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HID Headlight install


EVLXX

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3.23.10

So First I decided to do a Bench test with the standard H7 55W bulb to a 35W & 55W HID unit. All mounted and dismounted in the same housing, with NO shims, within minutes of each other, to compare to things. I wanted to see the Beam patterns to better determine if shimming the DDM units was real necessary, and just what is the difference in light out put and color.

The below picture are of a Standard H7 bulb.... and I can't remember when I changed it last, so the color is what it is.

The DDM unit's are 5,000K bulbs.

So with my bike in pieces, I mounted my front fairing to a chair, and started playing...

I think the picture explain themselves, there is a difference between the 35 and 55 watt HID's, and I think it's easier to pic out in the thumbnails pics.

OK checking the LOW Beam light pattern on the garage door. Standard 35W H7 first, then the 35W HID, then the 55W HID. To me the Light pattern looks great.

post-726-1269345218.jpg

post-726-1269345235.jpg

post-726-1269345253.jpg

Now lets open up the garage door and see what we got. Again they are in order, with the Standard 35W unit first, going up to the 55W HID last. I should note, that I conducted this part of the installation first because, the nighttime conditions were perfect, it was relatively warm outside, there was No Moon, and there was a slight overcast of clouds. The resulting natural light was extremely Low. Yes, this was one of those nights when you tell yourself, Holy Crap it's Dark outside. Oh and yes.... the Standard Low Beam Headlight is ON.... no really it is.

post-726-1269345292.jpgpost-726-1269345305.jpgpost-726-1269345314.jpg

Next we have the same test, but this time in the High Beam housing. Personally, I don't think the pictures do this justice. The amount of light get projected is incredible. I would call the35W HID incredibly bright, and the 55W HID..... Stupid Bright. I can't wait to use this on the road.

post-726-1269345330.jpgpost-726-1269345344.jpgpost-726-1269345354.jpg

3.28.10

OK, The Next step was to mount the Ballasts somewhere...

My first thought was that I wanted to do this in the best possible way, So I wasn't going to rush this, and I was going to take my time, and explore all the options. In these first pics, you can see the room there is to work with.

post-726-1269784341.jpg

In the first picture, you can see what appears to be just a ton of room, but that's not the case. The headlight Housing takes up a lot of room itself, especially the space between and just below those to rubber mounting tabs.

This showed me I had a few options. Yes I could mount them up top on the Upper Fairing Frame Bars, as others have done, but I wasn't sure I liked that idea. Yes it was an easy solution, but it would cause 2 problems in my opinion. One thing is, it would be tight, Very tight if I wanted to mount the big Ballast units I had purchased, and there would be just a Mess of wires all wadded up behind the Instrument panel. This would cause the 2nd thing I didn't like. Easy access to the Headlight adjustment knobs. Well maybe not for some of you, but my big mitts would have a problem reaching in there with everything in place, and trying to go through a bunch of wadded up wiring. So that Location was out.

Next I thought about making a platform in-between the 2 air intake snorkels. There was plenty of room there, and I could stack the Ballast one on top of another. Hmmmm.... Well, that would leave me with the wadded up mess of wires still, and a huge problem of building a platform while getting everything perfectly lined up for the Fairing. OK. NEXT IDEA please.

So I decided to put the front fairing back on, just to see what room is where again.

post-726-1269784370.jpg

In the above picture you can see that it's tight behind the upper part of the headlight, and there seems to be a large amount of room, behind and underneath the High beam housing.

A second look at this picture also reveals there's some room on the outside of the Ram Air Ducting, in-between the duct and the fairing. Then I also see a huge opening.... right there.... under the Air duct, next to the Frame. In he above picture, it's the opening under the clutch lever.

OK. Playing with the Ballasts and some tape, I did some trial fitting, with the Slim & Large units.

post-726-1269790784.jpgpost-726-1269790817.jpgpost-726-1269790845.jpg

In the above pictures you can see how the Slim Ballast fit very nicely on the outside of the Ram Air Duct. It's also best to do a trial fit with the slim ballasts while the upper fairing is still on, because if you try and place them too far back they'll hit those little air scoops in the Fairing. Also try and keep the Ballasts flush with the top of the Ram Air ducts. Placing the slim ballast here also solved a second problem with the units.

The Slim Ballast unit's have an Igniter Box on the output cable that adds to the placement problem. It's just another part of the equation, and needs it's own room. Mounting the Slim Ballasts, on the outside of the Ram Air ducting placed these Igniter Boxes just in front of the Ram Air Ducting, and just to the sides of the Headlight Housing, where there's plenty of room for them. If you Look closely at the first picture above, you can follow the Red and Blue wires back to this Box and it's placement.

In the 2nd and 3rd pic, you can see the Left side Ballast placements and the wire routing for the Large Ballast.

I really liked the way the Large Ballast and wiring all fit in this spot, it's almost as if it was just meant to be.

I mounted the Slim Ballast to the outside of the Air Duct with some Double sided Int/Ext. Tape I got at Home Depot. Because of the ribs that are molded into the ducting I added an extra layer of tape to even the area out.

post-726-1269790890.jpg

Fitting the Large Ballast into it's new home, 2 things became clear. I needed to bend the Metal Wire Loom Bracket that was under the Ballast, to give it just a little bit more room. You can see this bracket a little better in the last picture above. Then secondly, the Top of the Ballast pushes up on the Air Duct pretty Hard, and even tries to pop the Duct out of the AirCleaner Box, as you can see in this picture.

post-726-1269790919.jpg

After removing the Left side Air Duct, with a Heat gun and a piece of pipe I had laying around, I made a small indentation in the duct. The duct already had some scratch marks on it from Me sliding the Ballast in and out several times, so getting it in the right spot was easy.

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Now with everything in place and secured with Strong Double sided Tape. I think it looks Good. You can also see in this picture, that Ignitor Box again, and where it fits into the equation. Plus I stuck some foam tape on the Outside of the Slim Ballast Just because....

post-726-1269791083.jpg

Next.... Is a little Back tracking....

Bulb Installation.

Comparing the Standard H7 Filament placement to the H7 HID Gas Blub placement. You can see they are almost perfectly aligned. So once again, there is no need for shimming the DDM Bulbs back. They fit great just like they are.

post-726-1269793075.jpg

But a small problem does arise. The DDM units came with the mounting spacers needed to make the stock retainer spring work properly, but..... They need to be modified just a little bit. In this next picture you can see the stock bulb on the right. The un-modified Spacer in the middle. And a Modified and installed spacer on the HID bulb on the Left.

The spacer needs all of the corners rounded off, and the little alignment Tab needs to be shortened just a touch.

post-726-1269793102.jpg

4.4.10

Here's the Last of the project....

Well great, now with the Bulbs and Ballast installed I could have considered the project Done.... Nope. I couldn't do it.

If you read the instructions, probably on any HID unit, it says not to look directly at the Light, which makes complete sense considering how bright these things are, and, when I started this project, there was one small detail that I knew I was going to have to overcome, because.... It really should be done.

There's NO Bulb shield on our Bikes...

post-726-1270407969.jpg

So, what that meant to me was, I have to make one. Because I know there's people out there just like me, that look over at other peoples headlights at one time or another, and get partially blinded by them, and if I don't have a Bulb shield/cover on my Bulbs... then the Glare and Dazzling Bright light from my headlights, will Blind someone, and I don't want that. The whole point of this project was to help me see better, but not at the cost of Blinding others.

So with a little bit of time, some stainless steel sheeting, a welder, etc. I made a Shield that would mount onto my bulb and still fit into the headlight housing.

To be quite honest, this was not an easy build. the difference between the base of the HID H7 Bulb and the Housings Bulb seat was about 0.070". This meant that I only had about 0.035" of room to play with on each side of the bulb. Luckily I found some stainless steel sheeting that was 0.028" thick.

I built one first with a flat Nose, and tested it in the bike. What I found was, that the light that was getting reflected inside the Shield, was getting bounced straight back onto the reflector housing, and still causing a fair amount of Glare. So I had to build a small cone for the nose of the shield, in order to bounce the light back in a more disperced, or angular pattern. Here's the resulting/finished product.

post-726-1270407924.jpgpost-726-1270407946.jpg

post-726-1270407986.jpg

Now there's only one thing left. To test it.

From in front of the Bike, and off to the side at about the height and angle a car driver might be, you can really tell the difference, with and without the Bulb shield. Without on the Left, with on the right.

In person, it really looks even better than the picture, the difference is massive. I think part of the problem might be because the camera is automatically adjusting for the amount of light in the garage, so the pictures ( that I joined together ) don't really tell a 100% of story, but it still gives you a good idea of how much better it is.

post-726-1270408006.jpg

On the garage door, the beam pattern is still the same, but the light intensitiy seams to be just a touch brighter with the sheild installed. Which only makes sense to me, if the light that was just shooting out in all direction before is now getting focused on the road, it would only make sense that the beam would be brighter.

So.... maybe I'll have to build another one for the High beam bulb as well. Or maybe I'll go to the Salvage yard and see if there's some Bulb Shield out there that can be retrofitted into our housing alot easier. Well... that will have to be some other day.

Have a Good Day.

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Great job Eric!

You do know how you can insert the pictures in the post and locate and tag to make it even more understandable?

About time someone did this.

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Once upon a time I knew... but as I get older I find, That I forget more. Which in this case I have...

and although I have tried several times.... because yes, it would be better if I could give a description next too each picture.

...

Well, maybe later, it's snowing here right now, so I've gotta go get some sleep... if I can get any sleep tonight. :icon_neutral:

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You can go to edit and on the left, attachments box has a pulldown with insert and delete icons, insert will put a box with the picture discription in the post where your curser is.

post-893-1269403076.jpg like this

Nite, looks like a foot or more.

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Did you look at mounting the larger ballasts either side of the headlight assembly? That is where I found the most room on my 98 :icon_surprised: Ran some Ali between the HL bolts and bolted the ballasts to that :icon_biggrin:

post-2722-1269868923.jpg

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But a small problem does arise. The DDM units came with the mounting spacers needed to make the stock retainer spring work properly, but..... They need to be modified just a little bit. In this next picture you can see the stock bulb on the right. The un-modified Spacer in the middle. And a Modified and installed spacer on the HID bulb on the Left.

The spacer needs all of the corners rounded off, and the little alignment Tab needs to be shortened just a touch.

That bit really bothered me as well. It'd be nice if the instructions from DDM told you to do that. I was wondering if I was voiding the warranty by modifying the kit to make it fit, but it was the only way it would go on.

Interesting about putting the ballasts on the outside of the air ducts. I don't know if I would prefer it to where I mounted (tied between the support for the instrument cluster and the instruments, but I'm not pulling things apart now to redo them. :icon_biggrin:

I wish DDM has an option for longer wires. What you get is too much if you stick it all up close to the bulbs and not quite enough to mount them somewhere back on the frame. It would also be nice if their power leads had plugs that matched the bulb connector. I suppose it's secure, but two loose wire blades going into the harness plug isn't what I would have gone with.

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Para, that McCulloch ballast must be pretty small. I had to go out and look inside my fairing, take it off again, and look again, and re-install it one more time, to see that you must have put it on the side of the Headlight. Yes there is a little bit of room there, but only on the right side of my bike, since there's a big wiring connection pack on the left side. The Large "Raptor Cone" ballasts from the DDM site are, well large, and I don't even think one of them would fit over there on the side.

Interesting though, thanks for the post.

Zero, When I started this, I really wanted to explore all the options for mounting these Ballast, and share my findings with everybody, that's why I bought both ballasts. Then after playing with various mounting locations, and the Slim Ballast and the Large Raptor Cone Ballasts, I actually decided I like the Large ballasts better. Yes they are bigger, but like you pointed out, I too wish the leads on the Slims were a lot longer. That separate Igniter Box on the Slim units really gave me fits. It would be a piece of cake to mount 2 of those Large ballasts on the Bird, one on the left and one on the right, and they really fit like a clove. In fact, they fit in there so well, one would almost not even need to secure them at all.

As for the Adapter thingies, well, I was just overly happy I even had them, and was not worried about cutting them, or any warranty.

I talked to RichardCranium today, and he told me he is going to mount his Slim ballasts on Top of his Headlight. I can't wait to see his installation pics. The more ideas and solutions that get thrown out here the better.

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Para, that McCulloch ballast must be pretty small. I had to go out and look inside my fairing, take it off again, and look again, and re-install it one more time, to see that you must have put it on the side of the Headlight. Yes there is a little bit of room there, but only on the right side of my bike, since there's a big wiring connection pack on the left side.

I wouldn't call them small :icon_surprised: I reckon they are ~4"x4"x1" thick :icon_confused:

I've seen quite a few with smaller ballasts :icon_surprised: Maybe it's because yours is a FI Bird but with my carbed XX there is bugger all wiring either side of the headlight and no ducting :icon_surprised:

Quite a few guys here in Oz with later FI Birds put the ballasts on the back of the instrument cluster but with the carbed instruments they wont fit there :icon_frown: I looked at quite a few positions and most either didn't fit or the wiring was too short :icon_wall:

I initially thought they may fit on the other side of the Ali but no luck :icon_sad:

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I may redo this...or I may just put the windscreen on and forget about it but it really doesn't fit as tight as I would like. It was just a quick and dirty install. The ballasts fit here perfectly but the plates are a bit loose. I thought about drilling some small holes on the plates and zip tying them to the fairing stay but its not like they are going anywhere as is.

normal_P3220010.JPG

huge pic

normal_P3220015.JPG

huge pic

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I may redo this...or I may just put the windscreen on and forget about it but it really doesn't fit as tight as I would like. It was just a quick and dirty install. The ballasts fit here perfectly but the plates are a bit loose. I thought about drilling some small holes on the plates and zip tying them to the fairing stay but its not like they are going anywhere as is.

normal_P3220010.JPG

huge pic

normal_P3220015.JPG

huge pic

C-L-E-V-E-R

:icon_biggrin:

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I may redo this...or I may just put the windscreen on and forget about it but it really doesn't fit as tight as I would like. It was just a quick and dirty install. The ballasts fit here perfectly but the plates are a bit loose. I thought about drilling some small holes on the plates and zip tying them to the fairing stay but its not like they are going anywhere as is.

normal_P3220010.JPG

huge pic

normal_P3220015.JPG

huge pic

C-L-E-V-E-R

:icon_biggrin:

Haha...I was just replying to you but you edited your post. I guess you looked a little closer. :icon_wink:

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Haha...I was just replying to you but you edited your post. I guess you looked a little closer. :icon_wink:

You know how much I hate you now....I gotta wonder if I can do the same without having to tear the front down on the bike again. :icon_twisted:

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Nice B, good job.

I only bought one small Ballast. so that would not have worked completely, but I do like it alot.

I also must guess that your wirering harness is looped downunder the Headlight housing, hmmm...

Maybe I should move mine down there as well......

Well again, good job, I like it.

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Well, forget about mounting ballasts behind the instrument cluster. I shorted out my instruments (fuse blew) as soon as I got out of the driveway. I'm going to have to do what EVLXX did.

I can only hope that I can work them into position without having to totally dismantle the front of the bike again. :icon_rolleyes:

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Well, forget about mounting ballasts behind the instrument cluster. I shorted out my instruments (fuse blew) as soon as I got out of the driveway. I'm going to have to do what EVLXX did.

I can only hope that I can work them into position without having to totally dismantle the front of the bike again. :icon_rolleyes:

I just noticed looking at the other thread that you still have that giant wiring harness behind your dash. At some point I moved mine. Probably when I tore the bike down and put it in a different location without realizing it.

I also noticed that you mounted your ballasts between the fairing stay and the dash where I mounted mine on the outside of the fairing stay.

Also of interest is that your ballasts look different than mine.

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Note: Brett's Slim Ballast are Different than Mine and Zero's Slim Ballasts. Look closely at the pics. Strange.....................

I asked for the special XX ballasts. They are more powerful so that we don't have to worry about out-running the light.

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Note: Brett's Slim Ballast are Different than Mine and Zero's Slim Ballasts. Look closely at the pics. Strange.....................

I asked for the special XX ballasts. They are more powerful so that we don't have to worry about out-running the light.

ROTFLMAO!

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This was an interesting thread and a couple months too late for me. I just dropped the units down from the top between the ducts and the upper fairing, seems like a nice, secure friction fit. :icon_biggrin:

I was stunned how much smaller the DDM ballast were over my old McColloughs.

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The shield is a very nice touch. Are you going to go into manufacturing on them? :icon_biggrin:

Good write up. I have had the DDM HID kit sitting in the garage for months and have yet

to get around to doing the install. I really should get going on that one of these days...

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The shield is a very nice touch. Are you going to go into manufacturing on them? :icon_biggrin:

Good write up. I have had the DDM HID kit sitting in the garage for months and have yet

to get around to doing the install. I really should get going on that one of these days...

Get off your ass and get it installed ya lazy bastard.

Did that help? :icon_biggrin:

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The shield is a very nice touch. Are you going to go into manufacturing on them? :icon_biggrin:

Good write up. I have had the DDM HID kit sitting in the garage for months and have yet

to get around to doing the install. I really should get going on that one of these days...

Get off your ass and get it installed ya lazy bastard.

Did that help? :icon_biggrin:

LOL. :icon_biggrin: Yeah, that helps, but now I see I need to get a shield for the bulb so I don't

blind people looking straight into it... :icon_think:

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