Light upgrade

[Trekker Dave]

Question- on the 2011 GT do I need a CAN-BUS harness for an aftermarket set of lights (specifically the Denali D2Ds) ??

[PaulF]

Originally Posted by Trekker Dave

Question- on the 2011 GT do I need a CAN-BUS harness for an aftermarket set of lights (specifically the Denali D2Ds) ??

Nope. Lights wire right up.

[vitesse]

Has anyone tried the Sylvania/Osram ZXE?55W/ H7? They are as expensive as a set of HIDs but just pop in.

[gofer]

Has anyone upgraded the speedo light(s) on their Sprint. Can't make out a thing night riding. The needle is almost invisible and I haven't got a clue on how fast I'm travelling Can anyone tell me how many bulbs are in the speedo and are there any LED substitutes available and if so where? At the same time is it difficult removing the speedo?
Advice appreciated

[John R]

Another vote for theDDM kit. As per the post by cstumpf750 I agree with everything, but I managed to fit mine without taking the fairings off, just the inner portions. I have posted phoptos. If you are going down the DDM route let me know via PM and I will dig out the photos for you. I have had my set on for over 3 years 13000 miles plus and they have been totally reliable. After fitting them by the way I took them to a mates garage to set them up on his beam alignment kit, and he was satisfied they complied with our UK regs. It is fun lighting signs up on main beam half a mile away.,..

[Nuclear]

Totally agree with all in support of this idea - the headlights on my '07 Sprint ST were probably the only thing that frustrated me about the bike.

Fitting an HID kit (35W x 2, plus a 55W high beam) is something I have never regretted, especially coming home on dark back roads at night.

I've attached some photos of the job - far from professional, but has served me well.

The 55W high beam does take a few seconds to warm up, so I confess I've sacrificed the ability to "flash" an idiot in traffic for an awesome range of vision at night. In fact, travelling at 80km/h one night on a backroad in country Australia, that high beam almost certainly saved my wife and I from an accident by picking up an animal on the road a good 150m ahead. With the stock lights we'd have smacked it (or just been travelling slower ...).

I wouldn't use the high beam in the city though - it really would blind oncoming traffic. But the 35Wers are great around town.

Hope that contribution helps anyone considering it. I'm just upset these lights are $70 in America, we pay three times that in Oz! Constantly ripped off Down Under...

[PeirreOBollox]

Bump.........

Just a quick question on HID`s
What is the collectives consensus on which K value for the HID bulbs, as my initial idea was to consider 6000K bulbs, but would that be too high?

As I`m considering HID`s for the low beam only

[JPTL]

I can weigh in on 6000k vs. 5000k:
The 'k value' refers to the color output of the bulb, not the wattage or brightness. I initially installed 35w 6000k in my low beams and they were too blue for my liking. The bluer 6000k puts out lighting that's a 'bling' aftermarket appearance IMO. 6000k is no improvement in brightness or visibility over same wattage/manufacturer 5000k bulbs - which is a bright white with only a hint of blue.
So 6000k vs. 5000k is a matter of preference.
You'll find that 35w or 50w are the standard bulb/ballast choices. Here I can also weigh in. I have 35w 5000k in my e30 BMW & 50w 5000k in my Porsche. There is a noticeable difference in the brightness between the two. 35w HID is a noticeable improvement over standard halogens. 50w is a dramatic improvement. I found the 35w to be adequate in my ST application.
A few other things to consider when choosing between 35w and 50w:
The cost of 50w kits vs. 35w can be 2x more.
The availability is less for the 50w. I don't know why...demand? Reliability of the bulbs/ballasts?
The ballasts are larger for the 50w, and a clean, stealth install in your fairing will be much more of a challenge with 50w ballasts - at least those at a reasonable price point in 2013.
Using a 50w kit in your lows, you run a much higher risk of blinding oncoming cars if the lighting isn't adjusted properly. Even with properly adjusted lows, if you approach an oncoming car in a lean, you will likely offend the oncoming car with blinding light as the 50w HID really cranks.

Re: HID as the high beam replacement:
See Bruce C's posts in #18 and #20. I recommend against if your night riding is primarily highway or in a suburban/heavily traveled area. If your high beam use is sporadic (short intervals between oncoming cars), the time that it takes for the ballast to fire and output to be at 100% is too long to get any benefit out of an HID high beam.
..again, my opinion.
I went with a non-HID. high end/high output upgrade bulb for my high beam.

[Nuclear]

6000K installed in the photos I posted above.

I don't see any blue in them. Nor can people I've asked. Very white and bright looking (to me).

I think, at time of purchase, I was told 6000K was the closest thing to "natural sunlight" and therefore was the easiest for your eyes to use. I chose it because it was the cleanest white light without showing any blue.

Check out http://www.factory-kiss.com/media/im..._55WAC_X_3.jpg for photos of all the temperatures.

[Bluethumb]

http://eshop.ktautopart.com/motorcyc...t-mt5-211.html

I'm on the fence about these. I put some Silverstar bulbs in this winter, and I'll see if it makes it any better. If not, I'll have to consider something else like these. My Ninja 650R had awesome lights so I was spoiled. If the bulbs don't work out, it's going to have to be these or additional lights.