HID for the Rockster...

[arbik]

Hi guys,

I'm at work, and dont have my manual with me. I'm trying to order an HID kit for the Rockster. The Low beam bulb is H4, right?
Also, did a search and got nothing (surprise). Has anyone done an HID conversion on their Rockster?
I'm really tired of the no-light, headlight..when riding at night with the Rock.
I've heard good things about the HID conversions.

Any advice on where to get it, and how to install it would also be appreciated.

thanks,


-arbi

[domekrome]

Both bulbs are H1 if I am not mistaken

[rock712]

Both bulbs are H1, just confirming DK

[arbik]

ah!
what a concept. same bulb for both beams, so you can interchange in a bind...

i'm gonna try and convert to HIDs, we'll see what happens....

thank you for the information...

-arbi

[Lion_Lady]

Sylvania SilverStar... available at WallyWorld.

P

[CH Racing M900]

Hi guys,

I'm at work, and dont have my manual with me. I'm trying to order an HID kit for the Rockster. The Low beam bulb is H4, right?
Also, did a search and got nothing (surprise). Has anyone done an HID conversion on their Rockster?
I'm really tired of the no-light, headlight..when riding at night with the Rock.
I've heard good things about the HID conversions.

Any advice on where to get it, and how to install it would also be appreciated.

thanks,


-arbi

I have converted my headlamp to xenon (HID). H1 indeed. No need to convert the high beam, the low beam HID will do the job great!
Picture:

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

I don't think it would work using HID for the main beam. HID reaches full brightness relatively slowly, so 'flashing' would be out. There would also be what I think would be a very unacceptable delay in moving to main beam.

I'm presently looking at converting the dip to HID.

Does anybody know if these bulbs are the same length (approx) as standard bulbs. I bought a couple of 'Micro-lights for less than £30.and was thinking of also converting theses to HID. These are fitted with H3 bulbs but looking at the Ebay ads the HID bulbs look longer. On Ebay, an HID car conversion kit can be picked up for about £120. I reckon they would be awesome.

Ride safely,

Rog

[CH Racing M900]

I don't think it would work using HID for the main beam. HID reaches full brightness relatively slowly, so 'flashing' would be out. There would also be what I think would be a very unacceptable delay in moving to main beam.

I'm presently looking at converting the dip to HID.

Does anybody know if these bulbs are the same length (approx) as standard bulbs. I bought a couple of 'Micro-lights for less than £30.and was thinking of also converting theses to HID. These are fitted with H3 bulbs but looking at the Ebay ads the HID bulbs look longer. On Ebay, an HID car conversion kit can be picked up for about £120. I reckon they would be awesome.

Ride safely,

Rog

The HID bulbs are indeed quite a bit longer than regular bulbs. It fits the lens of the standard Rockster/GS dip lens.

Edit : measured my HID bulb for you : it's 5 cm. (approx 2 inches) long from base to top.

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

Thanks CH, - very kind of you,

That's good info. - particularly that it will fit the Rockster dip beam.

Has anybody bought HID from Ebay? They are cheap, but are they any good and more to the point; will they last?

Ride safely,

Rog

[CH Racing M900]

You will have to make a few minor mods, but no big deal.
FYI if you have a combined ballast/ignitor, it will fit nicely in between the instrument cluster and the headlamp housing. I made a special bracket from sheet alloy (thin) for extra secure mounting. Spray painted everything matte black, and now it's practically invisible.

While we speak I am converting the headlamp of my Ducati Monster to bi-xenon. Much more complicated, because the Duc does not have a fly screen nor an instrument cluster, thus limiting the possibilties to hide the electronics. Also had to change the glass of the headlamp to fully clear glass, the standard glass is not suitable for HID (to much reflections due to the rugged structure of the OEM headlampglass).

[MikeCam]

Translator:

Dip = Low beam (????)

[CH Racing M900]

yup....

[riceburner]

A brighter bulb won't improve a crap pattern throw.

Get some PIAAs. (same cost, better results).

Had 1100Xs on Rock 2 - currently saving for some more for Rock 3.

[kp]

Where the heck do you hide the ballasts and stuff?

Also, wow, nice paint. Did you just strip off the decals and spraypaint? Or what? Tell me more It looks wonderful...

Hi guys,

I'm at work, and dont have my manual with me. I'm trying to order an HID kit for the Rockster. The Low beam bulb is H4, right?
Also, did a search and got nothing (surprise). Has anyone done an HID conversion on their Rockster?
I'm really tired of the no-light, headlight..when riding at night with the Rock.
I've heard good things about the HID conversions.

Any advice on where to get it, and how to install it would also be appreciated.

thanks,


-arbi

I have converted my headlamp to xenon (HID). H1 indeed. No need to convert the high beam, the low beam HID will do the job great!
Picture:

[CH Racing M900]

Where the heck do you hide the ballasts and stuff?

Also, wow, nice paint. Did you just strip off the decals and spraypaint? Or what? Tell me more It looks wonderful...

[/quote]

Thank you. The ballast/ignitor is a combined unit. I was able to mount that in between the headlamphousing and the instrument cluster. I painted the unit itself matte black, it is almost invisible now. As for the decals, I used a hairdryer to safely remove them, sandblasted all metal parts, used a plastic primer for the plastic parts and had the wheels powdercoated. To find the exact shade of matte black is a different story: there is matte black and there are 1001 other shades of matte black. In fact I found a paintshop willing to mix the exact colour and they made a rattlecan for me. Later on I found the exact colour in a d-i-y shop, but that was sheer luck...

The wheels are somewhat different, but that cannot be avoided. The powdercoating, after baking in the oven, turns sorta satin.

[sweatmark]

Original owner of my Rockster did the HID conversion for the low/dip lamp. Wired the HID via relay to ignition circuit, instead of the OE low/dip headlight wiring... thus the HID is always on, even with high/main beam switched on or flashed to pass/wake-up cage drivers.

Yes - the HID is bright & blue, very visible (eg. obnoxious) during daylight hours.

No - the HID doesn't really help much at night... the beam pattern has too much side throw and bounces around continuously in that crazy GS headlight nacelle. The ignition circuit wiring is also a problem, as the ballast gets an on/off/on surge during motor start.

So - I plan to remove the HID from low/dip position this winter, to be replaced with conventional H1 lamp, 'though I'll likely use PIAA aftermarket or equivalent. The HID will find its way into aux driving lamp to be mounted somewhere convenient. Would also like to try H1 Yellowstar in high/main beam position, for conspicuity etc.

Mark
Oregon

[arbik]

I got the HID kit, and fitted it to the Rockster today. I also put a Silverstar H1 in the Highbeam, of equivallent temperature (4000K), to match the color of the HID.

The most difficult part was fitting the Balast/igniter package.
I zip-tied it in the little frame cavity in front of the shock. Hopefully itll stay put.

So far, so goood.

we'll see about longevity and light output.

-arbi

[kp]

So what HID kits are recommended for:
- legality
- compatibility
- low beam only
- ... also where y'all been buying them?

And what is recommended for replacement lamp for the high beam? (Again, where ya buying them?

[arbik]

KP,

As far as legality, as far as I know, it shouldnt be a problem in CA. But I never checked on this aspect of it, since there are TONS of gus with HIDs running in their bike headlights.

I bought from the xenonfactory.com. I got a car kit, and am splitting it with a GS friend of mine. This is a bit more cost effective than buying a motorcycle kit.

I converted the low beam only, and changed the high beam to a Sylvania Silverstar in the 4000K temperature range to match the color ( I bought this from the local Automotive part store, but you can also order them from the net). it also puts out more light. The HIDs I got are 4200K temperature.

As far as compatibility, I had to to a couple of modifications, but nothing major. Basically, you need to drill a large hole, or two small ones in the back cap of the low beam light, to pass the high voltage wires into the housing. Thats about it.

The rest is pretty much plug and play.

hope this helps.

-arbi