HID kits

[bchaffin]

I am sure that someone has added an HID headlight to thier XS. I am wanting to upgrade the lights on mine as well. Any suggestions on where to get a kit or how complex it is to install?

[Dragon Tamer]

They are basically all about the same, the ballast unit takes up a bit of room and is easiest to use if you have a fairing to hide it in. You will also need to eliminate and bypass your reserve lighting unit as it will no longer be able to find a light filament to test and so will constantly switch from high to low beam trying to remedy a problem that is not there. Most of them also need more room in the back of the headlight reflector than is currently allowed for. This is usually easily done but I have heard of some units that require more room than is there.

Mine needed a bit of work with the zip saw to make enough room behind the headlight bucket on my Vetter V. Also keep in mind that some of the units out there use an H4 or similar type bulb for the low beam and the HID for the high beam, stay away from them. The best types have a solenoid unit right in the bulb that gives you high/low by actually moving the filament inside the bulb itself, I have found these to be far superior.

The one I have is a newcomdigi and it is like looking at an arc light even in the daytime. At night it will carve an almost mile long tunnel of light through the darkness and is well worth any trouble you may have installing it.

[clcorbin]

I absolutely LOVE mine!

H4 bi-zenon is the way to go (HID on both hi and low by using a solenoid to shift the bulb in the housing from high to low). You should also look at getting one with the slimline ballast. That ballast is small enough that you can mount it right in front of the regulator/rectifier under the tank. The wiring worked out perfectly for me.

[natemoen]

Anyone ever stuck one in a special headlight bucket?

[Poprock]

My HID went into a Pacifico fairing with no trouble at all. Some eBay sellers are offering a "modular" kit, with just enough wiring in plug in sections for what you need. The kit I got has a long and a short pigtail for two lights, but I just got one light. Plenty of room in the fairing for the extra wiring, but it'd be a nuisance on a naked bike. But yes, the light is wonderful. Don't know if mine will go a mile, but it does as good as 2 halogens on my truck.

[b.walker5]

Check here for lots of good info from those who have gone before....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=HID

[Eveready1100]

Aussie twist to the tale

Here's my version of the HID story.
I recently fitted a HID conversion kit to my '79 Special. I purchased a 50 watt kit with 8000k bulbs which give the blue tint. Admittedly, these bulbs offer less brightness/ intensity than the whiter / yellow tint bulbs but past experience with blue xenon halogen lights proved to me that the blue lights don't startle the wildlife in the same way as white ones, and given my riding territory and the abundance of kangaroos around here, blue was the way to go for me.
The twist is that I got a car based kit, which over here, cost about half what the cheapeast bike kit was worth. The upside is that I now have a spare ballast and bulb to use when the originals finally quit working. Downside is that there is no downside. The normal sized ballast fits neatly between the frame rails nestled behind the tilt switch housing under the tank. The wiring harness supplied was exactly the right length to reach the headlight shell which in Nathan's case, it will fit after drilling a 11/2 inch hole in the back of the bucket with a holesaw. The rest of the harness tucked neatly away beside the existing bike wiring harness and isn't obvious though mine's a naked bike.
End result is that I've got a brilliant headlight with the added bonus that it draws less current than the stock bulbs which is a major consideration for our XS11's wimpy alternator

Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Mine's a Bi Xenon with the solenoid Hi/Lo bulb

[natemoen]

Eveready, got any pictures of your setup?

[Eveready1100]

I'll pull the seat and tank off and take some snaps on the weekend for ya.

[TomRodgers]

Hmmmmmmmmm.... i wonder....

If purchasing a 'car kit', couldnt you use both for a dual headlight setup? i would think that the current draw with 2 of these should STILL be less than a standard bulb...right???

Now THAT would be some illumination!!!!

[old_chopper]

Slightly off topic but while stripping the bike I found this and wondered what it was exactly. It labelled "reserve lighting unit" and was mentioned in Dragon Tamer's post above (post #2). What is this and what does it do?

[Pat Kelly]

The reserve lighting unit automaticlly comes into play if you low beam stops working. It activates the high beam at a lower wattage (60% I think) and lights-up the "headlight" indicator on yor pilot box/dash, letting you know there'sa problem. Basiclly a back-up for your headlight so you're not stranded at night.

[old_chopper]

The reserve lighting unit automaticlly comes into play if you low beam stops working. It activates the high beam at a lower wattage (60% I think) and lights-up the "headlight" indicator on yor pilot box/dash, letting you know there'sa problem. Basiclly a back-up for your headlight so you're not stranded at night.

They sure put a lot of "extras" on these bikes, huh? I'm adding this one to the list of items that will not be used since I am building my own wiring harness. Thanks for the answer!

[Eveready1100]

Quote - Hmmmmmmmmm.... i wonder....

If purchasing a 'car kit', couldnt you use both for a dual headlight setup? i would think that the current draw with 2 of these should STILL be less than a standard bulb...right???

Actually Tom, it would end up pulling 50 watts per light which would still be a substantial power saving if you've already got twin headlights, plus of course you could get the 35 watt kits which would easily turn night into day and save more power.

[SFerinTEXAS]

anyone have any comments on this 35w kit?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/EFX-H...item3cada0d1a1

nothing said about hi/lo beam