Touring Headlights - HID?
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 7
From: Rochester N.Y.
I run a Cibie E code headlamp with the Osram 70/65 H4 bulb.
This setup was recommended by http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
I feel this was a very good upgrade from stock and cost about $100.00 plus shipping.
The difference over stock with this setup is really a "night and day" difference.
I am very impressed with the results per dollar on this mod.
Mick
This setup was recommended by http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
I feel this was a very good upgrade from stock and cost about $100.00 plus shipping.
The difference over stock with this setup is really a "night and day" difference.
I am very impressed with the results per dollar on this mod.
Mick
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,373
Likes: 5
From: Northern Virginia
In used this kit in my RG:
http://www.xenonlink.com/H4+Bi-Xenon...enon+6000K.htm
Had it over a year with no problems. Much improved lighting.
http://www.xenonlink.com/H4+Bi-Xenon...enon+6000K.htm
Had it over a year with no problems. Much improved lighting.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I have the Kisan Pathblazer modulator, a very old model that I bought in 2004. It's been on two bikes and still works fine. It has three settings (new ones have seven, I think)--normal sensitivity to ambient light, less sensitive, and off. On occasion, maybe once every couple of months, I'll start it and modulator will be switched off, but it's an easy change by flipping the headlight switch 3x/sec. With each sequence it goes to the next adjustment. I've been using it with an 80/100w H4 bulb for the entire time, so increased amperage doesn't seem to faze it. The bike looks like a freight train coming down the road, and I can't imagine anyone not seeing me. I don't take that for granted, of course, but in the six years I've had it I've had nobody pull out in front of me.
As I mentioned in my earlier message, it pulsates 4x/sec. (20-100%), so the bulb actually runs cooler than if it was at 100% all the time. Kisan told me the bulbs would likely last longer, and that has been my experience with it. I may have replaced one bulb in that six-year period, but I don't remember doing it even that much.
As I mentioned in my earlier message, it pulsates 4x/sec. (20-100%), so the bulb actually runs cooler than if it was at 100% all the time. Kisan told me the bulbs would likely last longer, and that has been my experience with it. I may have replaced one bulb in that six-year period, but I don't remember doing it even that much.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I run a Cibie E code headlamp with the Osram 70/65 H4 bulb.
This setup was recommended by http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
I feel this was a very good upgrade from stock and cost about $100.00 plus shipping.
The difference over stock with this setup is really a "night and day" difference.
I am very impressed with the results per dollar on this mod.
Mick
This setup was recommended by http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
I feel this was a very good upgrade from stock and cost about $100.00 plus shipping.
The difference over stock with this setup is really a "night and day" difference.
I am very impressed with the results per dollar on this mod.
Mick
Regardless of the brand, I think E-code is the most cost-effective route to better lighting, especially when coupled with a higher-wattage bulb.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,307
Likes: 53
From: California
I have projector HID lamps on my car. Frankly I think they are like that for styling purposes, nothing to do with optimum performance. Projector lamps were introduced on cars, long before HID came on the scene, along with slit-eyed styling.
I like the idea of a split reflector, like the Harley HID one, it is just badly designed! I understand that some recent touring Harleys come with a twin bulb reflector, which on previous threads has been praised for its performance, presumably with stock halogen bulbs. That might be a good starting point for an aftermarket HID kit.
HID light is not any different to pre-HID light, it obeys the same rules. So a well designed reflector, with the bulb in the correct place, will give brighter and well aimed HID light than halogen light. No reason why that should be different, unless the HID kit is compromised in some way. We went round this same debate when Halogen bulbs (originally known as quartz-iodine) were introduced!
I like the idea of a split reflector, like the Harley HID one, it is just badly designed! I understand that some recent touring Harleys come with a twin bulb reflector, which on previous threads has been praised for its performance, presumably with stock halogen bulbs. That might be a good starting point for an aftermarket HID kit.
HID light is not any different to pre-HID light, it obeys the same rules. So a well designed reflector, with the bulb in the correct place, will give brighter and well aimed HID light than halogen light. No reason why that should be different, unless the HID kit is compromised in some way. We went round this same debate when Halogen bulbs (originally known as quartz-iodine) were introduced!
Read here for a few hours and see if you change your mind about them just looking good.
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/index.php
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
Always impressed riding next to a car with HIDs and how the lamps light up every pebble, I want that. Question is: how do they pick out deer at the side of the road? They're my biggest concern at night. That, and drunks coming the wrong direction.
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,692
Likes: 22
From: Denham Springs, La
I was kinda thinking about that because of the electronics involved with the HID-the average voltage would be pretty low with a modulator. I wonder if there are any legal problems modulating the passing lights. I don't remember anything about it one way or the other.
Thanks