Lighting Info? - Ducati.ms

ccemn1 · Nov 13th, 2011, 3:04 pm

Can anyone tell me what type of buld is used on the '08 Hypermotard headlight? I believe it's a twin filiment H-4, but I wanted to check.
I'm upgrading to the DDM HID headlight, based on the wonderful performance & ease of instalation on my S4RS.

Drinky · Nov 13th, 2011, 4:02 pm

It's a H4

If you want better light on the road, go for the morimoto retrofit HID kit, the stock hyper reflector is downright awful for a HID set. You will be better seen though, but the light spray is really bad.

ccemn1 · Nov 13th, 2011, 6:04 pm

Got a link maybe? Or, are you just a Rep for this company? Because I installed a DDM in my S4RS that I can't say too much good about. Cheap, small, easy install, and literally night & day difference from the stock bulb!

ccemn1 · Nov 13th, 2011, 6:09 pm

Just found the site. Sorry! They are totally out of their minds! Several hundred dollars for a single HID????
When You can buy the set up for under $40 bucks almost anywhere. You'd literally have to be nuts to buy their stuff.
There's a company that will be extremely short lived!

vroooom · Nov 13th, 2011, 6:23 pm

That's the real HID, complete with projector to put all the lights on the road and not on the oncoming traffic. Yes it's pricier and you'll need to retrofit that into the bike as well so it's not plug and play but it's the real deal. The DDM will be scattered but many are saying it's good enough which is probably due to its very very low price but it's a definite compromise. I'll probably end up buying a DDM myself (cheap ass experiment) but I really want the morimoto or the Acura/Lexus projectors. 50% cost because it's usually sold as set. Call Matt at TRS.

Read up about it. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/index.php

dave, you wanna post that picture now?

Drinky · Nov 13th, 2011, 6:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccemn1

Just found the site. Sorry! They are totally out of their minds! Several hundred dollars for a single HID????
When You can buy the set up for under $40 bucks almost anywhere. You'd literally have to be nuts to buy their stuff.
There's a company that will be extremely short lived!

If you already have a ballast, you only need this

Bi-xenon: Morimoto Mini H1 4.1 - HID Projectors from The Retrofit Source Inc

the $270 set is for 2 projectors I believe.
Here the set is 75 or 90 euro's, can't remember exactly, but that's not an outrageous amount for a good retrofit + bulb.

I don't like the retrofit look ( looks like a cyclops), but the usable light you get from just plugging in a HID bulb in the stock lens is worse than a halogen bulb. I've used the same ballast on 3 of my previous bikes and I've always been a fan of Xenon in bikes, but it's not worth doing it when the net result is worse than you previously had, just saying.

edit: the $120 kit also has 2x projectors, so it's actually not that expensive. Don't know if you can get a single projector, since only one fits in a hyper anyway

ccemn1 · Nov 13th, 2011, 7:38 pm

No, don't have the ballast, need the whole kit, but even if those "Projector beam" HID's are made of solid gold, you'd STILL have to be crazy to buy them! $400.00 could be put to MUCH better use on a Motard than on a single headlight!
I bought the DDM 35W, 6000K Temp, for my Monster for well under $40 bucks. It was a one hour install, has a lifetime guarantee, and lights the road like a military flare!
This argument that the stock reflector sucks is BS, plain & simple. The light from the stock bulb is adequate, and if you replace it with an HID of the proper dimensions and placement, you're getting 4 times the lumens on one third the Amp draw.
Thank you much, but I'll buy the DDM! $40 bucks vs $400 doesn't leave any option!

Drinky · Nov 14th, 2011, 3:21 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccemn1

No, don't have the ballast, need the whole kit, but even if those "Projector beam" HID's are made of solid gold, you'd STILL have to be crazy to buy them! $400.00 could be put to MUCH better use on a Motard than on a single headlight!
I bought the DDM 35W, 6000K Temp, for my Monster for well under $40 bucks. It was a one hour install, has a lifetime guarantee, and lights the road like a military flare!
This argument that the stock reflector sucks is BS, plain & simple. The light from the stock bulb is adequate, and if you replace it with an HID of the proper dimensions and placement, you're getting 4 times the lumens on one third the Amp draw.
Thank you much, but I'll buy the DDM! $40 bucks vs $400 doesn't leave any option!

I see you ramping up the price but you're not backing it up. The link I posted is for $120, add the $40 for the DDM kit and you're good to go.

The stock reflector is crap for a plug and play HID kit, the light image with a HID kit in it is so dispersed and uneven, and then there's also the problem of glare for oncoming traffic.

I like cheap HID solutions as much as the next guy, and it has worked for me on all my bike which had projectors stock, but on this bike it's just a waste of money and a hazard for others.

But then again, it all depends on what you use the bike for. I don't use mine at night, so I don't need it and just spend the money on something else. If you use yours during the night often, then a retrofit would be a much better option, but I doubt I can convince you on this.

vroooom · Nov 14th, 2011, 7:53 am

not trying to convince anyone. i rarely ride at night, if i did regularly i would definitely purchase from TRS. the light from those HID bulbs just need to be directed to where it belongs though and i believe it's not via DDM's plug & play. for the money, DDM can't be beat though but from what I've seen on that video that's some serious glare I'll end up giving the opposite traffic. i just love those projector headlights.... myb i will someday do that retrofit.

ccemn1 · Nov 14th, 2011, 1:59 pm

I opened the site for TRS, and the first thing I saw was $400.00 plus HID kits! That was all I needed to see to know that it's BS!
As far as the physics and dynamics of lighting: Granted, my Monster has a standard headlight nacelle and lens. I couldn't be MORE satisfied with the results I have with that bike. Literally night & day!
The Motard does have a completely different headlight system, but if the dispersion & focus is good on a stock bulb, the only thing that's going to change if you switch to an HID is the amount of lumens being produced!
i.e. If you're not blinding oncoming drivers and have good lighting with the stock Motard headlight, having a brighter HID bulb isn't going to change anything, except give you more light!
If you're blinding oncoming drivers and have poor dispersion with an HID kit, you either have the wrong bulb, or installed it improperly, causing the change!