Motorcycle HID retrofit - illegal in UK?

[Participant]

Some car manufacturers have used HIDs with reflectors

Yeah, and it's such a popular solution that many vehicles on today's roads can be seen with the very same lighting solution. Oh wait, no they can't .

Yes. Cheaper to make and inferior in that they are not as efficient as a reflector, they lose more light because they use a mask and because they don't capture all the light from the lamp. For the same light source (i.e. either halogen or HID) a reflector will be much more efficient at actually collecting light from the lamp and projecting it in the desired direction.

They're not cheaper to make, at all. A headlight unit with projector will cost more than a headlight unit with projector, ceteris paribus. They do not 'lose more light', because the metal cut-off simply directs the light beam in a different direction. The light does not magically disappear, it gets focused over the area you actually need it.

Your comment about reflectors being better for the same light source is redundant, the reason projectors are used for HIDs are because they are stronger so need to be directed correctly in order to avoid affecting other road users.

I understand that you and Sagalout are part of the old boys' club, but trying to pretend that reflectors with HIDs are better than projectors with HIDs just smacks of a poor understanding of how both lighting systems actually work.

Projectors with HID lenses are a superior solution to bodged HIDs in reflectors, glaring the crap out of other road users, even if you can find three examples out of hundreds of manufacturers that have chosen this as their solution.

 

[Sagalout]

My last post on this. Been using the bike for a week and a half now for commuting, to and from work in the dark. Not one single person has flashed me. People flash me most days in my Range Rover which has OEM xenons. I've been paying attention to what blinds me the most and its projectors when on bouncy uneven roads, probably because the beam is a lot more concentrated when it does hit you. Audi and Range Rover seem to be the worst.

Maybe the anti glare bulbs or just luck with the reflector design as the cutoff is exactly where it was with the halogen bulb, but it's not an issue for other drivers. If it was I'd remove them asnd resell as I am a considerate rider and driver (can't do anything about the RR!)

In summary:

Are the lights better than before for riding - Yes
Are they as good as the RR - No
Do they cause other road users to be dazzled - No, certainly not as much as some OEM Xenons

 

[Junglist]

Ha. Sorry for the necrobump but I did a quick google on legality of HIDs on motorcycles and what do you know, Overclcokers was the top result!