Illegal HID lights!?

[Packer]

They most certainly do when you flash up HIDs in dip and main PLUS a set of MicroDEs and FF50s.

Now that does get the attention of the chav in the 306!

I surprised that said chav's have any retina remaining after a dose of that lot I hope that the extra lamps are all HID's as well, teach the ignorami a lesson

 

[Packer]

Ive got a HID unit on my push bike, I get flashed all the time.

But at least I know that they have seen me now!

How do you power that BTBR? Miller dynamo I assume

 

[Packer]

Hmmm....let's all try and think up some more thoughtless and selfish ways of giving all bikers a bad name shall we???



Dazzling lights are probably as dangerous as inadequate lights.....particularly at this time of year when so many cars are driving around with misted up or frozen windscreens.

Ehhm cyclists Fanum, not bikers, he's talking about his push bike isn't he?

 

[Packer]

Looks like I've stirred it slightly! I do intend to fit them as soon as pressure of work allows. Having looked again at the article, one thought (question) that crosses my mind is the GS uses H1 bulbs with only one filament, whereas the test car would presumably have a double filament bulb. My guess is that the two HID "filaments"(arcs) would probably be at a different focal length than the bulb from the lens, thus giving the scatter found in the test. Has anybody tried the HID versus halogen bulb "scatter test" on the GS?
Further to the illegal!!? lighting debate I use a LED rear bulb which is brighter and less likely to blow all its LEDs at once than a standard bulb (+ lower current draw), but it has red LEDs which don't give a white light on the number plate (MOT failure) which, again when I have time, I will sort by using a white festoon type LED in the rear cluster. I think there is a fine line between being sensible and being seen and being stupid and getting booked. If we could trust to common sense being used by the law then these questions would not arise. Thanks for the replies!
Tony T

Hello Tony,

As I said in my first post on this thread I could see no difference in terms of scatter after installing the HID's. I was really only referring to the dip beam as that is the critical one and head beam should be off in any case if there is oncoming traffic "in the line of fire".

The Dip/Head HID works IIRC by having a sliding metal "blind" that modifies the the light pattern for dip beam. It only has one arc. This could definitely be a possible source of problems.

 

[BTBR]

How do you power that BTBR? Miller dynamo I assume

Its a 14.8 volt battery that fits into the bottle cage, the ballast is integral to the light unit. This then boosts it to 24,000 volts on start up

It has a total burn time of 8 hours, but the down side is that you only have a 1000 strikes before you have to replace the ballast/light unit.

The down side, is that the unit does not have a prism cut into the lense, therefore you just have a 6 degree spot light

More info here

Boy....is it fecking bright though..............

 

[Packer]

Where can I get some of these HIDs for my 1150 ?? sound as if they will be better than carrots

HIDS4U on the net. £200 approx. (Total delivered) for both lamps with discount for Debit card and further discount for UKGSer membership.

Alternatively some people have found them for around £50 per lamp on flea bay.

I recommend the HIDS4U but no connection except as happy customer.

 

[Cole]

HID kits and glare

I think it very much depends on the bulb type.

The H4 HID bulbs are probably the worst, and the hardest to generate a good light focus and cutoff ... it wouldnt surprise me to see a fair bit of "scatter" or glare from them. I posted a detailed post looking at 4 different types and designs for HID H4 replacements a while back. The vast majority of them are not really suitable for road use.

H7 HIDs have a slight "fault" that will result in higher glare than normal Halogen bulbs. The Halogen H7 bulbs have a black (or blue) tip, that stops the light being directed directly forward (or forward and slightly upwards in the case of glare). The HID relacements dont have that light shield in the form of a tip, though many cars that run H7 bulbs with reflector headlights actually have an additional "bulb shield" built into the headlight unit (a small rear facing reflector just in front of the bulb). The GS1200 does not have this. As a result, the 1200s with HID conversion will produce higher amounts of glare than the halogens.

The H1 bulb has no black tip, and neither does the HID replacement ... meaning the result is similar to the original, only brighter.

Note that with projector lights, light passes through a lens before leaving the light and glare is considerably lower (and the cutoff considerably sharper) than with reflector lights.

On that basis, the dipped beam on the 1150, with its projector light and H1 bulb, should be the best possible candidate for HID conversion.

 

[Tony T]

Thank you Colebatch! That was the sort of answer I was after originally, although there have been some interesting posts. I thought at one point it was going to turn into a "loud cans" debate. As with many modifications there are pros and cons, a bit like a sort of sine wave, and I do feel better informed about the whole HID debate. I feel now that I have no qualms about fitting them (although I was going to fit them anyway!) so thank you all!
I have found it very useful in the past to view subject related posts over a longish period to see all sides, otherwise going on the early posts might involve buying needless or useless "things". Maybe there is room somewhere for a list of all modifications with a linked survey, with sensible opinions, to advise people before purchasing. This might prevent repeat threads on the same subject?
Thanks again
Tony T

 

[Packer]

Its a 14.8 volt battery that fits into the bottle cage, the ballast is integral to the light unit. This then boosts it to 24,000 volts on start up

It has a total burn time of 8 hours, but the down side is that you only have a 1000 strikes before you have to replace the ballast/light unit.

The down side, is that the unit does not have a prism cut into the lense, therefore you just have a 6 degree spot light

More info here

Boy....is it fecking bright though..............

Two things BTBR,

1) I've bought cars or less money that that cycle lamp, seriously impressive though.

2) It takes me forever to read your posts because my eyes keep wondering off to the left for some obscure reason I think I need a pair of blinkers.

 

[BTBR]

1) I've bought cars or less money that that cycle lamp, seriously impressive though.

I would agree, its a shit load of money to spend on a push bike light!

However, over the years I have "wasted" lots of money on so called super lights.

Now remember of course that my daily route to work is 17 miles one way, of which 75% is unlt country lanes. The other 25% is lit and very very congested and the only way to make any progress is riding up the inside of the traffic. Hence my statement in an earlier post, at least I know that they have seen me.

I tried these lights on a sale or return basis, the first time that I used them, I literally had to stop because I could simply not beleive that such a small light could produce such a staggering amount of light!!!

I can now ride as fast at night as I can during daylight, with every pot hole being cleary illuminated. Never before have I been happy to go out training at night, but now its not a problem at all. In fact quite the opposite, it adds a new dimension.

So IMHO it was money well spent.