HID conversion

[b_eastep]

anyone do a HID conversion on their pre 08 250? iv done it on my 07 Z1000 and the diff is literally night and day. would love to do the same to my gf 250 but of course it is a single bulb system. just wondering if any of you guys have any experience with a single bulb conversion?

[Verus Cidere]

I've been wondering about the same thing... We had a thread talk about this before, but it kinda fizzled out! Anybody have any new info?

[Neema12]

I offer nothing to this thread other than I am also extremely interested in a HID conversion and would love to hear more about the subject.

[Snake]

Looks like we need some help from Alex or KKim. Help please!!!!!

[Grn99Kawi]

I did an HID retrofit on my 99 Mustang.. I know that the halogen reflector and lenses arent designed with HID in mind.. and there are a lot of people out there that bash plug and play kits.. but I bought the 5000k kit (white light not the ricer blue or ACK! purple). It is so much better than the stock halogens...

I am hesitant to put it on a bike... HIDs do run cooler than halogens, draw less power and last longer.. but you will have to mount the ballast (1) and run the wiring to the battery and the stock wiring.

Up to you... I'm just not sold on the HID on a bike thing... then again I ride during the day... never at night yet... and I run high beams daytime anyway.

[kkim]

I'm a strong supporter of aftermarket HID kits in vehicles because I drive/ride a deserted canyon road at all hours of the day.

My experience prior to a month ago were with vehicles that required a separate bulb for each the low and high lights. For me the difference was astounding and I would not hesitate to recommend a switch to HIDs when the bulbs were separate.

Last month, I installed HIDs into a car that has a dual filament bulb much like the pregens have. I was excited to be putting improved lighting into the car and ordered a bi-xenon kit for dual filament bulbs.

What I found was this... the light scatter was horrible for the low lights, when I switch to highlights, the highlight would not raise enough to illuminate far enough down the road. If I adjusted for decent high light coverage, the low lights would blind oncoming traffic from being aimed too high.

I now have the lights readjusted so the low lights are at a decent level so to not blind oncoming traffic, but I'm living with less than desirable high light performance.

My plan is to take the HID kit back out and just run 55/100watt halogen bulbs instead.

I do feel the reflector housing has a lot to do with the performance deficiencies I'm experiencing, so the reflector housing in the pregens may be a better match for the HID kits than in the Honda FIT I'm working with. My suggestion is for someone to try it and find out.

[noche_caliente]

and he's willing to ship you his kit if you pay for shipping, right Kelly?

[kkim]

wouldn't work... different bulbs.

[Verus Cidere]

Any possibility of making a custom reflector housing for it? I mean, sorta like an aftermarket piece of reflective plastic that you can install instead of the original? Might make the bike look a bit more sporty (pregens do have a bit of a problem there on the front end) and would allow for HIDs....? Just a thought.

[b_eastep]

Originally Posted by Grn99Kawi

I did an HID retrofit on my 99 Mustang.. I know that the halogen reflector and lenses arent designed with HID in mind.. and there are a lot of people out there that bash plug and play kits.. but I bought the 5000k kit (white light not the ricer blue or ACK! purple). It is so much better than the stock halogens...

I am hesitant to put it on a bike... HIDs do run cooler than halogens, draw less power and last longer.. but you will have to mount the ballast (1) and run the wiring to the battery and the stock wiring.

Up to you... I'm just not sold on the HID on a bike thing... then again I ride during the day... never at night yet... and I run high beams daytime anyway.

the ballasts on these things are tiny now. the only wiring you have is unplug your bulb and use those wires for the hot and ground on your ballast.

[Grn99Kawi]

Yes... but they are still somewhat large.. the ones on my Mustang are maybe 4x3inches maybe half inch tall.. even the slim ballasts arent much smaller.. there isnt much room for them on a bike, but of course it can be done. you need hot and ground and then plug into the stock wiring.. like I said it can and has been done... I have the bixenon... it moves the bulb up and down to make the 'high' beams go on.. I would love to hear about it on a pregen..

[noche_caliente]

Adam - the ballasts on the kit I got from china were not a problem at all - you can see it really well in this pic:


no larger than a 3x5 index card and maybe an inch or so thick - I used the mounting hardware that was included with the kit and attached it to the screw used to hold the headlight into the fairing - no problems with clearance at all

[Grn99Kawi]

Kim,

Good to know! Do you find that the HID setup is better for your visibility? I mean both to see and to be seen?

[noche_caliente]

I've only had them on for a week, so it is hard to say... I haven't had as many idiots pulling out in front of me... I do try to limit night riding due to deer, so it will probably be a while before I have an opinion there...

[ASecretNinja]

I just put an HiD bulb onto my '95. I got the kit from Lightning Industries
http://www.lightningindustries.com/hid_kits.html
and its literally plug and play. No messing with wires or anything. You just replace the bulb with the HiD, and then plug the kit 3-prong adapter into the OEM harness, and you are good to go. I used industrial velcro to mount my ballast and a little bit of duct tape to tame some of the wires. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow night.
Kit was only $50 too.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by ASecretNinja

I just put an HiD bulb onto my '95. I got the kit from Lightning Industries
http://www.lightningindustries.com/hid_kits.html
and its literally plug and play. No messing with wires or anything. You just replace the bulb with the HiD, and then plug the kit 3-prong adapter into the OEM harness, and you are good to go. I used industrial velcro to mount my ballast and a little bit of duct tape to tame some of the wires. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow night.
Kit was only $50 too.

cool! how much difference does it make from the stock lighting?

[Snake]

Thanks ASecretNinja thats just what we were looking for a simple plug and play instalation.

[b_eastep]

so now you have lost your ability to have both hi and low beam? or did you order a bi-xenon kit?

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by Verus Cidere

Any possibility of making a custom reflector housing for it? I mean, sorta like an aftermarket piece of reflective plastic that you can install instead of the original? Might make the bike look a bit more sporty (pregens do have a bit of a problem there on the front end) and would allow for HIDs....? Just a thought.

You're describig a HID retrofit which alot of people do. They take a projector from say, a honda S2000 or acura TSX and bolt them inside the reflector. The results, if executed properly, is proper HID lighting which is times better than cheap kits.

I actually made a small HOW TO for retro-fitting projectors.. In part cause I made one and really hate P&P Kits. Another advantage of retrofitting projectors is that if you use bi-xenon projectors(like from an Acura TL or Infiniti FX34/45, you end up with 2 low beam and 2 high beam without blinding incoming traffic and TERRIFIC night vision.










Perfect light cut-off and great even lighting.

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by kkim

cool! how much difference does it make from the stock lighting?

Low beam is night and day difference. As you can see on their website, they offer the White, Blue/White, or Blue color, and I went with the Blue/White. Super bright and looks great. As far as the high beam:

Originally Posted by b_eastep

so now you have lost your ability to have both hi and low beam? or did you order a bi-xenon kit?

The guy who sold it to me from the website (his name is Tim) threw in a halogen highbeam bulb. I literally just installed it and haven't been for a proper night ride so I haven't compared high beams, but from what I could tell in the garage and parking lot the high beam is pretty similar to stock.

I will be posting pictures tonight after dark (west coast time).

[Snake]

Can you explain the halogen highbeam bulb? Does that mean you have two bulb in the housing?

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by Snake

Can you explain the halogen highbeam bulb? Does that mean you have two bulb in the housing?

Yea they are stacked vertically one on top of the other, connected to the same base plate.

[b_eastep]

please keep us posted on this. iv seen those for sale on ebay and just cant make myself believe that they can throw a very useful light since one bulb has to be completely out of the center of the reflector. but hay....i hope im wrong.

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by b_eastep

please keep us posted on this. iv seen those for sale on ebay and just cant make myself believe that they can throw a very useful light since one bulb has to be completely out of the center of the reflector. but hay....i hope im wrong.

FYI, the ripple on the front of the pregen ninja is what create the beam pattern not the bulbs, if you really want to know if those kits will work..somebody will have to try it, we can speculate all day long but in this case here somebody have to try it.

[kkim]

um, no speculation needed... ASecretNinja has one on his bike.

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by kkim

um, no speculation needed... ASecretNinja has one on his bike.

I'm eager to see the shots, I'm totally not sold on those things

[kkim]

I'd like to see them, too.

[ASecretNinja]

So it finally got dark. I went for a little test ride before I took the pictures, as the pics don't give you the exact detail.

The upside of the kit is that the HID is incredibly bright. I didn't feel like switching out my dark smore visor, and I was able to ride with it down most of the time--something I could rarely do with the stock halogen. I live in a highly developed suburban area of southern california, which means there are street lights EVERYWHERE. I realize this is not the norm in most of the rest of the country, as I lived in Indiana for 4 years during college--and made two full round trips in my truck between CA and IN during those 4 years. I've seen more of this damn country than I care to lol.

It's kind of weird having a halogen hi-beam because it's not even close to being as bright as the HID. I honestly don't think I'll ever use my hi-beam again the HID is so bright.

Now to the pics:

This is the darkest area close to me. There is a stretch of street with zero street lights, but I didn't feel like riding that far sorry. Anyways this was taken on a pretty decent down hill slope, hence the spread of the beam. I also took one with the hi-beam, but it didn't come out very well. If you really want it to compare, I will post it.


Now the standard wall pictures that I seem to see on every HID website:

HID


Hi-beam


Notice the intensity of the HID--the white literally washes out of the picture of the cinder block wall. The hi-beam hits the wall higher, but unless you driving directly into a wall, it doesn't seem to be much of a benefit.

My overall conclusion is that the HID in this kit is incredible. However the hi-beam may be a little lacking. Don't get me wrong I don't have any regrets and I'm completely happy with it. Anyways, I hope this was helpful for you guys. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[kkim]

Is the high beam as effective as the high beam was with the original bulb?

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by kkim

Is the high beam as effective as the high beam was with the original bulb?

I honestly can't say. The HID makes it look so weak in comparison, that I feel it may be subconsciously influencing my opinion. Also since it's so highly developed in my area and thus are so many street lights, i rarely needed to use the hi-beam before. I feel like the HID will nearly completely eliminate my need to use the hi-beam.

[Rayme]

You're going to get high beamed for sure with that.

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by Rayme

You're going to get high beamed for sure with that.

It's not any brighter than the HIDs on cars blinding me coming in the opposite direction. And so what. If they beam me, chances are they saw me. +1 for improvising my visibility.

Let me just clarify, because I don't know if this is confusing or not: It's not like I've got the ****in Bat Signal bolted to the front of my bike. It's a proper HID kit. Yes its brighter, that's the point of the device. There are enough rich assholes around here driving fancy euro imports with HIDs that people are used to it by now.

[b_eastep]

thanks for the pics. that was very informative. i only wish that the HID was the hi beam.

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by ASecretNinja

It's not any brighter than the HIDs on cars blinding me coming in the opposite direction. And so what. If they beam me, chances are they saw me. +1 for improvising my visibility.

Let me just clarify, because I don't know if this is confusing or not: It's not like I've got the ****in Bat Signal bolted to the front of my bike. It's a proper HID kit. Yes its brighter, that's the point of the device. There are enough rich assholes around here driving fancy euro imports with HIDs that people are used to it by now.

Not to be an asshole but if you seriously concern with your visibiliy you'd wouldn't be wearing a shaded visor at night. There is more to HID's than you'd think and yes, you are probably blinding incoming traffic more than stock vehicle with HID's. I'm done here.

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by b_eastep

thanks for the pics. that was very informative. i only wish that the HID was the hi beam.

I'm glad someone was helped by this. And I agree, a hi-beam HID seems like a better idea. Or better yet, bi-xenon for lo and hi

[Alex]

Lighten up people. Language is uncalled for, attacking another member is uncalled for, and one of you is just back a few days after being banned for similar behavior. If you don't want to be here, just don't be here.

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by Alex

Lighten up people. Language is uncalled for, attacking another member is uncalled for, and one of you is just back a few days after being banned for similar behavior. If you don't want to be here, just don't be here.

I went out of my way to post pictures and a write up for some people about my experience with HIDs, and this is how I'm repaid. I feel im well within my right to be annoyed by this individual.

[Alex]

But in responding how you did, and attacking him, you lessened the thread, and your reputation on this board.

Writeups: good
Pictures: good
Disagreements: fine and dandy. If we all agreed on everything we'd have nothing to talk about.
Attacking another member over a disagreement: not so good
Pretend to not understand the difference: I'm sure there are more suitable boards out there for you

[ASecretNinja]

Originally Posted by Alex

But in responding how you did, and attacking him, you lessened the thread, and if it were possible, your reputation on this board.

Writeups: good
Pictures: good
Disagreements: fine and dandy. If we all agreed on everything we'd have nothing to talk about.
Attacking another member over a disagreement: not so good
Pretend to not understand the difference: I'm sure there are more suitable boards out there for you

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Good day sir.

[b_eastep]

Originally Posted by ASecretNinja

I'm glad someone was helped by this. And I agree, a hi-beam HID seems like a better idea. Or better yet, bi-xenon for lo and hi

yea, would like to hear from someone witha bi-xenon kit on their bike. not sure about those.