low beam and the other for the high beam. The advantage of this over other configurations is that if one relay fails the operation of the other beam will be unaffected. The connecting plug blocks I used for these relays have 'puzzle like' physical interconnections on the side of them that allow multiple replays to be banked into one unit for convenient mounting. I got these and the 30 amp relays from Jcar in New Lynn.

I disconnected the low beam positive wire from the original 3 pin H4 bulb connector and then connected it to pin 85 on the new low beam relay.

I disconnected the high beam positive wire from the original 3 pin H4 bulb connector and connected it to pin 85 on the high beam relay.

I disconnected the earth wire from the original H4 bulb connector and connected it to pin 86 of both of the new relays.

I could have just made interconnections from the existing H4 bulb to the relays - but it is best to remove the original H4 connector entirely as parts left out don't go wrong and the wiring is much tidier without it.

A single positive 12 gauge wire is run directly from the battery (through a 15 amp waterproof in-line fuse fitted next to the battery) up to the front of the bike and then connected it to pin 30 of each relay. 12 gauge is probably overkill and 14 gauge would work just as well but the advantage of 12 gauge is that it comes with nice thick insulation.

Wiring directly from the battery in this manner (rather than from the main fuse in the fuse block) has the advantage of bypassing the 'general' relay (Main relay that turns on when you turn your key on). Ensuring that you have the minimum number of components in the head light current path, and reducing the physical length of the circuit decreases the resistance in the circuit and minimises voltage drop.

I then ran a short 14 gauge wire from pin 87 of the low beam relay to the low beam connection of the H4 bulb connector and another short 14 gauge wire from pin 87 of the high beam relay to the high beam connection on the H4 bulb connector.

Rather than reuse the original H4 bulb connector, (that I removed earlier) to connect the outputs of the new relays to the head light, I threw it away and replaced it with a new one. A brand new one gives you new clean low resistance connections. Also modern H4 bulb connectors made of modern plastics possibly have a higher melting point than the older ones.

A 12 gauge negative wire is from the negative wire of the new H4 connector to the main frame of the bike (not the headlight) sub frame to ensure a good earth. You could also run this right back to the battery, but I perceived no advantage to this.

All connections have been both crimped and soldered (and double heat wrapped where appropriate) to minimise the chances of bad connections in the future.

I could now run higher wattage bulbs without any risk of burning out my wiring or melting the H4 connector, etc but due to my earlier experience where I think running a 55/100W bulb contributed to the reflector material disappearing off the inside of my original head light reflector I will stick with the standard 55/60 watt bulb.

Ride Magazine in the UK in their April 2010 issue ran a performance shoot out of H4 bulbs and concluded that the Philips X-treme Power bulbs vastly out performed the 17 other bulbs on test. So I may upgrade to one of these in the future.

Hope this is of help to someone else. If I get a chance I may draw up and post a wiring diagram later.

We are beginning to do more bikemotive (bikie version of automotive? ...another chance to copyright another word?) electronic stuff. If anyone needs any help with doing this they are welcome to call us.

[FastBikeGear]

Just a further follow up to my post above.

I recently upgraded to the new Philips X-tremeVision 100+ bulb . These bulbs are the new replacement for the Philip X-tremePower bulbs that had previously won nearly every product shoot out test by the bike Magazines such as UK RiDE Magazine.

These bulbs draw the same power and consequently current as a standard bulb but are much more efficient at turning this power into light ...and also directing it in a clearly focused beam as intended by your reflector.

The 80+ and 100+ ratings that are now being used by bulb manufacturers are really just a beam focus rating. A 100+ bulb doesn't put out any more light than an 80+ bulb but it does put more of it's light where the reflector designs it to go. This is achieved by using a tighter coil filament to create a tighter light point source.

Anyway the Philips X-TremeVision 100+ bulbs are not generally available in New Zealand as Philips don't believe motorcyclists will pay $45 NZ per bulb to be more visible and get more light on the road. I rang all over New Zealand before contacting Philips to find out that they weren't going to import them to N.Z.

Because these bulbs draw the same power and current as a standard bulb they will not cook the reflective material off the inside of your headlight and they will not fry your standard wiring or connector plugs (as I managed to do to a $700 Ducati head light in an earlier quest to uprate my lighting).

As a result FastBikeGear.co.nz has imported a limited quantity of these bulbs directly from Europe and if their proves to be a demand for them we will continue to hold them in stock.

[Kathryn42]

Just a further follow up to my post above.

I recently upgraded to the new Philips X-tremeVision 100+ bulb . These bulbs are the new replacement for the Philip X-tremePower bulbs that had previously won nearly every product shoot out test by the bike Magazines such as UK RiDE Magazine.

These bulbs draw the same power and consequently current as a standard bulb but are much more efficient at turning this power into light ...and also directing it in a clearly focused beam as intended by your reflector.

The 80+ and 100+ ratings that are now being used by bulb manufacturers are really just a beam focus rating. A 100+ bulb doesn't put out any more light than an 80+ bulb but it does put more of it's light where the reflector designs it to go. This is achieved by using a tighter coil filament to create a tighter light point source.

Anyway the Philips X-TremeVision 100+ bulbs are not generally available in New Zealand as Philips don't believe motorcyclists will pay $45 NZ per bulb to be more visible and get more light on the road. I rang all over New Zealand before contacting Philips to find out that they weren't going to import them to N.Z.

Because these bulbs draw the same power and current as a standard bulb they will not cook the reflective material off the inside of your headlight and they will not fry your standard wiring or connector plugs (as I managed to do to a $700 Ducati head light in an earlier quest to uprate my lighting).

As a result FastBikeGear.co.nz has imported a limited quantity of these bulbs directly from Europe and if their proves to be a demand for them we will continue to hold them in stock.

OK... it's 2014 now. Do you still have these bulbs super-duper Phillips bulbs?
I have an HID kit on my old 1988CBR600 and the beam pattern is excellent, better in fact than with a halogen bulb. I have ridden extensively at night, and even on high beam have not had a single 'flash' from other road users. The cut-off is much sharper with the HID bulb in the Honda, and visibility and reach is so much better. The beam pattern is very much like that in my car with 4 headlights on high beam in both spread and intensity (a bit better for the latter probably!). Perhaps I am just lucky that it works so well, but it does. I was not amused to find that my lovely new lights are technically illegal.
If I am forced to take the HID kit out for a WOF, I want something a LOT better than the standard rig, which is pathetic.... Your special bulbs sound pretty good; so do you still stock them please?

[FastBikeGear]

OK... it's 2014 now. Do you still have these bulbs super-duper Phillips bulbs?
I have an HID kit on my old 1988CBR600 and the beam pattern is excellent, better in fact than with a halogen bulb. I have ridden extensively at night, and even on high beam have not had a single 'flash' from other road users. The cut-off is much sharper with the HID bulb in the Honda, and visibility and reach is so much better. The beam pattern is very much like that in my car with 4 headlights on high beam in both spread and intensity (a bit better for the latter probably!). Perhaps I am just lucky that it works so well, but it does. I was not amused to find that my lovely new lights are technically illegal.
If I am forced to take the HID kit out for a WOF, I want something a LOT better than the standard rig, which is pathetic.... Your special bulbs sound pretty good; so do you still stock them please?

Sorry we sold that shipment pretty quickly. I recently had to replace the Philips X-treme bulb in my bike and I got one of the super duper 100 plus bulbs from local auotmotive store..... It's pathetically dim compared to what the Philips bulb was.

[Kathryn42]

Ummmm... just found some online, $56NZ for two... Please ignore previous post...

[Kathryn42]

Here's my source......
http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/ph...eadlight-bulbs

Free delivery to NZ too...

[Erelyes]

Here's where I see things.

What some places such as retro fit source offer is a complete projector that is compact enough to fit inside many housings. Here's an example in an 07 R6.

Fitment can be advanced depending on the bike. Some will need the headlights baked to get the lenses off. Older round style headlights should be fine.

Now, my argument would be that fitting the entire projector assembly into the housing is legal (provided it meets standards), because it in no way relies on the existing light housing to be anything other than a physical mounting point. The halogen reflector is not used.

I appreciate the concerns in your original post FastBikeGear that the 'flip' systems they offer (bulb constantly on, and a high/main cutoff) have the disadvantage that you have only a single bulb, and if that blows you're stuffed. I agree; I think duals (like the above R6) would be safer. One could even leave one light standard (for day use) and have the other HID (either main/high switched, or solely high).

The above site supplies lights in either LHD or RHD variants so cutoff will be correct. Kits are around $270US plus shipping, customs, etc.

I think the R6 above uses dual 35w bulbs.

If anyone is worried about them being too bright during the day, simply wire in a pair of optional DRLs (Daytime Running Lamps). The law is more flexible on them - you're allowed an optional pair. Basically they have to be wired to turn off if the headlights are on; they have to make the bike more visible; there must be a pair; and they mustn't dazzle people. A pair of 1.5w or 3w LEDs, or a cluster of LEDs, would work a treat.

You can even get 'halos' for the above light kits for an additional US$50 that would do the trick nicely.

[nzspokes]

Here's where I see things.

What some places such as retro fit source offer is a complete projector that is compact enough to fit inside many housings. Here's an example in an 07 R6.

Fitment can be advanced depending on the bike. Some will need the headlights baked to get the lenses off. Older round style headlights should be fine.

Now, my argument would be that fitting the entire projector assembly into the housing is legal (provided it meets standards), because it in no way relies on the existing light housing to be anything other than a physical mounting point. The halogen reflector is not used.

I appreciate the concerns in your original post FastBikeGear that the 'flip' systems they offer (bulb constantly on, and a high/main cutoff) have the disadvantage that you have only a single bulb, and if that blows you're stuffed. I agree; I think duals (like the above R6) would be safer. One could even leave one light standard (for day use) and have the other HID (either main/high switched, or solely high).

The above site supplies lights in either LHD or RHD variants so cutoff will be correct. Kits are around $270US plus shipping, customs, etc.

I think the R6 above uses dual 35w bulbs.

If anyone is worried about them being too bright during the day, simply wire in a pair of optional DRLs (Daytime Running Lamps). The law is more flexible on them - you're allowed an optional pair. Basically they have to be wired to turn off if the headlights are on; they have to make the bike more visible; there must be a pair; and they mustn't dazzle people. A pair of 1.5w or 3w LEDs, or a cluster of LEDs, would work a treat.

You can even get 'halos' for the above light kits for an additional US$50 that would do the trick nicely.

If see some on a US bike site that are H4 LEDs. Photos show them to be a lot brighter than halogen but do the give more light to see with?

[Erelyes]

If see some on a US bike site that are H4 LEDs. Photos show them to be a lot brighter than halogen but do the give more light to see with?

Got a link? I don't think they'd throw as much light down the road as an HID.

Last I knew around 3W was the limit for an SMD LED but perhaps they've advanced further?

[nzspokes]

Got a link? I don't think they'd throw as much light down the road as an HID.

Last I knew around 3W was the limit for an SMD LED but perhaps they've advanced further?

http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.co...ulb-_p_83.html

[nzspokes]

And a thread on them, http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=948701

[bogan]

That's a pretty good rundown Erelyes. Last I heard LEDs were still having problems with bulb heat, while they may be more efficient overall, their waste heat is more concentrated to convection, instead of radiation like other bulb types. I don't think LED ones are compliant either.

Also on the horizon are laser beam headlights, actually I wonder if BMW have done more on that.
Edit, looks like Audi beat them to production model http://www.gizmag.com/audi-laserlight-concept/30272/

[nzspokes]

Reading through the ADV thread, they seem to have good results from them.

[bogan]

Reading through the ADV thread, they seem to have good results from them.

Did they do beam pattern comparisons or is it just off road and fuck-other-road-users work?