HID lights for '98 Magna

[Charles S Otwell]

For being seen, you can't beat a good pair of running lights, and for seeing the sides of the road around you. I have a pair of 55watt lights on my wife's Magna and I can spot her as far back as I can a car day or night.
before

After

[TLRam1]

You have to be pretty handy but I have some places to get HID kits reasonable, whether you could use your current shell and reflector, I'm not sure.

[Sledge Hammer]

Is it possible to point me in the right direction to get the setup you have? is that a clear lens as well? is the light significantly brighter? from what I've heard, the HID bulbs can cause problems because of the heat, i.e.
chrome peeling off of the housing, melting wires.....have you experienced any of this?

As to the question posed earlier , asking what I'm looking for, besides the obvious, a clear lens and some serious bright light.

Eddie, I ordered my VTX1800C headlight assembly on the recommendation of several MOOT alumni who had already tried it, and it is one of the best recommendations yet, money VERY well spent. I bought mine (minus bulb) from HondaParts-Direct.Com per the following list, reusing the flexible wire stays from the inside of the original bucket which are used to keep the rat's nest of wires under control:

headlight unit - 33120-mch-671 x 1
rubber cover - 33180-mr7-003 x 1
headlight case - 61301-mch-670 x 1
headlight rim - 61302-mch-670 x 1
headlight stay  - 61312-MEA-670 x 1
special screw (5mm) - 90104-kz3-b00 x 2
screw (5x9.5) - 90380-ge2-760 x 3
screw, tap (4X12) 93903-24380 x 2

Note that these part numbers were current as of the time when I ordered in 2007. The people at Honda seem to have a fetish for changing part numbers, but these should get you to the point where you can order what you need.

The lens is clear and does not seem to refract light like the stock lens does, depending on the superior reflector of the VTX assembly for creating the light pattern. I wish the reflectors on my truck worked half as well...

I can say that the light output of the combination of the VTX headlight assembly and the PIAA H4 bulb is more useful than the stock unit. I cannot say whether or not it is brighter because that gets into actually quantifying the light output, which I have no means of doing. Subjectively, I can tell you that it seems to have a wider pattern of light with less glare than the stock unit on my 1995 model (less of a spotlight effect). I can see farther to the sides and father down the road without having a single intense reflection that KOs my night vision.

It also doesn't hurt that, to my eye at least, the VTX headlight really dresses up the bike. Before...



and after...



If you do go with HID lighting, I think you will need to replace the entire headlight assembly with one made for HID lighting to avoid problems with glare, both for you and for oncoming drivers.

[Sledge Hammer]

For being seen, you can't beat a good pair of running lights, and for seeing the sides of the road around you. I have a pair of 55watt lights on my wife's Magna and I can spot her as far back as I can a car day or night.

I completely agree. Three large diameter lights are kinda hard to miss if you're even remotely looking in their direction. In fact, I wonder if the diameter might be a little more important than how bright they are when it comes to being seen. I don't think a really tiny, high-intensity light would catch my attention as fast as a 35-55W light of 3" or 4" diameter would.

[ed5757]

Yeah, that VTX light does look nice. thanks for the pics. the only drawback I see is that I might not be able to go with the HIDs if I put this on my bike. because of the higher heat output, I fear it would melt wires and cause the chrome to flake
I really wanted to go with that kind of bulb as I do like the look of the (bright) blue-ish light it emits. just having trouble finding a housing that takes an HID bulb. then again, PIAA sells an H4 bulb with a blue-ish tint, although not as good as the HIDs.
hmmmm............decisions, decisions........

[ed5757]

Oh. forgot to mention. when and if you add those aux lights to your engine guard. would be great to see pics and how you did it.
also , if any of you come across someone with the blue HIDs in a chrome housing, please post. thanks.

[L J VFR]

I went and bought the exact lights that Charles has on his wife's magna.  Work great.  I placed mine down lower however.   Seem to work very well and really help see better at night.

I agree that some of us tend not to ride at night, me as well.  However, we all will be caught in the dawn or dusk of a day at some point in time.   I ride to work quite often, and I go in sometimes at 3 am.   

I would personally buy the wal-mart lights that Charles and I have put on, and see if that doesn't help.

[lragan]

I also have the Wal-Mart lights -- you can't beat the price, and they work well.

The Kuryakin (sp??) bullets look a little spiffier, because they have a better chrome job, and the wires emerge from the bottom of the housing instead of the back, but from the "business" side of the lights (out front where it counts) I don't think you can see the difference.

My thought when I bought 'em was for $14 I could try 'em out, and if I wanted to replace them with expensive fixtures later, I would not have lost much.  Been on about a year now, and I have no plans to replace them.

[L J VFR]

Sorry Lawrence, I had forgotten you have them on too...        See, another wise man.....

[lragan]

Sorry Lawrence, I had forgotten you have them on too...        See, another wise man.....

Charles really opened my eyes on this one!  I had no idea!!

[ed5757]

I have considered adding those lights. heard they light up pretty nice. however, its not entirely about seeing better, although it does take precedence. for me, its also about aesthetics. I think they look pretty cool. but thats me.
 

[tmds3]

I am trying to find a light that the wires come out thru the bolt to make it easier to hide the wires. Is that the way the ones at wal-mart are?

[lragan]

No, David, they come out through the center in the back.  They are not easily hidden.

[Sledge Hammer]

Same with the Show Chrome bullet lights. They also bring out two wires from each housing rather than grounding through the mounting hardware like some competing brands' light do. May even install them on the bike while I'm still young enough to care...

[Greg Cothern]

Kuryakyn Silver Bullet lights have this option..