Thinking about upgrading my lights to HID,is it still a good upgrade or are they just a hassle.

Good Upgrade IMO-BUT...they now have stock lamps out there that are "almost" as bright.Might wanna check those out first.Probably PIAA or Sylvania has some brite ones.

one of the best upgrades youll ever make. DDM has em on sale under $50 a set

yes they do blue but cost more than the hids if you get the good ones

(might be worth it though-especially with the "iffyness" of the HID's operating faithfully!).Mine are fine-no problems.....NOW.But they did start to give me fits shortly after I installed em.And they sure didn't end up being "plug and play" as advertised.If I had it to do again-I'd go with the "stock" bright ones out now.

ill have to keep an eye on mine if i ever get riding weather again lol i saved my stock bulbs just in case heck i think ill wrap em good and carry them in my tool box for a just in case lol

Blue,

What kind of "fits" did they give you? Installation type fits or problems with them operating? Just curious. Thanks!

Well-okay.They're great lamps-bright as can be-excellent.In my case-the plugs supplied on the harnesses DID NOT CONNECT efficiently.I had to remove the plastic plug covers on the part of the DDM harness that connects to the stock plug-the green ones and the blue ones(the factory harness).I had to insert the soldered lead from the DDM wiring and connect it into the factory connectors,pushing it down in there for a secure contact.Then I siliconed the connection once I had them all operating.With the XENTECH kits-they say to get the ground correct first,then install the plug covers.The DDM's say nothing about doing that.I had my grounds correct,because they all lit up at first.So that part was okay.After they were in there a day or so,I had problems with the low beam lamp on the right side.It stopped lighting faithfully with the bike startup.So I had to do the "lead deal" to get the connections tight and consistent.After I did that,then they worked fine.So it wasn't the ground-which most guys think perhaps they've got it backwards-and the instructions say "reverse the ground if they don't light up".If you get a lighting on all at the same time,OR even if they don't all light up at once,if they all light PERIOD,your ground is okay.The intermittent lighting will be caused by the connectors at the stock plugs(In My Experience).NOW....saying all that.....there is ONE OTHER OPTION that could be causing these things.That would be the lack of a RELAY HARNESS.(which is sold separately)It's supposed to ensure that the startup voltage(amps)are at the correct level to fire the lamps.The only way I can see that working is if the factory wiring is somehow either slightly smaller,or just plain inconsistent somehow coming from the factory.You would think that all these bikes would have exactly the same guage wiring in the looms-but who knows?Maybe some were slightly different. Some guys installed the harness,and had NO issues with the lamps.I don't have a relay harness-yet my problems were resolved the way I said.So.......I really don't know if just buying the relay harness will correct any lighting problems,or not.It's your call on that.If the lamps DON'T all light up WITH the relay harness installed-then I would think it was the connectors(after making sure the grounds were correct).Course,as most places operate-once you buy the relay harness-it's YOURS-probably NO refunds on those.So then yer stuck with something you really don't need.There is also another deal with the installs-I don't know how many guys have done this,or if any have.When I first went with Xentech-they cautioned"when FIRST lighting the lamps-allow to "burn in" for several minutes".In other words-leave em on for at least 5 to 8 minutes.Till they reach their full lumens.The DDM's say NOTHING about doing that.So this "could" possibly be some of the reason that the lamps sometimes fail to come on.But by doing that at first-before installing into the factory metal socket,at least you can eliminate THAT possibility right off.They can be turned on while they are hanging out of the bike to the sides-just don't touch the bulbs at ANY time-you don't want oil from your fingers getting on the glass-it WILL cause them to fail prematurely(and don't hit them on anything while handling or installing into the metal lamp socket).And on the actual install-Again-do not touch the glass!And when you do go to turn the bulb socket into the stock socket(the metal one in the lamp housing)Be VERY careful to turn ONLY to where it feels snug-Do not overcrank those bulbs in there-you WILL crack the base under the covered wiring going into the bulb itself.They are quite fragile right there-and they can snap or crack EASILY.Hope this helps-It was a tad longwinded-but I'm just trying to give ya the most info I can-the DDM's are AWESOME lamp systems-I love mine fer sure.55 watt,5000k is what I have in both my highs and lows.If you go with this setup-55's all the way,you WILL have to modify the ring on the bulb itself-on the low beam.The kit 55w will not completely turn and fit right as it is.You'll need to clip off just a tiny bit of one of the tabs(they will all be the same length from DDM) on the three tabbed ring on the bulb housing itself-NOT on the factory metal socket in the headlamp assembly..Then it will be fine.It's simple.You won't have any trouble doing it.And you'll be VERY HAPPY with the results!

* Last updated by: blue07 on 2/13/2010 @ 11:52 PM *

Thanks, Blue. I would think that these HID manufacturer's would have a simple plug and play application. Most all of the companies these days have factory specific plastic connections and/or factory bulbs.

I'm going to look into this, check with different manufacturer's, and see what I can come up with.

Well-actually,they DO say plug and play.And in some percentage of installs,they actually do work the first time out.I'm pretty sure the relay harnesses were designed to make the operation of the lamps a no-drama upgrade.I guess you could call em and see what they have to say about it?Probably gonna try to sell ya the relay harness-tell ya you NEED it for full functionality.I'm sayin-in my case(stock harnesses)-I didn't need it(or maybe....I did? and didn't KNOW it!!).But it took some manipulation of my leads to get it consistent.No big deal.Well worth it.She's doing fine now without the relays-so go figure?

* Last updated by: blue07 on 2/15/2010 @ 1:48 PM *