1150 hid upgrade

Topics related to the ownership, maintenance, equipping, operation, and riding of the R1150R.

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jcridge
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Re: 1150 hid upgrade

Post by jcridge »

MattPie,
The bulb in your kit will work without mounting issue. I have the DDM kit using the H4 high/low bulb. The H4 high/low bulb is where the manufacture goes astray with mounting, they put a 3/4" space between the tangs and the rear unit on the bulb, which makes it 1/2" too long for the housing to fit. I sent a technical inquiry to DDM, waiting to hear back. I like the DDM system otherwise, but if they cannot offer me an option that will fit, we will need to look at other options.

HID is definitely the way to go, I have had PIAA, Sylvania, and a few others with good lighting but with 80 watts they generate allot of heat and electrical draw. The lower wattage bulbs ( <80 watts) are no comparison to HID. I currently have a H4 60 watt PIAA in the R1150R, and its OK but nothing I would recommend for night riding.
The 6000K bulb with 55 watt ballast gives a brilliant white light on the road with a blueish look if you look at it. I would stay with a 5000K or 6000K bulb if the ballast is 55 watt, a 30 watt may give off a slightly different temperature.

John
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MattPie
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Re: 1150 hid upgrade

Post by MattPie »

Howis the light spread pattern with the HID bulb in the decidedly low-tech housing on the R1150R (and probably R1100R)? I've heard that HID shouldn't be tried in mounts that use the glass to aim the light, since it's not precise enough and you'll have light shooting all over the place (including other people's eyes). Is there a nice clean cut-off as you see with the HID-specific reflectors?
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jcridge
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Re: 1150 hid upgrade

Post by jcridge »

MattPie,

I can't really comment on the low beam yet ( it doesn't look bad), the high beam looks very good, nice pattern and good cut-off and no noticeable strays.

Not had time to remove the bulb and modify the reflector, but plan to do so this weekend.

John
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1offmotorsports
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Re: 1150 hid upgrade

Post by 1offmotorsports »

MattPie wrote:Howis the light spread pattern with the HID bulb in the decidedly low-tech housing on the R1150R (and probably R1100R)? I've heard that HID shouldn't be tried in mounts that use the glass to aim the light, since it's not precise enough and you'll have light shooting all over the place (including other people's eyes). Is there a nice clean cut-off as you see with the HID-specific reflectors?
Howis, this is where doing a little research helps. As you mentioned, the housings were not designed originally for this type of bulb technology, although its still possible to use. The focal point of the HID bulb is different from a Halogen, this is one of the major reason the pattern that is shined by the headlamps is wider spread and causes glare to on coming traffic. One of the major mistakes most BMW Motorcycle owners make when upgrading their stock Halogen to HID is that they use a 50W HID system thinking that because the light system on their bike is already 50W, this is the right one for them to use. What most forget is that with HID lights you get an average of 60 Lumens per Watt, where as with Halogen you get about 12 - 15 Lumens per watt, obviously the light output you get with these type of systems is alot greater than is needed (1800 - 2000 Lumens)

Glare can be controlled by reducing Lumen output, usually a 35W HID system more than suffices bike users increasing their visibility not causing glare by shining a light so bright that blinds oncoming traffic. Another factor is temperature, usually 4500 Kelvin or 6000 Kelvin temperature HID bulbs are recommended as they are softer on the eye, yet give you the feeling of natural light.

Usually the headlamp requires readjustment after the upgrade to get a better beam pattern shinned, although its not the optimal pattern as it is not a projector, it still greatly increases your field of vision, and most of all, drivers can more easily see you which is what you want anyway.

Hope this helps

Frank
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