HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlight upgrade

[xgnr]

I do a bit of night riding and was interested in getting as much light out front as possible. Trouble was that the bright lights generally mean a load on the electrical system and all sorts of dodgy relays and soldering effort.

Since the K75 was no more and the new R1150 was the favourite steed I new that it was time to upspec the lights.

Out of the box you get the usual H4 65/55watt candle which is useless for any sort of long runs (Grand Challenge etc). I wanted light that could melt a possum at 200 metres!

Options are to upgrade the Bulb to a 100w or 90w high beam then fit a relay. downside is that you have to start cutting wires and know what you are doing. Oh and also you need to understand how much your alternator puts out to make sure you don;t flatten your battery in the middle of nowhere when checking the map (don't ask how I know this).

Anyway, spotted a Motor bike HID hi/lo kit on Trademe for a buy now of 115.00. Seemed like a good deal and the seller was a company with good rep. Now, this seemed like a reasonable option as it was a "plug and play" install i.e. not cutting wires and it was the 6000k/35watt option designed specially for bikes.

Buy now was done, on the phone , great response, they talked kiwi and the goods were in my hand the next day... yay.

Fitting was quite straight forward, the kit seems to be good quality with waterproofing on the connections and a good solid build quality. Cables were a good length.

Instructions were in chinglish which gave us a bit of a larf (WTF does Circumvulate mean?) but had pictures and lets face it if you couldn't work it out you should not be doing this yourself. (instructions suggest a Careerman should do the install)

The bulb has a sleeve which you fit into the H4 "hole' in the headlight. The standard locking mechanism holds it in place. The Bulb and base then fits inside this and with a twist you lock it in. There is a ballast and connections to the existing Bulb connector, "controller" and battery.

The kit has hi/lo controller which essentially means that (magnetically) it dips the light using some magnet thing that is switched using your normal hi/lo switch on the bike. Don't know all the details but seems to work ok.

OK so after pulling the fairing off and some head scratching I had the ballast mounted and connected up to the battery. Took the opportunity to mount the radar detector and check the battery fluid (it was bloody low, thought this had had a service before I bought it?)

All good, put it back together and turned everything on. Holy shit this is bright.

Got up early this morning and rode to work to check it out for flickering or bad illumination etc and all is good so far. A crisp white blue light that is so much better than the old yellow 65/55w and it uses bugger all current.
Looks very cool and should be a delight on the next GC.

18 months guarantee and the bulb has 2500 hrs life (around 200,000km at average speed I thought). If it poos itself you can put the H4 65/55 back in although it would be an arse, it is possible to get going again (carry a torch on the bike).

So, in summary I would recommend looking at the HID Kit as a low cost upgrade that seems to be a good buy. See how it goes in the next few months.

Cheers
Stu


Details: (from tardme)
One Brand new HID Xenon Light bulb , ( H.I.D ) stands for High Intensity Discharge ...of a plasma arc in Xenon gas , a lot of so called HID lamps sold on trade me are just tungsten filament type so ask if it comes with or needs an electronic ballast !!!) ) Hi intensity light , 3 times brighter watt for watt than Halogen , 6000k colour, I have only H4 fitting bulbs, negative earth , new in box with wiring instructions Ballast , inverter and bulb . These lights are magnetically dipped HI/Lo beam ( you may see cheaper units around but can you dip them hi/lo beam ? check first) only 3 wires to connect picture shows the same contents of box , power cables under red plastic, when running draws 4 amps at 12v total wieght of all components, 0.8 Kg manufacturer describes as 35W bulb ,
, ballast 110mm by 70 mm by 30mm in size
these are bright and so nice to ride with at night ... you can see!! and be seen and more importantly during the day you will stand out !!
sale is for one magnetically dipped light only

Web Site

http://www,amalgamate2000.com/sales

[Horney1]

Hi, I'm wondering about the amount of heat the HID produces compared with conventional halogens. I've heard they run quite cool. I bought one a while back but haven't fitted it yet. I bench tested it and noted it got really hot.

Have you checked your reflector for heat damage at all? Do you have a plastic or metal reflector?

Don't worry about the possums, they're easy. It's the wallabies, black cows and (over here in Aus) the roos & camels you've got to be warey of

[nallac]

I've seen those on T/ME and thought they'd be great..only prob is i'd need two kits,the bugger of twin headlights.
Its good to know they are an easyish install and work like they say.

Oh,and how long do they take to dip go back to high beam?.

[BMWST?]

I've seen those on T/ME and thought they'd be great..only prob is i'd need two kits,the bugger of twin headlights.
Its good to know they are an easyish install and work like they say.

Oh,and how long do they take to dip go back to high beam?.

you would prolly be best to have just a low beam HID and keep the std High beam.When you go onto high beam does the low stay on?The HID the other guy is one bulb with some sort of moveable sheild which gives the hi lo.Hids dont like turning on and off...and you cant flash a hid,they take too long to ignite.the moveable sheild will allow flashing.

A hid headlight MAY be illegall

[CookMySock]

Hi, I'm wondering about the amount of heat the HID produces compared with conventional halogens. I've heard they run quite cool. I bought one a while back but haven't fitted it yet. I bench tested it and noted it got really hot.

Is it a proper HID with inverter? Some pricks sell "HID" lights that are just a halogen bulb with xenon gas in them.

This is a HID lamp.


This, is not.


My HID runs cold, like a fluoro tube - certainly not remotely as hot as a quartz halogen, and it uses 35 watts, not 55 watts, making three times the amount of light. The only thing that might be a consideration - if the HID bulb is not UV cut, there is some problem (I'm not a chemist) with the creation of ozone gas, and the combined effect of ozone and UV wrecks plastic housings. Or something like that, so your tubes should be UV-cut.

Steve

[nallac]

Mine(99 R1) has 2x high/low bulbs,so can't run seperate HID for low and keep
standard high beam.

could always only do one side....

[CookMySock]

so can't run seperate HID for low and keep standard high beam.

Why would you not want HID on highbeam?

Steve

[BMWST?]

Why would you not want HID on highbeam?

Steve

you need the moving sheild types ones or be prepared to wait when you switch on high beam,they dont fire up to full intensity immediately,so obviuosly low beam must remain on when high gets turned on

[CookMySock]

you need the moving sheild types ones or be prepared to wait when you switch on high beam,they dont fire up to full intensity immediately,so obviuosly low beam must remain on when high gets turned on

Ok I had this problem. You can preheat them with the flasher. But yes, there is a full second where there is minimal light. It would be worse going from full to dip(HID), especially if you were cornering on a dark slippery night and you were forced to dip suddenly while you were cornering - you would have NO light for a very frightening second.

Steve

[xgnr]

Hi, I'm wondering about the amount of heat the HID produces compared with conventional halogens. I've heard they run quite cool. I bought one a while back but haven't fitted it yet. I bench tested it and noted it got really hot.

Have you checked your reflector for heat damage at all? Do you have a plastic or metal reflector?

Havn't noticed any heat. I think they run cooler than halogens anyway as the wattage is lower ? I have used 95 Watt H4 in teh old K bike and that poked out a Lot of hweat but not enough to damage the Bosch headlight.

These really stand out on the road as well, as can be attested to by my riding mate.

Cheers

Stu

[LBD]

Try the search function, there is a lot of good discussion here about HID's...Including the value of the hella + 90% globes as an upgrade instead of HIDs

[xgnr]

Try the search function, there is a lot of good discussion here about HID's...Including the value of the hella + 90% globes as an upgrade instead of HIDs

FWIW I was considering the option (as I had with the K Bike) of upgrading the bulb but the cost of the bulb + Relay plus hacking around the wiring + the drain on the Alternator compared to the plug and play nature of the HID kit for $120.00 it really was a no brainer.

Stu

[The Stranger:Me]

The bulb has a sleeve which you fit into the H4 "hole' in the headlight. The standard locking mechanism holds it in place. The Bulb and base then fits inside this and with a twist you lock it in. There is a ballast and connections to the existing Bulb connector, "controller" and battery.

As noted from LTNZ

"The law says your lights must not dazzle, confuse or distract other road users and sets out how and when you can use some types of vehicle lights."

and

"High intensity discharge (HID) conversion kits

HID conversion kits (an HID bulb with a high voltage power unit or ‘ballast’ which fits into the original headlamp unit in place of the original bulb with no change to the headlamp lens, reflector or housing) are illegal on any vehicle being used on New Zealand roads."


Just because some numb nuts breaks the law and gets away with it due to living in a backward one horse town doesn't mean you will.

A Philips or Narva +50% H4 bulb is a legal upgrade and makes a significant difference. You can even get a +80% bulb (though I haven't seen one in NZ yet) and it is still legal.

[CookMySock]

So is a fucking loud exhaust pipe. Call someone who cares.

Steve

[Katman]

But yes, there is a full second where there is minimal light. It would be worse going from full to dip(HID), especially if you were cornering on a dark slippery night and you were forced to dip suddenly while you were cornering - you would have NO light for a very frightening second.

I fail to see how you can state this on one hand and still expound the virtue of HID bulbs in standard housings on the other. That type of set up is illegal for a reason.

A Philips or Narva +50% H4 bulb is a legal upgrade and makes a significant difference. You can even get a +80% bulb (though I haven't seen one in NZ yet) and it is still legal.

The +80% bulbs are now readily available in NZ and retail for about $50.