With there being a ton of interest in LED/HID headlights as our stock halogen is worthless. i decided to do a quick writeup of the DDM HID kit as i have used them before on previous cars that i have owned.


here is a quick block diagram of what i did

NOTE* the ~2-3 feet was drastically shortened during final install




After i cut the bulb free i added some spade connectors



Routed the new jumper wire through the existing bucket



Spade connectors on opposite end of the new wire.



plugged it all together and i was even able to put the balast under the tank with the rest of the wires (which took some finagling and patience)

fairly simple install and the new HID's have a reflective shield below to avoid blinding oncoming traffic too much.

i unfortunately do not have a HI-beam but with these Hid's i doubt i will need one.
night pics to come when the weather cooperates

**I assume no responsibility if you decide to modify your setup in this fashion user assumes all risk.**

 

I have been thinking about an HID for my SB.
Is the existing power wire good enough, I thought you wanted to hook to battery and use the old power wire as the trigger wire.
I would like to see a nighttime pic. What kelvin did you go with?

 

the existing power wire is 16AWG i believe and the wires from the HID kit were roughly 18AWG but with some extra insulation. wire should hold current from a 12V source just fine. 35W/12V=3A vs 55W/12V=4.5A

I went with the 35W 5K i like it because it looks closest to pure white light on the ground but the bulb has a slight blue hue to it.

i will update with pics as soon as the weather cooperates since i just did the swap i will give updates if i have any issues, i tried to make it quickly reversible in the event i needed to take it back to the dealer for elec. issues which i don't see happening.

here is a quick pic of the headlight i dunno if this helps?

 

I am going to order a kit, I have a high low dual kit for a car from them I haven't installed yet. I am going to get a low beam only for my scoot like you did. Thanks for the write up.

 

no problem man, like i said it was tough getting it to all fit under the tank but i shoved it all in there. that was by far the toughest part.

 

Very cool.

So what's the difference between one of these and an LED, is it purely price or do these offer a different type of beam? Is an HID like a metal halide that I used to use on my reef aquarium?

Guess I should google

 

From what i understand
LED draws less power than HID (big selling point for LED)
but unless LED are properly oriented in a housing they produce a very direct beam of light (spotlight) vs an HID which has a "360" output and can help illuminate the sides of the road better.
also with HID if it is not installed in a projector (which i didn't) you can have some scattering and oncoming traffic can be blinded. the small reflective shield that came with these lights seems to help with that but i would rather be seen.
plus this kit i installed was under $50 vs the HD daymaker @ $399.00 (which i have read has poor illumination to the side of the bike) so i figured why not give it a shot if it didn't work then later down the road i would see about the LED
here is a pic to explain. (now LED tech has significantly improved and is all dependent on type/manufacturer etc.)




it seems that the LED vs HID is mostly personal preference

 

I see what you mean. I noticed when I tried to adjust my new light that it doesn't have as pronounced a beam as you mention. I couldn't align the hot spot to the proper height (since there was no hot spot).

Looking forward to hearing your impressions. I haven't obviously ridden with mine yet either.

 

I really like the LED kit from Fuelmoto. I have one on my WG and it does not have the spotlight effect. I have my high and that will even widen the beam while not making it go out any further. However I have yet to need a longer range on the light as I dont ride fast enough at night to over ride my light.

 

yea like i said the LED has and is making leaps and bounds in technology.
im glad that one is working well for you.