| Author | Message | ||
     Corporatemonkey |
Well I finally acquired a new xb9sx (Kick Ash of course). I took it out this evening for its first ride, boy this is a fun bike. With all of the torque why did they bother with a transmission? -joking of course... Now for my first mod... The headlights must go. I really feel that for safety I must upgrade to HID. Here where I am asking for help. I have searched most of the HID related posts. For those of you who have made the jump (looking in Fullpowers direction). Would you just upgrade just the low beam, or would you upgrade both? I is not really a $ limitation, but a space limitation that concerns mean. I emailed Steve over a xenondepot asking about ballast size, and cable length. Here is the response I got: Thank-you for contacting XenonDepot. As per your email: 1) The ballasts used in our automotive kit will have approx 1 foot of slack between the bulb and the ballast whereas the ballast used in our Motorcycle kit will have approx 6 feet of slack between the bulb and the ballast. This will make for an easier installation due to the fact that you have more flexibility in terms of where you can mount the ballast. 2) Ballast is approx 3"x 4" x .8" Now since I have had little time to tear into my bike to find hidey holes for the ballast. Any suggestions from the veterans? Behind flyscreen? Any assistance would be great. J | ||
| Bazzy |
Right above the rear wheel in the tail section. I think there's a few empty spots around where the subframe attaches to the frame. You could put them in the air filter compartment. They aren't too big, shouldn't affect the intake whatsoever | ||
| Bazzy |
BTW what kit are you looking at? Since we have reflector housings, slapping an HID kit inside them will just produce large amounts of glare and hot spots on the ground. The only true way to go HID is retrofit a pair of projectors in the housing. It would have to be a custom job, but it would eliminate blinding oncoming traffic (not the best idea on a bike) and transmit the most light possible onto the road evenly. | ||
| Diablobrian |
aerostitch.com has a plug and play hid lamp and ballast set-up. I have been considering it, but haven't taken the leap. http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/HID-Headlight-Conversion-Kit-p-18322.html It should be easy to stash the relatively small ballasts. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Bazzy, Thanks for the idea of using the airbox, but how dirty does the airbox area get? As for what kit. I have done a lot of research on HID. Most of the early HID (read: ebay) kits are just components that have been thrown together. No doubt a good % are stolen parts... If you use an adapter kit to make an HID bulb fit a halogen light housing you will end up with serious glare. The bulb will be no where close to its intended position within the housing. Now if you use a properly rebased kit, this problem is greatly reduced. Most competent companies use laser mounting equipment to ensure proper aim. The only problem left is proper beam cutoff. I figure with the half moon bit in the low beam this will solve itself. Anyways I consider a little glare a good thing. I it makes me better seen. Since this bike is so quiet, and I plan to keep it that way I won't have a pipe to announce my presence. I looked at the aerostich kit a while ago. They seem to have put together an alright kit (not really great). First they are using 8300k bulbs. This is way to purple in color. You want nothing higher than 5000k. All factory kits (BMW, Audi, Lexus, etc...) are 4300k. Now I am not bashing aerostich, I have a one piece suit on order. I have read good reviews from others that have used xenondepot.com You just have to make sure you get a kit that will use genuine Philips bulbs and ballasts. I have heard too many horror stories about McCullochs (sp?) ballasts. Their quality control is/was less than ideal. A lot of McCullochs kits are being relabeled to avoid the stigma. One other question, what is the easiest way to force both low and high lights on when using high beam? I tried the switch in the middle trick. It wouldn't stay very long. J | ||
| Jhanz |
CorporateMonkey, I'm on my second week with my Kick Ash City-X and I'm digging it. I have 640 miles on so far. I put the Corbin seat on...and man...what a difference. I feel much more secure at speed with the Corbin, and the bike responds better to body movement due to the Corbin being more firm than the stock seat. Besides that, it looks so much better - I highly recommend it! It took a little work to get the Corbin mounted right, but well worth it. I am planning on getting an extended flyscreen in the near future, to help with the wind blast at highway speeds, and also adding a right-side air scoop. Good luck with the bike! | ||
| Ulendo |
corporatemonkey - not trying to be a smart a$$, but what are the police like in your area for inspections, and equipment checks? reason I ask is around here lights, and light AIM are both currently being actively pursued due to too many people with illegal strength and/or mis-aimed headlights. they're considered a driving hazard for blinding other drivers at night, and there are a couple of legal cases pending where accidents have been blamed on another drivers lights. be a major PITA to spend $$$ on a project, only to get a ticket, and forced to remove it. ( around here, a vehicle has to pass a provincial inspection if busted for equipment infractions, which means you cant just get a buddy to rubber stamp it) just a heads up / poser | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Ulendo, I live in Seattle where very little ever gets noticed... Actually it is a downfall of living here. At least I am trying to be responsible. Most people could care less, ie driving an SUV with low tire pressure, high beams on, talking on a cell phone, all the while attempting to run down a cyclist. Not that I'm angry about it... On a serious note, as long as you don't do something really stupid most local cops are understanding, decent people. I ran very illegal window tinting for years on my car, I even got pulled over a few times. As long as you weren't what the fuzz was looking for, nothing happened. Not even a comment. As for HID on the bike I am starting to lean toward only upgrading the low beam. I will run the low beam ~90% of the time. It will just look a little strange when the high beam is on (color off). | ||
| Old_man |
Do the HID produce more heat than the standard bulbs? If so, beware, the standard bulb melted the plastic lens on my bike. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Actually they produce less heat. they only use 35w when warmed up. Of course the startup phase uses more amps. Some of the newer ballasts draw less amperage during the startup phase then older kits. This allows you use stock wiring. There seems to be very little downside to HID except cost. |
