Author |
Message |
Brineusaf
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 09:54 am: |
|
Anyone have any good setup's going besides the LSL. Looking for something smaller, yet better lighting capabilities for a Lightning. |
Teddagreek
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 10:45 am: |
|
Thought about putting better reflectors in them if I could find the right size.. I think thats big part of the bad lighting.. |
Brineusaf
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 11:34 am: |
|
I was looking for something about the same size as the firebolt lights... but with a bezel or something around them so they look presentable. Are firebolt lights mountable onto a lightning? |
Rasmonis
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 02:19 pm: |
|
Kyle, Have you checked these out? They are available via American Sport Bike
|
Brineusaf
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 02:55 pm: |
|
Yes, I have checked those out... I am a little bit on a budget kinda. Well, enough to hesitate to spend 400+$. I am looking for the same thing.. only less expensive, like the firebolt lights. |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 07:19 pm: |
|
I really like my lowbeam HID conversion. It was $190 delivered. |
Lost_in_ohio
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 09:00 pm: |
|
More info Ft_bstrd..... I forgot pretty please |
Hammer71
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 10:11 pm: |
|
http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/HID-Headlight-Conversion-Kit-p-18322.html |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 10:35 pm: |
|
Thanks Hammer! Dats da one! Very good quality components, solid harness, and it even comes with a fuse and relay. |
Brineusaf
| Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006 - 11:48 pm: |
|
So Hi/Low H4 would be a good kit? Will this work with my lights now (Lightning)? How challenging was the install? |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 01:36 am: |
|
I use the HIDs for my low beams. The high beams are stock. I wired the igniter directly to the battery with a relay run off the power plug. The headlight housing is no warmer than stock, but the light output is much better. The location of the capsule is pretty much spot on for the location of the bulb element in the H7 bulb. If your set up is like mine you have two H7 bulbs one for the high beam one for the low beam. When you hit the high beams, the low beam goes out. With the way mine are wired, they come on when the ignition switch is turned on and they stay on even when the high beams are on. The install was very straight forward. It was the best money I could have spent. If I ever want to go back, I simply need to reinstall the stock socket and it's good to go. |
Brineusaf
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 04:58 am: |
|
Hmm... do you have any pictures of before/after lighting? I'm curious to see the actual difference. If i was paying the 180$ for the low beams, why not spend the little extra for the low/hi? or am I missing something. |
Fullpower
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 12:52 pm: |
|
HID low beam rocks, IF you ride at night, you are strongly encouraged to use the HID low beam. it is worth any price you have to pay.
|
Perry
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 01:07 pm: |
|
So what's with the stuff on their website about getting a ticket and those lights are for off-road use only? Anyone ever had a problem with the local law enforcement because of these lights? |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 01:44 pm: |
|
The problem with using them for high beams is that the capsules require a minute or two to reach full strength. Flicking the HIDs on and off just isn't a good option. I used the Silver Stars for the High Beams. Compared to the HIDs the Silver Stars looked no different than the OEM bulbs. I don't ride that night much, but when I do, the extra light is fantastic. I have had no problems with LEOs. My philosophy is this. Could a LEO pull me over for my headlights? Sure. The probability is low. 80% of my riding is during the daylight hours. Of the remaining 20%, I'm willing to take my chances to see and be seen. The ticket here is about $40. That's cheap compared to smacking a wayward deer or getting turned into by someone turning left. Are all those mufflers street legal? |
99buellx1
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 02:07 pm: |
|
Nice write-up that my buddy did on his Firebolt. Lots of great pictures too. http://www.ifmracing.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=148 |
Court
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 03:08 pm: |
|
That's a great write up. I'd see if you can get his permission to make it a .pdf file and get it in the KV archives. |
99buellx1
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 04:22 pm: |
|
I'm sure I can do that, no problem. I'll talk to him tonight. |
Hogs
| Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 04:24 pm: |
|
99buellx1, YEah I remember that post awhile back, Do ya have a email address for him,and wd. ya think he wd. mind if I picked his brain on these? Let me know thanks Buddy.. I do alot of night driving and its bad when ya got to dash them critters in front of ya... |
Brineusaf
| Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 12:52 pm: |
|
I had seen that before, thanks. So the kit aerostitch sells is the same, or will produce the same results? please ignore my constant questions, i'll get an earful at home if i buy something completely redundant. |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 01:24 pm: |
|
Brineusaf, I would go with only one set first to see if you like it. If you don't, you have only spent $190. |
Brineusaf
| Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 02:13 pm: |
|
Jeremy, Would it be possible for you to take pic from the seating position looking forward to see how bright the light is, and another with your stock hibeam? so I can compare the two |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Monday, October 02, 2006 - 06:48 pm: |
|
Brine, I'll try to get a picture tonight and post it for you. I have mine set up so that the low beam is on at the same time the high beam is on. I'll show you both. |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Monday, October 02, 2006 - 10:05 pm: |
|
Brineusaf, Here are some photos (Please excuse the crap in my garage.):
I am using the Silver Stars for the high beam. You can see the distinct high beam, but even as white as the SS's are, you can see how yellow they look as compared to the HIDs. These shots were shown with the lights being on for about 2 minutes. They reach their full intensity after about 5-10 minutes. |
Rhinowerx
| Posted on Monday, October 02, 2006 - 10:51 pm: |
|
Ft_bstrd, I have a question - how is the (light) spread? I would think because of the reflectors, it's pretty similar to stock. The other day while riding home on a dark and winding road, I realized how badly the stock headlights sucked. Even though I have them wired so that both are on when the high beam is on (and I'm using Philips Vision Plus H7 bulbs) - great in a straight line, but take a corner, and the lights just shine off into oblivion. As much as I like the idea of HID, I'm thinking some fork mounted motolights would do a better job of lighting up the width of the road. Curious to hear what you think. Cheers -Jack |
Ft_bstrd
| Posted on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 12:36 am: |
|
The periphery is much better. It isn't that the light isn't in the right place. It's that the light isn't bright enough with the H7 bulb. Fork mounted lights would help to increase the peripheral illumination. I have found the HIDs sufficient and haven't needed a separate set of lights. Check you aim as well. Plus, I wanted to keep the look clean. |
Corporatemonkey
| Posted on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 04:15 am: |
|
I LOVE my HID's I wouldn't consider anything else at this point. I have a nice write up about them here, including before/after photos http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/204623.html |
Samiam
| Posted on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 05:29 am: |
|
I second Corporatemonkey on that, the HIDs are definitely worth the money. I used the dual 4300k H3 kit from Xenon Depot for my 12R, was actually the first mod I installed on my bike. Looks just like the write up on the IFM racing forum. That's the guide I used to do mine, actually. The only difference is my kit had the thinner (but wider) ballasts so I had to trim a little more off the plastics than he did. Look is the same as his. Definitely a more white light than any other bike out there. and remember that the higher temp color doesn't mean brighter. Anyway, here's the kit I used: http://www.xenondepot.com/product.php?product_id=3 Worth the money, my headlight (low beam) is brighter than most cars' lights. Sam |
Sik_s
| Posted on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 08:57 am: |
|
Sam, do you have any pictures of your HID system installed or the installation thereof? |
Rhinowerx
| Posted on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 09:04 am: |
|
For you guys that have done both (low and high) - are you able to effectively use the high beam flasher, or is there too much lag time for it to be useful. Having said that, after reading the previous install posts, it almost seems as though you wouldn't need to use the flasher any more - once you've burn't their eyes out with the low beam, I'd imagine the high beam would just crisp them to a golden brown This is great info, and I agree with you totally Ft_bstrd about the 'clean look' Cheers -Jack |