nightbreakers?

[JoeRock]

For very little extra you can go full HIDs. The difference is absolutly stunning.

And also illegal and dangerous.

Bollocks! There is nothing illegal or dangerous about HIDs.

You will not fail an MOT for having HIDS, you will fail for having badly adjusted lights because badly adjusted lights are dangerous.

Fitting HIDS greatly increases the quantity AND the quality of light you are putting out. The makes it much easier for other road users to see you, and much harder for them to ignore you, particularly in daytime and dusk conditions. That alone significantly improves your safety.

The improved quantity and quality of light makes it much easier for you to see in dusk and dark conditions, that significantly improves your safety, and that of other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians. (Dayglo and reflective materials are visible up to three times further away!) 

If you are getting flashed, it is because your headlights are not adjusted correctly. Regardless of whether they are regular, improved, or HID bulbs, if they are not adjusted correctly then they are not pointing in the right direction and that makes it harder for you to see, and for others to see you. 

Fitting HID bulbs has been the single greatest improvement to safety I have ever made to any bike I have ever owned, but you don't have to believe me. Get a cheap and nasty chinese kit and try them for yourself. You could fit them in an hour and if you don't like them, you can completely remove them in half that. I recommend 5000K colour temperature as being sunlight white. 6000K and higher has an increasingly blue tint which apeals to the kiddies in modded cars but doesn't actually help you see better. The best bulbs for the Fazer are H4-3 as this means you keep normal full beam function.

No mate, they are actually illegal for motorcycles. Vehicles that don't have a self levelling headlight system on them aren't allowed to have HIDs fitted, to stop them from blinding oncoming traffic users. Although there are a couple of bikes that do have this (the BMW K1600 is one such bike), 99.9% of bikes don't have them, and as such it's illegal to fit HID kits to them. The other big issue is that HID bulbs use a different focusing system to traditional bulbs, and as such bikes that don't have HIDs as standard put out a lot more light, but it's a lot less focused as the bulbs don't work properly with the normal bulb based reflectors.

I'm not denying that they put out a lot of light, but IMO are dangerous for vehicles that shouldn't have them - you're a lot better off IMO getting a decent set of bulbs, they won't put out quite as much light, but are still a hell of a lot better than stock, the light is more focused and won't dazzle oncoming road users at night if adjuster correctly, and also won't fail an MOT if a diligent MOT tester checks your lights properly and the aim is right, as most won't pass a HID kit on a bike, and quite rightly!

[karlo]

Vehicles equipped with High Intensity Discharge (HID) or LED dipped beam headlamps may be fitted with headlamp washers and a suspension or headlamp self levelling system.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_170.htm




Saying that I have them in my land rover and they went through the mot with neither.

[PaulSmith]

...

No mate, they are actually illegal for motorcycles. Vehicles that don't have a self levelling headlight system on them aren't allowed to have HIDs fitted, to stop them from blinding oncoming traffic users. Although there are a couple of bikes that do have this (the BMW K1600 is one such bike), 99.9% of bikes don't have them, and as such it's illegal to fit HID kits to them. The other big issue is that HID bulbs use a different focusing system to traditional bulbs, and as such bikes that don't have HIDs as standard put out a lot more light, but it's a lot less focused as the bulbs don't work properly with the normal bulb based reflectors.

I'm not denying that they put out a lot of light, but IMO are dangerous for vehicles that shouldn't have them - you're a lot better off IMO getting a decent set of bulbs, they won't put out quite as much light, but are still a hell of a lot better than stock, the light is more focused and won't dazzle oncoming road users at night if adjuster correctly, and also won't fail an MOT if a diligent MOT tester checks your lights properly and the aim is right, as most won't pass a HID kit on a bike, and quite rightly!

Old wives tales that get repeated ad nauseum. That is the sort of bulshit usually spouted by some twat in a pub who had a Norton in his twenties.

Lets take your second point first. "HID bulbs use a different focusing system". What the fuck is that supposed to mean? There is a point on the bulb that is the source of the light. On a traditional bulb, it is the coil, on a HID it is the gap between the contacts, but the point is in the same place in relation to the mounting. That means the source of light is in the same place. Your reflector doesn't care how the bulb is made, only where the source of light is. If you were trying to fit a H3 bulb in a H4 reflector, you might have a point, but that is simply not the case.

Self leveling mechanism? You mean suspension? My bike has one of them, doesn't yours? Do you have a serious problem blinding other road users with your existing lights? Why do you think these would be any different.