Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => Accessories and Modifications - C10 => Topic started by: turtle on August 31, 2011, 10:19:21 AM
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I have (had) a DDM Tuning HID kit on my C10. The ballast did not work upon initial install in April 2010. I sent it back, got a new one with acceptable turn around. It failed again this summer, but this time the experience is completely unacceptable. DDM has had my ballast and bulb since July 18. I have called them and all they can say is "we're busy".
I am tired of the failures for sure, but with this slow response I am ready to move on. HID conversion has to be one of the best mods I have made to my C10 so I would like to get one that will last. So the question is - who makes a truly good quality HID conversion kit that I can rely on to be as bullet proof as the Connie is?
Thanks for the help!
Edit to add: this is a 55W kit. My riding buddies have lots of these in the 35 and 55 watt versions, with a number of failures among us. We think we have noticed that only the 55W kits have had failures. The 35W kits seem more robust. Has anyone else noticed such a trend?
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You say "good quality" but I think they pretty much are all manufactured in the same place - China. Probably in the same few buildings. I have had the VVME 35 watt kit on my bike since last year (receipt says May 2010). It is the 4300k value. I bought the car kit just incase I would need extra parts. So far it has worked perfectly. I have an '87 that has the automatic light switching module and it makes a faint squeal all of the time because both the hi and low wires are connected at the same time. There is a fix for it but I have not done that yet. It doesn't seem to be a real issue. The majority of failures that I have heard of have been on the 55 watt kits, but I think most people get the 55 watt kit instead of the 35 watt kit so maybe that is not fair.
35 watt kits put out a ton of light - way better than stock. I would not worry about switching to 35 watt if you are contemplating it. Maybe DaytonaMike will put his 2 cents in. He has dealt with HIDs a lot.
I think this would be the kit I got (the website has changed)
http://www.vvme.com/automotive/hid-headlights/bi-xenon-dual-beam-xenon (http://www.vvme.com/automotive/hid-headlights/bi-xenon-dual-beam-xenon)
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I bought and installed one like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-Motorcycle-Slim-Kit-H4-Bi-xenon-Hi-Lo-4300K-50W-55W-/170680799285?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bd5e5035 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-Motorcycle-Slim-Kit-H4-Bi-xenon-Hi-Lo-4300K-50W-55W-/170680799285?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bd5e5035)
last winter. It's been running fine so far.
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I have the vvme 35W kit also - 2 actually - one on my C10, the other on my V-Strom. No issues after nearly a year for both.
You say "good quality" but I think they pretty much are all manufactured in the same place - China. Probably in the same few buildings. I have had the VVME 35 watt kit on my bike since last year (I think that is right). It is the 4300k value. I bought the car kit just incase I would need extra parts. So far it has worked perfectly. I have an '87 that has the automatic light switching module and it makes a faint squeal all of the time because both the hi and low wires are connected at the same time. There is a fix for it but I have not done that yet. It doesn't seem to be a real issue. The majority of failures that I have heard of have been on the 55 watt kits, but I think most people get the 55 watt kit instead of the 35 watt kit so maybe that is not fair.
35 watt kits put out a ton of light - way better than stock. I would not worry about switching to 35 watt if you are contemplating it. Maybe DaytonaMike will put his 2 cents in. He has dealt with HIDs a lot.
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I also have the 55w VVME "car" kit. Its been working great so far (little less than a year). I too bought the car kit so I could take spares with me on a long trip. I also carry a stock bulb in bubble wrap every day just in case. It only takes about a minute to swap back to the stock setup if there is a problem.
I am curious though with the failures that have been mentioned, what was the part that failed? Was it the bulb or the transformer? If it was the transformer (the VVME kit gives a choice of thin or standard) which type?
I chose the standard type transformer and I also mounted it with rubber isolation type mounts.
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I also have the 55w VVME "car" kit. Its been working great so far (little less than a year). I too bought the car kit so I could take spares with me on a long trip. I also carry a stock bulb in bubble wrap every day just in case. It only takes about a minute to swap back to the stock setup if there is a problem.
I am curious though with the failures that have been mentioned, what was the part that failed? Was it the bulb or the transformer? If it was the transformer (the VVME kit gives a choice of thin or standard) which type?
I chose the standard type transformer and I also mounted it with rubber isolation type mounts.
The first failure was the ballast and I suspect it is the same this time though that has not yet been verified. I believe these are slim ballasts. I don't think DDM offered a ballast option; at least I can't find it specified on my order paperwork.
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I have the 55 watt VVME car kit and have had no problems with it through this season and all of last season.
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I have the 55watt VVM car kit with the large ballast/igniter. I used the one kit to do 2 Connies.
I did have a bulb go bad but that was due to water intrusion which was no fault of the VVM product.
I ordered 2 bulb replacement kit so I would have a spare and they sent a whole new harness/relay with it.
I feel I got good value for the money for this kit and the VVM 35 watt kit I have in my Hella FF50's.
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+1 on the 55w VVME, I've had it on my bike since last year no issues with ballast, replaced the bulb twice. Which might not really be alot considering I ride, over 25,000 per yr.
Cheers
Ron
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http://shop.hidcountry.com/Motorcycle-HID-Kit-p/moto%20kit%20hdk1.htm?gclid=CInxofnn-6oCFYIBQAodukad3g (http://shop.hidcountry.com/Motorcycle-HID-Kit-p/moto%20kit%20hdk1.htm?gclid=CInxofnn-6oCFYIBQAodukad3g)
Got mine from here; installed this spring and no problems, however, the workmanship on the terminals was garbage. There were two wires which pulled right out of their spade terminals. Before I went any further I soldered all of them.
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I've had the VVM 35 watt kit/standard ballast installed for about a year and a half and its worked flawlessly.
SAS Mayhem: two bulbs in 1 year/25K miles is troubling. :-\ I thought these were supposed to have a lifespan of 10,000 hours. If so, even with a conservative average speed of 35 mph, it should last 350,000 miles (the life of the bike).
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I feel I got good value for the money for this kit and the VVM 35 watt kit I have in my Hella FF50's.
I want to do this to my FF50's also. I think I remember you said you had to drill out the back of the case to fit the bulb, am I right? Were the harness's and ballasts the same?
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I just got an email from DDM saying the parts are ready to be shipped. Since money is an object (always, right? :o), I will run the DDM and see if I get a good one. I may also iso-mount the ballast this time. The other major supplier appears to be VVME which I was already familiar with.
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I want to do this to my FF50's also. I think I remember you said you had to drill out the back of the case to fit the bulb, am I right? Were the harness's and ballasts the same?
Yes I did have to route the wires straight out the rear of the FF50 and seal them up with rtv.
As far as the harness I think you have to add it the order for about $13 which includes the relay.
The only thing then was to get a Radio shack switch to mount on the side panel of the bike.
The other issue is where to put the ballasts because the lenght of cable from the ballasts to the bulb is not real long. I was able to tuck each ballast just inside the faring on each side of the bike.
You will figure it out.
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Mike,
Are you able to leave the Hellas on with oncoming traffic?
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Mike,
Are you able to leave the Hellas on with oncoming traffic?
Only if I aim them downward and only during daylight. They are extremely bright and would blind anyone at night even aimed downward. I do use them for daytime running lights other wise they would rarely be used here in Florida.
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Only if I aim them downward and only during daylight. They are extremely bright and would blind anyone at night even aimed downward. I do use them for daytime running lights other wise they would rarely be used here in Florida.
Sound like awesome high beam additions! Now I need a second set for low height fog lights.
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check this post http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=4137.30 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=4137.30)
http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/34 (http://24x7diy.com/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/34)
http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=53401 (http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=53401)
http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php/topic,27465.msg112847.html (http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php/topic,27465.msg112847.html)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/24x7-DIY/120081598040133 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/24x7-DIY/120081598040133)
http://www.landcruiserclub.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=11921&start=10 (http://www.landcruiserclub.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=11921&start=10)
https://plus.google.com/photos/104991007118956776558/albums/5657028626975936705?hl=en (https://plus.google.com/photos/104991007118956776558/albums/5657028626975936705?hl=en)
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vvme failed at about 3 months, 55w, standard ballast. Back to Halogen. I do not like riding skinny roads in the night with no lights.
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My DDM 35W kit is still going. Installed December 2010.
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I have had the DDM version @ 5000K. Had it for about a year now. It works fine with the exception that I have never improved the ground connection. I just have to make sure that I start the light before starting the bike and I believe it is related to the ground.