HID Headlight.

[Triangles]

I personally don't like the awful color rendering of these HID light systems. I'm also annoyed at the idiots that put these lights in halogen fixtures and blind the f$#&* out of oncoming traffic. So I was hesitant to even consider trying them. The whole reason for wanting to try them is for power savings so that I can add some heated gear this winter. I wouldn't consider any that didn't have a metal shield in front of the bulb so as to avoid being one of the idiots mentioned above burning the retinas of oncoming drivers. I tried to get the whitest ones I could find. Hopped on fleabay for a direct from China deal. $30 buck and I've got a pair intended for a car so I have spares or I could use the second on another bike. Supposedly 4100K however they look just as blue as any other HID I've seen. While the ballast is small there almost isn't even room in the headlight fixture for just the bulb. It was quite an ordeal fiddling with the wires so that I could aim the light. Another $12 for a 1 meter high voltage extension cable. and the place where the OEM tools go made a convenient place for the ballast. I moved the tools to the little storage compartment below. After looking at the wiring diagram I determined the wire to tap under the seat for power supply. Some crimp on spades for the "High Beam" magnet. Turning on the high beam activates a magnet that moves the bulb to allow more light around the shield. I simply plugged in these spades to the factory head light plug for high beam and wrapped with tape to keep them from coming out.

Over All I'm not really pleased with the HID conversion and I really wouldn't recommend them unless you really need the power savings. Initially I started looking for a whole new headlight assembly designed for a HID bulb. All I could find was crazy stupid expensive crap who's price could only be justified if it were made out of platinum so I stopped looking. My home brew HID conversion is adequate for now. I aimed the light down a little more than I would if it were a halogen light to make sure I'm not unintentionally blinding anyone. Also it will give me some free amps to keep warm this winter. I've ordered some Oxford Bone Dry handlebar muffs with heaters. We'll see how good they work.

[citadel vulcan]

Sounds like the brightness rating is actually higher than 4100K. I have a speedmetal h4 HID kit I picked up at Cycle Gear. It is a 6000K light and it is bright white. A lot more light than stock or even the Sylvania Silverstar Ultra I replaced. Granted, I installed a set of 8000K in my Jeep (Meant to order 6000K) and they have a slight blue tint to them. I ride mostly at night. I work a night shift at a hotel in Charleston, so I ride 30-40 minutes to a from work every day (about 55 miles). Every bit of visibility helps.

[Triangles]

I saw a youtube review of some guy showing the cheapie-cheap HID ballasts vs the expensive quality ones. I may actually have 4100k bulbs but the cheap ballasts affect the color. In the review the person used a 4100K bulb on a cheap balast and it looked blue, more like a 6K+ bulb. Then he plugged the same bulb into a higer quality ballast and the bulb was the correct white color for a 4100K bulb. I don't really know how these things work so I don't know if this is true or rubbish. However it makes sense as to why my bulb seems so blue.

[citadel vulcan]

Generally speaking, the color is based on the temperature inside the bulb. It is measured in Kelvin. So your lights should be burning at 4100 degrees kelvin

[Triangles]

I think the point of the review I saw was saying the cheap ballasts didn't put out enough voltage, current or both for the bulb to reach proper operating temp resulting in the color being toward the blue end of the spectrum. You can skip toward the end where he demonstrates the color results with good vs crappy ballasts.