Need to improve the lighting on my GT 550 KAWASAKI thinking of HIDs anybody got any thoughts? anybody done it? any recomendations? Gheers Gareth                                                                                                                                                                              

Hi Oldbiker, I would have thought an HID setup would be about half the present value of bike [not taking the mickey] try high output bulbs from PIIA, you get double the output wattage for watts consumed, you don't get crispy wire syndrome as you do when using high wattage consumption bulbs.They are not cheap, I've been using them for years.

I have HID`s on my R1 .. anybody i`m following will tell you they are so bright it`s untrue .. Not only do they give you more light at night to see the road with .. more importantly they make other road users SEE YOU .. It lessens the chances of any d**khead driver saying he/she never saw you .. They are relatively inexpensive to the cost of life or serious injury .. they are that good i bought some for my car .. DO NOT buy theses so called HID upgrade bulbs that cost about £30 .. they are not much better than standard halogen bulbs HID stands for High Intensity Discharge .. they use a ballast resistor to store up the power and create the sufficient voltage to create an arc between the 2 metal spikes in the bulb as there is no filament .. this voltage is 6000v .. It`s about £60 per bulb kit .. My bike has 2 kits .. Anyone wishing to find out about this can pm me .. I`m a fully trained mechanic I would recommed these kits to eveybody .. they should be on every motorcycle                                                                                                                                                                             

Got HID on my beemer, just checked prices on latest HID and see they have really come down and smaller ballast boxes. The bulbs I spoke of are not advertised as HID upgrades just more light for same power consumption no work involved. HID kits used to be advertised nearer £200 but now looks a good deal, go for it.

Gotta laugh, the company I looked up for HIDS was XENONHID4u, had a look at address and its 2 miles up the road from me. You find something new every day.                                                                                                                                                                              

hi harry yea think it's gotta be the way to go. googled them lot near you will ring em tomorrow i think cheers Gareth                                                                                                                                                                              

Is there a requirement to have a self leveling headlight unit when using HID lamps?                                                                                                                                                                               

erm dunno lol                                                                                                                                                                              

One of my BMW's has HID as factory fitment and is an ordinary fixed lamp.                                                                                                                                                                              

Technically only on cars .. i doubt a copper would know anyway .. Being seen on a bike is vital with all these illegals on our roads these days .. besides all the oldies who can`t see 2 foot in front of them                                                                                                                                                                              

I`ve fitted an HID system to my Yamaha FJ1200. A bit fiddly to fix, but the light output is phenominal!
Picks out roadside traffic signs before you get anywhere near them and other road users seen to spot you a mile off (excellent for motorway filtering in slow moving traffic)
You have to have a fairing to hide the ballast unit and controller behind though.
Don`t choose a bike specific one off Ebay, like I did. Just choose one for a car that has a dual beam (high/low) system. they`re about a tenner cheaper than the system I got and you can then sell the other `half` system to a mate (the car systems have dual ballast units and controllers for each side).
Choose one with a colour temperature bulb of about 5000K (pure white), as anything towards the 10.000K end will give an extremely blue light output, but not be as bright as the 5000K.
Let me know how you get on mate.                                                                                                                                                                             

good info guys

no use for a nakid Intruder, but hey..

                                                                                                                                                                             

Why , are you going to ride around naked J47 ? lol                                                                                                                                                                             

If J47 wants to do a Billy C in Swansea let him have some fun  .. may have to divert traffic away from Wales for a time .. lol x  I can say these things as I'm a taff by birth xx

reallyusefull thread wel done guys. When Ive spare cash agian I will look into this for my bikes, anyone know what sorta wattage they devour?                                                                                                                                                                             

Hi Rossoandy21.
My unit only uses 35 watts, but the ballast unit produces 23,000 volts!                                                                                                                                                                             

Yes indeedy 35 watts seems to be the norm, around half of a halogen H4 bulb                                                                                                                                                                              

Thanks for getting me looking Nitro, things have really changed in last 8 years, 35 watts seems the norm, and the better units have a thingy in them that cancels the blown bulb signal when bike system senses the lower wattage being used. Mate at work wants to fit one on his 4 candle power Harley.

and thats his engine power .. whats his light output ? lol                                                                                                                                                                             

Well i've done it, i've ordered one hopefully here before the end of the week. will post up the ease of fitment etc for those thinking of fitting the same/similar