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Post by ShakerNorm on Mar 19, 2011 19:45:39 GMT -5
Well - I haven't seen much info about these, but they look like the bomb for our old bikes. I'm going ahead with converting my 79 for an HID headlight setup, so you're invited to follow me along, if you're interested. The stock headlight was weak when they put it in (probably because the electrical system couldn't handle anything more powerful), but it's almost an embarrassment, now. I've converted every bulb on my old '79-2F0 to LED's, now, and I've also done PamcoPete's mods to my alternator (I'm running an Mopar-style VR) and bridge rectifier setup, so my alternator is now running pretty healthy. With a new wiring harness in the bike, I think the last improvement to make is a decent headlight so I can see where I'm going at night, as well as during the day. With the power that I've "saved" using LED's, I was confident it could handle a better headlight. I was so confident in the system that I plugged in a 55W/65W halogen headlight. What a difference from the old 40W/50W light that's been on it since I bought it 10 years ago..... But I ride on a dark highway at 1am - I wanted more light..... Now it's time to take care of that - since the halogen runs at 55W/65W, I'd love to drop the power consumption on the headlight, too. Looking into HID lights, there are several conversion systems out there but some can be VERY expensive - I saw one on BikerTV that was almost $900 for a SINGLE bulb - of course that was for a Hardley-D, but I didn't pay that much for my whole bike! I did find out that one of the guys I work with is a distributor for HID conversions here in town, and several guys in the shop have bought them and are quite happy with them. So after talking with him - it's $80 (Cdn), for a single system for a bike, but I have to supply the housing for an H4 style bulb. No problem - I'd MUCH rather have an H4 setup on the bike, anyway - I much prefer the light pattern that it affords - focusing the light on the road where I want to see it - and not in the eyes of oncoming drivers, where it creates a major hazard. After doing some looking around, I bought one from a dealer on EvilBay for $15. It is an H4 light, but with a "crystal" style lens, rather than the older prismatic style. I like the look, but you could use either. Here's what I bought, along with the original:  . Well, the diameter is the same, and the mounts and plugs are the same, but I may have a slight problem.....  When I compared the backside of the lights, I noticed that the H4 is considerably deeper than the original..... I'm not sure it's going to fit in my original (steel) headlight bucket, but I'll try it. If not - I bought another headlight bucket from an 82 - it's plastic, and has an extended back, so it should fit the light and all the original wiring that also has to fit in there. I'll let you know...... |
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Post by preston on Mar 19, 2011 20:40:57 GMT -5
Hey Shaker,,,
it case it come up,,,
I have this bulb in one bike:
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XS Performance
New super blue high intensity Halogen Bulb. 12V H4 60/55 Watt with P43T
Base. Produces a very pure bright white light. Same style as used in new
street bikes. Replaces Bulb in any of our halogen headlights. ( now 9 bucks)
and
7" Halogen Lamp Kit - Lamp unit with 12V 60/55 Bulb (P43T base) and bulb
dust boot. Replaces stock sealed beam. Fits into stock retainer of 74-84 XS/
TX 650 headlamp. XS1/XS1B/XS2/TX650(70-73) models must use #10-1156
"W" clip set and clip the lamp unit to the headlamp rim. (now 35 bucks)
=======
this come with a normal "white bulb".. not bluish hinge, like the other....
both are dynamite and about 8 times brighter than before, and so far, NO charging issues.
Preston
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Post by ShakerNorm on Mar 19, 2011 21:00:42 GMT -5
Cool Preston Just about anything is a big improvement from the stock light - But I'm still going to go with the HID. I did some research and found that the HID that I'm looking at is about 3X brighter than the 55/60W halogen bulb, and uses only 35 watts of power - half the power for 3 times the light - that's a great deal in my books...... Some people seem to think that the *K rating tells how much light that the bulb puts out - this is NOT the case. The COLOR of the light is measured in degrees Kelvin (*K). A Halogen light puts out a light that is about 3200*K. The HID that is closest to daylight is about 4000*K, 6000*K starts to look bluish, 8000*K is really blue - but actually puts out 28% LESS usable light because your eyes can't see it very well. There are even higher color temps, but they aren't very popular, because (as one site said) "you're bleeding grape juice from every orifice"..... Not really practical. One thing that has been found is the higher the color temperature, the less usable light there is.... An ultraviolet (or black light) bulb has a color temperature of 12,000*K. So I'm going to stick to something like a 4-6000*K setup. I did get the H4 to fit in my headlight bucket. It's a REAL tight fit, but it does fit..... But I'll have to mount the ballast somewhere besides inside the bucket. I'll probably put it beside my Boyer box inside the frame gusset at the front steering head of the bike. Not too far to move all the wiring, and still well protected. Here's how it looks with the new light:  |
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plattey
Full Member
1982 xs650sj
Posts: 233
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Post by plattey on Mar 20, 2011 16:54:19 GMT -5
Shaker,
How did you convert your turn signals to led's and retain the stock turn signal housing?
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Post by ShakerNorm on Mar 20, 2011 19:14:37 GMT -5
I just bought some 360* LED bulbs - I think they have 18 surface mount LED's or something like that. They fit in a standard 1156 base with no problem, and since they're actually smaller than an 1156, they fit the stock housing easily.
I had some 90* ones, earlier, but they couldn't take the vibration and didn't last long. These one's I found at the local bike show in January - $20 for a pair, so I hope they last longer than the last ones.
There's always some for sale on ebay, or several vendors online - Superbrightleds.com is where I bought the first ones I had, but I don't see that type there anymore, although they do have the SMT ones - with both 18 and 45 LEDs
Oh ya - you HAVE to have a flasher that will work with LED's - the standard one won't work with LED's at all. Found mine on ebay for around $10..... It even has an adjustable flash rate.
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Post by ShakerNorm on Mar 23, 2011 22:26:06 GMT -5
Well - I finally got the new HID setup from my friend - James at streamlinecustoms.ca. It's a great little kit (I got it for $60), but there are a couple little snags to deal with in our application. The worst is our dreaded little (literally) headlight bucket, that is already packed with almost every wire connector on the bike. Adding more stuff is NOT an option, especially since I have the already larger H4 halogen in there. The second snag is that the wiring in the kit is kind of short to deal with having to mount the ballast remotely. Since I'm planning on mounting the ballast inside the gusset (beside my Boyer box), I'll have to "stretch" the wires a bit. Luckily, I can deal with that by modifying the wiring myself with aircraft-type connectors. The kit also has a double-switch setup to change the position of the high/low/ground wires in case of non-standard headlight wiring - so I'll remove that, too, and save some room, and ensure that the switches don't get switched inadvertently. The biggest problem I've come across is that the kit does not have instructions - of any kind. In most applications this wouldn't be a big problem, since it is essentially plug-and-play, but in this case - it makes things a little more difficult, although not impossible by any means. A wiring diagram of the kit would be a GREAT help right now, but with some time, a meter, and some paper to write and draw on - I can make up my own wiring diagram. The rear of the bulb looks about the same depth as the original H4, but with the extra components, I may have to swap out for the late-model plastic headlight housing that I bought. I have already modified it and plugged the large hole directly in the back (as well as fixing a couple cracks I found), but as long as it holds the original hardware for the bulb, it should work great - after I finish the bodywork and get it painted. I'll leave the bottom hole for all the wiring to go through. There are good things about the kit, though. The wattage that the unit uses is just over half of what a halogen bulb uses - 35 watts compared to 60, and it pumps out 3200 lumens of light - more than 3 times what a halogen puts out (only 1000 lumens). It's also whiter (actually a tinge of blue), and the bulb is expected to last about 6 times longer (we'll see how long it lasts when subjected to a REAL vibration test......) I have some photos of the kit, but unfortunately, Photobucket doesn't like me at the moment, and I can't upload them. I'll post them ASAP...... |
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Post by ShakerNorm on Mar 24, 2011 17:58:11 GMT -5
I finally got Photobucket to cooperate - so here's the pics I took of the system - pretty simple really....  and here's what comes in side....  When it's all connected - there's only one thing to do - plug it into the 3-prong plug for your regular headlight, and it should work.....  Well - you may have to figure out which switch setup is right for the high and low beams, but that's about it...... What interests me is the fact that the bulb actually moves to change from low beam to high beam...... seems odd to me..... You can see the double-switch for adjusting to non-standard wiring (that I will check and remove), and the relatively short wire harness - that will have to be "stretched". Otherwise, it looks dead-simple - only one connection to the bike. And one reason that it uses so little power when it lights up - is that it runs at 23,000 volts! The transformer is the little box with the yellow printing on the label. The flat square box is the ballast. Of course, I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law, and that hasn't come into play, yet........ |
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Post by Chuckwagon on Mar 24, 2011 22:02:48 GMT -5
Sounds like a "brilliant" plan... sorry couldn't resist.
I've been thinking of going halfway there - installing a modern jeweled H4 lamp. I originally planned to find a SV650 light, but that's proven too expensive. So I'm thinking of getting a generic bucket, and I already have some universal ears that fit the forks. Do you remember the seller that you bought the jeweled lamp/lens from? I'd rather buy from a seller that someone has experience with. Several bad ebay experiences lately have me more cautious with my $.
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Post by ShakerNorm on Mar 24, 2011 23:46:41 GMT -5
Hey Chuck -
I got it from rimiinc on ebay - and even coming across the border, the shipment was pretty quick, and the shipping charges weren't stupid like some outfits charge. He's still got some up for sale there - Item number 270513156862. I paid less than $30 including S&H to Canada.
I did install the light with the bulb that came with it, and it's a HUGE difference from the old incandescent 40 watt..... MUCH brighter and clearer, but the plug is jammed up against the back of the bucket, and I don't think the HID is going to fit at all. I know I'm going to have to modify the wiring for it, anyway, so, since I have a larger (plastic) bucket, I'm going to modify it to what I want and use it, instead.
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Post by uwbernie on Apr 8, 2011 11:38:39 GMT -5
I've been thinking about doing this for a while now, but suspension was a bigger issue for me that I'm dealing with now.
Part of what makes your "bulb" so long is the little motor for hi/low in Ebay terms this is a Bi-Xenon kit. If you just want a low beam solution their should be no motor and it would be easier to fit.
I was also looking at getting a kit for a car and splitting the costs with someone as I would end up with 2 lenses and 2 HID kits. Just an idea
In any case, I'm very interested in how this all turns out
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Post by ShakerNorm on Apr 9, 2011 11:55:55 GMT -5
Unfortunately, my life turned upside down a couple weeks ago due to a couple deaths in the family, so my bike kind of got put on hold while I dealt with that. On the good news side - My sister is now having a big estate sale, and she's invited me to join in, so I can finally clean out my garage and have some room to work on the bike.
The weather here is finally starting to cooperate, and it looks like riding season is upon us, so today's plan will be some maintenance on the bike - oil change, check the timing chain and valves.... all that stuff that needs to be looked at on occasion...... I might even get a chance to look at the headlight.
I did notice that my "new" plastic headlight bucket may be mounted differently than the old steel one. I'll have to look into that and see what happens. If I have to, I may be able to get a friend to do some modification to the steel one.... rather than use the plastic one. We'll see....
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Post by superjet on Oct 15, 2012 12:07:53 GMT -5
Did any of you guys get a chance to try the HID kits on an XS yet? Would like to maybe attempt to do, but like you guys said up above that the bulb is pretty long for the jammed bucket. Cheers from Canada!!
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Post by xsleo on Oct 18, 2012 9:01:31 GMT -5
From what I understand about the HID lights is that they draw the 35 watts after they are up and running but to get them up and running there is a very high draw to get the transformer working.
Our stock systems may have a hard time with this initail draw.
A larger battery may help.
Leo
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Post by superjet on Oct 22, 2012 9:04:50 GMT -5
well I have upgraded to a gel battery and got a kit off ebay, but may or may not install if will harm what I have. I will review once package lands at my door and take it from there. Thanks!
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Post by xsleo on Oct 28, 2012 13:24:23 GMT -5
I upgraded to a better battery myself. I got one of the 8 cell Ballistic battery. Abouit half the size of the stock battery, puts out 275 cc's and weighs 1.7 lbs. The stocker has around 180-210 depending on brand. and weigh over ten lbs.
spins my 750 kitted engine great. The 30-50% more CCA's sure help.
Leo
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