[KenCrawleySC]

Guys: this company has a new ballast that should be small enough to fit inside our Rune headlight assembly. It is 2.25 x 2.25 x 1 inch in size. It connects to the HID bulb, which directly goes into the original H7 socket.

The company will give us a set of discounts on a volume purchase:
> 10 lamps: 25% off
> 20 lamps: 30% off

http://www.hidexpress.com/index.asp?Pag ... ategory=10

http://www.hidexpress.com/index.asp?Pag ... stom&ID=88

I previously posted that the HID replacement was too big. That is true, my ballasts for my engine guard mounted Hella Micro DE Xenon HID spotlamps are 4 inches by 2 inches!! With this new small one, we can now blast out the photons with our headlight.

So. I am taking a list. Who is interested in replacing one or both (if there is room) of our H7 lamps?? KenCrawleySC

 

[musclemike]

HID

Hey Ken, I'm in for 2 if they will fit I also will need someone to hold my hand in the replacement I can wing it with nuts & bolts but me & electricity have a deal I don't mess with it & it doesn't curl my hair Thanks Mike

 

[E-Z Chuck]

are we thinking two bulbs/ How about the heat in that small headlight housing?

 

[KenCrawleySC]

Heat: the HID system uses HALF the energy of Quartz Xenon. The website shows them turning on the H7 bulb, and dumping it into a fish tank. The bulb does not break because it runs so cool.

 

[RuneMan]

Ken:

Maybe the company that you plan to deal with would ship one unit to one of us first so that we could confirm that the ballast will fit into the lamp assembly before we order in bulk.

If the fit is proper and it works OK I would like to convert both the high and low beams.

 

[RuneMan]

Ken:

What is the status of this thread? Do we know if the ballast will fit into the headlight assembly? Are we moving forward with a discounted purchase? :?: I really think that the Rune needs added lighting on the front.

 

[KenCrawleySC]

Status

I plan this evening to take my corbin faring off so I can get to the top of the headlight. I cut a bar of soap to the dimensions of the ballast. So, this thread is ACTIVE and the ball is in my court to figure out if there is room. these lights are fabulous. I have noticed that more people in intersections give me room and acknowledgement due to my dual lights on the engine guards. A brighter headlamp will be great as well. (NO, dont use phasers!! Fire Photon Torpedoes Instead! Star Trek)

 

[zero2sixty]

HID lights

hey gang realize that our headlight bulbs in our bikes are both 55 watts the bright lights are the same as low beam just a smaller diffuser if you wil
........the heat will be alot less but i called the company on the link ....and i probably didnt get the brightest bulb at the shop.... as he kept refering my bike as a car ...... ok sure its big but comon ! i was trying to ask him if there would be a problem with turning on the key .....light ignites.....the pushing the start button lights out momentarily(sp)..then on again suddenly hmmmmmmmmmm would it be to much for the ignighter? i will call again to ask the question
mike in miami

 

[KenCrawleySC]

I have my dual HID lights connected to the battery, with the relay getting its signal from the headlight fuse. As soon as I turn on the key, the HID lights blast their blue light out at 186,000 miles/sec. When I hit the starter button, they do not blink at all, while the headlight DOES blink.

I was talking with "Leslie Cheung" a chinese sounding dude, and he knows the score that we are riding motorcycles, not cars. That is why they developed the smaller ballast.

Again, if 10 or more kits are ordered, we all get 25% discount
Greater than 20 units, we all get a 30% discount, which makes the lights very competitive. Remember, I paid $1,000 for my dual HID assemblys (which are made of magnesium and are complete light units. What we are talking about in this string are H7 lamp replacements (bulb).

 

[motorman857]

H7 Headlight Replacement

I would like the headlight replacement bulb. How much are they?

 

[KenCrawleySC]

I measured the available space for the HID replacement bulb. There IS NO ROOM to install the ballast and ignitor! Rats! I guess I will stick with the PIAA H7 bulb :evil: :x Hmm, my Volvo uses H7 bulbs.... The lights will be around $230 each.

 

[RuneMan]

Ken:

Not having room for the ballast in the head light assembly is disappointing.

Do you think that there might be an external location where maybe just one could be mounted, say behind the radiator or between the radiator and cover? Looking at the service manual it appears that the two radiator coils are rectangular in shape while the cover has curvature. There should be some room between the two.

Has anyone here had the radiator covering off of their bike? If so please comment?

Another possible location could be behind one of the chrome covers under the fuel tank that cover the fuel injectors and the reserve tank for the cooling system.

Of course the length of the wiring between the bulb and the ignitor and ballast must be considered when mounting them separately. Do we know this length and is it adequate?

I would consider trying to make a successful install if the vendor would allow a full refund if the installation could not be done. What is their policy?

 

[RuneMan]

Ken:

From the vendor's web site I determined the length of the wire from the bulb to the ignitor to be 13" meaning that the ignitor must be installed in the headlight housing. The length of the wiring from the ignitor to the ballast is 20". I don't believe that this wiring is long enough to allow the ballast to be mounted in one of the locations noted in my previous post.

Also I just visited the site of the proposed vendor. Their posted return policy of "Absolutely no refund or returns for items with reason other than factory defective parts." rules out any trial installation by me.

 

[motorman857]

H7 Headlight Replacement

If I'm reading this thread correctly, your saying a more powerfull headlight bulb for the Rune will cost over 200 bucks? Say it aint so.

 

[KenCrawleySC]

No. It aint so!

I am saying there is no room to mount $230 lights in the Rune headlight :? because the ballast and ignitor boxes cant fit anywhere. Having mounted the K&N filter last night I saw there is room under the tank, but we would have to get a longer high voltage wire for the ballast. Longer cord for the ballasts came with my HID lights that are on my engine guard, but they are still not long enough.

So, I am not going to bother with this any further. I have my $1,000 lights on the engine guards, the second set of "turn signal bullet lamps", and now PIAA lamps in the headlight.

 

[motorman857]

H7 Headlight Replacement

what I'm asking is can I simply plug in a more powerfull bulb in the stock headlight without changing anything else?

 

[zero2sixty]

bilb replacemnt

what it looks like alot of us did was change the bulbs to PIAA........ the same draw as stock 55watts but output is much brighter and more lumens
hm is that a word ? whiter light as well .look on e-bay i payed way to much for mine as always 80 something i buy now and research later ........HOWEVER i am not letting go of this HID replacement i will figure it out fellas i had one in my vtx 1800 and whew you cant believe the difference
mike in miami

 

[HogSlayer]

Just run your high beam during the day, that's plenty of light!

 

[KenCrawleySC]

I disagree about our High Beam setting being high enough. My practical experience since adding the HID spotlights is that not a single car has pulled in front of me. Whereas, remarkably, twice in the same week before adding the lights folks darted turning left in front of me. Now, this does not mean that I am now complacent. I suppose I need to post a digiphoto of my Rune with its light array.

As far as converting our headlight to HID. If we could either get an "extension cord" for the high voltage wire, we could then mount the ballast and igniter under the fuel tank. Or, if we were to "sculpture" a form that would be attached to one or both sides of the headlamp on the black plastic we could then drill ha thru hole and increase the light.

So, in my opinion, if it is possible to mount the ballast, then I will not hesitate to convert the H7 PIAA lamp to a HID lamp, possibly even going to the "purple blue" frequency, er, I mean, color temperature.

Ken (13,200 miles)