I've been searching for a brighter headlight for a couple of months. First I tried the Trucklite 10 LED light and found there was no way to mount it in our headlight bucket, as it's made for mounting in a ;ight that will take an H4 sealed beam.
My second stab was the DDM Tuning HID motorcycle installation. I boguht the 55w (brighter) kit for a hi-lo H4 installation. It's a pretty complete kit, bulb, ballast and harness. Here's a picture.
The problem with this kit is that the bulb base is too long. The base will contact the back of the headlight bucket before the lens ring seats. Too bad. I sent it back to DDM. I'm back to the stock H4.
I don't get caught in the rain, I ride in it on purpose.
I have had exactly the same problem while installing a H4 HID conversion kit on my R1100R. The HID bulb did not fit in the headlamp housing as there is not enough depth. But I have not given up. I have used a nifty tool to work on my headlamp.
Fortunately the headlamp is made of sheet metal hence it it possible create extra space with a round hammer.
And I tell ya that HID headlamp is real light compared to the stock bulb. No comparison!
You might want to try a Philips Vision +80 H4 bulb which draws the same current as a standard bulb but produces more light due to increased efficiency by using higher gas pressure in a smaller glass cylinder, and it's plug and play!
I've been burning one for a couple years now...
Sunbeemer wrote:You might want to try a Philips Vision +80 H4 bulb which draws the same current as a standard bulb but produces more light due to increased efficiency by using higher gas pressure in a smaller glass cylinder, and it's plug and play!
I've been burning one for a couple years now...
I've got the Phillips +80 bulb in there now. At speed, at night in the rain, it just doesn't do what I want. I'm also setting up for driving lights,(RCU mounts, wiring, etc) but I want that extra light the HID gives. I just didn't want to start blacksmithing the headlight shell to get space. As soon as DDM credits the card I'll probably order something else.
I don't get caught in the rain, I ride in it on purpose.
I have had exactly the same problem while installing a H4 HID conversion kit on my R1100R. The HID bulb did not fit in the headlamp housing as there is not enough depth. But I have not given up. I have used a nifty tool to work on my headlamp.
Fortunately the headlamp is made of sheet metal hence it it possible create extra space with a round hammer.
And I tell ya that HID headlamp is real light compared to the stock bulb. No comparison!
Brgds
Oliver
I'd like to see how your bodywork turned out. Did you buy the 35w or 55w kit ? I had a 55w kit and was a little bit concerned about heat, but never got far enough to test it.
I don't get caught in the rain, I ride in it on purpose.
I got myself the 35W kit because I did not want to make it too obvious that I have the HID light (simply because running a motorcycle with a HID headlamp is illegal in Germany). This is a bit about overregulated German bureaucracy. HID headlamps are illegal whilst 1 (one) HID aux lamp is permitted ...
But I tell ya the 35W kit is bright! And concerning the heat the FAQs from the manufacturer say that HID generates less heat than ordinary bulbs. I have not checked or measured the temps inside my housing so I cannot judge. But I know quite a few people are roaming around with HID kits with modern headlamps (where the housing and front window are made of plastic whilst on my old-school R1100R the housing is made of metal and thr front is real glas ...) and there are no reports about any melt-downs AFAIK.
Can't show you the bodyworks as my headlamp is mounted and my front fairing covers everything. However if you have a metal headlamp get yourself a hammer with a rounded head. Put your headlamp with the opening pointing towards yourself on a beanie bag or some kind of leather cushion and then hammer towards the back center of your housing until you have enough space. I needed approx 1.5 cm of additional space and it took me maybe 10 minutes until I achieved the result. Obviously looking at the back of the housing it looks as if you have plenty of dings in the metal but once the headlamp is on the bike you won't notice this any more. Be fearless!
If you feel unsafe about doing this you might want to go to your next body repair shop/garage. They usually have the tools and would be able to assist you with this.
I fixed the ballast with some zip-ties on the instrument holder. And that's it. Not overly difficult. And if youre not happy with the result used headlamps are always available at any of the salvage companies or on **ay ...
I got myself the 35W kit because I did not want to make it too obvious that I have the HID light (simply because running a motorcycle with a HID headlamp is illegal in Germany). This is a bit about overregulated German bureaucracy. HID headlamps are illegal whilst 1 (one) HID aux lamp is permitted ...
But I tell ya the 35W kit is bright! And concerning the heat the FAQs from the manufacturer say that HID generates less heat than ordinary bulbs. I have not checked or measured the temps inside my housing so I cannot judge. But I know quite a few people are roaming around with HID kits with modern headlamps (where the housing and front window are made of plastic whilst on my old-school R1100R the housing is made of metal and thr front is real glas ...) and there are no reports about any melt-downs AFAIK.
Can't show you the bodyworks as my headlamp is mounted and my front fairing covers everything. However if you have a metal headlamp get yourself a hammer with a rounded head. Put your headlamp with the opening pointing towards yourself on a beanie bag or some kind of leather cushion and then hammer towards the back center of your housing until you have enough space. I needed approx 1.5 cm of additional space and it took me maybe 10 minutes until I achieved the result. Obviously looking at the back of the housing it looks as if you have plenty of dings in the metal but once the headlamp is on the bike you won't notice this any more. Be fearless!
If you feel unsafe about doing this you might want to go to your next body repair shop/garage. They usually have the tools and would be able to assist you with this.
I fixed the ballast with some zip-ties on the instrument holder. And that's it. Not overly difficult. And if youre not happy with the result used headlamps are always available at any of the salvage companies or on **ay ...
Brgds
Oliver
Some of the kits available here seem to have a shorter bulb base, so I may try it again. The 55w light does not seem to be illegal in WA, although the place I bought it from is in CA and they won't sell the 55w kit in their store. I suspect California looks on them as off road or racing equipment. I see cars and bikes with absolutely blinding lights. If there's legal limitations they don't enforce them. It may be like exhaust noise. All Harleys run deafening straight pipe systems in spite of state law that requires aftermarket systems to be no louder than stock.
I don't get caught in the rain, I ride in it on purpose.
