Experience with HID Upgrade Kits for Suzuki Burgman 650
Work in Progress
UPDATE: Had so much problem with ballasts burning out after just a short time (never bulbs), that I switched to LED bulbs when they became available. In fact, as my bike changed out to a 2009 model, all the bulbs as well as headlights are now LED. LED headlights (have to document the model here) have been 100% reliable for many years for me. Never a flicker or hitch. And much brighter. Key is being careful, like with the HIDs, to get a true H4 replacement bulb that has the high beams in a separate location so the reflectors work as designed.
There is so much mis-information out there, and some that seems to be time sensitive, that I needed to create a document to sort it all out. And in the end, maybe assist someone else.
First off, I am upgrading a 2003 Suzuki Burgman 650. I do not know if and when key parts changed in similar models (Exec, 400) or model years (2004-present). So does not help to ask me. This is simply my learned knowledge during 2011-2012 for the bike model mentioned above and vendors listed below. Use it as you may.
The bike has two head lamp modules (left and right) with H4 bulbs that are bi-level in each. Key and important factors to understand of the H4 in this bike are:
(a) Filament is in a reflector-capped glass housing (prevents light directly exiting the bulb out the top)
(b) Dual filament for hi- and low- beam
(c) Low beam has a half reflector to prevent light from hitting the lower half of the housing reflector
(d) The "lens" is simply a plastic weather cover and not a fresnel or other configured lens meant to modify the light being emitted. All light control is built into the bulb and via the plastic reflector "mirror" the lens sits in.
All these features must be replicated in a solution if using the same housing (lens, reflector) that the bulb sits in.
By default, in some model years of this bike, only one headlight is on for low-beams. Both are turned on for high-beams. My 2003 model bike has both bulbs lit for hi- and low-beam operation.
My 2003 bike does not turn off the headlights when starting the bike (starter switch pressed). Others are reporting problems of the headlights going out due to a starter switch contact issue. I do not seem to have that issue.
The kit from VVME.com is the only real solution of the three listed below. Others tried were found not workable. This is my experience for the reasons stated. Your mileage may vary.
Kit 1: Bikelitz.com (also on EBay.com)
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Appears to be a direct replacement for the bike as advertises specific kits for specific models and model years. Also claims to be local (Florida) and not from China and so of higher quality and reputation. But this is all a scam it appears to me. Purchased in Nov 2011 and returned in December.
(a) Sends a normal HID bulb with an additional small Halogen screwed to the base. Expects you to wire low beams to HID and high beam to halogen bulb by hand/
(b) Neither bulb has any of the reflector caps nor half-reflectors on them that a normal H4 has.
(c) Neither bulb is centered at the same position the original H4 filaments are and so do not line up the light in the reflector as expected.
So problems are:
(a) either low or high beams will be a normal Halogen bulb; depending on how you wire it.
(b) Now four bulbs in the bike to possibly go out. And how to replace which bulb when one goes out (custom mounting of small, non-headlight halogen bulb to the base of the HID makes it difficult to get a replacement for any).
(c) Light emits directly from all bulbs out the front of the lens in all directions. And the light emits to the top and bottom of the reflector at all times from whichever bulb is lit. Loose all light control designed with the H4 reflectors built in and bikes reflector housing. Either bulb on (HID or halogen) will be worse than a "hi-beam" light and shine in all directions. No clear cut line to prevent blinding oncoming drivers.
None of this is described in the advertisement. In fact, personally, I believe their advertising is false and misleading. Nowhere do they mention their HID upgrade kit is actually halogen and HID — so either the low-beam or high-beam still being Halogen then. They advertise it as a direct H4 replacement in the specific bike model. But without the H4 features of filaments at the specific locations and the end-cap reflector and half-reflector on the low-beam. All of these are required to be the "substitute" bulb. The bulb simply cannot be used in the same housing with an H4 bulb.
Although they advertised a 7-day return policy, they would not communicate once I mentioned I wanted to return the item. So I shipped the package back to the same address it came from on the third day. Luckily I paid by credit card and so then contested the charge to the credit card company. As I showed the return receipt back to the vendor, the credit card company refunded my charge. I was still out the cost of return shipping.
Kit 2: MicBurg Projectors
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This kit is highlighted in Micburgusa Youtube howto video. It uses a projector housing (large lense in front of the bulb housed in a tight reflector enclosure) to help assure a clean, specific beam. This is how most cars with HID bulbs from the factory are built. Hence recommended by many on various forums as the way to go (i.e. with warning "only install an HID upgrade if you use a projector housing"). Purchased in Dec 2011 and tried installing in January 2012.
Although Micburg has 650 fix-it videos, the video he demonstrates doing the upgrade is for a Burgman 400. Either the Burgman 400 light housing is different than the 650 OR the manufacturer changed the projector housing since he made the video OR the Burgman changed the light housing. After going through all the trouble to remove the headlight housing from the bike and unsealing the lens glue in the oven, I discovered the projector unit is 1/2" too long. When trying to compare with the video, it appears the unit I received, which is identical looking box to what he shows in the video, has a "cap" holding the lense that is now 1/2" larger. Hence, I am suspecting the unit now available, as of 2011, is no longer workable in the Burgman 650.
You have to be very careful when ordering. They list kits with slim ballasts and those without any ballasts. The only difference in the two listings on EBay is a missing, small label in the scanned flyer in the Ebay posting. The label states in barely legible text "Ballast included".
This kit is from China. They simply wrapped brown shipping paper around a thin (cereal box thickness) cardboard retail box for shipping. The box cam crushed. Luckily, the projector units are durable and were not affected. Nor was anything else in the package that I could tell. But a poor way to pack for international shipping. Shipping was DHL from China and took almost a week at a cost of $15.
Kit 3: VVME.com
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Oddly the cheapest but appears only workable solution. Purchased in March 2012 and installed in April but removed two weeks later. Then re-installed in September 2012 (see "Ballast Location" below).
Comes with H4-replacement "bulbs" that fit in the same slot/location as normal H4's. No modifying the headlight housing. So after adding the HID wiring, you can switch back and forth between normal Halogen and HID bulbs if you so desired. No "projector" housings with lens to install in the existing headlight housing.
They have custom built a bulb assembly (i.e. you have to get these custom replacements from them if and when a bulb goes out). The assembly is a normal HID bulb with a rotating half-reflector metal shield around a portion of it. This fits into a glass cover that locks in place over the assembly. The cover is silvered at the end like an H4 bulb and silvered on the upper half of the body except for a small slot not silvered. The rotating reflector either covers the slot or opens the HID light to the slot in the upper half of the body. So turning on the brights does not change the intensity of the light or turn on a different filament/bulb/light source as in the original H4's. Turning on hi-beams simply moves the reflector so light can exit from all sides of the bulb and not just the upper half.
This near exactly mimics the behavior of a normal H4 bulb with two filaments and its built-in reflectors. The default is for the rotating reflector to block the "hi-beam" light output. So if that brakes down for some reason, it should be low-beam by default. But the whole unit is well built and installs inside the existing sealed headlight housing, so breakdown should not be much of an issue. The movement of the reflector is magnetic and held in place as long as the high beams are activated.
The ballasts are HUGE compared to normal or slim ballasts from others. Like two decks of cards strapped together for EACH ballast. Difficult to find room to put them in the front of the bike near the headlights. I used the Xentec slim ballasts I had ordered after realizing I ordered the projector kit above without ballasts.
The wiring harness has a fairly short cable to connect back to the battery. So you will have to splice in an hermetic-sealed extension to reach all the way back there. (The harness in the projector kit above had a long enough power cable to reach the "on" relay near the battery on the 650. So I simply spliced its longer cable onto this harness to get that extra length.)
Others report that the vendor guarantee is honored without question. They have gotten replacement ballasts under the warranty.
The kit is from China and is shipped from there. They actually charge $22 shipping (as of 2012) but send it overnight DHL. I ordered on a Friday near midnight and DHL rang my doorbell Monday morning at 7:30AM in Northern Carolina. The package arrived before an email giving me a tracking number. But as the kit was the lowest cost of any dual H4 replacement solution, the overall cost was cheaper than anywhere else.
Ballast Location
I bought Xentec mini-ballasts as I accidently ordered the projector kit solution without ballasts. I ended up using the Xentec ballasts instead of the VVME ones as the latter were huge and difficult to fit in the bike.
The wiring harnesses limit the location of the various components. At first, it seemed a great place for the slim-line Xentec ballasts was either side of the ECM module located between the headlights. But this caused erratic behavior of the ECM periodically that worsened. Even caused me to get flickering power to all systems (transmission, headlights, etc) on the highway at night.
So I moved the ballasts to sit on top of each other just under and in front of the handle bars. The power cords were just long enough to reach the HID bulbs when installed. (note that some ballasts have short chords to the bulbs and this location may not work for you.)
This worked fine for six months (5K miles of near daily rides) and then both lights went out at the same time. Thought it must be a control issue but turning on high beams moved the reflectors in both bulbs. So either the HID bulbs both went out at the same time OR the ballasts have both gone out. All look fine though. Still investigating what to do next. Luckily kept the original H4 bulbs in the trunk and simply replaced them back in for now.