What headlight bulb to buy?

[The General]

HID kits suck. IMHO 

How much did you pay for your kit Doug?

Ahaa...a little nibble at tha bait....as usual you are on the right track Ribbert. You may have noticed My statement says "HID kits"... not HID systems.  Genuine ones, engineered as HID headlamps and with legitimate bulbs and ballasts, are quite reliable. "HID
kits" are Chinese garbage. 

[FJSpringy]

HID kits suck. IMHO  

How much did you pay for your kit Doug?

Ahaa...a little nibble at tha bait....as usual you are on the right track Ribbert. You may have noticed My statement says "HID kits"... not HID systems.  Genuine ones, engineered as HID headlamps and with legitimate bulbs and ballasts, are quite reliable. "HID
kits" are Chinese garbage.  

Bugga and I asked Julia to pick you up one as a surprise  

[The General]

HID kits suck. IMHO  

How much did you pay for your kit Doug?

Ahaa...a little nibble at tha bait....as usual you are on the right track Ribbert. You may have noticed My statement says "HID kits"... not HID systems.  Genuine ones, engineered as HID headlamps and with legitimate bulbs and ballasts, are quite reliable. "HID
kits" are Chinese garbage.  

Bugga and I asked Julia to pick you up one as a surprise  

No Prob. All donations for the next chook raffle kindly accepted- Ummm... A Harley rider would very probly win it. (The Bar staff won two of the prizes at Bellingen - by sheer coincidence it wasn`t any of the FJ stuff  )

BTW I have yet to find a genuine HID system for the FJ that match it`s optic length & reflector for correct spread. (They don`t exist - Let alone the photon engineering required to get the High Beam /low Beam differentiation spot on) Don`t change the eyes of tha leopard, just make them healthier I reckon.

Note: HID kits (when working) give an illusion of brighter lights, as the immediate area in front of our bikes is indeed brighter. Shame it changes tha focal length of your pupils to compromise the important visuals further ahead. ...and, and and don`t whinge to me about glare for on coming traffic cause I couldn`t care less about them. (unless of course there administrators of justice) 

[SlowOldGuy]

Well, I guess it's true that "opinions" are like ass holes, everyone has one.  :-)

I put a cheap-shit Chinese HID kit in one side of my FZ1 headlight and it absolutely fucking ROCKS!

Been on there for at least 6 months and still works great.  It doesn't just give the "illusion" of more light, when it's on I can't even see the light from the other side which still has a halogen bulb in it. 

It lights up the road nicely and so far no oncoming driver has even flashed his light at me.  I get more flashes from the relay powered 80/100 bulb in my FJ.

DavidR.

[FJSpringy]

HID kits suck. IMHO  

How much did you pay for your kit Doug?

Ahaa...a little nibble at tha bait....as usual you are on the right track Ribbert. You may have noticed My statement says "HID kits"... not HID systems.  Genuine ones, engineered as HID headlamps and with legitimate bulbs and ballasts, are quite reliable. "HID
kits" are Chinese garbage.  

Bugga and I asked Julia to pick you up one as a surprise  

No Prob. All donations for the next chook raffle kindly accepted- Ummm... A Harley rider would very probly win it. (The Bar staff won two of the prizes at Bellingen - by sheer coincidence it wasn`t any of the FJ stuff  )

BTW I have yet to find a genuine HID system for the FJ that match it`s optic length & reflector for correct spread. (They don`t exist - Let alone the photon engineering required to get the High Beam /low Beam differentiation spot on) Don`t change the eyes of tha leopard, just make them healthier I reckon.

Note: HID kits (when working) give an illusion of brighter lights, as the immediate area in front of our bikes is indeed brighter. Shame it changes tha focal length of your pupils to compromise the important visuals further ahead. ...and, and and don`t whinge to me about glare for on coming traffic cause I couldn`t care less about them. (unless of course there administrators of justice) 

by the time of the next FJ rally I don't think Julia will be able to even get an invite to a cook raffle.

I will stick to using standard style up-rated same draw globes.

[rktmanfj]

I put a cheap-shit Chinese HID kit in one side of my FZ1 headlight and it absolutely fucking ROCKS!

DavidR.

David, which cheap-shit Chinese kit did you use?

Thanks in advance!       

[The General]

Well, I guess it's true that "opinions" are like ass holes, everyone has one.  :-)

I put a cheap-shit Chinese HID kit in one side of my FZ1 headlight and it absolutely fucking ROCKS!

Been on there for at least 6 months and still works great.  It doesn't just give the "illusion" of more light, when it's on I can't even see the light from the other side which still has a halogen bulb in it. 

It lights up the road nicely and so far no oncoming driver has even flashed his light at me.  I get more flashes from the relay powered 80/100 bulb in my FJ.

DavidR.

Nice to know it works on the FZ1...and very happy you have a back up Halogen next to it....One of mine lasted 12 months...luckily it stopped during the day time... I liked it too...but I`m illusional...

I gather you`re happy with your relay powered 80/100 bulb on your FJ?
 
My understanding is not many of the HID kits were too high above adjustment and some people like the extra foreground brightness, especially at low speed on country roads.
It will be interesting to know if the halogen light you replaced on the FZ1 has a longitudinal arc that runs front to back or uses a transverse filament. Globe position and design after the swap is also critical as is Lens and reflector engineering designed to maximise light spread to suit the Bike. The FJR lense seems to work well with the HID kit and appears to be reliable on Baldy`s water cooled relatively smoother machine - that also has another unit working beside it.. (Damm maybe I shoulda tried the HID kit after the Engine Mount fix...Naa...too dangerous to test the third kit IMHO)

It appears the exercise has lots of almost impossible variables to get it right, (besides the demonstrated reliability of chinese manufacture) and yes when I borrow somebody`s glasses cause I left mine on the Bar - despite a different focal length, they do get the job done - sometimes better..or is it only the  bigger writing that tricks me into thinking they`re better?... but long term, there`s nothing like my engineered glasses...especially when I`m half full - or half empty. 

[SlowOldGuy]

Randy,
I have no idea which cheap-shit Chinese kit it is.  The previous owner of the FZ gave it to me, the box return address is Hong Kong.  I do know that the easiest bulbs to install are the ones that separate from their base.  This allows the use of the factory retainer clip and the rubber boot.  I bought a kit from Cycle Gear (SpeedSteel?) and it is a one piece design the doesn't allow use of the rubber boot.

I have changed the bulb from a 4500K to a 6000K.  It throws a LOT of light down the road.  I kind of like running an HID and halogen because the difference in light output from the two bulbs helps attract attention.  I think it makes me more visible.

I just spent the afternoon rewiring the headlight on the '85 FJ.  Stupid low beam relay was intermittent.  Wanted to install an HID, but just had the Cycle Gear unit on hand.  Took the opportunity to add new relays and relay base connectors instead of a bunch of individual wires.  Much cleaner installation and easier to change relays in the future with the base connectors.  Looks like I'll be continuing with the 80/100 bulb for the forseeable future.

DavidR.