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Photo by Hendi Kaf,
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  #1  
Old 23 Oct 2009
croissant_warrior's Avatar
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Location: Northern Cali
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Auxiliary/HID lighting

I have read in many posts and books about the question of additional lighting. I agree with most comments about riding in the dark: just don't.

However, I read also of many stories of riders caught in the sandblasts of trucks and heavy thick fog on dodgy roads. What do you all think about the usefulness of a small set of HID to help be more visible in those situations?

~CW
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  #2  
Old 24 Oct 2009
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Norway
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Auxiliary/HID lighting

Hello!

I totally agree with you, do not ride at night if at all posible. But if you have to, you'll love the hid's. They don't take up much space, don't weigh much, but gives you a brilliant light. And that can save you from hitting an animal, a pot hole or any of the other objects that will come your way!

I've attached two pics of our bikes, we have two hid's pr biken. I made the bracets myself. It is dark a lot of the year her in Norway so I use them a lot.

Cheers Tom
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Auxiliary/HID lighting-img_5616omgjort.jpg  

Auxiliary/HID lighting-img_5624omgjort.jpg  

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  #3  
Old 25 Oct 2009
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You should see if you can HID convert your existing lamps on your bike, rather than buying overpriced extra lamps. I.E I converted the low beam to HID on my 1150 GSA. The next step I did was to convert my PIAA 910 to HID as well. This has given me an enormous amount of light for le$$ than buying aftermarket HID's. An added bonus to HID lights is that your alternator has to work less hard leaving room for a heated jacket or other stuff...YMMV
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  #4  
Old 7 Nov 2009
*Touring Ted*'s Avatar
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Location: Wirral, England.
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Of course, no one plans to ride at night, but sometimes that just happens...

Hold ups with traffic, breakdowns or lack of accomodation can leave you riding way later in the day than planend.

I remember being stuck riding in Brazil in the middle of the night along a winding winding roads with a line of cars behind us.

Our pathetic trailbike lights were useless and we were relying on the cars headlights behind us just to see the tretcherous road... SCARY !

Trail Tech Products Limited X2 HID Light - Trail Tech Products Limited

These look great and they also do a halgon version for only £75.

Check out the comparrison:

http://trailtech.net/media/lights/li...omparison.html
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  #5  
Old 7 Nov 2009
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Agree with Rider1150 - I have just converted my low beam to 35W HID's with a kit from eBay that was imported from the states - £60. I bought the 35W instead of the 55W and so the results are that good I can't see the real benefit from the 55's - it's early days yet though.

The price hike from the 35W to 55W is quite a bit too.
They were also very easy to fit, even for me!

The one thing with the F800 is that it is CAMBUS and so you have to make sure you get the right kit. Go to a good retailer and they should point you in the right direction.

A friend has just done the same to his Daytona 675 and the results are equally good and immediately obvious.

In summary then, the additional light from the 35's is perfect for those occasional night excursions. Highly recommended over the additional and expensive spots.
H
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