Are HID (high powered) headlights road legal?

hi are HID's legal on motorbikes in the uk? e.g:

http://nightowlhids.com/catalog/imag...xhidllarge.jpg

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/True-...7347QQtcZphoto

they not only increase vision at night but also look pretty cool.

cheers

I think they have to be self levelling, and have a washing system. But that may just be for cages....

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by lapoderosa

hi are HID's legal on motorbikes in the uk?

unless it's a proper designed to fit "retrofit" kit then no, but then neither is my plate, my exhaust, my visor, or the speed i was doing when you stopped me officer...

so , you wouldnt get pulled over for them then? and does the insurance need to know about them being fitted?

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by lapoderosa

so , you wouldnt get pulled over for them then? and does the insurance need to know about them being fitted?

i don't think i'd say not to expect a pull from a knowledgeable copper, or escape a fine if you got pulled and they noticed the bulbs, but i'd expect most to be sensible enough provided you aren't causing a menace or dazzling people, i've followed traffic cars with mine and not had anything happened

my insurers don't know about the conversion, if i tell them i'd call it a headlamp upgrade, but i wouldn't think the call centre monkey to know HIDs are not road legal, however if you happened to have an accident at night and the other driver said you dazzled them you would probably have a problem

It's worth setting them slightly low in my opinion.
I haven't had any issues, and I've come up behind a traffic car and couple of patrol cars since installing the kit.
Indeed, in the dark, you'll see them sooner so you can adjust your speed appropriately

It's an upgrade worth doing, an order of magnitude better than halogens..

Looks like you're looking into installing a pair eh? I pondered on the idea some time ago as well but decided against it as I don't ride that much at night.

[northwind]

They are awesome, if done right, mine usualyl runs one HID and one halogen and the HID by itself is far brighter and more effective than 2 Osram Nightbreakers (which is as good as you'll get the SV headlights with halogens)

It's not legal... But, as long as you don't have them set up dangerously (which is very common- these things are bright, and not designed for use in a halogen style reflector) and you use a low-temp one (ie, not too blue in colour) then you're very unlikely to ever have a problem. I've driven along behind traffic cars and not been stopped

Originally Posted by northwind

They are awesome, if done right, mine usualyl runs one HID and one halogen and the HID by itself is far brighter and more effective than 2 Osram Nightbreakers (which is as good as you'll get the SV headlights with halogens)

It's not legal... But, as long as you don't have them set up dangerously (which is very common- these things are bright, and not designed for use in a halogen style reflector) and you use a low-temp one (ie, not too blue in colour) then you're very unlikely to ever have a problem. I've driven along behind traffic cars and not been stopped

Which HIDs have you used? They seem to be a worthwhile upgrade but how much do they cost?

[northwind]

I used a fairly typical off-the-shelf H4 bixenon retrofit from HIDS Direct, or possibly HIDS 4 U. I'm only using one of them because my headlight cluster is damaged on one side and won't aim right with the HID though. I suspect that the kit I have is actually identical to the cheap Ebay ones mind. It cost me about £110 but I think prices have dropped since.