Sierra BMW HID conversion kit: reviews?

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Found an HID conversion kit on Sierra BMW's website. Link here.

 

Anyone used the R1200RT kit (H7)? Any reviews? Awesome? Crap? Somewhere in between? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

1off posts fairly frequently on advrider. Either equipment or venders...maybe both.

[Quinn]

As a side question: how long do HID bulbs last? I'm getting tired of changing my H7 bulbs every few months.

 

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[RedMac]

I've had mine in 3 years now. Original bulbs. High beam too which I usually run in daylight (All three the current draw was less than the original three by 15 watts).

[Deadboy]

As a side question: how long do HID bulbs last? I'm getting tired of changing my H7 bulbs every few months.

 

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Every few months? Wow...I have 60k+ on my bike and am pretty sure I am on bulb #2......may be something else going on w/yours.

 

I should clarify I do not have an HID conversion....just your typical stock style bulb most likely replaced with something from NAPA...

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

https://www.ddmtuning.com/

 

I have a McCollough (or something like that) on my bike now. It's gone 5 years and I'm replacing it with one of the above 55w kits next time I have the plastics off.

[99Roadster]

1offmotorsports

 

Read a few good reviews from those that have it. CAN-bus friendly too.

 

Lifetime warranty, 30 money back guarantee.

[LeftCoastMan]

There's been a ton of threads here about the 1offmotorsports products. OK, maybe not a ton, but a few. I installed it, as has several other people. There are a couple of watchouts, specifically on how to thread the wiring through the OEM cap that keeps the lightbulbs dry.

 

The 1off lamps are rated at 3500 hours. If you ride 10 hours a week, they'd last six years or so. In other words, they might last longer than some people keep their bikes.

[TestPilot]

Do the kits include new reflectors, or do they simply insert the HID bulbs in front of the original H7 or H4 reflectors? If the original reflectors are used, what is the effect on the beam pattern with HID bulbs installed?

[OoPEZoO]

As a side question: how long do HID bulbs last? I'm getting tired of changing my H7 bulbs every few months.

 

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My HID bulb was already in my bike when I bought it in '05. I've run it for 5+ years and 65k miles, plus how ever long it was installed before that. It has never skipped a beat.

[LeftCoastMan]

Do the kits include new reflectors, or do they simply insert the HID bulbs in front of the original H7 or H4 reflectors? If the original reflectors are used, what is the effect on the beam pattern with HID bulbs installed?

 

No change in reflectors. I adjusted the headlamps a bit, but, as many have stated elsewhere, very few have noticed any issues with oncoming traffic. Of course, I believe we should be seen first, worry about the corneas of oncoming drivers later.

[TestPilot]

I asked because, depending on the thoroughness of the inspector, HID bulbs in standard reflectors won't pass.

[LeftCoastMan]

Here in California, we don't get inspected like in NY. We do get smog inspections, but that's usually only on an older vehicle (and I'm not even sure bikes have to undergo it, but I'm not sure). I suppose if I blinded a CHP officer, there might be a problem.

 

Smog inspections I understand, because California air is so much better today than it was when I was a kid. But doesn't NY have better things to do?

 

Go Syracuse!

[TestPilot]

Here in California, we don't get inspected like in NY. We do get smog inspections, but that's usually only on an older vehicle (and I'm not even sure bikes have to undergo it, but I'm not sure). I suppose if I blinded a CHP officer, there might be a problem.

 

Smog inspections I understand, because California air is so much better today than it was when I was a kid. But doesn't NY have better things to do?

 

Go Syracuse!

 

Apparently not. But as I said, it depends on how conscientious the inspector is.

[Joel]

Inquiring minds want to know.

True dat. When you decide, please let us know. I've been pondering this too, but every time I research it I end up chasing my tail on pros and cons.

[LeftCoastMan]

Joel, I'm not sure that the cons (whatever they may be) outweigh the benefits. Longer bulb life, better night time visualization of the road ahead, better day or night visibility of your bike, etc.

[tallman]

For those of you raising the question of the reflector, for those of you asking other questions,

this link provides plenty of data.

Empirical and anecdotal feedback is one thing.

Testing is another.

[krussell]

For those of you raising the question of the reflector, for those of you asking other questions,

this link provides plenty of data.

 

A good read.

 

Empirical and anecdotal feedback is one thing.

Testing is another.

 

I agree completely, but the intent of internet forums like this one is to provide an optimal method for delivery of the anecdotal feedback.

 

 

 

[krussell]

I called 1offmotorsports earlier this week, the promise of a plug and play kit was to much to pass up. I asked about support for the R1200GSA, they said no problem. I asked, plug and play, they said no problem. I decided to do a bit more research. On their site is are instructions for the K-Bikes. Those instructions start with something to the effect of 'find a one inch drill bit.'

 

Wait, I thought this was plug and play. I called them a bit later, and asked for a copy of their GSA instructions. They don't have any, but are happy to provide me with a nice discount if I will buy their product, document the install, then let them use those instructions for other buyers. I asked about the need to drill the covers to fit the bulbs, they said that's quite likely.

 

So for this plug and play kit you need to:

 

- Drill a one inch hole in the cover that protects your lens assembly from the elements.

- Modify the bulb itself by cutting off a few pieces so it fits right.

- Run power wires from the headlamp to the battery. On the GSA that translates into removing the tank.

- Figure out where to stash the the ballast and the Can bus fixer thing

 

I don't consider this plug and play, others might.

 

Coincidentally, my original OEM bulb died a week ago, at 9,000 miles. On the GSA, this is a simple operation to replace, just reach in, remove the cover, unplug, replace, plug, replace cover. It's a bit tight for my hands, but it's right out in the open. When I saw Joe's post, I did start fantasizing about HIDs, rare if ever bulb replacements, etc.

 

Reading the faq on the 1offmotorsports.com is a bit enlightening too, for example...

 

However, we are selling these kits for OFF Road, race and exhibition use only. 1 OFF Motorsports by no means encourage breaking the law, please use safely. There have been little to no verified accounts of anyone getting pulled over and cited just for having them on. 1 OFF Motorsports recommends that you make sure that you have the appropriate headlight assembly for your vehicle and that your headlights are properly aligned after installation.

 

And it appears that the lifetime warranty is voided as a result of installation, as you modify the bulb by cutting stuff off it during the install...

 

Improperly installed kits (Includes defects resulting from water damage, fire, chemical spillage, acts of nature, misuse, abuse, neglect, alteration, modification, improper installation, submersion, vehicle crash, dropping or by any other type of impact) void the warranty.

 

And the clincher for me, at least with regard to buying a 1off product, is...

 

Can I switch back to my stock bulbs after installing 1 OFF Motorsports HID kit?

 

Yes, our 1 OFF Motorsports HID Xenon conversion kit is 100% reversible. Our 1 OFF Motorsports HID Xenon conversion kit is a direct factory replacement that does not require any cutting splicing or major modification to the stock vehicle. It is 100% reversible and can be put back to stock by simply removing the 1 OFF Motorsports HID Xenon bulbs and ballasts and replacing it with the stock halogen bulbs.

 

 

I hate contradiction, or what some may call misrepresentation. In this case, the completely reversible claim is about two questions above a question explaining that you need to drill a one inch hole, insert a grommet and wires, and then layer on some silicone for waterproofing.

 

But, there is good news. If the concerns raised by the Stern document, the illegal aspect of the upgrade, the likelihood that you'll frustrate oncoming drivers by spewing light all over the place don't concern you, then be comforted in knowing that the cover you drill the hole in to mount these puppies is only about $5 to replace, so it should be salvageable if it doesn't work.

 

Also consider the failure case. On the RT this may not be so much of an issue, if there are two separate paths to each bulb and no shared components. On the GS, if the bulb, the ballast, or the can bus magic thingy fails you'll be hard pressed to fix it in the field.

 

With the stock bulbs on the GS family, you can replace a dead bulb with a spare, or swap the high and low beam bulbs to get home. You lose the swap ability if you go to hid on just one beam.

 

I think for me, a set of aftermarket supplemental lights for Trail Tech, Hella, or Piaa is going to be my approach. Yes, I'll spend 5x as much at least, but I'll get a product that is designed for the application as a complete package, and one that I don't have to use when riding down the city street.

 

If you do get some additional lights, or replacement bulbs, or just want to make sure you are being a courteous rider with your stock setup, please make sure your lights are properly aimed. Blinding other drivers, especially with HIDs, puts you in danger, and creates ill will toward motorcyclists in general.

[Jon_M]

I'm such an illumination freak, I have visions of sugarplums whenever I read about the latest HID conversion kit. I hate it when someone uses logic and evidence to dampen my enthusiasm, but in the end it usually prevents a mistake. I am back in skeptical mode about the kits and looking again at the more expensive add-ons.

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

The NHTSA testing is interesting...at best.

I work with mil and govt specs, and testing, all the time so, I decided I'd go and looksee to get an idea of what the requirements really are and mean instead of getting wrapped up in "Fail" or "Pass". I didn't go looking for the FMVSS spec as they can be a bear to run down. I found the SAE spec though. I looked at the third test report.

A. The white color failure is a failure of such a small magnitude that covers the width of the line demarking the pass zone from the failure zone. What does it mean? It means that the light is a tiny bit whiter than acceptable to the Feds. Maybe that's a good thing?

B. The intensity failures are all central zone of the pattern where one wants their light illumination.

 

Yes, testing is another thing compared to anecdotal comments. However, failure to criteria that are either largely irrelevant, or accountable for in the alignment of the lamp is arbitrary and (I'll omit the rest here). SURPRISE! The HID lamp is whiter and puts out more illumination in the center of the pattern. There's probably an excellent arguement that the spec criteria are derived by accounting for the idiots out there that don't ever adjust their headlamps. I have to believe that the majority of people on this site take their lamp alignments seriously compared to Herman Crotchrot in his POS car, or his lifted Escalade with HIDs that are always on high beam...unbekownst to him.

 

Test data always require critical review and consideration.

 

[LeftCoastMan]

The NHTSA testing is interesting...at best.

I work with mil and govt specs, and testing, all the time so, I decided I'd go and looksee to get an idea of what the requirements really are and mean instead of getting wrapped up in "Fail" or "Pass". I didn't go looking for the FMVSS spec as they can be a bear to run down. I found the SAE spec though. I looked at the third test report.

A. The white color failure is a failure of such a small magnitude that covers the width of the line demarking the pass zone from the failure zone. What does it mean? It means that the light is a tiny bit whiter than acceptable to the Feds. Maybe that's a good thing?

B. The intensity failures are all central zone of the pattern where one wants their light illumination.

 

Yes, testing is another thing compared to anecdotal comments. However, failure to criteria that are either largely irrelevant, or accountable for in the alignment of the lamp is arbitrary and (I'll omit the rest here). SURPRISE! The HID lamp is whiter and puts out more illumination in the center of the pattern. There's probably an excellent arguement that the spec criteria are derived by accounting for the idiots out there that don't ever adjust their headlamps. I have to believe that the majority of people on this site take their lamp alignments seriously compared to Herman Crotchrot in his POS car, or his lifted Escalade with HIDs that are always on high beam...unbekownst to him.

 

Test data always require critical review and consideration.

 

I agree. Just because a blogger puts up a lot of words, it does not make it a "fact" or "conclusive." This doesn't mean we're smarter than him or that we should ignore his verbiage, but it reads like he has an "agenda" against HID's.

 

The DOT requirements for lighting does appear to be established in another era. A lot of Federal guidelines are the same, they take forever to catch up to current technology. It's kind of like the TSA stopping terrorists by blocking what they have done, rather than employing some future technology that gets around the TSA blocking maneuvers. Furthermore, DOT regulations are often influenced by external factors like manufacturers. Sad really.

 

And to be honest, until DOT regulations are employed against those who ride with brain bucket helmets, I'm going to think that no one is going to bother me with my HID's.

 

I am not a lighting engineer, but I am confident enough to know what to do and not to do. I have no problem with those who have installed HID's and no problem with those who have not. It's a personal decision, as long as you don't make yourself more dangerous by adding HID's.

[tallman]

He has a vested interest, definitely.

But he has noted for years the shorter lifespan most seem to experience with some replacement bulbs and at least gives some facts for his opinion.

One is free to disagree with the testing or results, as above.

I posted for information, to shed some light on the subject, since it seems that most of the replies centered around the anecdotal.

Failing, by a little bit is failing.

Standards may need to change, tests redone, but that is what happened when the tests were done.

 

[LeftCoastMan]

@krussell

 

1. Drilling the hole is not plug and play, but it didn't take but a few seconds. Adding the silicone was annoying, and I don't like it, but there's really no way around it. For HID's you need a ballast, and it's just not going to fit inside the headlamp assembly. Furthermore, if you don't like it, you can buy the cover again from BMW.

2. I cut off nothing other than the cover. I'm not sure what you needed to do differently.

3. I did not run the power to the battery. In fact, I just plugged into the OEM receptacle after unplugging the OEM bulb. And it ran on my CANBUS without a CANBUS adapter (only a few people need them). Again, I'm not sure why you're doing it differently. Unless the GS is designed differently, and I absolutely cannot believe that it is, you might be misunderstanding the installation.

4. Well, yes, the ballast and power brick needed to find a place. There were literally dozens of places for me to put it on my R1200RT, and yes, I understand you are installing it on a GS, but still, there are many places to hide it. Once again, you cannot have HID without a ballast, so that's part of the process.

 

It's not "plug and play" like putting an external HD on my MBP, but it was close.

 

As for the warranty, have you ever read any warranty before? Why shouldn't he exclude someone dropping the bulb? Or a fire? Or an accident?

 

As for the GS, fine, maybe you can replace your bulbs in 4 minutes or whatever. It's not that easy on an RT. From my point of view, I'd say that makes installing the HID's more easy than the 30 minutes I required to take off the RT's tupperware.

 

If you don't like the HID from 1off, OK, I'm fine with it. I actually could care less one way or the other, because I like them, and I'm certainly not going to rip them out because of someone's very strong opinion. And I think everyone who has bought one understands the installation process. BUT, a lot of RT owners have thrown them in their bikes and are happy.

[krussell]

@krussell

 

1. Drilling the hole is not plug and play, but it didn't take but a few seconds. Adding the silicone was annoying, and I don't like it, but there's really no way around it. For HID's you need a ballast, and it's just not going to fit inside the headlamp assembly. Furthermore, if you don't like it, you can buy the cover again from BMW.

2. I cut off nothing other than the cover. I'm not sure what you needed to do differently.

3. I did not run the power to the battery. In fact, I just plugged into the OEM receptacle after unplugging the OEM bulb. And it ran on my CANBUS without a CANBUS adapter (only a few people need them). Again, I'm not sure why you're doing it differently. Unless the GS is designed differently, and I absolutely cannot believe that it is, you might be misunderstanding the installation.

4. Well, yes, the ballast and power brick needed to find a place. There were literally dozens of places for me to put it on my R1200RT, and yes, I understand you are installing it on a GS, but still, there are many places to hide it. Once again, you cannot have HID without a ballast, so that's part of the process.

 

It's not "plug and play" like putting an external HD on my MBP, but it was close.

 

As for the warranty, have you ever read any warranty before? Why shouldn't he exclude someone dropping the bulb? Or a fire? Or an accident?

 

As for the GS, fine, maybe you can replace your bulbs in 4 minutes or whatever. It's not that easy on an RT. From my point of view, I'd say that makes installing the HID's more easy than the 30 minutes I required to take off the RT's tupperware.

 

If you don't like the HID from 1off, OK, I'm fine with it. I actually could care less one way or the other, because I like them, and I'm certainly not going to rip them out because of someone's very strong opinion. And I think everyone who has bought one understands the installation process. BUT, a lot of RT owners have thrown them in their bikes and are happy.

 

Disregard my comments about the need to connect to the battery, I confused a different vendor.

 

I'm sure that many folks are happy with the 1off solution. For me, it seemed like many of the claims that were made were by the vendor were just plain not true at a second glance. I wanted to point that out. There is no documentation for my bike, the procedure is not reversible without replacing parts that are modified, and the warranty is void if you modify the kit, a requirement for installation. However, for $99, it still seems like a good option if none of the above bother you.

 

I have permanent scars from my first RT bulb installation. If I had an RT, I might be more motivated to find an alternate solution.

[johnlt]

I installed HIDs in both the high and low beams of my R12GSA and in my opinion, it did NOT help the lighting situation so I added two Hella Micro HID driving lamps and WoW, they made a difference. On my R12RT, I left the OEMs alone and added the same Hella Micro HID driving lamps they serve me well. My Lexus has HIDs and I hate them. The near-field is so bright that my eyes don't dark-adapt so I have a difficult time seeing anything above the "cut-off" line. My 4-Runner has standard lights and are much better IMHO.

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

For those of you raising the question of the reflector, for those of you asking other questions,

this link provides plenty of data.

Empirical and anecdotal feedback is one thing.

Testing is another.

 

That link is obviously written by someone who never actually put an HID lightbulb in a motorcycle and went for a ride in the dark.

[LeftCoastMan]

I installed HIDs in both the high and low beams of my R12GSA and in my opinion, it did NOT help the lighting situation so I added two Hella Micro HID driving lamps and WoW, they made a difference. On my R12RT, I left the OEMs alone and added the same Hella Micro HID driving lamps they serve me well. My Lexus has HIDs and I hate them. The near-field is so bright that my eyes don't dark-adapt so I have a difficult time seeing anything above the "cut-off" line. My 4-Runner has standard lights and are much better IMHO.

 

I disagree with you on the visibility of HID's vs. normal lights, but then again, it might be dependent on a whole host of factors. However, I do despise you since it looks like your suggestion on the Hella's are going to cost me!

 

So, where do I find them and where can I find installation instructions?

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

The Hella's can also be purchased as H3 halogen and upconverted if the cost is prohibitive...I think $450? An H3 kit will do it. Hiding the ballast might be a challenge. I can't find the link that described a guy doing to conversion. Sorry.

I really like my halogen ones as they have the best cut-off I've ever seen (projector lamp).

[johnlt]

I got mine at Susquehanna Motorsports and yes, they were a little pricey but well worth it (about ~$800 for the pair).

 

 

 

[Matts_12GS]

I had the WME 50W H4-3 kit in my 1100RT that I was fond of and it had no issues for the 40K miles it was in that bike.

 

Now, I have a WME kit in my GS. It's about an hour to install if you use both H7 bulbs. I pulled the HID high beam out of the GS, I got tired of waiting for the ballast to heat up for flash/pass situations so I went back to stock and use the high beam to trip some driving lights when I want to annoy cars into getting out of my lane.