I will be doing a projector headlight upgrade

[Grumpy_Rocket]

After thinking about wiring up a relay setup to my bike, I decided I rather just wire up a completely new headlight bulb setup. I am going to do a projector lamp setup, and I will do a write up of the end results and how to do it. The only thing I am really worried about is how it will look when its done. I like the big two glowing ciircle look of the stock headlights. Hopefully when I am done it wont look like 2 little dots of lights. Should have the parts/start the process within the next 2 weeks.

 

[nolton]

You must post pic along with everything else. Just a warning. We will be asking.

 

[spdn3]

What do you mean by projecta, i was thinking HID upgrade as they only use 1/3 the amps of halogens, that would have to be easier than the relay setup and you get better lights with standard looks,........any comments would be appreciated

 

[Grumpy_Rocket]

here is the deal:

The reason I am giving a projector bulb setup a try is that the light emitted is focused by the bulb and housing. The big round reflector that the bike uses now is not going to be used to reflect light. Why would you want this? Well if you just put HID bulbs in the factory housings you can have issues with glare for other drivers. Ideally you would use reflectors specifically for the HID bulbs. Those aren't exactly available for the rocket. I know guys have done the conversion with straight HID bulbs, but I would like to not blind other drivers at night. Not to mention its questionable as to the legality of using HID bulbs anyway depending on your state. Since I went with a very reasonable color temp, and I am using the projector setup I should end up with much brighter lights that wont be blinding to others and should keep the cops away.

The HID bulbs run on A/c and at a very high voltage. You need to have ballasts run to power them. If you buy a complete HID setup you will get the the ballasts with it. You would not need to buy/make a relay kit anymore, since the only thing the wires that normally power the headlights will be doing will be turning on the ballasts, thus no major power drain through the ignition switch. That was a major deciding factor. Since you could upgrade the lights for about 120 to 130$ vs around 70 for the relay harness if you buy the premade one.

Again this is going to really be a crap shoot. I have used different forms of hid projector bulbs in cars, I am not sure how well this is going to work on the r3. Give me a couple weeks to get it sorted out and installed. I am hoping it works great since it would be a economical upgrade for other owners. Like I said if its worth while I will post a full write up with pictures to help you guys out. Fair warning though, you will have to cut and solder wires to get this kit to work.

 

[Grumpy_Rocket]

Also, as a warning, do not attempt to wire the ballast of a hid kit through the ignition switch! Although the lamps run on much less power when on and warmed up, the initial startup draws more power then the standard bulbs. You would likely have your ignition switch completely fail in a short time due to this, if the bulbs would even fire to begin with without blowing the fuse.

 

[spdn3]

thanks Grump i will watch this thread with envy, im hopin while we are in the midst of winter here that my ignition wont over heat and leave me stranded amongst my harley rider mates

 

[mully95]

I was thinking of installing a HID system that I already have but I need to change the bulbs out to the bulbs that fit our housings. Does anyone know the number of the bulb our housings use? I don't want to have to take them apart twice another words. Mine is a 2010 Roadster if that matters.

If not wired through the ignition switch what other alternatives would I have? The HID system I already have was wired with the ignition switch on my ****** rocket and never had any problems. Just curious?

 

[Grumpy_Rocket]

The balasts should be wired directly to the battery. The r3s ignition switch shouldn't be handling dual headlights the way it is, let alone two hid bulbs. Like I said the startup power needed for the hid bulbs is typically more then the stardad bulbs.

 

[mully95]

The balasts should be wired directly to the battery. The r3s ignition switch shouldn't be handling dual headlights the way it is, let alone two hid bulbs. Like I said the startup power needed for the hid bulbs is typically more then the stardad bulbs.

I'm more than likely giving miss information but this what I have.

HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning

There are two terminals that plug on the DDM kit that plug into the existing head light plug connector. The other two connect to the bulbs. This is a two light kit rather than one. I have the 35w kits. I have the ballasts kits sitting right here and have no use of them. I would like to use them on my Roadster but I'm afraid I would hinder on coming traffic more than anything. Be nice however to have that type headlight system. I loved the HID system on my sport bike and miss it. The sport bike I had these on had only had one light illuminated on low and had both illuminated on high......... so I could get away with it but having both lit would be very bright to on coming traffic. Any suggestions maybe of using the high/low switch on the bike? At night time I could have the far right head light as low beam and then hit the switch to high and have both lights illuminated. One light (the right one) would be plenty of light compared to the stock head lights. During daylight hours I could have both on (high) for safety reasons. Just throwing this out there for discussion. lol

After reveiwing the bulb options on the link above DDM has bulbs that have High/Lo BUT I don't know the bulb our bikes use. Is the bulb type listed in the bulb "bulb type" box on that page?

 

[Grumpy_Rocket]

The bike uses the h4 bulb. Although some have done it I don't suggest you just slap some h4 base hid bulbs and go. The only chance of getting legit hid lights that project light properly is to use projector bulbs.