TOPIC:

I did adjust mine to go a bit more to the right because of the brightness. What really scatters the pattern is if you use the faceted lens light. If you use the one that has the faceted reflector instead it will not do it. Also you must have a reflector with a center shield.

atye wrote:

otakar wrote:

Some of you guys already know that i converted my bike to HID Xenon headlight. In the state of ILLinois, we have to keep our headlight on at all times.
...
I personally like a lot of light at night. If you are driving around town during the day and you want a lot of visibility, run the full power HID. If you want to unload the alternator, use the now available Hi-Beam position on the controls for your Driving light and you are still legal.

I hate to be the one to rain on everyone's parade here, but under NO circumstances is this type of Xenon/HID headlamp conversion legal. Not in Illinois, not in any state in the USA,

I can guarantee it's not legal in California either. You don't want to make any mods to lights that the cops will notice. The only mod I know is legal is the headlight "pulser" that pulses the headlight during daylight hours, as long as the pulser complies with the DOT specs.

Hey guys, DDM tuning is running a great deal on HID kits right now.HID Kits: HID Kits, DEPO Lights, BMW Bumpers & Lighting - DDM Tuning (www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=85&pg=1) Only $29.95 with lifetime warranty! I ordered my H4 6000K

bountyhunter wrote:

atye wrote:

otakar wrote:

Some of you guys already know that i converted my bike to HID Xenon headlight. In the state of ILLinois, we have to keep our headlight on at all times.
...
I personally like a lot of light at night. If you are driving around town during the day and you want a lot of visibility, run the full power HID. If you want to unload the alternator, use the now available Hi-Beam position on the controls for your Driving light and you are still legal.

I hate to be the one to rain on everyone's parade here, but under NO circumstances is this type of Xenon/HID headlamp conversion legal. Not in Illinois, not in any state in the USA,

I can guarantee it's not legal in California either. You don't want to make any mods to lights that the cops will notice. The only mod I know is legal is the headlight "pulser" that pulses the headlight during daylight hours, as long as the pulser complies with the DOT specs.

As I said before; much of the stuff we talk about here on this web sight is not legal, because it is not DOT approved. Why should this be any different. Would this be any deferent if we talked about the header that most all of us have on our bike that is not legal. How about the people who TEXT while they drive. In many stated in the country it is illegal to use hand held devices while you drive. It still dose not stop anyone. Communication devices while driving are much more dangerous than ANY MODIFICATION that we perform on our bikes. Let any person who can prove that they do not talk on their cell phone or Blackberry while they drive, cast the first stone. If you talk on a cell phone you are more dangerous than any headlight. Unlike cars, most of our motorcycle commuting is done during daytime hours and also we only have half the light output of a car.

otakar wrote:

As I said before; much of the stuff we talk about here on this web sight is not legal, because it is not DOT approved. Why should this be any different. Would this be any deferent if we talked about the header that most all of us have on our bike that is not legal.

The main difference is that the headlights are one of THE most important

safety

items on a vehicle and they have the potential to affect other drivers in a negative way (ex: blinding them). Performance mods like exhaust and cams and such do not have the same potential.

No hard feelings here, I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes, I promise. I guess that because I work for a major lighting company this topic is important to me and it seems that a lot of the general public do not know all of the facts about the subject.

i kind of think that my dim-ass incandescent bulb is more of a hazard to others when I can't see them and run into them..

First, i would like to thank Otto for a very informed post, and to the others who have added to make it possible to see booth sides of this.
This is something i have been curious about for some time, and have read too many dif, and none educational opinions.
Just a couple of questions Otto.
1.Why do they supply an h4 bulb for high beams, and an HID for low, not the other-way around?
2. is the HI-Output LED bulb, going to supply as much or more light than the h4 60 watt?
3.why not hook the led to low beam and HID to high?
Sorry , i am no electrical whiz.
my goal would to be to have a brighter light for both night time running, and high beam. primarily night time running, which is used the most.

9am53 wrote:

i kind of think that my dim-ass incandescent bulb is more of a hazard to others when I can't see them and run into them..

I agree!

Many companies, Hella included, offer alternatives to the older sealed beam glass headlight bulbs. These can be replaced with modern 9003/H4 bulbs with no more effort than changing a regular headlight and no wiring mods needed. That, along with proper aiming (also very easy to do) will make a huge difference in your night vision.


I would be glad to do a detailed write-up for everyone that shows how to convert a glass sealed-beam headlight to a modern, replaceable (LEGAL - notice the "DOT" marking on the headlight below) 9003/H4 bulb and properly aim the headlight on a bike. Also, another upgrade that is easy to do and makes a huge difference on older bikes is to wire a relay directly from the battery to the headlight. This allows you to safely bypass (w/o cutting the harness) the 20-30 year old wiring and shoot full battery voltage directly to your headlights for the best possible light output.

I may not know carbs or cams or paint like some guys here, but what I do know is lighting. I am glad to help with this in any way that I can.

atye wrote:

Many companies, Hella included, offer alternatives to the older sealed beam glass headlight bulbs. These can be replaced with modern 9003/H4 bulbs with no more effort than changing a regular headlight and no wiring mods needed. That, along with proper aiming (also very easy to do) will make a huge difference in your night vision.


I would be glad to do a detailed write-up for everyone that shows how to convert a glass sealed-beam headlight to a modern, replaceable (LEGAL - notice the "DOT" marking on the headlight below) 9003/H4 bulb and properly aim the headlight on a bike. Also, another upgrade that is easy to do and makes a huge difference on older bikes is to wire a relay directly from the battery to the headlight. This allows you to safely bypass (w/o cutting the harness) the 20-30 year old wiring and shoot full battery voltage directly to your headlights for the best possible light output.

I may not know carbs or cams or paint like some guys here, but what I do know is lighting. I am glad to help with this in any way that I can.

I think that would be great. that give everyone both options for the best lighting possible.
It may be best in a separate post though, as not to intrude on Otto's fine post.

Of course

That is the yipe of reflector you do NOT want to use with the HID conversion. The faceted lens works as a diffuser for the light instead of focusing it. The reflector you want to use is the one in my picture. As with any project, care and consideration must be taken while performing it. A slight MIS-ADJUSTMENT might have to be made to the right, to be considerate of on coming traffic. An adjustment to the right is not a bad thing, because one of the main hazards to us at night are animals (and people) attempting to cross the road. I guess that a "proper adjustment" would be the key here. Once I pull the bike out from under the winter cover. I can continue this further. Now- when it comes to "why" of the high beam and lo beam switching. This is because in the method I have described it is a PLUG-AND-PLAY procedure into your bike. The process (lighting system) can be reverted to original if required in minutes. This is why I put the "driving light" on the Hi-Beam position of the control. Where it comes to the "City Light" being LED is to make you legal when you do not want to expend the amps in your charging system. No the light is not super bright but is bright enough to get you to point B in a pinch. With my ignition off and my MAIN headlight off, all of my LEDs burn less than a quarter amp. This includes all, of the following being turned on.

City Light on
Front and rear (4) running lights on
Tail light with brake on
Instrument illumination on
oil light on
neutral light on
Hi-Beam indicator light on
Emergency flashers flashing

All this draws about 290mA (.29A)

If you add the main light (HID) you will turn off the City Light, The City light draws 30mA, your system draws 3.5A total at this point. This will compare to about 10A to 11A with conventional bulbs on your bike with a 65W headlight and an ADDITIONAL 2A if you run a 90W headlight. I am not 100% positive of this but I believe that a stock Kawasaki CDI system draws about 6A. Realize that only your instrument lights draw 1A. My LED instrument lights draw 60mA (.060A)