HID's in France

[Andrew Lodge]

Has this already been said?

http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/xenon-hid-lights-outlawed-in-france.htm

and does anybody know if it is actually true?

 

[Greg Masters]

The author, Mike Werner, lives in France and is a member of this forum.

If Mike has written it, it's probably true!

Greg

 

[littleredrooster]

We must have been lucky, then. We've been to France with the HIDs a few times now without problems.
Not Paris, though.

 

[Gaulois]

I'd have thought that if your bike isn't French registered you'd be immune from this if it is true (never been stopped in 2 years with HID's).

 

[Dusan]

Bugger

Bugger, nuffer fing to stress about , just had them fitted to my 1150, excellent ''I can see again'' off to Italy in early Sept , won't be going anywhere near kin gay Paris! Sod it that helped not stressed any more, K serar serar, what ever will b will b! great when you can get fined for improving the safety of your motor cycle, bloody bureaucrats (little Hitler's)!

 

[Wapping]

The author, Mike Werner, lives in France and is a member of this forum.

If Mike has written it, it's probably true!

Greg

That's as may be true, but you could write a similarly truthful piece that police in the UK have been stopping motorbikes (and other vehicles) too. You could then go on to write that the police had then slapped rectification notices on anything from lights, to number plates, to exhausts, to tyres....

Given that most motorcycles in France seem to run with more cosmetic bling than Puff-Daddy, loud MIG exhausts and indicators so small that they would shame a gnat, HID lights would seem to be very small fry.

Un orage dans une tasse de thé as they probably (don't) say.

 

[Gazzabart]

Really ????

Many manufacturers fit Hid's as standard now
so you go to France so spend some euros for the French economy
Police pull you up
quote some bollox
fine you then remove your Hid's
so you are then in France with NO HEADLIGHTS and the police drive off
what happens next
do the police pull you up and fine you for having defective headlights

think this is Bollix bet its a gang of Gsers in France who only have standard lights who have one to the local fancy dress shop and hired a police uniform and are now upgrading their bikes LOL

are they also pulling up the cars and removing them to ??????????????

whats your thoughts

 

[Devon]

I am pretty sure that if your car or m/c is legal in the uk, ie you are not breaking the law for UK exhaust, number plate, lights etc then you are entitled to use that vehicle in France. For example, in France number plates must be rivited to cars but here in the UK they are held in place by screws. You can still drive your car in France without being prosecuted. If HIDs are legal in the UK you must be able to legally use them in France.

 

[Wapping]

I am pretty sure that if your car or m/c is legal in the uk, ie you are not breaking the law for UK exhaust, number plate, lights etc then you are entitled to use that vehicle in France. For example, in France number plates must be rivited to cars but here in the UK they are held in place by screws. You can still drive your car in France without being prosecuted. If HIDs are legal in the UK you must be able to legally use them in France.

True to a point but radar detectors in vehicles are legal in the UK but illegal in France and will be confiscated (destroyed) if found. It also avoids the uncomfortable truth that many non-factory fit HID kits may fail to meet the letter of UK law but still sail through MOT's and past plod on the road everyday, without too much drama... just as small number plates and moody exhausts do, of course.

On the whole a very significant proportion of UK motorbikes and other vehicles run around with modifications (or simple defects) which make them illegal in the UK, without too many problems. A statistic that, if nothing else, puts the lie to the oft voiced old chestnut that it invalidates insurance.

 

[Greg Masters]

Many manufacturers fit Hid's as standard now

whats your thoughts

My thoughts are that you need to re-read Mike Werner's article.



Greg

 

[Wapping]

Bugger, nuffer fing to stress about , just had them fitted to my 1150, excellent ''I can see again'' off to Italy in early Sept , won't be going anywhere near kin gay Paris! Sod it that helped not stressed any more, K serar serar, what ever will b will b! great when you can get fined for improving the safety of your motor cycle, bloody bureaucrats (little Hitler's)!

Many manufacturers fit Hid's as standard now
so you go to France so spend some euros for the French economy
Police pull you up
quote some bollox
fine you then remove your Hid's
so you are then in France with NO HEADLIGHTS and the police drive off
what happens next
do the police pull you up and fine you for having defective headlights

think this is Bollix bet its a gang of Gsers in France who only have standard lights who have one to the local fancy dress shop and hired a police uniform and are now upgrading their bikes LOL

are they also pulling up the cars and removing them to ??????????????

whats your thoughts

Relax. Mike's post needs to be read properly but will be forgotten before the day is out anyway.

Let's talk about the French legal requirement to fence in private swimming pools instead.....

 

[GSband]

FWIW BMW's K12/1300GT can be factoryfitted (for the French market) with HID's. Excellent.

 

[Andrew Lodge]

Let's talk about the French legal requirement to fence in private swimming pools instead.....

Or fit an approved French standard alarm to the pool

 

[Bear]

I'd like to know a lot more before reaching a conclusion. Firstly, are HID lights considered to be illegal per se, or are they simply not e-marked like normal replacement bulbs? Secondly, what about the beam pattern (particularly relevant for Brits abroad as BMW headlights seem to have a proper dip). If the light source in the bulb is not in exactly the right place then the enormous light output could go anywhere, particularly into the eyes of an oncoming driver. I await the full story (if and when it emerges).

 

[Format]

I went through France with no probs with Zerocool's set up.

Germany and then stopped at the Swiss hospital lol

Forget the scaremongery you will be fine.

 

[TLSgazza]

both mine and the better halfs adventures have HID's and hers has HID spots as well, the cops didn't say a thing about them even when they pulled us for speeding last october and took us 12 miles by escort to the nearest cashpoint to pay the fines
personally i wouldn't worry about it

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Don`t wory about it. In my experience, HID`s are a real plus in France because the car drivers get out of your way real quick

Feck me, we do really worry about nothing sometimes

 

[GSmonkey]

Never had any problems with French police re. HIDs.

Practically - the HIDS can be removed at the roadside without tools. Just swap your main beam bulb to the dip side and re-plug in the original plug.

 

[stolzy]

Ditto that

both mine and the better halfs adventures have HID's and hers has HID spots as well, the cops didn't say a thing about them even when they pulled us for speeding last october and took us 12 miles by escort to the nearest cashpoint to pay the fines
personally i wouldn't worry about it

I live a lot of my time in France and have never had an issue with my Les Waassal HIDs in the two years they have been installed. I've been stopped by the gendemes a number of times and nobody ever said anything.

They took a long look at my stubby once, but in the end just gave me an escort to the cash-point.

If your visiting france, I wouldn't give it a second thought.
Worry about the availability of fuel and priorite a droit first

 

[Pukmeister]

Yet another reason to avoid the garlic munchers and stay in Blighty (like I needed one anyways).