PIAA HID lights

[CanAm76]

PIAA has on the market a set of HID accessory lights that have the ballast and igniter contained inside the light housing. They are small enough to be mounted almost anywhere. Does anyone have information concerning reliabilty or haven't they been on the market long enough to get useful feedback? Thanks.

[GordonB]

Personally, I'd try Trail Techs ony $150 ea. get a flood for the right side and a spot for the left. Very well built.

[Fugu]

The PIAAs *ARE* the Trail Techs.

 

Being made in the USA by TT for PIAA.

 

I've had them. Their performance wasn't as good as I wanted, I went with mammoth Lightforce spotlights instead- and there were some issues with quality on the TTs, BUT they stood behind them every time, including beyond warranty, and also did so for another, larger set of their HIDS with integral ballasts that I tried.

 

 

[CanAm76]

Whatever lights I decide on will be mounted on my Honda Blackbird. I am looking for something reasonably small, but with enough extra light to get me to at least the level I was at with my RT with the Eastern Beaver wiring upgrade. Any suggestions? Would the standard PIAA or equivalent smaller halogen lights do the trick with more reliability?

[eddd]

Here is a link to a review I did on the lights in question.

[Fugu]

Would the standard PIAA or equivalent smaller halogen lights do the trick with more reliability?

 

You'd have to buy bulbs.

 

I'm not sure how new at things TT was when I had my lights from them. My hunch is I was an early adopter of the SCMR16 and then the SC4.

 

I already had PIAA 1100X halogens on the bike, I needed the second set to be ridiculously bright. The big 6" round 100w Lightforces are that. They also looked silly on my RT.

 

Give the TTs a shot. They're good lights, and if you have trouble, they'll take care of you. Don't mean to sour anyone on them.

 

 

 

[AdirondackJack]

Couple other ideas would be Istar LazerStars from Weekend Concepts. . . . .Definitely a better light than the TT. In this light I have used the spots with great luck. It looks similar to the TT, but doesn't have the overheating problem cause ballast is insulated from the bulb. Secondly, the 4" fuego from Baja Designs (their 'driving light' version) is a real bangin HID. I use both of the above in combination with the 1100X's under the oil cooler and, voila. . . .stadium lighting. Use the RTP over mirror brackets for the Istars, and the Lumalink caliper brackets for the Baja's, and you've really got yourself some lighting. Course, you really shouldn't listen to me cause I'm almost viral about my lighting. It's a cop thing. PM me if you're interested in installation assistance/photos etc.

Cheers!!! AJ

[CanAm76]

Thanks everyone for the information. I will search through all this info and see what I like. The Honda has H7 bulbs. Eastern Beaver website shows universal wiring kits to upgrade similar to the H4 conversions. But half my riding is done in the dark, early morning, so I will definetly add on some aux lights.

Everyone agrees, one can never have too much light.

[Dr Ron]

A pair of 1100X PIAAs will do all you ask and more besides, I've had the same pair on 2 bikes, my KLT and my RT, over 7 yrs of faithful and trouble-free illumination. I am waiting for a pair of mounts to work w/my spanking new K1300GT, but so far no luck. Hope to have something from EZ Mount by Christmas!

[elkroeger]

I put a pair of the 13W Trail Techs on Lori's 650CS. I'd say they're pretty close to a regular 55W halogen bulb. Get 'em pointed just right, and you can leave them on in traffic. Point them wrong, just a bit, and you'll blind everyone on the road. I can't imagine using the 30 or 40W units in traffic.

 

They're fantastic little lights. The only downside is that I already had a pair of motolights mounted on my bike.

 

[Motors]

Say Jack,

Any chance you could post some photos of your lighting?

Especially with the HID iStars???

 

Thanks

[redstar]

Here it is, istar HID lights, you can choose flood or spot light, this link show chromed one but you can have it in black finish.

 

http://www.axiomcycles.com/pages/item/itemdetail.asp?item=28-124-0151

 

Best price i find!

 

Hope this help!

[Motors]

A friend has a pair of PIAA Cross Countrys (made by Trail Tech) on Lumilight brackets. He has gone through 4 bulbs ($79.00 ea!) and the black coating has faded to a weird bronze color. I certainly wouldn't buy a pair with the problems he has experienced.

 

 

[Shaun09]

Tell your friend to contact PIAA for a replacement. I met their marketing rep Saturday and he is shipping a replacement set for free. Turns out they had problems with the ballast overheating and the coating too. They say they have corrected the problem. Yes, Trail Tech had the technology, but PIAA wrote the specs for their product to last much longer than the TT lights (2000+ hours v. 800 hours). The reflector design is different from the TT too.

 

Now I need to work out the fit with my Lumalink brackets before they are mounted. Considering other mounting options.

[Missouri Bob]

I just bought a used GS with PIAA Cross Countrys. One of them failed tonight. Reading PIAA's web site, I saw that their lights are not supposed to be mounted upside down because of the vent location. My PIAAs are mounted upside down.

 

At $576 for the set, I think I will go without auxiliary lights.

 

Bob

[MLS2GO]

They have been warranting these as far as I know. You can replace one with a Trailtech light, Trailtech makes them for PIAA.