Headlights .... and "upgrades" ?

[kfrogzx7]

Sorry, but I'm all questions at the moment, this time headlights. I've got LED "upgrades" in my "new" k13, they mean that I've constantly got the "Lamps" error up on the info panel, which annoys me considerably. So my questions are : are the oe lights so bad that an "upgrade" is recommended, and if so is there an upgrade that doesn't trigger the fault message ? Not much opportunity to ride at night at the moment so assessing them myself is tricky, and anyway I haven't got any oe bulbs to pop in to compare. Thanks in advance for any tips, Simon.

[raesewell]

A resistor will make the dash light go out, however I'm sure Brian will be along soon to extol the virtues of HID.
I can testify to their brightness, when Brian is behind you it's like the Sun in your mirrors.

[kfrogzx7]

Yes, I've got HID's in my S, but I didn't really want the extra wiring ( cutting plastics etc ) and Ballast boxes on the K13 that HID entails. I wonder what some 100w H7 bulbs, as available on ebay, would be like ?

[raesewell]

There are several threads on HID, no cutting involved.

[chriscanning]

For more years than I remember we would get off the Portsmouth ferry on a Monday night coming back Le-Mans in April and ride up the A34 past Newbury two abreast both with HIDs and you see could for ever even on dipped,the wild life became that prolific life became safer getting off the ferry straight into Ibis and ride home Tuesday morning in the light....

Headlights then didn’t have the same importance and have gone H7 with everything since,but if you are a serious night time rider than HID has to be the way to go,well dipped beam anyway never saw the need for a main.

[Andym535]

Yes, I've got HID's in my S, but I didn't really want the extra wiring ( cutting plastics etc ) and Ballast boxes on the K13 that HID entails. I wonder what some 100w H7 bulbs, as available on ebay, would be like ?

I'm not sure the ZFE would allow it. There are no fuses, instead the ECUs monitor current draw and disable things that pull too much. Not sure if the hike from 60 to 100w would be within its tolerance.

[black-k1]

I had a 100W H7 in one side of the main beam and it was fine. That said, I'm not sure I'd want 100w on permanent draw as dip beam would require.

The "answer" to lighting on the K1300S is to buy a cheap HID car set off eBay (either 5000k or 6000k as suits - I prefer 5000k) and put one in the dip beam and the other in one of the main beam slots. If you want, you can also add a 100w halogen to the other main beam slot as I did. No plastic cutting required, all the units fit inside the plastic headlamp shell though do expect a few skint knuckles and lots of bad language getting them in there. The dip bean cut off is pin sharp so, with the headlight angle adjusted correctly, is not an issue for other traffic.

While "normal" full beam on the K1300S is OK, the above is the only lighting combination that has allowed me to travel at night at the same speed I would travel at during the day.

[kfrogzx7]

I had a 100W H7 in one side of the main beam and it was fine. That said, I'm not sure I'd want 100w on permanent draw as dip beam would require.

The "answer" to lighting on the K1300S is to buy a cheap HID car set off eBay (either 5000k or 6000k as suits - I prefer 5000k) and put one in the dip beam and the other in one of the main beam slots. If you want, you can also add a 100w halogen to the other main beam slot as I did. No plastic cutting required, all the units fit inside the plastic headlamp shell though do expect a few skint knuckles and lots of bad language getting them in there. The dip bean cut off is pin sharp so, with the headlight angle adjusted correctly, is not an issue for other traffic.

While "normal" full beam on the K1300S is OK, the above is the only lighting combination that has allowed me to travel at night at the same speed I would travel at during the day.

The HID's don't trigger the "lamps" warning on the dash then ?

[Matt]

I had a 100W H7 in one side of the main beam and it was fine. That said, I'm not sure I'd want 100w on permanent draw as dip beam would require.

The "answer" to lighting on the K1300S is to buy a cheap HID car set off eBay (either 5000k or 6000k as suits - I prefer 5000k) and put one in the dip beam and the other in one of the main beam slots. If you want, you can also add a 100w halogen to the other main beam slot as I did. No plastic cutting required, all the units fit inside the plastic headlamp shell though do expect a few skint knuckles and lots of bad language getting them in there. The dip bean cut off is pin sharp so, with the headlight angle adjusted correctly, is not an issue for other traffic.

While "normal" full beam on the K1300S is OK, the above is the only lighting combination that has allowed me to travel at night at the same speed I would travel at during the day.

The HID's don't trigger the "lamps" warning on the dash then ?

Not the ones we've used (have a search and there's a couple of threads about the collective adventures. I think i used the same as phmode. Until i went LED)

[Swindon Andy]

Be sure to get HIDs specified for reflector housings if you want a good cut off. Also, anyone failed MOT on aftermarket HIDs yet?

[Phmode]

My MoT teater who sits on tje MoT council (who knew) insists that my after-market HID's are perfectlylegal amd has passed them for three years, the last time in Dec. I ain't arguing with him nor printing out the tester's manual to show him. Even if it failed, it is but the work of a moment to pop the bulbs back in and I always carry bulbs as spares.

Cheap car HID kits from China (bought from someone in UK off ebay, lots of posts from me on this) and everything fits inside the headlamp shell with a bit of perforated flubber tie-wrapped round the heavy bits to stop them eating their way out with vibration and no need to cut covers or add extra wiring.

You don't need the LampF failure avoidance device (black box) on the K that comes with the kit. I always bin them.

Others have spoken for the effectiveness of my set up and no one ever flashes as the dip cut off is as good as with the OEM bulbs.

Ihave HID in dip and nearside main and a Philips +130 Nightbreaker bulb in the other side.

[black-k1]

My MoT teater who sits on tje MoT council (who knew) insists that my after-market HID's are perfectlylegal amd has passed them for three years, the last time in Dec. I ain't arguing with him nor printing out the tester's manual to show him. Even if it failed, it is but the work of a moment to pop the bulbs back in and I always carry bulbs as spares.

Cheap car HID kits from China (bought from someone in UK off ebay, lots of posts from me on this) and everything fits inside the headlamp shell with a bit of perforated flubber tie-wrapped round the heavy bits to stop them eating their way out with vibration and no need to cut covers or add extra wiring.

You don't need the LampF failure avoidance device (black box) on the K that comes with the kit. I always bin them.

Others have spoken for the effectiveness of my set up and no one ever flashes as the dip cut off is as good as with the OEM bulbs.

Ihave HID in dip and nearside main and a Philips +130 Nightbreaker bulb in the other side.

I wonder where you got the idea of that configuration from???

I've not worried about getting HIDs for reflector lenses and in 10 years of use have been "flashed" less than the number of times I've been flashed with my (correctly adjusted) LED in the Kawasaki. I've seen "bad" implementations of HIDs in reflector lenses but that doesn't apply to the lens in the K1300S.

[Matt]

My MoT teater who sits on tje MoT council (who knew) insists that my after-market HID's are perfectlylegal amd has passed them for three years, the last time in Dec. I ain't arguing with him nor printing out the tester's manual to show him. Even if it failed, it is but the work of a moment to pop the bulbs back in and I always carry bulbs as spares.

Cheap car HID kits from China (bought from someone in UK off ebay, lots of posts from me on this) and everything fits inside the headlamp shell with a bit of perforated flubber tie-wrapped round the heavy bits to stop them eating their way out with vibration and no need to cut covers or add extra wiring.

You don't need the LampF failure avoidance device (black box) on the K that comes with the kit. I always bin them.

Others have spoken for the effectiveness of my set up and no one ever flashes as the dip cut off is as good as with the OEM bulbs.

Ihave HID in dip and nearside main and a Philips +130 Nightbreaker bulb in the other side.

I wonder where you got the idea of that configuration from???

I've not worried about getting HIDs for reflector lenses and in 10 years of use have been "flashed" less than the number of times I've been flashed with my (correctly adjusted) LED in the Kawasaki. I've seen "bad" implementations of HIDs in reflector lenses but that doesn't apply to the lens in the K1300S.

How are the H2 LEDs for night time riding? My GS has got those spots as well as whatever it has going on in the main LED unit. But this post reminded me I've yet to ride it at night. I'm looking forward to a revelation and I better get one.

[black-k1]

My MoT teater who sits on tje MoT council (who knew) insists that my after-market HID's are perfectlylegal amd has passed them for three years, the last time in Dec. I ain't arguing with him nor printing out the tester's manual to show him. Even if it failed, it is but the work of a moment to pop the bulbs back in and I always carry bulbs as spares.

Cheap car HID kits from China (bought from someone in UK off ebay, lots of posts from me on this) and everything fits inside the headlamp shell with a bit of perforated flubber tie-wrapped round the heavy bits to stop them eating their way out with vibration and no need to cut covers or add extra wiring.

You don't need the LampF failure avoidance device (black box) on the K that comes with the kit. I always bin them.

Others have spoken for the effectiveness of my set up and no one ever flashes as the dip cut off is as good as with the OEM bulbs.

Ihave HID in dip and nearside main and a Philips +130 Nightbreaker bulb in the other side.

I wonder where you got the idea of that configuration from???

I've not worried about getting HIDs for reflector lenses and in 10 years of use have been "flashed" less than the number of times I've been flashed with my (correctly adjusted) LED in the Kawasaki. I've seen "bad" implementations of HIDs in reflector lenses but that doesn't apply to the lens in the K1300S.

How are the H2 LEDs for night time riding? My GS has got those spots as well as whatever it has going on in the main LED unit. But this post reminded me I've yet to ride it at night. I'm looking forward to a revelation and I better get one.

The LEDs on the Kawasaki are better (though not by much) than the original halogens on the K1300S but not a patch on the HIDs. The LEDs don't have the spread, the distance or the overall illumination of the HIDs so, again, the pace of my night time riding is restricted by the (lack of) illumination rather than it being restricted by "enthusiasm" as it was with the HIDs on the K1300S

[Costas]

Mains needs a resistor and special heat resisting cable , high beams do not.