[jbardell]

Ok, so who's got the best light upgrade???

I am looking to upgrade my S2R light. Any recommendations on new bulbs or better yet, any good HID kits that work with the bike? I love HID!!! 8)

 

[Qfactor]

HID kits are very very tricky.

there are ton of knock-offs and/or kits that reuse questionable balasts/ignitors.

I would hunt down a used automotive OEM ballast and bulb kit from the bay (maybe local to you).


If you just want a better bulb, sylvania's are known as good and bright. I personally have had great experience with the phillips bulbs...

Q

 

[MNSTR620]

I had a good experience with www.buyhid.com. The motorcycle kits come complete and seem to be of good quality. I've had it on for a few months now and no problems as of yet.

 

[router.exe]

here's one option i'm seriously looking into http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/index.php?topic=59954.0

 

[Aguacate]

Is it true that HIDs will consume less watts than the OEM headlamp?

 

[test-reg]

Yes.

 

[Sivver]

Silverstars are good, especially the H4 bulbs used in the Monster. They don't look cheesy, and are actually considerably brighter. But they don't last very long, expect a season or so before they burn out.

Avoid CoolBlues, they are just regular halogen with blue tint added so they actually produce less light, and they look stupid. How many Hyundais do you see running around with them? Nuff said.

True HID kits draw around 35W, as opposed to 55W for a standard halogen. They also cost a lot and require some effort to install. Amperage change won't make much difference in a modern bike, but it is useful in an old Duc with substandard single-phase charging.

I'd personally stick to Silverstars, HID is a lot of money and trouble for looks alone.

 

[router.exe]

Avoid CoolBlues, they are just regular halogen with blue tint added so they actually produce less light, and they look stupid. How many Hyundais do you see running around with them? Nuff said.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on the cool blues producing less light, they actually produce a whiter light because of blue coating. same deal with HID they tend to have a more blue color temperature. I've been running different types of blue coated bulbs for the last 4 years and they make a hell of a difference. last 2years i've been running 90/100w blues in my car. i can tell you from first hand experience that these produce more/better light than a silverstar.

 

[Sivver]

I've used both in my last four bikes. Silverstars are better. Coolblues are a gimmick. Shine a light through a pair of tinted sunglasses - is it brighter because of the tint?

 

[router.exe]

with a 55/65w it'll be the same brightness as a regular 55/65, the difference is the color temperature. by adding the blue tint, you get a whiter light rather than a dull "yellow" light. i've run with piaa super plasmas which use blue glass and draw 55/65w and those made a great improvement over clear glass 55/65w. however, if you use bulbs with a more purple tint you run an even higher color temp, but actually wind up with less lumens. the piaa super plasma gt's made this mistake of using purple glass for the low beam which made it seem more dim than having the blue low beam. with HID you have to be carefull how high of a color temp you choose because the higher you go the less usefull the light it produces is.