HID Headlights Any good? How do you install them?

[Metelko]

Hi i am thinking about installing HID headlights to my NC29 and was wondering if it is just a straight swap of bulbs or is it alot more invovled? Does HID bulbs fitted?

Thank you, Mark

[The Hamster]

HID can be fitted very easily indeed. You can get kits now where you unplug your bulb connector, fit the bulb and ballast in place and reconnect the connector as its the same bulb.
I tried a set on my NC30 before my mate fitted them to his car and they were installed in less than 3 minutes and looked the shizzness!! honestly though, i didnt really test them as such on the bike, although they worked great on his car!
I wouldnt recommend fitting a kit like this mind, if you run your lights in daylight, as the kits can be pretty cheap and i cant see the bulbs lasting very long if your on the bike a lot..

[Metelko]

thanks for the reply the hampster, i've been looking around places etc. to see if anyone else has done it and i cam across this thread

http://www.fireblades.org/forums/afterm ... on-uk.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

there was then a link to a website that sells the ballasts etc. which are about £80 £90 not cheap however they do come with a garuntee etc..

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/h1-hids4u-slim- ... r-176.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I really do want them fitted now epecially as its winter and darker I dnt feel 100% safe riding at night especially on the motorway with no road lights etc.

What do you think?

[leopard_pagan]

i'll post a full reply when i get back home..
i have HID ballast kits on my NC29.....2-3 years now...
fitting easy, bulbs are NOT a straight swap ... explain more later

[missinNZ]

listen to LP s advice she replys to this subject regularly and i made the mistake of the "straight swap", youll fry battery,starter solenoid and your reg/rec...the worst is it does do it straight away, over time itll screw the lot.

[leopard_pagan]

right then....

you need a Hi/Lo HID kit. why Hi/Lo? this means the bulb will "dip" and "high beam" in one bulb.. just like the current bulb in your bike.
you need a H4 type bulb.. please note that the NC29/23's do NOT HAVE H4 bulb fitments, its some odd Japanese H4 bulb!
at this stage i removed my headlight units and modified them to accept a H4 bulb. i did not want to "bodge" the HID bulbs!
http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/Je ... 20page.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; how to bodge the bulbs
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/ ... ghtMod.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; how to mod the headlight units
HID ballast kits only draw 35W per side max, that is less than a jap H4 35/55W (90W total on High) = good for your bike as it doesnt load the stator/alternator as much. the dip switch is not affected at this wattage.. only when you start pushing higher than standard Jap H4 wattage do you start getting issues with melting switch gears (dip beam). with the right relay mods, you can run higher wattage bulbs.. but that is a discussion for another day....
fitting the kit is easy, simple plug n play. BUT.. the one headache i still have is where to hide the 2 Ballasts! mine are quite large compared to ones that are available now.
after i fitted HIDs i found them to be excellent, i ride in winter and needed them. the bonuses i have found are:
see further down the road, cats eyes/signs light up further down the road, fuck nuts who dont dip their lights get a eye full! and most importantly.. ever since i fitted these.. i have found LESS drivers pulling out on me, more drivers move over on duel carriageway/motorways than before.. they see me coming! that alone is worth having them fitted!
oh.. the original set of bulbs that came with the kit only lasted a year! but new ones are £30-40 a pair. i have the ultra white set, not blue as its crap. i have no issues with MOTs.. they only check the dip beam alignment.
below is a pic of before and after HID...

[Metelko]

thanks for the advice jp . that modification looks really complicated :S is the bulb in the how to bodge the bulb link the same as the nc29 one? if so that does look like alot easier thing to do? Where abouts are you based, maybe a bit of help could be of use? as drills and electrics......dont go down well with me.... lol

Also where did you get you balasts from?

Thanks, Mark

[The Hamster]

The kit that my friend had LP was a direct swap with the bulbs in my bike. They were Hi/Lo 60/35w H4 bulbs with the correct ballasts etc, very simple plug in and go fitment and all the bulb lugs were identical to the original bulb already in the bike.
The kit only had HID Lo Beam and Halogen Hi beam, but with the HID Lo working you hardly need to use hi beam. Then again they were only a £60 cheap kit all in off ebay, but they work very well for the money.

I have heard about the HID Hi AND Lo kits being dangerous to use unless you buy the best kits which prime the bulbs before they are activated. The Hid Bulbs take a short amount of time to reach optimum brightness, as if they are charging. And the cheap kits that have Hid Hi and Lo beam dont prime the bulbs to be charged ready before Lo beam is switched to high beam, which means at the point of changing form Hi to Lo the light output can be next to zero for a short amount of time, this is obviously no good for driving is it.


I hope I explained that well enough? lol.

For the money, and for a cheap bit of good visibility on Lo beam and great daytime looks, you cant beat the ebay £60-80 Hid kits. lol

[leopard_pagan]

the bodge bulb link is based on a bulb similar to the Jap H4 bulbs used in our bikes.

HID Hi/Lo. in the ones i have, each bulb has a servo that pushes the bulb up/down. up is high beam, down is low beam. the switch between the 2 is instantaneous..
Yes they take a few seconds to get ready from cold, they all do. but if your like me.. get bike out shed/garage, start it to warm up, switch lights on once engine is running. go inside to get kitted up. get on bike and leave!
havent heard anything dangerous about HID kits.. + what bike does your m8 have? if its NOT a Jap grey import, then yes the bulbs are probably "normal H4". the odd bulb type is only on Grey Imports.
"The kit only had HID Lo Beam and Halogen Hi beam"
> these bulbs have 2 stick up its (lol at terminology!). mine are a single bulb.

[sh4d0w0lf]

i don't know if this is gonna be of any use but i remember looking up H4 adapters on ebay at some point last year (i was gonna get a set of them) i did find some that would fit in the origional headlights that would fit a H4 bulb, however i don't know if they are still for sale! (US edition of ebay if i remember correctly).

Hope this helps,
Scrivs.