Upgrading to HID lights from halogen

[2fast2beat]

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Hey folks, I ride a crusier with a light bar. The main headlight is an H4 bulb and my light bar lights are H3 bulbs. I have upgraded the bulbs so that the main bulb is 90% brighter and the light bar bulbs are 35% brighter. I am getting a lot of people flashing me (maybe my lights are set a little high and maybe spread a little wide). I would like to have the best lighting possible on my bike as I do a fair amount of evening/night riding and I ride a lot north of the GTA so I want to be able to see anything on the side of the road. Last weekend I rode with another member from the forum and he had an HID kit for the low beam only and no light bar. During the day his low beam was 2-3 times brighter then all 3 of my lights including my main lit on high beam and made my lights look like 30 year old crap and he said that he never has anyone flash him. I am wondering: 1) if it is worth upgrading my main light to a 35 watt HID kit, 2) if so should I do both the low and high beam, 3) how much better is the high beam on HID, 4) from what I understand on a hi/low conversion the bulb just tilts up via a motor or something when you flick the switch to go from low to high is that correct and if so do you have a big dark spot right in front of your tire where the low beam would normally be, 5) I will have to change my light bar lights to be whiter to match so what kalvin is best to use? I want pure white light not blue tint or yellow so is 6000k the best number or should I go to 5000k. 6) is the HID light spread different than halogen and would that allow me to turn my light bar lights in more to the middle of my lane while still being able to see the shoulders of the road so that I am not blinding oncoming traffic.Sorry for all the questions but if I am going to spend the money, I want to make sure it is a good investment and I figured some of you guys may have already made the switch and can tell me if it is worth it. Thanks so much for your help and advise.

 

[jeffjones]

Hey folks, I ride a crusier with a light bar. The main headlight is an H4 bulb and my light bar lights are H3 bulbs. I have upgraded the bulbs so that the main bulb is 90% brighter and the light bar bulbs are 35% brighter. I am getting a lot of people flashing me (maybe my lights are set a little high and maybe spread a little wide). I would like to have the best lighting possible on my bike as I do a fair amount of evening/night riding and I ride a lot north of the GTA so I want to be able to see anything on the side of the road. Last weekend I rode with another member from the forum and he had an HID kit for the low beam only and no light bar. During the day his low beam was 2-3 times brighter then all 3 of my lights including my main lit on high beam and made my lights look like 30 year old crap and he said that he never has anyone flash him. I am wondering: 1) if it is worth upgrading my main light to a 35 watt HID kit, 2) if so should I do both the low and high beam, 3) how much better is the high beam on HID, 4) from what I understand on a hi/low conversion the bulb just tilts up via a motor or something when you flick the switch to go from low to high is that correct and if so do you have a big dark spot right in front of your tire where the low beam would normally be, 5) I will have to change my light bar lights to be whiter to match so what kalvin is best to use? I want pure white light not blue tint or yellow so is 6000k the best number or should I go to 5000k. 6) is the HID light spread different than halogen and would that allow me to turn my light bar lights in more to the middle of my lane while still being able to see the shoulders of the road so that I am not blinding oncoming traffic.Sorry for all the questions but if I am going to spend the money, I want to make sure it is a good investment and I figured some of you guys may have already made the switch and can tell me if it is worth it. Thanks so much for your help and advise.

First off, click the little A/A button in the top left corner and you can use paragraphs, This is hard to read.

Some people love HID's and some people hate them.

First, If your getting flashed for halogens, I wouldn't recommened putting in HID's until you fix where your light is being projected, because if they are flashing you with halogens, be prepared for a blinded driver coming right for you on the back roads with HID's.
1) I find HID's are amazing (When aimed properly)
2)If your main headlight is a H4 Hi/Lo, then yes replace the Hi/Lo as it comes in one bulb.
3)like 3x better
4)Yes, the H4 Hi/Lo bulb is usually a telescopic bulb that changes position to create a new beam pattern that projects farther. So essentially when you turn your Hi beam on you are shutting your lo beam off..
5)6000K will have a slight blue tinge to it, I would suggest 5000K as it will be pure white and put out more useable light then the 6000K.
6) I would highly suggest re-aiming your lights as you are blinding people already as you said so now you are gong to have them looking away from the road because it hurts to look, which is very dangerous to you.
Its kind of like looking at a lamp in the corner of the room (Halogen) and having a LED flashlight shined in your face (HID).

I love mine and hate driving on the backroads without them.
I got mine from DDMtuning.com, Great price, Great product, Slow shipping.

 

[robmack]

1) if it is worth upgrading my main light to a 35 watt HID kit

Yes. That depends on how much your time is worth, because the project could become involved. Replacing the H4 bulb with a HID projector will require replacing the lens on the housing and possible modification to the reflector. It depends on many factors.

2) if so should I do both the low and high beam,

Since you have H4 main, I recommend an HID projector to replace the H4 halogen bulb, which will integrate the low and high beams in its design. Something like a Morimoto Mini D2S is said to be a direct replacement for the H4 but that depends on the depth of your light bucket.

3) how much better is the high beam on HID,

Much better. The cutoff is crisper than a halogen.

4) from what I understand on a hi/low conversion the bulb just tilts up via a motor or something when you flick the switch to go from low to high is that correct and if so do you have a big dark spot right in front of your tire where the low beam would normally be,

There is a solenoid in the projector that flips down a cutoff mask, allowing the full projected light to be used. The solenoid is activated with the high beam switch. Normally the solenoid is disengaged and the cutoff mask hides part of the beam. This creates the desired cutoff. There will not be a dark spot near the front tire (if the headlamp is adjusted properly) because the cutoff affects the top part of the beam.

5) I will have to change my light bar lights to be whiter to match so what kalvin is best to use? I want pure white light not blue tint or yellow so is 6000k the best number or should I go to 5000k.

You don't want to mess around with light color. Stick to 4500K. This will give the greatest amount of light on the ground where it is needed.

6) is the HID light spread different than halogen and would that allow me to turn my light bar lights in more to the middle of my lane while still being able to see the shoulders of the road so that I am not blinding oncoming traffic.

The beam pattern on an HID is significantly different than a halogen. It is wider, covering more of the left and right sides, and cutoff is crisp.

Fitting an HID to a bike is sometimes problematic. For example, bike electrics cut power to the headlight when the bike is started and this will cause the HID to restrike. HIDs don't like this situation and you'll need a solution to avoid the problem. I already mentioned that the front lens has to be replaced because the standard lens has Fresnel lines which interferes with the projection beam. The front lens must be absolutely clear. I recommend you do some research, ask your questions and read about others' experiences at HID Planet. Also look at the products sold by The Retrofit Source.

 

[Picua]

I would suggest against putting HID's into reflector headlight fixtures 85% of the time you will blind oncoming traffic no matter how much you try and "aim" the beam.
Look into getting a projector retrofit is my suggestion. I got a kit from http://www.theretrofitsource.com/ and it came out great on my old bike.

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