Xenon HID headlight conversion for Nomad

[Matt7even]

After a bit of trial and error I was finally able to convert my stock Nomad headlight into a xenon HID headlamp.

More below...




Long story short-ish my previous attempt using a DDM HID "motorcycle" conversion kit ($40) didn't work out so well when after a day or so the bulb wouldn't fire sometimes and then eventually it stopped working MOST of the time when cold. I felt like I was trying to start a camp fire with a empty lighter on a windy day every time I tried to turn it on so I gave up and reinstalled my halogen bulb.

After receiving some good advice from another forum though I decided the problem was that my bulb wasn't getting consistent power for it to fire poperly so I got a better quality kit this time around with a digital AC ballast instead of the standard DC. I ended up ordering a Xetronic AC-Digital Generation-2 HID Xenon Motorcycle Conversion Kit because it had the smallest digital ballast with the igniter built in which comes in very handy when you don't have a fairing to just mount all the components into like many sport bikes and baggers. http://www.xtralights.com/xetronicdi...pesingle.aspx#


Similar to the kit I received.

Here is how I ended up installing it...





Even with the smaller components there wasn't enough room in the headlight to mount them and I didn't want to splice any wires this time like I had to with the bulkier DMM kit so I had to get a little creative. I mounted the power adapter and the high/lo beam adapter to the right side of the frame neck using velcro to give them the tiny bit of play needed when turning the bars all the way left or right. I wanted to keep the red ballast out of sight if possible so the best place I could find to protect it from both the elements and engine heat was on the frame spine concealed under the tank.





When I took it for test ride the first thing I noticed was how much brighter the Xetronic bulb was compared to the DMM despite both being 35w and rated at 6000k which further goes to show that when it comes to these kits you usually get what you pay for. It's no surprise the beam is by far brighter and clearer then a Halogen bulb. I was surprised however by how wide the effective beam was. Even objects in my peripheral view were almost as illuminated as the traffic in front of me rather then the light dimming dramatically around the edges of the beam like with a standard H4 bulb. This made hazards like approaching deer and other animals easier to see at night and does give me more confidence riding the dark Ozark back roads knowing that I can see and be seen that much better.

The only 2 minor drawbacks I experienced with both HID kits were since an HID bulb only has one level of brightness (super bright!) the high and low beam function is achieved only by blocking the light of the beam using a metal housing around the bulb rather then switching between two different powered bulbs/ filaments. This creates kind of a bifocal effect where when on "Low" the beam is blocked off just above the horizon line which is perfect when traveling highways and city roads but when riding sharp angled twisty roads at night (especially on an incline ) where your view of the road goes above that cut off line you may find yourself switching to High mode to be able to better see the road ahead of you in a sharp turn. Another issue when riding on hilly roads is when you are on top of hill most traffic in front and below you now falls under the direct light of your low beam and occasionally I will get the brights flashed at me by on coming cars that think I have my brights on. Both can be rectified by retrofitting a special projector lens kit made specifically for HID bulbs that you find on many luxury cars and sport bikes however there are not any made for cruisers that don't require a fair amount of custom fabrication to install that I know of. Other then that though there really is nothing not to love about it IMO.

The kit I got isn't cheap but since my bike is my primary vehicle and I do a lot of night riding on dark roads it's a worthy safety feature IMO and still cheaper then buying auxiliary HID lights not to mention the added visibility to traffic during the day time as well. I don't even really need my light bar anymore so if you are interested I may be selling it sometime in the near future ;). .

[ringadingh]

Glad to hear that you got it working the way it should, I too have found that sometimes when you try to cheap out on some stuff it just never works right.
That light does appear to be much brighter than the oem bulb.

[VulcanE]

Congrats on the HID upgrade, I did that to my bike a couple years ago, and I'm still VERY impressed with the light output. I too used the 35w 6000K and it does make the critter's eyes shine like diamonds. Recently I did upgrade my driving lights with the Custom dynamic's "sun spots" They are as bright as the HID, and they just happen to be the same 6000K color.