HID Headlights

[05 Ultra]

Originally Posted by FatBobRob

Most,if not all of these kits are not dot approved,don't be surprised if you get stopped/ticketed.

There are hundreds of these kits out there...
Show of hands,...whos been stopped?
I've been thru my states inspection and they didn't even blink.
Oh...those LED brake lights. not DOT.
Have a nice day...

[FatBobRob]

My buddy has an h-d led brake light on his deuce.........dot approved right on the lens. as far as not getting noticed/stopped,when local govmnts need cash,it's amazing what they will do for $$$

[Mattman22033]

Originally Posted by 05 Ultra

There are hundreds of these kits out there...
Show of hands,...whos been stopped?
I've been thru my states inspection and they didn't even blink.
Oh...those LED brake lights. not DOT.
Have a nice day...

I agree.

If they were really stopping people because they are not DOT approved then I should be getting a ticket every time I drive my 350Z.

[Joker1450]

Originally Posted by WVBartMan

I have a 2009 Road King and was thinking about replacing the stock headlight bulb with HID units. Has anyone replaced their stock headlights with HID Lights? What was your opinion of the upgrade, cost, did you do it yourself, where did you purchase the HID unit, etc?

I appreciate your comments.

I have bought and install one of the milion HID kit on ebay (90 euro shipped) and I put it on my bike.

The kit has a wire battery connection, on this wire I put the accessory switch and now I can turn on the light after turn on the motor.

The light is fantastic!

Do not buy the Harley kit, a lot of money without havin the High beam xenon but alogen.

Buy a bixenon kit on ebay.

[iclick]

A little-known idea for increasing headlight efficiency is to install Euro-code headlight lenses and higher-wattage bulbs. E-code lenses are theoretically not legal for street use in the U.S., but it is doubtful anyone would ever challenge your installation as long as the lights were aimed properly. I've run them on cars and motorcycles for years without one problem. These lenses provide a much better pattern on both low- and high-beam--a flat cut-off without a shift to the right on low, much better pattern and greater seeing distance on high. I must say that with the Hella headlight I installed the seeing distance must be double that of the non-fluted HD lens that came on my '07 SG.

There are various brands available, but Hella (German) has the best price that I found among the established brands. You can buy these at Susquehanna Motorsports for $32 + shipping. Bulbs are extra, and I'm running 80/100w ($8), but if you are running high-wattage passing lamps you may want to go with 55/100w to keep the low-beam-circuit amperage at status quo--or, install a relay on the passing lamps. I had a relay on my old RK's passing lamps (using 37.5w quartz bulbs from CCI) with an 80/100w bulb in the headlight.

Cibie (French) is another good brand, but I could only find these in Daniel Stern Lighting and they were $75 each without a bulb.

[CRAZY_TRAIN]

id say the kuryakyn HID kit is the best on the market, easy to install and is D.O.T approved, and has both HI and LOW beam

[Mattman22033]

Originally Posted by CRAZY_TRAIN

id say the kuryakyn HID kit is the best on the market, easy to install and is D.O.T approved, and has both HI and LOW beam

$500...LOL...no thanks, the conversion kit I bought was $150 for 2 lights and has both HI and LOW beam as well.

[Mattman22033]

Originally Posted by Joker1450

I have bought and install one of the milion HID kit on ebay (90 euro shipped) and I put it on my bike.

The kit has a wire battery connection, on this wire I put the accessory switch and now I can turn on the light after turn on the motor.

The light is fantastic!

Do not buy the Harley kit, a lot of money without havin the High beam xenon but alogen.

Buy a bixenon kit on ebay.

I liked your idea of being able to turn on the lights after the motor was started so I am going to have my lights wired to the accessory switch on my RG.

[Pop's Cycle]

Originally Posted by CRAZY_TRAIN

id say the kuryakyn HID kit is the best on the market, easy to install and is D.O.T approved, and has both HI and LOW beam

I put this on a month ago and I've already ordered a stock headlamp to replace it with.

The first headlamp fell apart inside. I put a new one in and after a week, it would blink a few times and then blow the fuse. I haven't had a chance to troubleshoot the problem on the second but I'm so unhappy with it and so confident that it will continue to have problems, that I would recommend against this H.I.D. kit.

[Monstermile]

Originally Posted by iclick

There are various brands available, but Hella (German) has the best price that I found among the established brands. You can buy these at Susquehanna Motorsports for $32 + shipping. Bulbs are extra, and I'm running 80/100w ($8), but if you are running high-wattage passing lamps you may want to go with 55/100w to keep the low-beam-circuit amperage at status quo--or, install a relay on the passing lamps. I had a relay on my old RK's passing lamps (using 37.5w quartz bulbs from CCI) with an 80/100w bulb in the headlight.

Cibie (French) is another good brand, but I could only find these in Daniel Stern Lighting and they were $75 each without a bulb.

Thanks for that link on the Hella. I was trying to find somewhere to buy the Cibie other than from Daniel Stern but had no luck.

So would you say the Hella e-spec makes a big difference over stock??? Are these made specifically for bikes or just 7" round lights in general. And would it make a difference if it wasn't m/c specific. I had an HID kit installed. Even though the lighting was much better it started having operating problems so I removed it. Don't wanna take a chance of being stranded w/o a headlight.

[FatBobRob]

http://www.jwspeaker.com/case_studie..._headlight.htm

[iclick]

Originally Posted by Mattman22033

I liked your idea of being able to turn on the lights after the motor was started so I am going to have my lights wired to the accessory switch on my RG.

The only thing that might concern me about wiring thru a switch is that switches occasionally fail. If the switch fails you have no lights.

[iclick]

Originally Posted by Monstermile

Thanks for that link on the Hella. I was trying to find somewhere to buy the Cibie other than from Daniel Stern but had no luck.

Daniel Stern claims Cibie is superior to other brands, of course, but I could not find any other references to veriy this claim. I've run Hella E-codes on two sport sedans in the past with excellent results, and mounted some Cibie driving lights on a car I owned 35 years ago, which also worked well--so my experience is favorable with both brands. Marchal and Autoroche also make lighting equipment, but I haven't owned these brands, and Autoroche is OEM for some Euro car brands, usually considered an economy option. Finding E-code headlights in the U.S. is difficult.

So would you say the Hella e-spec makes a big difference over stock??? Are these made specifically for bikes or just 7" round lights in general. And would it make a difference if it wasn't m/c specific.

These 7" E-code headlights are generic options for MCs and cars, and there is no downside to this dual-compatibility. Based on previous experience with E-code H4 lights the pattern is every bit up to my expectations, and IMO far superior to the non-fluted stock HD lights. They don't look as cool--more like any other flat, fluted headlight rather than the curved, non-fluted HDs made by North American Lighting--but I doubt if anyone will ever notice. If they do I really don't care, as I'll take functionality over bling any day, especially this much difference. I hope I'm not over-hyping these headlights, but I do feel they made a major difference for me. Note that I used the same 80/100w bulb on both headlights, so the bulbs weren't the difference. I would recommend 80/100w bulbs with attention to the caveats I mentioned in my first post. The 80w low-beam may tax 15A fuses (or breakers on older bikes) when high-output passing lamps are used, as I found out on my old RK. I doubt if they would be a problem on bikes equipped with 25-30w passing lamps, though. My SG has no passing lamps so the 80w output is no problem.

I had an HID kit installed. Even though the lighting was much better it started having operating problems so I removed it. Don't wanna take a chance of being stranded w/o a headlight.

I've never run HIDs on a car or MC, so I can't offer a comparison, but the cost and complexity would keep me from going that route. If you buy E-code headlights I hope you'll give us some feedback on the difference.

[Mattman22033]

Originally Posted by iclick

The only thing that might concern me about wiring thru a switch is that switches occasionally fail. If the switch fails you have no lights.

If you starter switch fails you can't start your bike...unless you push start it.
If your run/stop switch fails, you can't start your bike...unless it fails and stays in the on postion.
If your ignition switch fails, you can't start your bike.

When was the last time you had one of these switches fail, not saying that they can't, but I never have. Plus I will have the Kuryayn driving lights so I will have some forward lighting to be able to ride with.

[Dogbreath]

installed the 55/100 watt bulb in the 06 headlight and it works great for $12.00