I got to this thread too late...sorry...I would have steered you into the new Daymaker or the Truck Lite...both LEDs. I ended up with the TL because of great reviews and the huge price difference...I like my choice a lot.

LEDs draw current at a miserly pace compared to Halogen and even HID...much better on your charging system, and they have a useful life that numbers in the tens of thousands of hours and HIDs last 2500 or so...they give off a bright white light, very similar in color to HIDs. I did have HID installed on my 2009 SG. It certainly was a big step up from halogen, but they are pretty power hungry. There is a ballast that must be used just to fire the light...that ballast puts out huge voltage, over 20,000 volts, in fact, my wiring came loose one day and all I could hear was a huge static sound in my radio...and the radio was turned off at the time! Scary to say the least. You also asked about the time lag between low and high beam. The lights I used, and I can't remember the brand, had no lag at all...the way they work is the bulb fits into the stock location where your old bulb was...the HID has a system inside that lifts the bulb higher when you flip to high beam...the light never goes out...the system works like a relay...when you go on high, the juice excites a coil and draws the core up, lifting the bulb, which alters the focal point. I hope I explained that clearly. You can hear the bulb clicking, and actually feel it as it is drawn up and down. I guess it is an effective way to alter the light focus. Since the bulb fits inside your stock light shell, the light pattern is pretty much the same. To tell you the truth, I got nervous after the incident with the loose wire...the arcing under my fairing scared the crap out of me. The thought of all that voltage near all my wiring made me disconnect the system and replace it with the original bulb, which I kept as an emergency back up. I'm sure mine was not a typical experience, but it did happen. I know lots of folks running them in their cars also, but to me, with the new LED technology, I would never use HIds again. I now have a 2014 SGS and as I said, I installed the TL Phase 7...cost $160 at Napa. I ordered the CD Ringz also...the pics that Rstrtal posted convinced me that was the way to go...the light colors match well, and being all LED, the advantage is a much reduced load on the electric system. I'll post some pics after I get the Ringz installed, but for now, I love my TL

 

Rode last night at dusk and all the street signs were glowing. Does that happen with the HID's too?

 

Yes, I think the light output is very similar, and the color temp is almost the same too. I think a lot has to do with the reflector..the pattern it produces.

 

Does anyone know if I need to remove the turn signals to remove the outer fairing on the SGS? I bought the manual today and step two states to "remove the left and right lamp brackets from front forks" but I don't see that they would be in the way. I plan to install the HIDs tomorrow.

Found the answer elsewhere. They can be removed but it is tight and the poster recommended putting socks over the turn signals to keep from scratching anything. Maybe I'll just remove them.

 

I've taken my fairing off a number of times...the turn signals are not in the way at all. Maybe they were referring to the Ultra driving lamps, which make fairing removal tight...on the SGS the turn signals are a non issue...two bolts on each side and the three along the windshield. The light assembly stays attached to the fairing if you wish...just disconnect the connector after you pull it away from the inner fairing...much easier than the older fairings, in my opinion. Just a question...did you get a complete light housing, or two individual bulbs? The 2014 SGS has a different light ring than previous models.

 

I have some experience with HID's on another bike I had (Honda VFR) and I liked them very well, but there are a couple of things to consider in my opinion outside of just HID vs. the Daymaker Reflector. I also have a new SGS and I hate the stock light so I am also looking to replace it. Based on all of my research, the only things that have kept me from going directly to the Daymaker Reflector are the comments about it not being very good in corners as well as the cost. I can get over the cost, but not having as good of light spread is a concern for me.

I learned something on my other bike that I think was useful and I would also like to do on the SGS if I go HID. First is that I only want the low beam to be HID. There are a couple of reasons for this and one is related to a second thing I think you should do if you go HID and that is put on a delay relay so the light doesn't start until the bike is running. This is beneficial as it allows the ballast to have full voltage and not compete with the starter which can cause issues.

Going back a bit. The reason I only want a low beam HID is that it allows me to keep (or in my case I want to update to an LED) the high beam. This way if the HID fails for some reason, you can continue with the high beam without being stranded. Second reason for this is when you only turn the key to the accessory position, you can still switch to the high beam for light if needed and leave the HID off so the ballast doesn't have to do the high voltage charge and create the pull on the battery. The third reason for this is I don't personally like the idea of a high and low beam using the same bulb, but only getting the change by the bulb moving. This just seems like one more thing that can go wrong. The last reason is that if you use the "flash" function of your headlight (pushing in on the low beam selector) I don't believe that it can or will work effectively with the dual use HID bulb. I want something that the low beam stays on as is and the hi beam flashes.

I am actually waiting to call socalmotogear with a couple of questions. They have listed an LED high option, but they don't allow for picking it in the combo box. I don't know if you have to call and ask or if it isn't available anymore. I also want to see if there is any delay relay built into their kit. These are two key items for me to be comfortable with an HID kit. I would also prefer a 5k light vs 6k ,but that isn't a deal breaker.

 

No you do not need to removed the turn signals on the 2014 SGS. The service manual is for all touring bikes and that comment is meant for the Ultra with the spots. I have removed my SGS fairing several times without too much trouble. Actually easier than my 07 Ultra fairing.

 

Do the Truck Lite...separate high and low beams...high comes on with low...fully LED...minimal power draw, crazy long useful life (over 20,000 hours), and affordable. I love mine. I just put Custom Dynamic Ringz in my two turn signals, now I have three white LEDs in front, and the turn signals go amber when they are activated. I had problems with my HID, as I noted in a different post in this thread. My system used one bulb, so it did not have to ignite for high (it cycled the bulb in and out for high/low). The newer HID kits come with two bulbs it appears, but there will be that lag time for high you spoke of. LED for me...the wave of the future

 

You will also need a cable harness, it's $20. Besides that its very simple. Head light will stick out a little further. HD Frenched trim or a Kuryaken will solve that.

 

I installed the HIDs today. They are bright, maybe even too bright. They were pretty easy to install with the included harness. It was hard to find a spot that didn't interfere with the radio but I believe I found a spot that will work. The low beam HID pretty well falls where the halogen did from 25 foot. It is a bit harder to tell about the high beam.

One thing I noticed that may have always been the case is that the outer fairing vent where it joins the inner fairing section of the vent has a small gap around the edge of about 1/16 to an 1/8 of an inch. Anybody else noticed a gap on theirs?