These days one can purchase an H-4 HID conversion kit for ~$70, for a cage. That means TWO bikes can be done for that amount. I have HID on my Gran Canyon (H1 & H3) and they are FAR BEYOND superior to halogen lighting.

But H4 is different from H1/H3 as a standard H4 bub has two filaments. The design of the lens and reflector is critical to placement of those filaments for proper light dispersion. There are two approaches to HID conversion kits.

One is to have a solenoid move the HID plasma hot spot into the proper position. This was pioneered by Osram, I believe, and is generally called "Bi-Xenon." (That is a VERY shitty name, imho, for a non-xenon light.)

The other is to have an HID low beam with a halogen-encapsulated filament in the proper position for the high beam. This sounds hokier to me than the moving spot of the Bi-Xenon. But then again, with H-4, it is all about spot placement.

So my question is,
WHICH IS THE BETTER HID KIT TO REPLACE H-4 AND WHY, moving spot or dual-spot?

I guess it is also worth asking, if you have one, which is it and do you like it?

Flash,
When you reference the ~$70 kits are they the moving parts style or the halogen augmented style?
Dan

I have the one with the HID low beam and the incandescent/halogen/crappy high beam. High beam is junk and I would say it is slightly better than the parking lamp. The HID light is a vast improvement. I did two bikes of mine, Dakar and DRZ and the DRZ is far superior. The rectangular light housing is perfect for the HID and puts all the light on the road. The Dakar lamp with it's funky shape scatters the light, but more is put on the road than the stock H4 light.

I didn't want to mess with some sort of movable light . . . that sounded complicated.

Yes.

Bi-Xenon ($68.99 for two) http://www.vvme.com/catalog/list-s-10145-10146.html

Secondary halogen ($67.99 for two) http://www.planethid.com/h4-hid-kit4.html

I have the Bi Xenon (the vvme unit) on my classic. While it's not set up perfectly it's still way better than the stock. I did need to add 1/4 spacers to the top of the headlight mount bracket to get the light to angle up some (shine further down the road) but with WP forks & and Dakar rear shock I think the geometry of my bike is way off stock (the screw adjust on the bracket seemed to have little effect). The high beam position does seem to push the light further down the road, maybe a bit to the left also, and it scatters a lot more. Overall I'd say in both positions the beam is a more scattered than OEM but it's a heck of a lot brighter. I was concerned if I'd be blinding on coming drivers, so far no oncoming drivers have flashed their brights, honked, told em I'm number one, or swerved into my lane. I accept this as a sign that it's not too annoying.

I have used (sorry for using the "name" ) Bi Xenon for nearly 2 years now.
(more than half of my time on the bike is at night)
Without that modification I would have had to use my car instead of the bike!!!!!.... and I HATE cars- also driving them.
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"WHICH IS THE BETTER HID KIT TO REPLACE H-4 AND WHY, moving spot or dual-spot?"
Generally, without a question, moving spot, but depends on your riding.
If you do most of your riding in traffic I would have to modify that statement.
(BUT, that ALL depends on the design of the headlight- lens and reflector!!!)
You dont have the useless designed headligh the early GS have, and the headlamp design is alfa and omega!
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The early GS headlight scatter light all over, NOT a lot, but enough to maybe blind oncoming traffic.
Got to say it also does with a regular halogen H4.
As the xenon is so much more "sharp" the glare might actually be a road hazard.
I do not at all know how the classic headlight would work with a bi-xenon bulb
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Because of the scatter at low beam I modified my headlamp adjuster so I can adjust it while riding.... and "in traffic" I adjust it down a lot.
Even then, my headlight is way better than with a regular H4, both low and high beam.
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WHICH IS THE BETTER HID KIT TO REPLACE H-4 AND WHY, moving spot or dual-spot?
I want the high beam to be "good" more than the low beam. In places with traffic it is less probable to see wildlife (moose, deer...) than on most roads without much traffic.
As Xenon bulbs takes "a while" to have full output (2- 5 seconds) most modern cars have a "always on" xenon low light bulb and a halogen high beam.
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I have tried 4 brands on Bi Xenon bulbs and they do not at all "look alike"-
I have tried them all in 5 different headlights, (and tried to adjust then back and forth in the reflector) and I always had the stray light at low beam.
UNTIL I tried them on a old 6,5" headlight... No stray light at all on low...razor sharp low beam. And that was with all 4 different bulbs!!
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I just bough a brand new 6,5" headlamp meant for a WV Rabbit... and the same result with that one- a very nice low beam pattern!
I am now in the process of making a new "headlamp shell" so I can use a 6,5" headlamp AND have room for extra relays and whatever.

Flash - How's the research and healing process going?

I did some indepth, albeit brief, research this morning and really didn't like what I found. As you mention, there's either a Bi-Xenon kit, which now seems to include a solenoid driven reflector that raises the beam slightly rather than increases the light output, or a single Xenon beam, which eliminates the high beam entirely. I have also read about a combo Xenon/Halogen bulb that uses the halogen element for the high beam.

The somewhat reputable kits are upwards of $200 but come with better quality components. For my money, I would think a set of driving lights would be more effective - although they would need to be stepped down to 35w bulbs for use in a Classic F650. I notice patchy coverage with the reflector on my `97 Classic, and think that increasing the lumens through Xenon or higher-wattage Halogen bulbs will definitely throw more light out there but won't improve the stock reflector. I notice a decent throw down the road, but two diagonal strips off to the sides that leave what's directly off the road to either side or immediately in front of my wheel in almost total darkness.

I'm currently running a GE Xtravision bulb (or something like that) that is adequate in city driving, but is pretty ineffective on dark back country roads. I was intrigued by the thought of moving to HID, but pretty discouraged by what I found.

I found some decent references through the webbikeworld.com website for anyone doing future research.

Let me know your thoughts as I consider you a pretty technically-savvy guy. Hope the healing goes well.

I was impressed with the quality of the ~$70 VVME kit, the ballast was fully potted making it essentially waterproof and the harness components are as good as anything I've seen out there. Actually MCN has reviewed the VVME unit in this months issue, my recollection was it was a positive review. My only reservation is the ballast is a bit thick, there are thinner ones out there but I managed to mount mine on my classic. And as you know, there's no guarantee the $200 unit is better (or even as good) as the $70 unit. Previous to buying the VVME unit I had purchased a different one for about twice the money. It was advertised as Bi-Xenon but it wasn't (it had a fixed beam position) so with much hassle and escalating it to a Paypal claim I returned it and received a refund. I found the VVME unit to be better built & packaged than the more expensive one I returned.

pato - Encouraging words, and yes I agree there are no guarantees. You pay your money, you take your chances. Any pics from the saddle of the new beam?

Did you have enough room under the fairing to mount the ballast and such?

I'm researching driving lights again and getting frustrated with what we can run, and where we can mount it.

The more I thought about it, the more the idea of a halogen lamp inside my HID strikes me as stupid. Why burn MORE watts for LESS light on high beam? I went with the VVME. Haven't mounted either of them yet. Still gimping. Maybe next week.

No pics of the beam but my impression is while the illuminated area is more scattered than with the incandescent bulb what it losses in spot definition it makes up in brightness, it's heaps better. I hated riding at night with the stock bulb.

I have a non-stock dash so I'm not sure if my mounting scheme would work on a stock bike but here's how I mounted it, click on the pics for a bigger picture...

I bought 2 sets (for cars) and the size of the ballast thingy was not at all the same. One was slim (low height) and wider/ longer than the other.
The other was almost twice the height but had just 2/3 the "footprint"
(I would think they can be mounted anywhere on the bike...I had to cut and splice the original wiring as it was way too long)

The ballast mounts nicely on the Classic fairing next to the headlight. I hacked up the harness and added a simple SPST relay. I ran the blue (high beam) wire through a diode and then connected it to the white (low beam) wire. Connected relay trigger(+) to where the two beam-wires joined. Connected the "high beam" solenoid trigger to the blue-wire-only side of the diode. Connected relay trigger(-) to solid ground (radiator mounting bolt) along with the return for the ballast. Battery hot (fused) to the 30 contact on the relay. Ballast hot to the switched side of the relay. It's a pretty clean installation in that I can drop the fairing to the fender and then remove the solenoid connector at the lamp and the feed from the ballast before taking the fairing away without touching the ballast itself or any of the other wiring.

Installing the second unit in another bike will be a little bit trickier. I bought the fuse holder and relay. Making the connection to the connector that went to the H4 bub will be via simple spade terminals. I'll need to get some harness sheath in order to do the job right.

Did a little more research tonight...

I have a Sylvania Silverstar Ultra in the bike now. It's a 50/65 watt bulb, and according to their website puts out 910/1500 lumens (+/- 10%). The VVME kit is rated at 3200 lumens. I think that might make a small bit of difference.

I'm looking to install a Fuzeblock anyway, and will do some more research about how I want to wire everything. Like you Flash, I will probably be modifying the HID wiring to make it as neat and orderly as possible. I hate bundling up wires and zip-tying them off to the side. I'd rather shorten the wire and make it look professionally done.


As my grandfather used to tell me, "You can do it two ways: the right way, or do it again."

Flash - You know your sh!t when it comes to electrical stuff. I think I know a little and then I read a post like this and go, "Um...um...yeah I know crap."