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55W HIDs installed

4399 Views 44 Replies 16 Participants Last post by stryder, Dec 2, 2012

kismetcapitan

Discussion Starter · Nov 29, 2012

as nights come earlier and I've been riding my ST4 more frequently these days, I've gotten very tired of cars cutting me off, due to the low visibility of the lighting system.

cars actually tend to move out of the way and I rarely get cut off on my BMW, which runs dual 55W HIDs.

so I went and installed H1/H3 HIDs on the ST4. Despite what older threads have said about just adding HIDs, it is blindingly bright and there is a dramatic improvement on how much road is illuminated. Also, I am no longer "invisible" to cars - a very important safety feature.

the installation was straightforward, but took longer as this is an old bike. the hi-beam was done without removing the instrument cluster, but the normal light has the speedo cable in the way. some previous owner had hacked up the wiring on the normal light, so that required some splicing. The hi-beam bulb required a bit of filing on the base to fit, and the spring came flying off, leading to a fun 10 minute search of the garage floor and even more time, as it was not secured to the housing anymore.

I'm concerned about cooking the wiring harness, but the current draw of HIDs once warmed up is less than halogens, and I tried starting the bike with the hi-beam on and the 15 amp fuse did not blow, nor did the bike have problems starting. But as with my other bikes, I'll stagger turning on the lights - give the main beam 30 seconds, then switch on the hi beam (I ride with both on, day or night).

I can't comment on "beam pattern" being incorrect or whatever other anti-HID arguments I've read here; all I know is that I can actually identify a beam pattern now. So far as I'm concerned, I've finally rectified the main weakness of the ST4. I can SEE.

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21 - 40 of 45 Posts

mattmonster

· #21 · Nov 30, 2012

bravo! have a good weekend fellow ST manics

Lesco said:
Look, the ST's are nice bikes - but the lighting is crap. I put HIDs on mine about 3 years ago after trying the usual bulb upgrades and such ......... received all the usual b.s. on this forum about current draw, additional relays/wiring/fusing issues, blinding on coming traffic, etc etc. Now I see we've escalated the argument to getting shot at. WTF? I have not had any electrical issues, never even been flashed by on-coming traffic ...... and guess what?..... I can see! More and more vehicles are on the roads with HIDs. If you want to see, just go get 'em.

tonered

· #22 · Nov 30, 2012

kismetcapitan said:
keep riding with your stock lights. they're good. with luck, an 18-wheeler won't be offended by your polite riding, so much so that he won't even notice the thump.

Do you often ride in the wrong lane? LoL. Thankfully, you're an entire country away.

In 4.5yrs and 45k of riding with the stock light, I never had a problem with someone not seeing me. In that entire time, I never had the hi beam on with approaching traffic. In that entire time, only two distracted drivers turned in front off me. Nothing short of an air raid siren would have helped those self-absorbed idiots, as they still looked cluesless after crossing my path with a phone glued to their left ear and eyes looking right.

Um no, after years of wanting either HIDs or the DD headlight, I was finally able to snag one of Paul's lights. I'm completely happy with it.

Seemingly, you are self-aborbed also. Good luck with that.

Regardless of light installation (stock, HID, or DD), riding with the high beam has never been cool and still isn't cool. But of course, you're cool . . . in your own mind.

mattmonster

· #23 · Nov 30, 2012

you yanks are a highly strung bunch! relax dude.

Shazaam

· #24 · Nov 30, 2012

The principal reason I installed mine is to be more visible to traffic during the day for safety reasons. Night vision is vastly improved but I really don't ride at night much. I installed it on my hi-beam only because the basic limitation on a HID conversion is that there are no HID arc capsules that have a transverse (side-to-side) arc path. They're all front-to-back. So H3 lo-beam projector lights should not be converted because the resulting light pattern will be incorrect causing glare to oncoming traffic. My hi-beam pattern is very good with no hot spots or scatter.

Here's a picture comparison of the 55 W low beam and the 35 W HID high beam using the same exposure.

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mznyc

· #25 · Nov 30, 2012

Hey Guys,
It's the holidays,could we be civil to each other till at least the 1st of the year

,ya know good will and all that stuff!,.....

stryder

· #26 · Nov 30, 2012

mznyc said:
Hey Guys,
It's the holidays,could we be civil to each other till at least the 1st of the year ,ya know good will and all that stuff!,.....

I second that motion.

We need to focus on the light, not the heat.

tonered

· #27 · Nov 30, 2012

I generally ignore the capt'n's posts. But, idiocrasy is hard to ignore.

We've really come to the point where riding around with hi beams on makes sense? Come on.

I'll agree that DRLs on cars have taken away some of our margin, but hi beams. No. I'd argue that Bike Bullets, other small driving lights, or a freakin' hi vis helmet are more effective.

What's next, helmet mounted laser pointers? We can dazzle on coming traffic and low flying aircraft all at the same time.

Have a good one.

DuckMan

· #28 · Nov 30, 2012

Where I live driving around with your hi beams on is just plain rude and not tolerated. If you're that afraid to be out on the roads, stay at home.

SS904

· #29 · Nov 30, 2012

kismetcapitan said:
several states and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation recommend in their endorsement study guides to run hi beams during the day, at a minimum (

I was a MSF rider coach when I lived in VA. Never once was it recommend in the curriculum to run high beams during the day to be seen. Unless it's been changed since I was last certified in 2007, that's a load of BS.

As I remember it, the MSF recommended retro reflective clothing and good defensive riding measures. The only advice given in the curriculum (as of 2007 anyway) about headlights was to not overdrive them. Myself, I just assume no one can see me (well except oddly the police) and ride accordingly. Adding the lights to see better is fine and I intend to do it myself at some point, but I disagree with using them to somehow repel cars as you say during the day or all the time. That is about a nonsensical as the loud pipes crap. All it does is make non-riders hate us more and is dangerous to oncoming traffic. People are different. I personally find today's high beams too bright for oncoming traffic even in bright day light. You'd be OK if some asshat hero thought they needed the high beams on all the time and it blinded your wife or grandmother, and as a result they went off the road or hit someone in the instant they had to look away or recover night vision? Classy!

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tonered

· #30 · Nov 30, 2012

DuckMan said:
Where I live driving around with your hi beams on is just plain rude and not tolerated. If you're that afraid to be out on the roads, stay at home.

SS904 said:
I was a MSF rider coach when I lived in VA. Never once was it recommend in the curriculum to run high beams during the day to be seen. Unless it's been changed since I was last certified in 2007, that's a load of BS.

As I remember it, the MSF recommended retro reflective clothing and good defensive riding measures. The only advice given in the curriculum (as of 2007 anyway) about headlights was to not overdrive them. Myself, I just assume no one can see me (well except oddly the police) and ride accordingly. Adding the lights to see better is fine and I intend to do it myself at some point, but I disagree with using them to somehow repel cars as you say during the day or all the time. That is about a nonsensical as the loud pipes crap. All it does is make non-riders hate us more and is dangerous to oncoming traffic. People are different. I personally find today's high beams too bright for oncoming traffic even in bright day light. You'd be OK if some asshat hero thought they needed the high beams on all the time and it blinded your wife or grandmother, and as a result they went off the road or hit someone in the instant they had to look away or recover night vision? Classy!

Thanks, Guys.

I was worried rational thought was gone.

Have a good one.

mlukason

· #31 · Dec 1, 2012

Even during the day, riding with high beams negatively affects oncoming traffic. While it's not as severe as at night, the glare can temporarily blind oncoming motorists.

I want more frontal presence when I ride during the day, so I mounted a set of LED daytime running lights low on my forks. Doesn't add much illumination at night but I feel it's quite noticeable during the day.

You don't want to annoy oncoming traffic. I had a Volvo driver angrily flash his high beams at me and swerve into my lane (apparently to teach me a lesson) even though I had my low beams on (I did have my LED DRL's on). You never can tell who is on the edge and sometimes the slightest thing sets them off.

mznyc

· #32 · Dec 1, 2012

mlukason said:
You never can tell who is on the edge and sometimes the slightest thing sets them off.

Ha ,and no where else is that more evident than on a forum

tonered

· #33 · Dec 1, 2012

Dooooooood. Yup, thee old curmudgeon, right here.

That might be a good tag to replace Mr Leakered. Although, the leaks haven't stopped yet.

Have a good one.

stryder

· #34 · Dec 1, 2012

In Canada, the headlamps are hard wired by law on all new bikes and cars since I can't remember when. Early 70's maybe. Start the engine and the head lights come on. So running with headlamps on all the time is a normal and regulated safety practice. But as we know, that hasn't eliminated the "sorry, I didn't see you" scenarios, and if motorcyclists who are still at greater risk choose to increase their visibility by modifying their lights, it's understandable and usually supported even up to installing a module that rapidly flashes headlights on and off during the day in the name of safety. If that's not rude, I don't know what is, to have to suddenly stop your train of thought, slow down, and think of what the hell is going on so some dude on his motorcycle can ride safely while others around him are distracted and confused. Works for him, but not the others. Very rude IMO as it could cause accidents. Others use less distracting high beams during the day. I've seen this numerous times. Many cruisers have light bars that add a couple of brighter-than-the-headlamp out board lights to increase visibility through bright lights too. Though it's still not enough to guaranty safety and can be rude, I'd rather see a rider use his high beams during the day than at night, when the blinding effect is much greater. I do use my high beams on occasion if riding at night on twisty roads but I do of course dip them when oncoming traffic approaches, and I have the vastly improved head lights on my oh-fiver so I'm not dealing with the same issues. I do see an issue with using blinding low beams at night. I've run across that a few times and it does piss me off that my safety has been put at risk for the safety of others, and that includes legal HID systems as they can be blinding as hell too.

I have found that wearing a white helmet has worked extremely well for day time visibility, probably made more difference that any added headlamp brightness would have as they are visible only from certain angles and a white helmet from all angles. Add a bright RED!!! bike to that white helmet, and you are about as visible as you can get during daylight hours. What colours are fire trucks? Red and white?

I can honestly say I've been cut off once in 8 seasons...no high beams, stock head lamp.

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DVC-86

· #35 · Dec 1, 2012

tonered said:
Regardless of light installation (stock, HID, or DD), riding with the high beam has never been cool and still isn't cool. But of course, you're cool . . . in your own mind.

Indeed. Running high beams with other traffic nearby negatively affects that other traffic. Blinding - or at least annoying - other traffic around you doesn't seem to be a great idea to me.

Many people discuss blinding oncoming traffic - but I don't see much mention of blinding traffic ahead in your own direction of travel. However, I've been in front of motorcyclists running continuous high beams on several occasions (both as a rider and as a driver). In all instances, my rearward visibility effectively went to zero as the high beams completely overwhelmed any use of my mirrors.

kismetcapitan

Discussion Starter · #36 · Dec 1, 2012 (Edited)

1) look up the motorcycle guides for licensure in Michigan, Tennessee, South Dakota, the list goes on. High beams during the day is strongly recommended. North Carolina goes a little more emphatic - "Use Your High Beam — Get all
the light you can. Use your high beam whenever you are not following or meeting a car. Be visible."

2) I just went to Nashville's Italian Cars and Bikes meetup this morning, and with both my HIDs blazing, asked numerous people whether they felt it was too bright. In the morning sun, it was honestly impossible to see that the low beam was even on, and the high beam was not particularly noticeable. So for those who doubt, get out in the sunlight and look at your headlights. Your eyes, adjusted to sunlight, will NOT be "blinded" by feeble ST4 headlights, let alone HIDs.

At night, use of high beam should be judicious, and it just occurred to me why I need to use them more than others - simply put, I ride faster.

When riding WITH traffic, HID high beams (not the candlelit stock lamp) WILL blind people. When riding faster than the traffic flow, what happens is that you end up passing through driver's blind spots constantly as you're passing cars. In this case, a bright HID makes you more visible in blind spots where a driver would be very likely to otherwise not see you, and a driver's exposure is limited to a couple seconds as you approach and then pass. This is, AS I SAID BEFORE, on brightly lit highways with traffic, so the eyes are not completely adjusted to dark night conditions.

Am I an idiot? Yes I am, if you selectively read my posts and ignore through your biases what you don't want to hear. AS I SAID BEFORE, if I'm riding behind a car on a two-lane road in the dead of night, you won't be seeing my high beam. If you're approaching from the opposite direction, I'll shut mine off until you pass.

It depends on the conditions. READ before you reply. If I rode like ToNERD, I'd be an asshat if I kept my high beam on at night...to the one grandma I was following. But I don't, so MY LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS DIFFER.

Give me a concrete example of someone who crashed a car and died because they were temporarily "blinded" by high beams. Everyone here has dealt with glare when driving a car. You can whine and bitch, or you can let the rearview mirror do its job by autodimming the glare. Or if your car doesn't have that feature, reach up and flick that lever at the bottom of the mirror. 18 wheelers are often the source of glare. So shall we discuss how truckers are assholes too?

Or let's talk about examples of bikers killed by cars because they weren't seen. I can cite three in the past month in Middle Tennessee. The rider community here is veyr tight-knit, and every death is felt by all. There are a lot of discussions about how to avoid fatalities; we lose far too many people every year. So forgive me if I'm sensitive on the subject of cars plowing into bikes, killing the rider, and then saying to the cops sheepishly "I didn't see him". We do memorial rides and frankly, especially with the way people seem to drive lately, I've gone on far too many memorial rides this autumn.

High beam glare in daylight that is hazardous? Ridiculous. I asked at least ten people to stare into my lights this morning. Not one even squinted, and one even asked "what am I looking at again?"

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kismetcapitan

Discussion Starter · #37 · Dec 1, 2012 (Edited)

stryder said:
In Canada, the headlamps are hard wired by law on all new bikes and cars since I can't remember when. Early 70's maybe. Start the engine and the head lights come on. So running with headlamps on all the time is a normal and regulated safety practice. But as we know, that hasn't eliminated the "sorry, I didn't see you" scenarios, and if motorcyclists who are still at greater risk choose to increase their visibility by modifying their lights, it's understandable and usually supported even up to installing a module that rapidly flashes headlights on and off during the day in the name of safety. If that's not rude, I don't know what is, to have to suddenly stop your train of thought, slow down, and think of what the hell is going on so some dude on his motorcycle can ride safely while others around him are distracted and confused. Works for him, but not the others. Very rude IMO as it could cause accidents. Others use less distracting high beams during the day. I've seen this numerous times. Many cruisers have light bars that add a couple of brighter-than-the-headlamp out board lights to increase visibility through bright lights too. Though it's still not enough to guaranty safety and can be rude, I'd rather see a rider use his high beams during the day than at night, when the blinding effect is much greater. I do use my high beams on occasion if riding at night on twisty roads but I do of course dip them when oncoming traffic approaches, and I have the vastly improved head lights on my oh-fiver so I'm not dealing with the same issues. I do see an issue with using blinding low beams at night. I've run across that a few times and it does piss me off that my safety has been put at risk for the safety of others, and that includes legal HID systems as they can be blinding as hell too.

I have found that wearing a white helmet has worked extremely well for day time visibility, probably made more difference that any added headlamp brightness would have as they are visible only from certain angles and a white helmet from all angles. Add a bright RED!!! bike to that white helmet, and you are about as visible as you can get during daylight hours. What colours are fire trucks? Red and white? I can honestly say I've been cut off once in 8 seasons...no high beams, stock head lamp.

I can sympathize with this well-written perspective. I've heard the above argument about factory HIDs on cars; both my cars as well as my wife's have them. I'm undecided regarding whether these lights dazzle the eyes during the night enough to be a hazard. But it is difficult to stare into the wife's car's headlamps when she pulls in at night. I don't think I'll be trying a retrofit of halogens and binning the factory HIDs however.

Jimmy boy

· #38 · Dec 1, 2012

I ride in the worst LA traffic all year long, so I can say when the time changes,gets dark early that it gets much more dangerous.... That said riding with high beams on has saved my life thousands of times from drivers that don't look or care! That also goes with H.I .D lights! It might annoye some drivers,but they do see me.....

Sent from my iPhone using Motorcycle.com Free App

SS904

· #39 · Dec 1, 2012 (Edited by Moderator)

kismetcapitan said:
1)
Give me a concrete example of someone who crashed a car and died because they were temporarily "blinded" by high beams.

Concrete proof that it hasn't? You're full of @#@# and yourself.

SS904

· #40 · Dec 1, 2012

Jimmy boy said:
riding with high beams on has saved my life thousands of times from drivers that don't look or care!

You can say that and believe its true if you normally ride with them on. Those of us who don't ride with them on all the time can say our asses has been saved thousands of times by being aware of traffic and everyone around us.

If a driver is not paying enough attention to see you, you are fooling yourself thinking that a brighter headlight or loud pipes are going to make any freaking difference. If you rely on that to be seen and expect drivers will react as you think they should, you're taking a hell of a risk. What kills on a bike more than anything is rider complacency. Period. To believe anything else is mental masturbation.

21 - 40 of 45 Posts

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