| Author | Message | ||
     Iamarchangel |
So, with the daylight saving change, I'm driving in the dark more. I've got the stock lights on the 9R and there's a nice white crescent on the road in front of me. Inside the crescent is all darkness. I'm reading that the silverstars or the nighthawks are good. (HID is next summer, after new tires.) Which one would fill in the dark area best? What other brands are available? Any before/after pics? Who makes the stock bulbs, so I don't buy them again? | ||
| Rah7777777 |
spend the $100 and get the HID's now and never think about it again! The HID kit is my 3rd favorite mod so far, its just after the special ops pipe and the LED tail light (www.xblights.com) good luck! | ||
| Froggy |
You will want H7 bulbs, not H3!  | ||
| Wantxbr |
Froggy he has a Firebolt not a lightning. Lightning uses the H7 Bulbs. The stock bulbs are just standard H3 bulbs. Have you tried the Silver Star bulbs yet? There a bit brighter than stock. I also modified my spoons inside the headlight assembly to allow more light through. I completely removed the High Beam Spoon and ground down the outer edges of the Low Beam. I wouldn't have done this with the new Headlight assemblies if they performed well enough but they suck and also they are already loosing the reflective coating. Only had these things for about four months. Cheap cr@p they are. I also added relays to the headlights which helped add some more light. Before anyone assumes the Silver Stars and the relays caused the Coating to start to deteriorate, it was doing this before any mod was done to my headlights. I had a HID assembly installed when I noticed this. And no I don't think the HID caused it either. I think these Headlights just suck @$$. I've been trying to find a bolt in replacement that will last but havn't found anything that will work as of yet. (Message edited by Wantxbr on November 08, 2008) | ||
| Froggy |
Learn something new each day, never heard H3 before. As for deterioration, even my Lightning housing is partly deformed. I noticed when I was putting in a HID kit. Also to note, most HID kits will run cooler than halogen bulbs, because most HID kits are 35 watts vs 55 of the Halogen. Get 50 watt HID kit to melt the plastic bumper on the car in front of you | ||
| Wantxbr |
H3's are very common bulbs in Fog light assemblies. These are the new Headlights that were recalled this Summer and from what I understand aren't supposed to be doing this anymore but what ever nothing is perfect. (Message edited by Wantxbr on November 08, 2008) | ||
| Petebueller |
Even with better bulbs and relays the Firebolts that don't get the recall don't light up well because the cutout is pretty severe. If you can get the recall it is supposed to make a big difference. Kangaroos are active at night, so I fitted the Hellas. I plan to pull the plate out and have it drawn up so others can do it.  (Message edited by PeteBueller on November 08, 2008) | ||
| Petebueller |
I couldn't get two pics in the same post tonight. Here is the plate. The relays mount neatly into the webbing on the fairing mount.  | ||
| Wantxbr |
I like the Hellas but don't like the idea of having to cut my fairing. | ||
| Chainsaw |
I'm reading that the silverstars or the nighthawks are good. I'm a big fan of the SilverStars. Much improved quality of light, closer to a daylight spectrum than the yellow tinted OEM. I've been running them on both my bikes for years, and am very happy with them. | ||
| Petebueller |
Only the low beam hole was cut for mine Wantxbr, and the idea is that version 2 will fix that. The bolt holes for both beams were placed symmetrically on the plate, but the low beam wouldn't come into adjustment, so a small amount was removed from the upper left part of the hole in the fairing. Moving the holes down and in by a few mm will fix that. | ||
| Wantxbr |
Pete are those the 90MM Hellas your running? If that's all that needs to be done, then that's not bad at all. Also I do have the New Headlight Assemblies, and they still suck. Not so bad now but still would like more light. Every other bike on the road has brighter lights than mine. My Dynaglides light was twice as bright has these are on my Firebolt. You still plan on drawing up the mounting plate? Please post it up if you are, and where did you pick up your Hella setup?Thank You in advance! | ||
| Petebueller |
They are the 90mm Hellas Wantxbr. I had the plate made up by a fitter while I was away and could have the bike off the road. It cost a bit but for me worth every penny. The job wont't be done until it fits without a fairing mod. What I intend to do is draw it up, fix it, have 10 plates made and publish the template on the forums. The 10 will be to get a low cost for any who just want to buy it. I'm not expecting to recover development cost, just the production cost. The template download will be free but conditional on the person making only one from the drawing. If I'm making a few to help people out I don't want to be be stuck with them because I am competing against mass production. I don't expect a lot of riders to take the plates. I've had my licence suspended so I have time to tidy up a few things, this being one of them. Mine are the H7 reflector versions. The low beam is pretty bright. I'm going to check out H8 units, initially with 55W high beam and 35W high bright low. I'm currently running a 35W HID high beam primarily to take it easy on the charging system. (I have aftermarket heated grips and these put me near the charging limit). I'm not happy with the HID, so I'd prefer to go back to halogen, and this H8 solution has the same max current draw. www.rallylights.com has good info and good prices on the Hella units. Pete | ||
| Mikef5000 |
You're the first person I've EVER heard say they aren't happy with HID's. | ||
| Froggy |
Thats BS, what grips suck up 200 watts? | ||
| Petebueller |
The light from the HID is good. I don't like the delay as they warm up. If they are warm when you dip and go high you don't get that, but they cool after a pretty short period on low. Even newer ballasts can't help because it is the bulb that needs to heat. If I flash my high quickly it sets up an EMF that crashes the speedometer. After 15 mins with the ignition off it starts working again. Probably something that can be fixed, but I'm thinking of a system that runs high beam with low power when low is on so I get twin lights. I can't do this with an HID. After fitting the Hellas and the heated grips (95+) I took it to a motorcycle autoelectrician to see if I could run a higher wattage globe for high beam. He checked the output of the alternator and regulator and said that with high beam and the grips I was running at around limit the bike could handle without stressing the charging system. This guy has a good reputation, and I'll take his word for it. I fitted the HID to get more light with lower current draw. |
