A Newby! Hi everyone - new to forum but been on bikes and Ducatis for many years... I have been reading with interest the headlight debate and a desire to improve the standard candle power and hope this helps. Great bike the ST4s, lots of modifications (more later) but lighting - oh dear... Firstly, take the headlight apart and clean the projector lens - huge difference to light output. Next I Fitted an HIDS4U 35w ultimate xenon In place of the standard 55w H3 bulb. A mounting bracket for the ballast was fabricated using 5mm polycarbonate and mounted under the clocks, this was replaced with a CNC aluminium item after fitting and clearance issues were resolved. When adjusted the instant daylight result is remarkable without blinding other vehicles and on a motorway the throw of light almost negates the need for a high beam! "What next" I thought, so step 2 was to buy a cheap bi-xenon projector from China and using the same hid kit wire this to the high beam and get even more light (see various "how to's" previously posted on forum). More fabrication and fitting - the result was very impressive technically but at night it just looked like the old dull headlight, so... Step 3 - back to OE Ducati projector with HIDS4U set-up as this seems to be the most effective and easiest solution for the bike. I have since changed the H1 high beam bulb for a better one and fitted an SMD/LED 501 as day running/sidelight - that's really good and light colour now matches the hid. In summary I have a few bikes to choose from and the ST is now always first choice for night riding!
I have the ultimate headlight on my wifes ST2. It has a bi-xenon projector with 35 watt HID kit in place of the standard dip projector (provides dip and main beam). It also has two angel eye running lights which are on when the engine is running and the headlights are off. It has another spot projector in the main beam place with a 20 watt LED to give a headlight flasher function. The bike is very visible in the day with the angel eyes, and the night vision is fantastic on both main and dip beams. The other thing is that it puts much less strain on the puny generator.
Hi Bob Would you be able to point me in the direction of where you got the ST2 HID upgrade from? Ive been looking at doing mine for a while and now the its dark by half 4 in the afternoon, some additional light is always welcome! Hope that's ok and thanks for your info Keith
I put HID's on my ST4S around 4 years ago. If I were to start again I would put LED/BI lenses that use the small internal cut off to go from High to low. Similar to this Hi-Lo Bi-xenon Projector Headlight White Angel Eye Red Devil Eye FOR H7/H4/H1 | eBay My HID's do spike the system and this causes the tacho to flicker for the first 5 seconds of operation
That is what I have used on the wifes ST2, but I paid much less than that as I do not have "red devil eyes" in mine - it is illegal to show a red light to the front of any vehicle apart from a police vehicle. I also have a pair of them in the 848 to give two dips and two mains.
Hello, Ive been having a look at getting a pair of Xenon HID jobbies, as looking at my lights on the ST2 in the garage just now, I never realised how bad the light throw was from the standard lamps. The day time running lamp is as bad as a candle in a jam jar, the projector is ok along with the main beam, but I can see why the change would be good. Bob - how hard is it to cock up replacing the projectors? and would it be a 2.5" unit that is needed? Any details would be good before I plunge myself into having to buy a new headlight Many Thanks Keith
Dead easy to change the projector and it is a 2.5 inch one. I have a spare headlight here and might also have a bi-xenon projector. I think I also have a spare angle eye, so if you want to do the job then I can can take photos and videos to help you along. There are a few photos on my blog which should guide you through most of the mod. The wifes ST2 now has 2 angel eye day running lights, a HID dip and main (35watt) in the dip side and a 20watt LED in the mainbeam side just to retain the flash function when the lights are not switched on.
Sorry to drag up a 5 year old thread, but I have just come back from a wonderful 6 day/1700mile tour of the Provence, Cévennes and Limousin on the ST4s where she was the perfect bike and day long comfortable. When I got off the ferry at Portsmouth it was windy and raining and both the M27 and part of the M3 were shut so was routed by my phone through all the back villages to pickup the A34 at Winchester, due to the headlight and a rear tyre badly worn from the prevoius week the bike became a liability not feeling safe much over 40mph until a car came up behind with Xenon lights which turned night into day so I kept him there all the way to the dual carriageway! Needless to say something has to be done about the lights so could Bob T give me the details or link to his blog showing his set up for his wife's bike above please.
ST4s headlight conversions still cropping up… Slight revision to mention based on current technology and project progress - the bi-xenon conversion has been updated and now uses a 3” version from a Ford Focus, very fiddly to fit but the difference is remarkable. Having said that high beam has been converted to LED which is a simple bulb replacement and having done this with other bikes best advise these days is simply change to that technology and suffer the MOT issues (if any) by changing build if required. The reliability, current consumption and light output of modern LED bulbs far surpasses even my 3” HID!
Can we discuss rear LED conversions, turn signal ceramic LED options and electronic flasher relays so normal flash rate is maintained, or for a really interesting conversation how about Triumph and Norton conversions which have positive earth - same problem but even worse lighting to start with!
Thanks for getting back so quickly, so the simplest solution is to go to LED with a SMD/LED 501 for the parking light and an LED H1 for the main but for the dip beam projector surely you have problems with the LED heatsinks and the speedo cable? What make of LED bulbs work best for the ST?
An LED bulb can work in any projector headlight, much better idea than putting it into a reflector headlight (main beam), where it throws light everywhere and causes more dazzle. The make of LED for the dip will make no difference as the amount of light, measured in Lumen, is more important. Any replacement projector will be fine as they normally have main and dip in the same reflector. No need to buy an expensive one. I have also built rear lights and indicators for the ST range and they are very simple. While you were in the Limousin you should have made contact and I could have knocked something up there and then, I am just down the road Limoges. My girlfriend and I have just changed the pair of Ducatis for a pair of new BMWs that come with LED lights as standard.
I have tried several conversions and like all optical components quality is paramount to performance when measuring clarity or light output hence using the Ford OE components. LED bulbs work very well with reflector light units as well as those with projector lenses, the key consideration is choosing the right bulb as they are made specifically for purpose, hence an H7R HID bulb should only be used for an HID conversion with a reflector lens, likewise decent LED bulbs are adjustable so beam pattern is optimised. I have re-engineered Ducatis, Harleys, BMWs, Nortons, Triumphs, Bentleys, Jaguars and many others, my most outrageous conversion to date uses a 3” bi-led laser projector replacement unit with 6 led chips (not the normal 1…) and a double reflective bowl. It’s expensive, requires lots of engineering to install and sadly is too bright for regular road use! Best advice is take the standard low beam apart, clean the projector lens and stick to good quality LED bulbs that provide the correct beam pattern. Choose a Kelvin rating (colour) around 3000-5000 - any more will look great but the bluer light is not effective at night, less and you get a warmer yellow hue. Country of origin makes no difference as all European and U.K. supplied items are probably made in China, even the “proper” Philips bulbs (which are really good by the way…) are made there! ST at night - brilliant, can be - just needs heated grips. If this gets too boring I’ll post some pictures of this and other projects.
I only do this for a hobby as a retired engineer, so I have not re-engineered Ducatis, Harleys, BMWs, Nortons, Triumphs, Bentleys, Jaguars and many others, as I am not running a business. Putting an LED or a HID into a reflector headlight might be recommended by someone selling those products, but be aware that not one manufacturer of vehicles goes down that route. HIDs are always fitted into projectors and LED headlights are always designed as just that, and not an LED bulb fitted in what was designed for a halogen bulb.
Thanks for the offer Bob T - I very nearly needed your help just before Poitiers - A fairing strip and new main relay and we were going again within 1 1/2 hrs! Much to the disgust of the Panzar tank riders (my so-called companions) who nearly abandonned me. I had the last laugh since the ST4s was way better on the smooth, twisty roads of the Cévennes. We ate in the old town of Limoges on the return - a stunning spot. By the sounds of things, it appears more straight forward to start with Halogen to LED swaps rather than going down the HID route, I just want something that is not going to kill me at night. I see some of the LED bulbs (Ledperf) have flexible aluminium heat sinks that should fit in the rubber boat allowing the the dip light not to interfere with the speedo cable.
Those Leds are the way to go after cleaning the inside of the projector lens with a microfibre cloth on a long bit of wood through the bulb hole.
LHD 7” H4 reflector headlight using a GEN3 Philips conversion made specifically to convert Halogen to LED. No cooling fans to interfere with wiring as heat efficiency heat sinks are used. Note perfect beam pattern, zero bleed and crisp cut-off to avoid blinding on-coming traffic… ♂️
