has anyone replace the stock bulb with one of them h.i.d. bulds, if so where did you get it and are they all basically the same..i want one of the ones that look like they are blue and very annoying to on coming traffic

 

True HID requires a ballast. If you are buying just a bulb than you are buying a bulb that puts out less light than a standard bulb due to the light restricting coating applied to the bulb. Go to my site and read the facts if you like.

 

i've installed 3 pairs of HID kits on cars... and one of them has the bi xenons, which is what a sportster would need.
60 bucks for a pair of low beam HID
90 or so for a pair of bi xenons, which have low and high in one bulb.
and for a bike, about 60 for one bi xenon bulb kit.

it works like this... since your headlight bulb has 2 filiments, you get low and high.
with a bi xenon kit, it's one bulb, that has a silonoid /electro magnet that makes the bulb itself, move forward and backwards, to change the light focus patern from low to up in the air for high beams.

just type in the bulb size your bike uses, for example, type in the ebay search, H4 HID bi xenon kit motorcycle

i'm sure you'll find some. i've been looking into buyin a kit for my sporty.
oh, with the cars, no cutting required. all plug and play.

hope this helps!
dan

 

Has anybody done a HID retrofit on a Sportster with TSX/S2k/FX35 projectors? I've done it on my car, but curious to see what it looks like in a Sportster or Harley.

 

I wish to respond to one of the posts here. Things you should know about a motorcycle and HID. Since I sell them and have sold many here to members I will give you some insight.

Most of the stuff you see on e-Bay is sold to price shoppers. As everyone knows quality anything costs more than crap. Just because a unit looks the same does not mean it is the same. Go to any dollar store and buy Tupperware or a spatula. They look the same but they are not. You get the idea. Mixed that with some company selling based in China and shipping it to you from approximately 7,000 miles away providing support or warrantee issues. Think on how much it would cost to ship a unit back and fourth for issues? All things mechanical or electrical can have issues.

Because you have a Sporter (thread subject) you are limited on the size of ballast ans starter you can mount on your bike. The bulb and ballast must be connected together (about 16” max) so you are limited as to where you can hide it. The large cheap mechanical ballasts will not be able to hide unless you make a large Stainless Steel box to put it in. I know because I have tried. You need a slim line ballast, there goes the price increase.

If you buy two units (dual bulbs) you only get one harness that is designed for a car. You need a controller to move the bulb back and fourth to produce the Hi/Lo. All companies use a different plug to connect the Hi/Lo so buying from another company is out of the question. You have 2 ballasts and 2 bulbs but only one wiring harness.

As far as motorcycles goes there is no kit that I know about that does not require modification (wiring harness) for any Harley Davidson.

Just know what you are getting into or you may be in for a bad day if you are unprepared for the project.

 

FastHarley is absolutely correct. I would like to add one thing, though.

HID is a completely different light source than halogen and it works on completely different principles. I'm not going to waste our time with a detailed explanation here, but if anyone wishes, I'll be happy to tell them everything I know about the differences.

HID conversions, done properly, are pricey and going cheap WILL bite you in the butt. Many of the "HID" bulbs I see online are simply funny colored halogen bulbs.

I did consider putting an HID conversion kit on my Sporty, but I killed that idea for several reasons. Instead, I went with a pair of true HID driving lamps.

My HIDs pull 30W each and I have a pair of 35W PIAA hyperblue whatever driving lights. The difference between the two is unbelievable. The 30W HIDs throw well over twice the light down the road than the halogens drawing 17% more wattage. But, they are vibration sensitive, require time to warm up to get bright, they're wicked hot (the manufacturer states that you shouldn't operate them at speeds less than 5mph) and they're expensive.

If you want a funny colored headlight, that's a quick change out and it'll take 10 minutes and cost you $8. If you want HID, you're going to spend a couple hundred bucks and you will have to spend several hours on the installation.

 

Appreciate the info would like a brighter clearer light but True HID sounds like it's out with that much work, and living in FL going to get too much heavy traffic sometimes to even do 5 MPH ...

 

wow,i thought it would be as simple as swapping bulbs out.i guess ill stick with the stock bulb for now.i dont need want to go through all that just for a light, thanks alot for all the info

 

HID

As you (Bacon_Grease) so orderly and logically (as in all of your posts) stated in your post with those lights, you have exposed some of the limitations in the units you have tested. I personally have used HID (the same unit) for 3 years now in all traffic situations and under all conditions. There is a difference in kits for sure.

The HID's I know about are unaffected by vibration and produces no more heat than a halogen at best but probably way less as the unit uses 35 watts in place of a stock halogen 55 watt H-4 bulb. I have no problem putting my hand on the bucket but would not do so on the lamp (glass & chrome thing).

I also do not put the ballast inside of the bucket like the Kuryakyn™ and possibility other brands like Motolights. They do this for packaging onto your motorcycle. Kuryakyn is known to have reliability problems. I have never heard anything about Motolights HID kit. Mounting the ballast outside and into a different area un-effectived by the heat of the bulb has seamed to solve the reliability problem for me.

For those who wish to see I will post a few photo of lights.

The first is a pair of halogen 35 watt bulbs inside of a pair of 4 1/2" Adjure headlight lamps. There is no difference in buckets. All photos are untouched. The rest are titled and this is for your info. (HDF Members education & motorcycle experience) only. No hype or sales incentive. The first two photos were taken with the same camera within a few moments apart.



Above: A Pair of 35 watt Halogen bulbs in a set of Adjure 4 1/2" headlight lamps.



Above: A Pair of 35 watt HID bulbs in a set of the same Adjure 4 1/2" headlight lamps.




Above: A Pair of 35 watt HID bulbs in a set of 4 1/2" passing/spotlight lamps only. No Headlight. This was taken with a different camera and at a different date.



Above: A HID conversion into a stock Harley Passing/Spot light. The wires can be sheathed in any of the above coverings including chrome. Yes, there is plenty of clearance between the Batwing fairing and HID wiring. For this application you only need to use your existing lamps providing you have a removable bulb and not a sealed beam (all later model HD equiped with these lights from the factory.

 

that red and black wire with the yellow rubber tips is the same plug ends used on the "ebay" HID's for cars...
my sis, a friend's, and 3 pairs of mine(i wanted 3 different Kelvin temps)

oh by the way, what Kelvin Temps are you guys getting? i wanna go for 5000K which seems to be the whitest. I'm using 4300K now in my car, which they say has the most Lumens (brightest light output but not whitest) once you go above that you start to loose the Lumens output. 6000K is a blue white.