HID Headlights

[b1k3rdude]

The reflector reflects the light from a point source in a pattern decided by its designers. It does not know or care how that light is generated, only if it is in the right place.

And that's the whole point, all retro-fit HID kit's on the market today don't have the arc in the right position. And the HID kits with mechanical hi/lo bulbs are the worse offenders -

• the arc poorly positioned and on every kit I've seen, and its compounded by the fact because the bulb has far too much lateral movement.
  
• the baffling for the dip beam is nearly always next to useless, so that you get overspill which dazzles other road users.
  
• on hi-beam the position and baffling is so bad that you just get some half-assed pattern and not all of the light being exposed to the reflector.
  

The only way to realistically get a descent dip & hi beam with a HID kit is to have a fixed bulbs,  for dip check the arc is in the correction position and have enough baffling and for Hi just check  its in the right position (but Ive never heard of a fixed HID bulb in the correct hi-beam position). Andf there there is the heat up time, if the hi-beam bulb has been off for a while it will either -

• take to warm up to full brightness - bad on a dark lane at night.
  
• wont be able to perform the flash function, because the bulb with arc and then warm up.
  

Why do you think all new bikes coming out today are being fitted with LED headlights.

Bloody hell! I have just seen the kit I fitted for under a tenner! How the hell do that do that? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/2pcs-Pair-35W-55W...3f50503b33

Case in point -

• all my above points apply to this kit
  
• the 55W will put out more heat than a stock halogen bulbs, so may damage your plastic reflector.
  
• the 75w even more heat and are illegal from a wattage point of view.
  

And on the subject of the telescopic hi/lo bulbs. I have tried to mod them as to work around piss-poor baffling, but lateral movement(free play) on the bulb mech just put paid to that idea. What we need is a direct LED replacement for the H4 halogen bulb, but thus far all the ones I have tried just dont have enough light output and/or the baffling and light overlap of the hi/lo emitters don't work.