Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories H4 Motorcycle HID Headlight Conversion Kit

Hi all,

I'm now interested in installing a HID Headlight kit. I've been looking on ebay etc and they are pretty cheap which to me may well mean trouble, I don't know.

My main reason for wanting one is basically for better light. and I read somewhere they use less power and the globes last longer.

So, I was wondering if anyone had installed one or even just had some knowledge on what they are about and if so, would you be able to offer me some advice.

cheers
stacka

I've been wondering about the "bright white" bulbs they sell.
I think there rated about 55w.

Maybe we'll get opinions on both. (oh, I'm SURE we will)

Stacka,
Did you see Perceval's reply in this thread This thread here!

I'd be curious to know more about this myself, as long as it doesn't get too involved. Something just to make me more visible to other. I already have the NewSpeedmaster Xenon blue bulbs in both my riding lights and main light.

Hey Stacka... how ya doing? A few months back, back before the blanket of darkness fell on this land I had light, and plenty of it. I installed that PIAA H4s bulbs in my driving lights (which are high/low just like the headlight) and WOW, what a difference! They produce white in colour, not blue, not yellow but intense white. I talked about those lights in this thread.

Now, I don't know the difference between what I have and HIDs or maybe they ARE HIDs but safe to say they are a vast improvement over stock. I've heard of some lights requiring a ballast but the one's I bought are just a replacement bulb.

Stacka,
I dont have personal experience with any of the HID kist but everything I have read (both car and bike related) all comes down to one thing...poor performance.

In short...unless the HID kit has a focusing lens (Ive only seen these on OEM vehicles) all it does is throw light EVERYWHERE which blinds oncoming traffic to the point they cant see you anyway.

I have wondered about fitting a HD HID headlight though but I really like my Adjure lights.

Well maties, I put these in last year and combined with a seven inch insert from a mob called Narva, the difference from stock was amazing.

I don't think I'll have much argument when I say Triumphs electrics and in particular the headlight and charging are absolute crap.

Lucky we have this place where we help each other hey?

Btw Keith, I don't want to rub it in too much cos you're a good bloke (maybe a little bit ) but I dont think I'll ever get rid of that picture of a wall of lights in front of your bike. I think it was imprinted as part of my hysterics.

Apologies again. Now I never mentioned it before but in Aus we have our headlights hardwired to be on all the time ( do you ) and whilst I believe it makes me safer, it combined with my GPS and iPhone with running music and another app, I'm not sure how much drain of power is happening. I did do the trick larger gauge wire from the regulator to the battery but I'm not sure how much extra power I have left. So my thinking along those lines is more of a driver than the extra light as I was wanting to reduce drain if I could.

To be honest I'm pretty happy with my current light cos it now works really well and safe for night time riding. Regarding HID light throwing light everywhere, I'm thinking that may occur with the stock headlight lens but maybe the goodie I have now should direct the light where it should. I wouldn't buy one till I find out more though.

Thanks for your comments though. Hopefully we'll get someone who's done all the research so we can poach it.

Okay, pardon my ignorance here but what are we saying here... HID and the PIAA H4 are two different things? And assuming they are, I have to ask you Stacka, given that you are happy with the H4 bulb, what's the attraction to HIDs?

As far as power consumption goes Stacka, you are WELL within the limits of the charging system. The stator puts out 27 amps... amps = watts/volts. The H4s are the same wattage as stock, which is 60 watts (high beam). Add to that the tail light which is 5 watts I believe and your accessories which consume negligible amounts of power + engine + dash and speedo lights + whatever I can't think of and lets exaggerate and say you are using 100 watts of power. 100 watts divided by 12 volts and you've got little more than 8 amps... there is PLENTY of power left. Until this latest fiasco, I've been running headlight, 2 driving lights, heated vest plus other (all the misc stuff) and I'm drawing around 270 watts or 22.5 amps (when my vest is plugged in) with no problems at all. You can safely put the power consumption concern to rest.

Now, as far as saving that picture of the mod(ified) front end of my bike with enough lights to be seen from the space station, I don't blame you. I'm glad I could do my part to make everyone (including me) have a good chortle!!

Keith, take a look at these.

PIAA H4 Globes

HID lamps have no conventional filament. There are two electrodes, metal salts & gasses inside the bulb. An electrical arc, much like a tiny lightning bolt, is formed between the electrodes when power is applied.

If you watch HID bulbs fire up, you can actually see them "arc up". (Simple things amuse my simple mind...)

Wait - it gets even better - shortly after the arc is achieved, the metal salts evaporate and the fourth state of matter, plasma, is formed, and you know we likes us some plasma.


Hopefully this helps explain why oncoming traffic high beams an HID laden vehicle - they're being blinded by science.

I don't know if they have these for MC's yet(different aiming?) but they will use less energy.
http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/sto...1&langId=-1

By doing some research, I've answered my own question... the PIAA H4s are halogen including the type you pointed out Frank (as seen below), which claims to produce H.I.D. colour but is still a halogen.



Colour Temperature is the standard measure for describing the colour of light with is emitted from a bulb and the measure used is Kelvin (K). A bulb that produces 4000K is white in colour while 2700K is a warmer yellowish colour. Kelvin has nothing to do with brightness.

H.I.D bulbs are the brightest bulb available. They use less energy (35 watts vs 55 watts for halogen) and last longer. One article I read reported that halogen light bulbs are capable of producing about 20 lumens per watt of power while 250-watt metal halide light bulbs produce about 58 lumens per watt of power.

Logic dictates that H.I.D. bulbs are the best way to go although I have yet to run across a consumer report regarding customer satisfaction in terms of actual usage. Z mentioned earlier that H.I.D.s may not throw the light satisfactorily. H.I.D.s are MUCH more expensive, especially if they come with digital ballasts but again, they do last longer.

I would love to hear from someone here who is using H.I.D. Now that I've researched a bit, I might throw one in my 7" bucket and run it along with the PIAA H4 Intense White bulbs I have in my driving lights. Still though, I am concerned about the way they distribute the light and again, they are expensive so it would be nice if they did a good job.

The kit shown below is listed at http://www.motorcyclehidlights.com/ for $150 USD. One thing I'm confused about is the hi/low thing. It appears in the picture (this kit is specifically listed for the Triumph America) below that there are 2 bulbs so how does that work?

Thanks for your posts Keith.

What you've done, is exactly what I want to do.

(at a cost of $10 or less)

Well, CLOSE anyway.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-Triump...=item27b8a48641

Good find Erle. Just be aware that they are halogen and NOT H.I.D. though.

Yes sir. And WELL aware that their $8.00 ! Probably less at the local store, as there's no shipping.

I've just deleted the info here to reduce read time and think you should go straight to the next post.

More substance and less chatter from stacka

Pretty sad when I have to reply to myself

Anyway, whilst some of you guys were tucked up in beddy byes, I've been doing some research and after wading through the chaff, came across a really good Aussie site with motorbike kits. I'm not biased btw.

I've included a link to a youtube video at the very bottom which gives a good explanation of the various kits out there but to cut to the chase, the first link may just explain the various queries such as the hi / low aspects and also maybe the light scatter issue. So

CLICK HERE for some answers to our questions

If you have more questions or are still not quite sure like me and want further clarification:

Click HERE

Now, for those of us actually interested in purchasing a quality kit, have a look at the next link and see what you think.

For my money and purposes it may just be close to what I'm after. Still early days but we're getting there, I think.

CLICK HERE for what looks like a quality purchase - maybe?

And finally, here is the youtube vid if you prefer pictures

Click HERE

Hope these links and info helped you break down the various factors involved with HID. They did for me, but if they didn't I suggest you might want to get a moped

stacka

Yup Stacka... your finding are about the same as mine. Some Halogens say they are like a HID but they are not. And now we have the high/low thing figured out so... "are we ready to take the plunge?" Hmmmm, I wonder.

I would LOVE to find someone who's done this to find out first had what the light distribution thing is all about. I'm gonna hold off... just a little. I have a friend who works in car sales and I'm thinking he can help us out. I would literally be able to go for a drive in a car equipped with HIDs to find out for myself how they are in real life.

If they appear to make THAT much of a difference then I'll guinea pig myself out and throw one in my bucket. Then I'll have one HID in the bucket, and two PIAA Intense White 4100K Halogens in my driving lights. Everything will be hi/low and I will see (hopefully better).

Meanwhile as a result of your interest in HID technology Stacka... you've cause me and others to find out about our options. Appreciate it, appreciate your efforts here and I look forward to more on the subject. I'm off for a test drive as soon as I can!

Yeah Keith, we've answered a lot of questions on this one but it's not a priority with me yet. I'm trying to tie up all my electrical in one hit but before that I'm still looking to tidy up the speedo and air / fuel gauge. I'd love it if they made a gauge for bikes that looked good and had EVERYTHING.

Anyway, there's no rush with me but I like to plug along.

That's weird.
My lights have a switch. Wonder how that happened.

Just a small update on this thread. Today I talked to some fellas at the local auto parts store about HID lighting. The consensus was that HID won't last in the market too long, 'cause LED will beat them out. Apparently, LEDs are getting REAL bright now. They had an LED driving light there that blew my mind! I ended up buying a new PIAA plasma halogen bulb (which is pretty friggin' bright too) and thought it best to wait on the HID thing. Besides... it's OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive!!