Whilst bike manufacturers try to impress us with all the overall performance stats of their top of the line and finest sports models, the fact is that bar their leading model practically all motorcycles are built down to a budget. One of the aspects we suffer most is with standard lighting.
Every motorcyclist I know has at some time in time lamented about the overall performance of their standard OEM installed motorcycle headlights. For those of us that make use of the motorbike as a sunday toy, that may not end up being a trouble, when travelling, or perhaps riding at nights, it becomes all too noticeable. Manufacturer lights are seldom up to the job.
And so just what exactly are our options? of course we could go for a conventional fitment (H4 or H7) 55w Xenon bulb. There is a huge assortment of aftermarket bulbs to choose from in these sizes, by reliable vendors such as Phillips and Osram. These aftermarket light bulbs often promise 10, 15, even 20% more light.
But what if that still isn't good enough?
Which is where HID lamps come in. High Intensity Discharge or HID for short alludes to the technique in which these bulbs produce their light. Unlike conventional halogen bulbs, which emit light by means of heating up a metal filament, HID lamps don't have any filament. This means that they cannot degrade as time passes in the way that conventional bulbs do. Instead HIDs generate their light by igniting the xenon gas inside the glass with a high voltage spark. Once the gas is alight the voltage drops to a more maintainable amount. It's this method of gas ignition which enables HID to give off 3 times more light for every watt in comparison with standard halogen lights.
Are HIDs a direct replacement for OEM motorcycle light bulbs?
It all depends. HIDs need massive voltage on startup to give off light. Even a modern bike's electrical system won't be able to generate this level of electricity alone. In order to get around this, a ballast component is used to help increase the voltage. On a number of bikes the location of the ballast component can be pretty challenging, meaning that HIDs aren't just a plug and play replacement for standard bulbs.
How long do they last?
Usually HIDs will last about 4,000 hours. As opposed to standard light bulbs they don't dim with grow older, though will pre warn of their potential failure by means of flickering intermittently. This is in comparison to a standard OEM halogen bulb lifetime of 750 hours or 1500 for a few replacement products. Consequently basically the HIDs are most likely last you the lifespan of your motorbike.
Author Resource:
Curious in learning more on the subject of motorbike headlights and light bulbs? Check out http://jonreadman.hubpages.com/hub/The-importance-of-motorcycle-bulbs
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")