Blue Headlight for my motorcycle?

[jk333]

Ive been researching getting a blue headlight for my bike. Its an 81 Honda CB750. The original headlight has been replaced with one that takes a standard H4 bulb. Ive been looking alot on ebay and one of my main concerns is buying a bulb and it turns out to have a blue lense, but it just ends up shining white instead of blue. Really, the effect im going for is what you see on some of the newer cars that have headlights with a blueish tint. Kind of hard to explain. Anyways, I was hoping that some of you who are using blue headlights could reccomend a brand that will last (this bikes my daily rider), that you use in your Jeep, who also hopefully makes an H4 version. And of course, pictures are always welcome. Thanks.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

What you are looking for is an HID conversion, they are relatively cheap. I see them on motorcycles all the time, but I am not sure what differences there would be on a bike, I'm not a 2 wheels kind of guy

 

[jk333]

What you are looking for is an HID conversion, they are relatively cheap. I see them on motorcycles all the time, but I am not sure what differences there would be on a bike, I'm not a 2 wheels kind of guy

hmmm, im not real familiar with headlight terminology. Is Xenon the same as HID or no? Ive seen the word Xenon tossed around alot when I was searching on ebay.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

xenon is a gas, when regular H4 bulbs are filled with xenon gas it allows them to use a filament that burns hotter, producing a brighter, usually cooler(whiter) light. the downside is they pull more amps and the stock wiring usually cannot handle the extra load, usually causing burned sockets, or worse, melted wiring. the blue xenon bulbs are usually just a painted bulb, or a silicone jacket over the surface of the glass.

HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. HID lamps are also filled with xenon gas. they are usually around the same brightness as a 100w halogen off road light, and depending on the color temperature they range anywhere from a deep amber/yellow to a dark purple. there are plenty of color temperature charts online, that can help you decide which temp to go with depending on what color you want to produce. Most people agree that the greatest light output is around 4300°k -5000°k, if you are looking for a bluish tint that starts around 6000°k and gets deeper blue the higher the temperature goes, until it hits purple. they also use very little power once they are warmed up, which is why alot of people prefer them. they offer more light without overloading the wiring.

Be warned that it is quite possibly illegal to add HID headlights to a vehicle that did not come originally equipped with them. I would check the laws before shelling out the dough, or get a faster bike and dont stop

like i said, i'm not a bike guy... but this is just a little info about HIDs. hope it helps.

this is usually what you end up with when you buy "Xenon" bulbs:

and this is a typical HID bulb:

 

[sherman08]

Grimm posted a bunch of good information on HID. and if you have the money that is probably the way to go. I am also not a two wheel guy, but i don't think I've ever seen anything like projector housings for a bike, or if its legal to install them. The projector housings are better for controlling the higher light output and putting it where you want it. The stock reflector housings cause a lot of glare to passing drivers.

 

[jk333]

Thanks guys, especially you Grimm, thats one hell of an explanation.

 

[GSequoia]

Be aware that the bluer the light the worse it is. Blue is a terrible color for headlamps, the human eye has a hard time seeing blue. It's best to use a whiter color light so you can get the upgrade in lighting without sacrificing it to try to look cool.

Also to properly go to HID lamps you really should change your lens to a projector style lens. HID lamp light output is different than an H4 lamp output so lens design is dramatically different. You're not really getting the full effect of HID using a housing designed for H4.

Personally I'd start out by seeing how much the alternator on your bike puts out (not much I'm sure, CBs were simplistic) then figuring out the operating amperage of the bike so you know what kind of headroom you have. Then you'll need to build a headlight wiring harness and get yourself a drop in 55w/100w H4 bulb. That way you'll have a legal low beam that isn't blinding everybody but a nice bright high beam when you need the extra power.


BTW - Grimm - "Alot" isn't a word. :twak:

 

[jk333]

depending on the color temperature they range anywhere from a deep amber/yellow to a dark purple. there are plenty of color temperature charts online, that can help you decide which temp to go with depending on what color you want to produce. Most people agree that the greatest light output is around 4300°k -5000°k, if you are looking for a bluish tint that starts around 6000°k and gets deeper blue the higher the temperature goes, until it hits purple. they also use very little power once they are warmed up, which is why alot of people prefer them. they offer more light without overloading the wiring.

You seem to be an expert on the subject, so I hope you don't mind me asking, I found the (below) temp chart and I like the look of the 8000K. My question is will it effect the power draw, the more I go up in temp or no? I know, above it says that they use very little power when warmed up, but I want to make sure. Thanks.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I do work sometimes for BajaHID. I just researched the HID setups alot before I bought kits to convert my off road lights over. As Sequoia stated above without a projector type housing you are going to be blinding people, unless you aim the light down so the end of the focal point of the beam of light hits the gound about 25-30 feet in front of your bike. By doing that you lose the advantage of the higher light output though. The color temperature has nothing to do with the amount of current draw, they all have the same current requirements.

Remember, the as the color temperature goes higher less visible light is going to be produced, and as stated above the more uncomfortable its going to be for other drivers to look at. The 6000k bulbs are mostly white with a blue tint, I wouldn't go any higher than that if you are looking for an improvement in light.

Another option to look at would be a combination high/low kit. There are kits available that fit into a standard H4 socket and have a combination bulb inside. When low beams are on it uses a H4 halogen bulb just like a normal headlight, then when you flip your high beam switch it uses a HID bulb. That way you would only use your blue HID headlight when there is nobody in front of you to annoy

BTW - Grimm - "Alot" isn't a word. :twak:

:badpc:

 

[CherBear]

Another option to look at would be a combination high/low kit. There are kits available that fit into a standard H4 socket and have a combination bulb inside. When low beams are on it uses a H4 halogen bulb just like a normal headlight, then when you flip your high beam switch it uses a HID bulb. That way you would only use your blue HID headlight when there is nobody in front of you to annoy

My h4 HIDs are wired the opposite way, HID low, halogen high.

HIDs are awful for "Flashing the Brights" because they take a moment to warm up to their full light potential.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

Wire it up opposite and don't flash your brights

 

[RedHeep]

Whatever you do, make sure you're not making your headlight less visible.

Cars have a hard enough time seeing motorcycles as it is. If you put a vatozone colored bulb in there, you'll make it worse.

If you decide to go the HID route, google and ebay and you'll find a bunch of kits. The problem on a smaller bike is where to put the balast. There just isn't a lot of room for the extra components. Most bike riders that go HID have touring bikes or bikes with fairings and can hide the extra stuff.

 

[jk333]

Cars have a hard enough time seeing motorcycles as it is.

very true :tear:

 

[GrimmJeeper]

The problem on a smaller bike is where to put the balast. There just isn't a lot of room for the extra components. Most bike riders that go HID have touring bikes or bikes with fairings and can hide the extra stuff.

This is actually a problem quite a few people have when installing them in cars and trucks as well, usually because the wires are too short to mount the ballast in a convenient place. I've had good luck with cutting the wires to the bulbs and splicing in longer wires to get them where i want them to be, as well as to run the wires through the small grommets on the back of my off road light housings where the connectors on the bulb leads wouldn't fit through. As long as you A.) use a high quality wire, B.) solder the connections, C.) seal them with a heat shrink tube that is rated to be waterproof, and D.) go with an adequate wire size to account for voltage drop with the longer run of wire, you should be able to mount the ballast anywhere that is convenient. I've had no problems whatsoever with my off road lights and I added at least 3 feet of wire to the leads from each bulb to get the ballasts mounted where I wanted them in my XJ.