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HID lights for $110.99


Jerry Duke

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steve.foote

Jerry, I can't find the thread, but someone posted a while back about having trouble with this particular company. I believe that in the end, he got his money back, but never saw the lights.

 

Found it, here's the thread.

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RBertalotto

Do a search for Trail Tech....They have great HID lights for $109 each. I have them on my V Strom and they work great.

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I like those lights...

 

I wonder if I would cook my wires if I hooked up these with my PIAAs on my running light wire.

 

35w X 2 = 70w; 55w X 2 = 110w (+70w)=180w plus the little light (?)

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I like those lights...

 

I wonder if I would cook my wires if I hooked up these with my PIAAs on my running light wire.

 

35w X 2 = 70w; 55w X 2 = 110w (+70w)=180w plus the little light (?)

 

I believe you have a 700W alternator on the R1150RS. I doubt that would strain it too much. The wiring kit should have it's own harness and go direct to the battery so that really wouldn't compromise your bike's wiring I wouldn't think.

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Back to the CQ HID conversion kit for the moment; I gave Jerry the link the day after an LT rally at which I observed an LT list member install this plug-and-play conversion.

 

It appears that someone on this list had a problem with CQ lighting; I just wanted to point out that several folks on the LT list (BMW Luxury Touring, www.bmwlt.com) have purchased kits from this company and report good results. If you are interested, you may want to browse the LT forum for more details.

 

Besides the extraordinarily reasonable cost, the factor that impressed me most was that the conversion plugs right into existing connectors, and it is easy to convert back to stock halogen. Depending on the installation you may be able to switch back on the side of the road.

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I like those lights...

 

I wonder if I would cook my wires if I hooked up these with my PIAAs on my running light wire.

 

35w X 2 = 70w; 55w X 2 = 110w (+70w)=180w plus the little light (?)

 

I believe you have a 700W alternator on the R1150RS. I doubt that would strain it too much. The wiring kit should have it's own harness and go direct to the battery so that really wouldn't compromise your bike's wiring I wouldn't think.

 

I have them grounded to the battery and hooked up to the parking light, so it's on the key switch (and they have their own switch) I don't want to forget they're on during the day

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  • 2 weeks later...
Jerry Duke

UPDATE

With the help of my RIGHT hand man, Jim Connelly, we installed the H1 kit in my low beam. It took longer to remove and replace the plastic on my S than it did to install the kit (time taken to buy unplanned supplies doesn't count...)

The difference is amazing. The kit appears to be top quality, and the packaging it also top notch. Everything comes in a styrofoam package and the light is enclosed in a foam rubber and plastic protective tube.

The kit comes with a grommet so everything can be unplugged and the old H1 bulb plugged in and everything is back to original, no cutting or splicing. Jim came up with the idea of using short sections of wiring to pass through the grommet to accomplish this.

I'm so impressed with the kit and the results, I'm going to install one in my high beam next.

So far, I'd rate this a #1 upgrade option.

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. . . UPDATE I'm so impressed with the kit and the results, I'm going to install one in my high beam next.

So far, I'd rate this a #1 upgrade option.

 

Congratulations! Sounds like a great installation and a heck of a bargain!

 

Heads up: HID bulbs won't instantly ignite unless the ballast has been charged within the last few minutes. If you need to flash your high beams and you've haven't turned on your HID's recently, your HID's will not instantly ignite. The ballast will need to charge for a second or two before the HID bulb will ignite. Just something to keep in mind if you use HID's on your high-beams.

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I plan to install the cqlights.ca automotive H7 kit on my R1200RT since it requires two H7s on low beam. I believe that the standard wiring will support the HID units since they consume about 40% less power in normal use. I know the start up draw is higher, but I am hopeful that it will work. The cost is under $200 for the car system that includes two units. I should know if it will work in about 10 days.

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Jerry Duke

More like 3 seconds to full power. You still get a quick flash, it's not a full power flash.

 

Heads up: HID bulbs won't instantly ignite unless the ballast has been charged within the last few minutes. If you need to flash your high beams and you've haven't turned on your HID's recently, your HID's will not instantly ignite. The ballast will need to charge for a second or two before the HID bulb will ignite. Just something to keep in mind if you use HID's on your high-beams.

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Jerry Duke

They sure are. As I've said before, the fit and quality is quite a bit more than I really expected for the price.

Installation is a snap and they are truely "plug and play".

I can pull the HID bulb, plug in the H1 (low beam), and move two clips and I'm back to original lights.

 

Are they truly HID lights?
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I did install an automotive H7 5000K kit(Low beams require 2 H7 units) from cqlights on my R1200RT. ($214 w/shipping) I used the space for the speakers on each side for the ballast and igniter, although there are other alternatives since the wires are long enough to move the units around. I cut the power wire and eliminated the fuse from each side since the RT doesn't need it. I will be able to switch back to halogen if necessary, since I simply plugged into the headlight plug inside the headlight assembly. I am using the stock headlight wiring and it seems to be working fine. The beam pattern also seems to be OK. The stock parking lights appear to be candles next to the HIDs. I received the product in only two days even though I hit the wrong state by accident when ordering. Quite satesfied so far.

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Frankie Bones

Great and very helpful thread about HID for bikes. We are currently evaluating which ones are the best, and then adding them to our shop's inventory.

 

If anyone has any horror or success stories on this topic, please let us know. You will remain confidential. Email me at sales@bmwmocs.com

 

The distinction might be that your identity was "verified", but your address was not "confirmed" to that identity, which is easy to fix in the States, but I am not sure in CA.

 

This happens to us all the time. Often we won't ship to an unconfirmed addresses either. However, if your identity is "verified", and your address is the same address as you have in your PP profile, then we will ship if you give us a phone number so we can check you out.

 

The Seller should have been able to immediately refund you your money. It's simply a matter of clicking on a button in the same email that they recieved your payment. Not cool!

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With HID on both low beams, can you even tell when you turn on the high beam? Also, have you gotten any "error" messages due the high initial voltage then a much lower than normal continuous voltage? tks,

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I've had both low and high beam HIDs (from XenonFactory.com) on my R1100S for many years now. I agree with Jerry that this is my #1 upgrade.

 

I'm taking delivery of my R12RT on Saturday, and I'm planning on putting HIDs for the low beam. Since I really only use the high beam for flash-to-pass, I'm replacing the stock bulb with an Osram Silverstar. This way I don't have to deal with the "warm up" time.

 

Wes Hsu

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I've had both low and high beam HIDs (from XenonFactory.com) on my R1100S for many years now. I agree with Jerry that this is my #1 upgrade.

 

Same here (HIDS, XenonFactory, R1100S, #1 upgrade), except I haven't had mine for years -- yet.

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No error messages, the low beams switch off when I go to high beam, which is a different color, but the beam pattern is aimed further out. The 5000K HID low beams make me a bit conspicuous, even during the day which I think is an asset. They are very powerful.

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Do you have any problems with the bulb out indicator coming on? Someone else told me that when they installed HID lights on their 12 RT the bulb out light came on because the computer sensed that the draw was less than expected.

 

I did install an automotive H7 5000K kit(Low beams require 2 H7 units) from cqlights on my R1200RT. ($214 w/shipping)
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I have no problems with warning indicators, probably because I used the stock wiring to power the lights. I think those who have used a relay with direct battery power get the warning signal since the relay draws so little it seems like a headlight is out. The HIDs use about 40% less power in operation, but that seems to satesfy the CANBUS system.

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I missed this on my first run through this. On my RT with the stock lighting the low beams stay on when I go to high beam. You are saying yours don't stay on? Doesn't this leave a pretty dark hole in the near field? My understanding is the low beams are still needed with the high beam in order to fill in things in closer to the bike.

 

No error messages, the low beams switch off when I go to high beam, which is a different color, but the beam pattern is aimed further out.
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You are absolutely right, I didn't notice in the short time since I rarely use the highbeam and I have not used the bike much at night since the retrofit, the HID low beams stay on when you switch to high beam.

 

As to a headlight modulator, I would guess that the HID arc would not act like a filament, plus the transformer/ignitor may not be happy with a modulator, But I don't know for sure.

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sisu, the light bulbs are each inside a weather proof compartment that is sealed with a ~4 inch jar lid cover. Did you put the complete "plug-n-play" kit inside each compartment. If you mounted the ballast outside the compartment, how did you get the wires into the compartment? Thanks,

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The kit comes with a gromet that already has the igniter wires running through it, it also has provision for two additional wires to be inserted in it. I cut a hole through the removable cap and installed the gromet with the igniter wires, then I cut the kit power wires with the tabs that you insert into the stock headlight plug(also removed the fuseholder). I inserted the cut wires through the gromet, soldered and shrink wrapped them back together again. This operation can be done on the bench. Then I simply inserted the tabs into the stock headlight power plug inside of the cluster and installed the HID bulbs, and reinstalled the cover on the back of the cluster. I also sealed the grommet with additional silicone sealer. To revert back to stock lights, you would simply remove the cover, unplug the HID, remove the HID bulb and insert a standard H7, and reinstall the headlight plug.

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I should also have said that the Ballast and Igniter are mounted outside of the cluster. I put them where the speakers would normally go, I was able to modify the bracket that comes with the kit and bolt them on one end and also tywrap them for more support on the other. I used a kit supplied piece of stickum to put the ballast and Igniter together. The wires are long enough to mount these pieces elsewhere, probably in the center, behind the cluster.I took a few pictures, but the files are to big to attach them to this post.

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  • 1 month later...

I bought a set based off what I saw on this post for my R1150GSADV... can you maybe set up a forum for the install and include the pics (then maybe we can get it at the advrider.com website to share as well!)? I have had it for 2 months and have not had the balls to install since I am confused what is the best way?

 

Also, if you install with stock wiring, when you hit the starter button, the power to your headlights is cut so the starter motor gets full power of the battery to aid in the starting effort. So, if this is the case, does the HID get fired up with the key put on, then killed for the start proceedure, then started up again? How does it fare in this effort? Is this cause extraordinary wear and tear on the product I wonder?

 

Thanks for the advice Gents!

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Also, if you install with stock wiring, when you hit the starter button, the power to your headlights is cut so the starter motor gets full power of the battery to aid in the starting effort. So, if this is the case, does the HID get fired up with the key put on, then killed for the start proceedure, then started up again? How does it fare in this effort? Is this cause extraordinary wear and tear on the product I wonder?

 

I installed these same HIDs (low beam only) in my R12RT. I'm going to assume all CAN-BUS bikes operate like mine...the headlights do not get power until you start the engine, so they only fire up once. But, on my R1100S (with dual HIDs), the HID would fire up, then cut out when you started the engine, and fire up again. I didn't have any issues with the HIDs even with the added wear.

 

Having said that, I'm having an issue with my lights. 8 of out 10 times, I start the engine and the HIDs fire up, but one will cut out. The info panel will tell me a bulb is out. I cut the power, restart the engine, and all is good. I don't think it's a faulty ballast, since it's random as to which one will cut out, and after the second restart, they stay on. I'm guessing it has to do with the CAN-BUS. I'll have to check the wiring the next time I pull the tupperware off.

 

I mounted the ballasts and igniters near the turn signals/side mirrors. I wanted to keep the speaker areas clear in case I wanted to mount speakers later.

 

The installation was very straightforward. It was plug and play. I did drill an extra hole near each headlight to run the extra cables (through a grommet for weather protection) into the headlight assembly.

 

On the R1100S, the installation was even easier, since the headlight "cap" was just a big rubber cap, so I didn't have to cut any holes.

 

Wes Hsu

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  • 1 month later...

I just bought the http://www.cqlight.ca/ H7 light for my 1150rt. The ballast is little big, but it fit nicely under the head of the frame just behind the steering tube - it's hollow under there. I tie wrapped the igniter onto part of the mounting plate I use for my PIAA 1100x lights.

 

It is brighter than the PIAA xtreme white or the SilverStar H7, and almost makes the low beam on the rt useable. But I still need the PIAA 1100x's and the fog lamps still fill out the beam pattern. So it's more light than before but it won't replace supplemental lighting. Installation took me about 2 hours with double stick tape and big assortment of tie wraps.

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I am interested in getting this set up for my 2000 RT. Here is a stupid question, according to their chart, the 6500k is bright white and the 8000k is a blueish white: which is going to be a better all-around light? I want to have more light for I live in a rural area with a lot of deer, but I don't want to increase the reflections on wet pavement. Will the 8000k be better for that? I have no experience driving with HID lights in a car or otherwise.

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Welcome to the forum, Bill.

 

I'd be interested to see the light pattern for your low beam, when it's projected on a wall.

 

The stock headlight with an H7 bulb generates a pattern like this:

http://bmwsporttouring.com/files/730664-hl_aim.jpg

 

Note the sharp upper edge (which is mostly horizontal but with a peak on the right half). That sharp upper edge is intended to concentrate the light just below the eyes of oncoming drivers.

 

I'd guess that with a different-length bulb situated in the same reflector, you're not going to get that same pattern. I'm just wondering what pattern you do get.

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With anything above 6500K, you'll be mistaken for a "ricer" by uncoming traffic. grin.gif

 

Good point!

Doesn't answer my question but still, damn good point!

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hi rags: a TRUE hid bulb will only draw about 2 amps. amps are what will cook your wires. the hid bulb not only uses a ballast but also has a voltage monitoring computer of sorts. when lit the hids operate at about 70-90 volts.

But i get the feeling when reading this thread that alot of folks are being mislead by savey bulb makers. Bottom line. if a co. sells you a hid and it has a wire fillament you just got ripped off. an hid uses a gas plasma capsule. that's why true hid bulbs cost $120.00 each. wink.gif

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hi rags: a TRUE hid bulb will only draw about 2 amps. amps are what will cook your wires. the hid bulb not only uses a ballast but also has a voltage monitoring computer of sorts. when lit the hids operate at about 70-90 volts.

But i get the feeling when reading this thread that alot of folks are being mislead by savey bulb makers. Bottom line. if a co. sells you a hid and it has a wire fillament you just got ripped off. an hid uses a gas plasma capsule. that's why true hid bulbs cost $120.00 each. wink.gif

 

I got the Trailtech MR16s that their site says are 30W & 1850 Lumens each. I frankly don't know what any of that means but the lights are great.

 

smile.gif

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I'll try to attach the pic. This is taken ~30ft from the garage door with just the low beam on. Unfortunately I didn't take a 'before' picture, but this is much brighter than the halogen Silver Star or PIAA Xtreme White.

748992-low_res.thumb.jpg.078c8f453e2fda694771b57ed0d9c821.jpg

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I got the Trailtech MR16s that their site says are 30W & 1850 Lumens each. I frankly don't know what any of that means but the lights are great.

 

smile.gif

 

Watts = a measure of how much energy the bulb uses.

Lumens = a measure how much light the bulb produces.

 

Next time you're in Home Depot or similar store, take a stroll thru the light bulb section and compare halogens to normal incandescent bulbs. For the same amount of energy (watts) you'll typically find a significant increase in the amount of light (lumens).

 

A well designed HID will have much increased efficiency over halogens. Since most laws for motor vehicle headlamps specify a maximum number of watts for the bulb it allows one to run some pretty bright HID's (read: lotsa lumens). Another feature of the HID is the light beam is highly focused which puts all those lumens to work when aimed properly - and also do an excellent job of blinding oncoming traffic when aimed too high. One other notable trait of HID's - they typically are much hotter than halogens which make them less effective in fog and snow as the white (blue) light reflects back and tends to blind the driver more than a cooler (yellow or amber) light.

 

Cheers,

Greg

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Thanks for the great information. I went on the site listed in this thread and they do not list lumens, only temperature in K. How does that relate, are they all the same intensity just different colours of light?

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I get to answer my own question!

 

Found this on the web and just thought I would share...

 

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/DrivingLights.html

 

"Fog lights are designed much like wide-angle lights, but also have color filters that cut out the green, blue, and violet portions of the spectrum, leaving only the reds and yellows. Blue light scatters almost immediately in fog, producing a blinding glare that prevents you from seeing anything else."

"Red, orange, and yellow light penetrates fog far better than blue light. This is the same effect as the one which makes the sky appear blue and sunsets appear red. Blue light scatters 16 times as much as red light in atmospheric water, and red light penetrates 16 times as far. Orange or yellow wide-dispersion fog lamps can dramatically increase your range of vision in fog. Red lights would be best for this purpose, but it's illegal (and stupid) to put red lights on the front of your vehicle."

 

Just thought I would pass it along... Hope it helps.

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I also installed these on my R1200RT. The failed startup has only happened a few times for me, only on cold starts where the engine bogs for a few seconds. In 8,000 miles, only happened 5/6 times. Clearly the HIDs need all the volts/amps they can get to get started.

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I have now seen that the HID cuts out right after I start the engine and I do something that requires any decent current. In my case, I would always tap the brake (backing out) within the first 5 seconds or so of starting the engine. I now start the engine before I put on my helmet/gloves. This seems to give the bike enough time to top off the battery. The first time I noticed this was when I accidentally left my heated grips on, but I didn't think much of it at the time.

 

I do find it a hassle, since the HIDs on my R1100S never gave me any problems. Then again, it didn't have these evil servo brakes. But, I wouldn't trade these HIDs for anything. It's the first upgrade I'd do to any future bike.

 

Wes

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