HID lights and Headlight casing

[ChickenBullet]

Hello,

I have a Ducati Monster 600 1994 and am looking to fit some HID lights and maybe change the headlight casing. Can anyone advise me on where I can purchase these items or what ones are the best ones?

Hope you can help!

ChickenBullet

[Dirty]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Sorry I know nothing about lights! :)

[utopia]

I can't help either, but I can tell you that fitting a Philips Extreme Power bulb will improve the performance of the std headlamp.
It doesn't make a huge difference, but it is significant, and in my view makes the std unit just about acceptable. ...and it costs peanuts.
Personally, I have a dislike of superpowerful headlights because of their potential hazard to other road users, particularly if, for example, you accidentally "double thumb" the dip switch ....which I do on a fairly regular basis. Also, I think there's already too much bright lighting, reflective signs etc and things are starting to get lost in the glare.
Actually, I guess there would be even more reflective glare from road signs etc with a HID lamp. ....and I've known occaisions when the glare from reflective chevrons around a sharp bend has been so severe that I have had to slow down massively because I could no longer see the road.
For what the bulb costs, you may as well give one a try before you shell out on an HID mod.

[jerry]

I tried fitting an HID kit into my S4 and M 750 but the weak point is a crummy dip beam on the kit i had ,amazing main , so i went back to philip extreme which is very good , but another improvement would be philps extreme with a new modern style clear cut lens like HDs or Suzuki SV 1000 use that would also improve the beam brightness and penetration

[JuZ]

The other potential problem with having a HID light is, if it stops working you're lightless, at least with 2 filaments you've always got a spare!

Seriously though a decent bulb and a relay for the power directly from the battery to make sure the light is getting full voltage will make a massive difference, I like Osram Nightbreakers.

[Dukedesmo]

I have an HID headlight on my M900, although the actual headlight housing is not the original Ducati model (it is still an 8" round light that looks the same).

It is a single bulb with a solenoid to lift/drop for high/dip beams which works well, dip beam is good but high beam lacks a good focus so doesn't shine as far as I'd like but I'm sure it's at least as good as a standard high beam and it is much brighter.

I also have a HID dip-beam only on the 916 which is brilliant but the 916 has an 'elipsoid' headlight which lends itself very well to HID as it has a sharp cut-off. On the 916 I have a conventional high-beam, albeit with a 100w bulb which is OK.

One thing that can help is a separate relay and heavy-duty supply to the bulb, the 916 (and M900) switches it's lights through the bar switch (no relay) and whilst fitting the HID (916) I fitted relays for both the dip and high beam - the relay to the high beam made the light brighter and faster-on, even before fitting the larger bulb. There is some serious voltage loss through the flimsy OEM wiring.

As far as HID kits, I don't think there's much to chose between makes - an ebay 'cheapie' is plenty good enough. I bought a car kit which leaves me with a spare of everything and the cost of a car kit is often not much more than a bike kit.

[Nottsbiker]

Are HID kits legal? I was under the impression that if the vehicle did not come with it orginally and a HID kit was simply fitted to a non-HID light unit it would fail the MOT and potentially dazzle other road users.

Not wanting to sound like the fun police but this is what I'd been told.

[utopia]

The direct wiring/HD cable/relay mod sounds interesting.
I might look into that myself.
Any further details ?
I think I may well be totally satisfied with the upgraded bulb if a little more brightness can be squeezed out of it.

ps. I think I also prefer the slightly yellow light from a conventional bulb, rather than the intense white of an HID.
Dunno exactly why.

[Dukedesmo]

Are HID kits legal?

Are loud exhausts, small number plates?... :rolleyes:

[Dirty]

Are loud exhausts, small number plates?... :rolleyes:

Non CE rear LED lights, removing foot pegs when you still have a passenger seat fitted? ;)

[Dukedesmo]

The direct wiring/HD cable/relay mod sounds interesting.
I might look into that myself.
Any further details ?


Take the output from the switch (wires that go to the bulb) to the coil of a 12v relay, you'll need 2 relays if doing both high/dip.

Then run a heavy-gauge cable from the battery positive to the common terminal on the relay and then run another from the N.O. contact of the relay to the bulb. Also run a heavy-gauge cable from the battery negative to the other side of the bulb (don't rely on frame/earth), don't forget to fit an in-line fuse between battery and relay to prevent the battery shorting in case of a fault, the relay itself will be fused from the original headlight fuse.

Then when the light switch is activated the power is run directly from battery to light, as the heavy cables suffer less voltage drop the light will be both brighter and quicker-on, this also allows you to use a higher-wattage bulb without burning out the wiring, although be aware that your alternator may or may not like this!

That said my (single-phase alternator) 916 is fine with a 100w high-beam although this is compensated by the fact that the dip-beam HID is only 35w and that the full beam is more off than on even at night.

If you need any help give me a shout, you could even bring the bike over and we could look at it together. :thumbsup:

[Dukedesmo]

Non CE rear LED lights, removing foot pegs when you still have a passenger seat fitted? ;)

Making 'progress'... :rolleyes:

[utopia]

Thanks, Tim.
I'll look into that, and may well pop over at some stage.:thumbsup:

[Dirty]

Making 'progress'... :rolleyes:

Wheelies, donuts! Political correctness gone mad!:chuckle:

[ChickenBullet]

Hello,

Thanks for all the info! I went and bought myself some Philips extreme bulbs instead of the HID kit.

Chickenbullet

[ChrisC2925]

Anybody know which extreme bulb I'd need for my 98 600? Nearly bought the HID kit on eBay (@ £70 inc postage) these look a much better bet.

[chris_s2r]

Quite interesting upgrade kit here as alternative option.

http://motowheels.com/i-7935658-motowheels-headlight-conversion-kit.html

[ChickenBullet]

Have a look on this website http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/

Type your number plate in and it gives you all the bulbs available for your bike

[JuZ]

Anybody know which extreme bulb I'd need for my 98 600? Nearly bought the HID kit on eBay (@ £70 inc postage) these look a much better bet.

Original fit is H4

[ChrisC2925]

Thanks - got a couple off Amazon