Ridin' Raoul Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I've been thinking about installing an HID low-beam on my R1150RT, and being that the low-beam just quit working (I'm hoping it's just the bulb), I figured now would be a good time. Does anyone know of any guides that would help with the installation on the RT? Will they play well with the RT's computer? How involved is it getting at the rear of the headlight? I've installed HID's on a couple of other vehicles, and it went pretty well, but don't know where to start on the RT... Any info would be great. Link to comment
mneblett Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Other than the cramped space to work in, it's easy. The hard part is finding a space to insert the ballast under the nose. FWIW, I removed the dashboard to access the area more easily. Link to comment
AndyS Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Fitting HID ti an 1150RT is a piece of cake. The Low beam bulb is removed and replaced with the HID unit. The Black plastic lamp cover is modified with to accept a grommet (which is generally on the loom which connects to the HID 'bulb'. The grommet keeps the integrity of the lamp housing dry. Th ballast fits nicely above the area occupied by the L/H speaker. The connector that used to feed the original Low beam now has a spade connector that takes the low beam power across to the HID driver unit. Now, for what it's worth I took that low beam supply and fed it through a switch so that I could switch off my low beam. Why? Well HID's are all well & good for a vehicle designed for it (with self levelling and ride height adjustment). But the R1150 doesn't have this. So when you open the throttle (even a tad), the beam rises and then blinds oncoming traffic. This is both antisocial and very dangerous. When moving in a run of traffic HID's are not required and you will be doing everyone a favour by switching them off and running on something a little less penetrating. So now I tend to run on my auxilliary lights unless I really need that extra light. A pair of additional (normal halogen) lamps are very worthwhile as the first step to seeing where you want to go, but without dazzling other road users. Andy Link to comment
Ridin' Raoul Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks for the info guys. I just ordered a set of HID's and they should be here in a few days. This will be my first time of removing any of the major panels so it should be quite a learning experience. Has anyone swapped-out the small parking light bulb with an led bulb? If so, did it cause any Canbus related problems? Link to comment
dirtrider Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Evening Rick Your 1150RT doesn't have a CanBus system. That was used on the later 1200RT's. Link to comment
Ridin' Raoul Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks for the info, D.R.. I guess I have a lot to learn about this beast... Link to comment
awagnon Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I installed an HID low beam somewhat like AndyS except I mounted the ballast in the space for the right side speaker and I did not put a switch on mine. I haven't been flashed by any cars, day or night. The light output is outstanding and the bulbs less likely to burn out. It isn't a difficult project. Link to comment
Twinsig Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Awagnon What brand did you buy? What temp? What would you do different, if anything? Link to comment
MichiganBob Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 My 02 suffered from a short in the headlight from using a higher wattage bulb that produced too much heat. I believe the design is faulty to begin with and I just helped it along with the higher temp bulb. With the help of Dirt Rider and others, I figured out a way to clear up the melted mess and run a separate ground wire directly to the battery. Then I installed a lower beam HID. What a difference. The light it produces is fabulous, I would say at least a 35% increase than the higher wattage bulbs I had in there. I recommend it. Would have to do some digging around to see what I put in there. There were a lot of choices and I just went with someone that had a lot of positive recommendations. I heard that you want to be a little careful about being too blue. Link to comment
Twinsig Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Still pondering on the Brand/Mfgr...looked at many suppliers but Im curious about low-cost (not over $100) unit failures/quality, etc.... Thanks Link to comment
MichiganBob Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 I will check what I bought. Very satisfied with it and it was reasonably priced. Link to comment
SteveHebert Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 1offmotorsports has a kit that used to sell for $89. Brian (Bfish) told me about it and I plan to get it when I get back. Link to comment
Twinsig Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 They went bust dude. Read about yana shiki, supposed to be a quality product but a little pricey, and after ohlins rebuild plus dual Russell seat I'm pinching pennies. Not to mention the DoD furlough. Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 Still pondering on the Brand/Mfgr...looked at many suppliers but Im curious about low-cost (not over $100) unit failures/quality, etc.... Thanks I've got 3 HID's running in different bikes from DDM Tuning They're almost plug-and-play, inexpensive and so far very reliable. They even sell them one at a time for motorcycles. I've got a 5k bulb that is fairly "white" but the 4.3k bulb should be close to halogen color. I have a yellow kit around here that I never installed, I think it's 3k. Nevertheless, their site should have all the descriptions. BEWARE: if you're the kind of rider that adjusts the headlight up so that the horizon is above eye level for oncoming cars or shines in the mirrors of the cars in front of you, then an HID kit is not for you. You will annoy other drivers to no end, and will likely trigger a high-beam flash from anyone oncoming. Link to comment
SteveHebert Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I just went to their site and saw that. I should have bought them earlier. I thought the furlough thing was not happening like reported. Sorry to hear that it is still in full force. No reason for that.....well no reason that we can discuss here Will look into the product Boney suggested. I love my motolights and have them on a switch. They were pricey though, even used. Link to comment
ESokoloff Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Hi Tom ....... inexpensive and so far very reliable. ....... Didn't you have an issue with the one on your RT? I don't remember if it was bulb or ballast. Link to comment
Twinsig Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 http://www.1tail.com/Yana_Shiki_USA/HID_Kits_&_Lighting/Universal_Yana_Shiki_HID_Kit_-_6000K_H7_Light_Bulb_-_White_-_HIDH7-6K/757981/ Have been eyeballing this one, one post i recently read, said it had been operating flawlessly for 2 years so far. Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Hi Tom ....... inexpensive and so far very reliable. ....... Didn't you have an issue with the one on your RT? I don't remember if it was bulb or ballast. Hi Eric! I did. It was an archaic (by comparison to new stuff) setup from somewhere else. It cost me a whole lot more too, and lasted at least 5 or six years. I suspect it was a bulb, but I had no way to get a new bulb for it. I turned to DDM Tuning on a tip from a friend. They sell spare bulbs for their kits too. I had to recover a bunch of files from backup not too long ago. Look what I found! Link to comment
ESokoloff Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Look what I found! Some things are best left lost Link to comment
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