Completed....Custom HID Conversion Kit

[Switchblade]

I hope these are the 5000K bulbs ? If so AWESOME.

[coderighter]

Last night I swapped my lights back to stock and took some pic's. Today, I'm putting the HIDs back in. Tonight I'll retake pics with the HIDs in the same matter and post the results tomorrow.

[Terminex]

Are you going to offer the delay without the HID's for sale, for those of us who already have HID's?

Thanks!

[vfrjim2002]

Last night I swapped my lights back to stock and took some pic's. Today, I'm putting the HIDs back in. Tonight I'll retake pics with the HIDs in the same matter and post the results tomorrow.

Sounds great. thanks.

[Tightwad]

I hope these are the 5000K bulbs ? If so AWESOME.

Yes, those are the 5000K bulbs

[Gregg]

If you make a kit for 5th gen - count me in!

[coderighter]

OK, here's the images. All the pictures except the VFR HID were taken Friday night, HID pictures are from Saturday night. I also included a couple pictures with our '08 BMW with factory adaptive HID's and my company car, an '08 Chevy HHR, with stock halogen headlights to compare against.

In looking at both stock and HID, I would say the patterns are pretty much the same. It's hard to show that in pictures, but that's how I see it.

Because the housing, a 55 watt would just put the amount of light over the top and would be a bad idea.

Around here, I've never heard of anyone getting pulled over for lights. Hell, the other day I saw a cage with purple lights. If you do live in a place where that's a problem, I would go for the 4500k and you should be fine.

I should also note that in the video, Tightwad's lights look a lot more blue than what they really are once warm. When you first light them off, they have quite a bit of blue but as they warm, they get whiter. Once the bulbs are up to temp, they're pretty much just pure white with just a very slight hint of blue.

Stock lights 1

Stock lights 2

HID Wall.jpg

HID garage.jpg

BMW Wall.jpg

BMW.jpg

HHR.jpg

[Tightwad]

It looks like the VFR is closer than the cars to the garage, is this true?

Most have said the VFR has great lights...not compared to a car than can space them 5 feet apart of course, but when compared to other motorcycles

[coderighter]

It looks like the VFR is closer than the cars to the garage, is this true?

Most have said the VFR has great lights...not compared to a car than can space them 5 feet apart of course, but when compared to other motorcycles

The distance was the same, plus or minus a foot I guess.

To be fair, all the bikes I've owned in the past have had sealed beam type lights with a lot less stray light. I will say the VFR has more light then any bike I've had and the cut off is OK. Given that the bottom lights are low beams only, there was no reason to 'mirror' the bottom of the reflector. The only reason was for aesthetics. Without that, there would be a lot less stray light.

[SEBSPEED]

OK, here's the images. First let me say that the headlights in the 6th Gen VFR suck, no matter what bulb.

Are you freakin kidding me?? You seriously think that?? You must be spolied by your beemer, because I've never ridden a bike that lit up thr road better than a 6th gen. :warranty:

[Joshvfr]

Just ordered a 4500k set. Got on tonight searching for replacement HID info. Glad I found this thread. Can't wait to try these out, hope to have them by my next rally July 24th. Thanks, Josh

[Knife]

Most have said the VFR has great lights... compared to other motorcycles.

I agree whole-heartedly. My '98 VFR H-4 lights are absolutely awesome. Evey time I ride at night I'm amazed at how well they light up the road far ahead and far to the sides. I've spotted lots of creatures eyeballs while they are lurking off the side of the road from quite a distance, giving me plenty of time to react. Try riding through the Adirondacks well after dark on a moonless night. There are eyeball reflections EVERYWHERE you look. Good lighting saves lives!

If you make up a set for 5th Gens, and they perform as well or better than OEM, I'll buy them immediately.

[Tightwad]

My wife had family in town for the holiday, so I was not allowed to play in the garage...working on the kits over the next couple days to get the first 5 sets out.

[Tightwad]

Getting closer! The bulbs arrived, and unfortunately, the 4500K bulbs had a different base on them and they won't seal correctly to the dust boot. Rather than try to cobble something together to work, I contacted the supplier and I am arranging to exchange them for the bulbs I based the kit around. The 5000K bulbs are correct, and those kits will be going into production tonight (sounds all official....).

6 orders pending at this time, but the 4500K orders will have a delay as I want only the best bulbs.

[DenT]

Getting closer! The bulbs arrived, and unfortunately, the 4500K bulbs had a different base on them and they won't seal correctly to the dust boot. Rather than try to cobble something together to work, I contacted the supplier and I am arranging to exchange them for the bulbs I based the kit around. The 5000K bulbs are correct, and those kits will be going into production tonight (sounds all official....).

6 orders pending at this time, but the 4500K orders will have a delay as I want only the best bulbs.

Out of curiosity are you using the Slim Ballast DDM kits?

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/Motorcycle-HID-Kits-Lighting

[Tightwad]

Yes, using a slim ballast as otherwise it is a bear to get everything tucked away. With a slim ballast it fits nicely in the corners of the front fairing. I get the ballast and bulbs from DDM, but I don't use their H4 kit as it doesn't work with the Latch and Delay setup. Our kit also has a direct battery feed, dedicated ground (not grounding through the front loom), and doesn't use piggyback connections (the OEM H4 connectors are just tied out of the way for this kit).

[Tightwad]

The first 3 headlight kits are complete! I even label each of the connectors to help avoid any confusion:

Electrical kit consists of the parts shown, and a short section of dual wall heat shrink to cover the OEM red/black wire that goes to the Low Beam relay normally. As per my normal procedure, nothing is cut or modified on the bike...this mod is 100% reversible should one desire to.

4500K kits are delayed as I am returning the initial bulbs sent due to fitment....they were not up to my expectations. If you ordered 4500K and would prefer 5000K in the interest of time, I can change to that bulb (I have 3 sets on hand still).

[Ripper]

Looking forward to getting them installed. Thank you for putting together a quality kit like this.

Between this and the 8 spoke I scored on ebay yesterday I'll be set in the looks/style department..... Next is the Suspension!!! :fing02: Should have done the suspension first but I got excited when I found the 8 spoke wheel for a fair price and decided I can wait a few months for the suspension work.

[vanion2]

Ya, they light up the road all right. It's all the extra artifacts that I don't like. You can really see them with the stock lights in this pic.

Stock lights 2

Look at the bright arcs off to the sides.

That is the only reason why I won't slap HID bulbs in the VFR stock housing. You need to have proper projectors to run HID lights to kill off the artifacts and keep from blinding oncoming traffic. Don't get me wrong...the pictures here look great for lighting up the road and I am tempted but in the end I just can't get myself to pull the trigger. Kudos to Coderiter and Tightwad for doing all the leg work here for what looks to be another fine VFR product though. :laughing6-hehe:

Now I just found this site and can't help but think "VFR HID conversion anyone?" :blush:

The Retrofit Source

[2007VFRDude]

Tightwad, I'm also interested. Glad you decided to do the 4500K kits, my Honda S2000 HID bulbs are 4300K and I like the way they look. I read that all HID lights are 4100K-4300K as required by DOT standards.

Please let us know when you have the installation instructions complete, I'm very interested in what is involved with this modification.

[Guest]

Tightwad, I'm also interested. Glad you decided to do the 4500K kits, my Honda S2000 HID bulbs are 4300K and I like the way they look. I read that all HID lights are 4100K-4300K as required by DOT standards.

Please let us know when you have the installation instructions complete, I'm very interested in what is involved with this modification.

me2. i'd like to see the installation instruction before jumping in. plz let us know as soon as u have that. thx

[Tightwad]

Installing is pretty easy, once you get the front fairing off...that job is a bit daunting at first, but after having done it a couple times it gets easy:

1. Remove of front fairing per the manuals instructions...don't forget to unplug turn signals, high and low beams, and the temperature sender
   
2. Remove gauge cover (black piece)...push from the back side of the pins that keep it in place to avoid damage...steady pressure will push them out. This is not 100% required, but I found it much easier to work that way.
   
3. Remove left and right screw from the back of the gauge cluster...this is where the new relays will mount:
   
   
4. Attach Latch and Delay relays...Latch on the right (facing the bike), delay on the left:
   
   
5. Remove the orange wire from the kit, and route it from the battery, under the tank along the frame, up to the front so the female end is near the headlight relays. I found it best to zip tie it to other wiring to help keep it in place. Note my wire is a bit different as I have done other mods...picture is only a representation of the routing:
   
   
6. Don't connect it to the battery until the end, but be sure it fits and the fuse is accessible.
   
7. Remove low beam relay connector...Low beam relay is the relay on the right of the three...you can see the spot where it goes in the first picture above. It might be easier to unhook the relay rubber housing then reattach it later as I did.
   *EDIT* on a 2007 model, the Low Beam relay was on the left...look for the white/black wires to verify the correct relay
   
8. Using a paper clip or jewelers screwdriver, release the tabs holding the Red/Black wire in place (bottom right if looking into the connector, bottom left if looking in from the wire side). Replace this wire with the Orange wire from the kit (which has an inline fuse and connects to the battery).
   
9. Using the heat shrink provided in the kit, cover the red/black connection and heat using a heat gun, hair dryer, or lighter (no direct contact with the flame). The heat shrink is dual walled and has a glue compound that will waterproof the wire nicely, and protect it from shorting out
   
10. Remove the White/Black dual wire connection and replace it with the Blue and Red wire dual connection from the kit. There is no need to cover the white/black wire connection (but you can if you wish)
    
11. Replace Low Beam relay in it holder
    
12. Route the green ground wire down the neck of the bike, and ground it underneath, next to the brake hose:
    
    
13. Zip tie the original low beam connectors out of the way:
    
    
14. When finished, the front should look like this:
    
    

The next step is replacing the bulbs and mounting the ballasts/ignitor parts....very easy:

Starting point:

1. Remove the dust boots:
   
   
2. Remove the bulbs by depressing the clips and unhooking them...don't touch the glass!:
   
   
3. Side by side they look like this:
   
   
4. Remove HID bulb from protective housing, and install:
   
   
5. Reinstall dust covers:
   
   
6. Be sure you slide the dust cover onto the base of the bulb...and dust/moisture getting in will shorten the bulb life
   

That does it for the bulbs...now on to installing the ballasts. I chose to install them on either side of the headlights...and to do so I removed a couple of the screws so I could slide the headlights inward...this helps keep the doublesided table from sticking in the wrong spot. Choice of mounting location is up to you, I am just sharing my results:

1. The chunky part I mounted here...mirrored on the other side:
   
   
2. The ballast I mounted here:
   
   
3. A completed view of the left side:
   
   
4. Connect the bulbs to the ballasts, then route the ballast connectors towards the middle, where it will match up to the connectors on the bike:
   
   

And that's it...the bike is ready to go back together!

Attach the nose...connecting the headlight you want to come on first to the one marked "Headlight 1" on the wiring tags. Don't forget to reconnect the temp sender and the high beams. Once connected, looking down from the top looks like this:

At this time you can connect the orange wire to the battery and test the lights...then continue to reinstall the body work as directed in the manual.

Hope this explains it!

[coderighter]

Ya, they light up the road all right. It's all the extra artifacts that I don't like. You can really see them with the stock lights in this pic.

Stock lights 2

Look at the bright arcs off to the sides.

That is the only reason why I won't slap HID bulbs in the VFR stock housing. You need to have proper projectors to run HID lights to kill off the artifacts and keep from blinding oncoming traffic. Don't get me wrong...the pictures here look great for lighting up the road and I am tempted but in the end I just can't get myself to pull the trigger. Kudos to Coderiter and Tightwad for doing all the leg work here for what looks to be another fine VFR product though. :lobby:

Now I just found this site and can't help but think "VFR HID conversion anyone?" :491:

The Retrofit Source

For the record, the picture in this earlier post was with the stock halogen lamps, not HID's

This is the same bike with the HID conversion -

HID garage.jpg

[Switchblade]

Received mine started installing last night will finished up tonight, also taking this opportunity to check all of my grounding connections. LOOKS GOOD.

[Ripper]

Good instructions, I'm gonna start taking the nose off the bike to save me having to do it later. Should be a quick and easy install!