Vfr1200 Hid-Xenon Low Beam Install

Hi all

Finally got around to fitting the HID-Xenon H7 bulb to the low beam of my 1200 this morning.

I've posted previously about fitting these on my 6th Gen and they've proved so good at getting the attention of cage drivers that I decided to buy one (£50 - yikes!) for my 7th Gen. Obtained from HID City.

Firstly, the screen, upper centre cowl, middle cowl (side fairings to me) and upper side cowls all need removing to gain access to the headlamp assembly, which unscrews via 4 nuts and disconnecting the single electrical connector for the 2 H7 OEM bulbs. There are videos on Youtube on how to do this along with the Service Manual available on download here so I wont go into removing them.

Firstly, I needed to know where the ballast & igniter would fit without fouling the forks. The ballast fitted nicely but I had to cut away a few pieces of plastic as shown in the next 2 pics.

[image: IMAG03651_zpsa4joajdh.jpg]

[image: IMAG03661_zpss5pxxut1.jpg]

The wiring for the HID-Xenon requires some modification, cutting & soldering of both the wires to the bulb and the replacement kit too, so I was a little concerned but it's worked out ok. To start, I put the new bulb in place and you can see the wires from it have different connectors on the end. That's because they go via the supplied igniter & ballast (not sure if it is ballast but it's necessary). So I now needed to move the weather cover from the original wiring to cover the wires from the new bulb.

[image: IMAG03671_zpsghscaaaq.jpg]

So cut the wires, swap the cover over and solder them back in place. Managed to use the oem insulation on the original wires, used heat shrink on the new ones.

[image: IMAG03681_zpsqul9slnj.jpg]

Next I connected the HID-Xenon all up...

[image: IMAG03691_zps8vuragnl.jpg]

Then I re-fitted the headlamp unit and connected it up to see if it worked.

[image: IMAG03701_zpsldoxnvzx.jpg]

And compared to the oem high beam bulb...

[image: IMAG03711_zps0fhshodr.jpg]

I don't have time this morning to put the bike back together as I'm off to work shortly but hopefully I'll have time this weekend to re-fit the fairings and take a look at the beam distribution. I'm not worried as the 6th Gen has proved that these bulbs work in standard reflectors but I am aware that this mod is not easily reversible - well, unsoldering & re-soldering the oem bulb but it's not exactly a 10 minute job.

I still have to hold all those wires in place once it's all back together and weather cover the 2 spade connectors into the oem wiring connector. The ignite will attach (sticky Velcro) to the inner side cowl.

Still, the results on my 6th Gen are definitely worth it so I'll keep you advised.

Nice. Ive been thinking about doing this on my 7th gen too.

Good job!  You'll like the improved lighting.  A few points:

1. Did you shim the HID bulb to tilt it down some to clear the reflector "tip"?  That was the trickiest part when I did mine.

2. It is best not to break and re-solder the high-tension wiring between the bulb and the ballast.  You might have noticed the insulation on those wires are different from the typical automotive wiring.  I've done it before, when there was no other choice, but I doubled up on the heat shrink tubing.  I also use the adhesive-lined ones for lines like these that are subjected to the elements.

3. If at all possible, I prefer to run power directly to the battery, via a 30A relay.  Some HID ballasts can be very noisy and can back feed up the OEM headlight wiring, then cause interference with ECU and instrument panel.  

Good job!  You'll like the improved lighting.  A few points:

1. Did you shim the HID bulb to tilt it down some to clear the reflector "tip"?  That was the trickiest part when I did mine.

2. It is best not to break and re-solder the high-tension wiring between the bulb and the ballast.  You might have noticed the insulation on those wires are different from the typical automotive wiring.  I've done it before, when there was no other choice, but I doubled up on the heat shrink tubing.  I also use the adhesive-lined ones for lines like these that are subjected to the elements.

3. If at all possible, I prefer to run power directly to the battery, via a 30A relay.  Some HID ballasts can be very noisy and can back feed up the OEM headlight wiring, then cause interference with ECU and instrument panel.  

Thanks for those.

1. No. I have a shim ready, as you suggested, but on fitting, the bulb doesn't contact the reflector housing. HID City were able to supply a "short" version of ther H7 bulb so it looks as though it's done its job.

2. Ok. There was no choice that I could see other than cutting and soldering. I have re-wrapped the oem insulation and as it will be accessible behind the headlamp assembly, I'll keep an eye on the temperature.

3. That's beyond me but I'll bear it in mind. Any symptoms to watch out for?

Thanks.  :beer:

On one car I did an HID conversion - even with relay, direct power to battery, and the whole 9 yards - the dash will reset itself (light goes out a split second, LCD goes out and comes on, gauge needles sweeps,etc.) when I turn on the headlights.  Doesn't do it every time, but when it does, it is annoying as heck.  Since this car has automatic light ON/OFF, this could happen any time the car's ambient light sensors tell the ECU to turn on the headlights.  I rerouted wiring (away from OEM wire looms) and did other diagnostic steps.  Finally, a change to different pair of ballast and installing chokes on the power leads did the trick.

Problem with using the headlight wiring is that it goes to the main fusebox, where ALL other systems get their 12V power from.  Any interference back feeding up that line get a direct path to everything else.  Running a dedicated line to the battery isolates that circuit from other power users.  The battery acts as a big old capacitor, which is essentially a low pass filter, so it tends to attenuate high frequency noise.  Some vehicles are just more sensitive to others.  You can probably get away with using the headlight power leads, but with vehicles increasingly using digital communication between the various computers, a small amount of electrical interference may not show up normally, but it can cause things like CANbus communications to drop packets and have to retransmit.  You may end up with intermitten symptoms that only crop up at the worse moments.  I work with industrial instrumentation and controls in my line of work, and this sort of stuff can get really troublesome.

I'd say just keep it as is but be on the look out for anything weird.

BTW, even if the bulb tip does not make static contact, do make sure it is far enough away, or oriented such that normal vehicle bouncing and vibration would not possibly cause the tip to make contact.

BTW, even if the bulb tip does not make static contact, do make sure it is far enough away, or oriented such that normal vehicle bouncing and vibration would not possibly cause the tip to make contact.

I was thinking that myself and have already decided to fit the shim this weekend before the rebuild.

Thanks.  :beer:

On one car I did an HID conversion - even with relay, direct power to battery, and the whole 9 yards - the dash will reset itself (light goes out a split second, LCD goes out and comes on, gauge needles sweeps,etc.) when I turn on the headlights.  Doesn't do it every time, but when it does, it is annoying as heck.  Since this car has automatic light ON/OFF, this could happen any time the car's ambient light sensors tell the ECU to turn on the headlights.  I rerouted wiring (away from OEM wire looms) and did other diagnostic steps.  Finally, a change to different pair of ballast and installing chokes on the power leads did the trick.

Problem with using the headlight wiring is that it goes to the main fusebox, where ALL other systems get their 12V power from.  Any interference back feeding up that line get a direct path to everything else.  Running a dedicated line to the battery isolates that circuit from other power users.  The battery acts as a big old capacitor, which is essentially a low pass filter, so it tends to attenuate high frequency noise.  Some vehicles are just more sensitive to others.  You can probably get away with using the headlight power leads, but with vehicles increasingly using digital communication between the various computers, a small amount of electrical interference may not show up normally, but it can cause things like CANbus communications to drop packets and have to retransmit.  You may end up with intermitten symptoms that only crop up at the worse moments.  I work with industrial instrumentation and controls in my line of work, and this sort of stuff can get really troublesome.

I'd say just keep it as is but be on the look out for anything weird.

BTW, even if the bulb tip does not make static contact, do make sure it is far enough away, or oriented such that normal vehicle bouncing and vibration would not possibly cause the tip to make contact.

Interesting - I've seen very similar symptoms with my 6th gen that the PO fitted HID's to. Go to push the start button and it hesitates, wipes the gauges (resetting the trip meter), then starts. If I can rule out a bad battery or charging system, this might be my next thing to look at! 

Just seen this Skids... perfect.. just what I am looking for to guide me in my own quest. Thanks very much for posting in detail, especially the wiring etc.

Just seen this Skids... perfect.. just what I am looking for to guide me in my own quest. Thanks very much for posting in detail, especially the wiring etc.

I'd forgotten I'd written this. Sorry.