CSRs are still intended for Halogen lights, but you can get upped wattage and color corrected halogens these days that will very effectively light up the road ahead of you without blinding oncoming traffic (or the poor folks you're following).
An HID lamp needs what is known as a projector assembly. Projectors are usually fairly small, tight assemblies that have a very thick lens to them, which sometimes can be very oddly shaped internally. The lens does most of the focusing in a projector, in contrast to a halogen light where the reflector does most of the focusing and the lens just does the final clean-up, as it were. HID projector housings also contain a mechanism inside to move a shield around, effectively changing the focal distance of the light to give you "low beam" and "high beam" settings. Cibie makes an excellent set of halogen reflectors, as do Bosch and Hella. I shopped around a while back for replacement lamps for my Fox, and ended up buying some Bosch e-codes from http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ Bit "old fashioned" in that there isn't an internet shopping cart (you actually have to communicate him to make your order), but he got it right the first time, was quick about the shipping, and was ready to answer pretty much any question I had. Good section in there about relays and wiring headlights to reduce voltage drop and improve the brightness, as well as a section on aiming your new headlight. -Kurt On Mon, Sep 6, 2010 at 8:04 AM, 750S <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Kurt, great info. > > These complex shaped reflectors (csr's) you mentioned, are you saying > they are more compatible with the hid bulbs? > Do you know where to I could source them? > > Thanks again > > On Sep 5, 4:16 pm, Kurt Nolte <[email protected]> wrote: >> HIDs in a halogen reflector housing are /not/ an upgrade. A correct >> and real HID retrofit that will actually give you a real benefit and >> not a "false benefit" (one you think you're getting, but you really >> aren't) must include optics designed for the HID arc. >> >> HID lamps generate light differently from halogen lamps. Halogen lamps >> are brightest in a single point, and the optics are designed around >> that (relatively known) point. HID lamps generate their brightest >> light at two disparate points, neither of which is close to where the >> halogen point is (ends of the arc vs. center of the filament). >> >> Yes, an HID's output is /brighter/, indisputably, but with a reflector >> housing meant for a halogen light you end up putting that >> super-intense light everywhere but where you want it to go. You get a >> very bright wash immediately in front of you, and some light thrown >> way ahead of you, but very little intensity reaches the middle range. >> The bright wash close in, and the wide scatter to the sides makes most >> people feel like they are better lights, but the loss of the mid-range >> intensity (where you /should/ be looking while driving or riding) >> means the lights are actually worse at night. You also will lose your >> "high beam" lights entirely. >> >> That far-flung light and the wide scatter pattern also means that >> anyone ahead of you, either in your lane or oncoming, is going to get >> a faceful of super-intense light; that is the point of a High >> Intensity Discharge lamp, after all, to produce incredibly intense >> light. Being someone who drives almost exclusively at night, this >> particular issue is one that I have to deal with regularly, and it's >> one that has very nearly put me off the road on several occasions, >> rounding a corner or cresting a hill and suddenly being faced with >> something brighter than daylight directed in my face. >> >> For brighter, better reflected light with a stock look, there are >> companies that make improved, CSR (Complex Shaped Reflector) lamp >> buckets and more efficient, cleaner lamps for them. You can get them >> in a broad variety of sizes, from 4" (like an old Mercedes high beam) >> to 5 3/4" (most quad round setups) to 7" (most dual rounds and round >> motorcycles). Rectangular sizes are available as well, and actually >> can produce better viewing angles and light patterns than the round >> (Aren't light physics wonderful?). >> >> -Kurt >> >> >> >> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 8:31 AM, 750S <[email protected]> wrote: >> > I have been considering a lighting upgrade for my 700S nighthawk. Two >> > options I'm thinking about are: >> >> > 1. Converting original headlight bulb for a newer HID system. >> > (preferred option for me) >> >> > 2. Installing Piaa 1100X running lights >> >> > The 1st option, I believe, is my preferred method as I would like to >> > keep the appearance of bike as close to stock as possible, however I >> > would also like to get the most nighttime visibility. >> >> > Anyone on here with any experience on 1 or both of these options I >> > would greatly appreciate your input. >> > Especially if anyone can direct me to the best choice for HID >> > conversion kit, as I am not sure on what to purchase. >> >> > This forum in an invaluable means of information, keep up the great >> > posts. >> >> > Thanks in advance >> >> > -- >> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. >> > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> > [email protected]. >> > For more options, visit this group >> > athttp://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.- Hide quoted text >> > - >> >> - Show quoted text - > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. 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