HID’s from HID50 used in World Motorcycle Altitude Record by Walter Colebatch.
Walter Colebatch, Lukas Matzinger and Barton Churchill set the world altitude record for motorcycles whilst utilizing lighting systems from HiD50.com. On the 18 March 2012, at 2:30 pm the Husaberg Adventure Team (Walter J Colebatch – UK, Barton Churchill – USA, Lukas Matzinger – Austria) set a new world record for altitude reached by motorcycle of 6,361 m / 20,869 ft, with a Husaberg FE 570 motorcycle on the snow covered volcano Ojos Del Salado, in Chile.
This improves the previous best of 6,245 m / 20,489 set in 2008 by an Indian team in the Himalayas by 116 meters / 380 ft. Verification by Guinness World Records is pending. The team thanks our families, friends, our first class equipment and logistics sponsors, and the incredible community support that made this achievement possible.
The view from the top of the motorcycling world … Looking out from Jeschke’s Noodle – 6,361 m / 20,869 ft. the highest view in the history of motorcycling. — with Walter Colebatch, Lukas Matzinger and Barton Churchill , at Ojos Del Salado.
In addition to the mens record on the 14.03.12 Australian / American rider Sherri Jo Wilkins, accompanied by the Husaberg Adventure Team, set a new womens world record for altitude reached by motorcycle at Ojos del Salado, Chile. Riding a Husaberg FE 570, Sherri Jo not only broke the current womens benchmark of 5,386 m / 17,671 ft, she rode all the way to an incredible new best of 5,903 m / 19,367 ft, bettering the old mark by an impressive 517 m / 1,696 ft.
Definition of HID
High Intensity Discharge lighting is light from a plasma discharge rather than a filament. The system involves a combined igniter and ballast to start the light and maintain the current, and certain gases and metal salts to create the light. Overall the system uses less energy than halogen lighting, while producing 4 times more light per watt. HID lights are sometimes referred to as Xenon bulbs, due to the presence of Xenon gas between the electrodes. Note that some halogen bulbs contain small amounts of Xenon (up to 5%) and accordingly brand themselves as “Xenon lights”, but they are not High Intensity Discharge lamps and do not put out greater light than standard halogen bulbs.
How HID lights work?
High Intensity Discharge Lights do not have a filament. Instead light is created from an electrical discharge between two electrodes in a micro-environment of xenon gas and metal halide salts. The light is emitted by an electrically energized gas – a plasma discharge – formed and sustained between the two electrodes. For more information go to the page “Light Power and Colour.”
How much does a kit cost ?
- Ultra-50 kits in H1, H3, H7 or H11 fitments, in 5000K or 6000K are £159.00 plus p&p
- Ultra-35 kits in H1, H3, H7 or H11 fitments, in 5000K or 6000K are £119.00 plus p&p
- KTM kit … an Ultra-50 kit with 1 H3 and 1 H7 bulb in 6000K only are £164.00 plus p&p (for 950/990 Adventures)
- Triumph kit … an Ultra-50 with 1 H7 and 1 H9 bulb, in 6000K only are £164.00 plus p&p (for Tigers)
- Twin kits come supplied with H7R anti dazzle bulb as standard, were applicable.
HiD50 now stock the leading brand of 35 watt and 50 watt Ceramic Core Burners, What’s included?
- Postage and Packaging is £8.00 per kit (to the UK) for the above.
- Postage and Packaging is £18.00 per kit (to Europe) for the above.
- Postage and Packaging is £24.00 per kit (to the US / Canada) for the above
- Single H4 35 watt High / Low kits with Ultra-35 ballast in 6000K are £99.00 plus £6.00 p&p to the UK
- Single H4 50 watt High / Low kits with Ultra-50 ballast in 6000K are £129.00 plus £6.00 p&p to the UK
For more information go to the page “HID50 Kit“
How do I order ?
Email HID50 (click on the link, do not delete either of the email addresses) to notify ballast type, light colour, discuss payment options and receive a final price. (See info pages on the drop down menus at the top of this page for more information on ballast types and light colours)
- – -
FAKES!
There are at least 5 Chinese HID makers copying our ballasts, including the ballast’s shape, labels, bar-codes … etc, and in some cases even mark the PCB board. One thing they can’t do is that they can’t copy our ballast’s function & good quality
The other thing worth noting is the operating temperature of our genuine ballasts is higher than the fake ones. Most Chinese HID ballasts have a max operating temp of 65-85C. Ours are certified for operation at up to 105 degrees, with a maximum case temperature of 120 degrees!. The factory we use is the the only factory that does those.
This one Chinese factory has the reputation for making the best stuff in China, and at least half a dozen others are making rip off copies of them. It’s ironic, but the Chinese are copying the Chinese at the moment in the HID business.
So how can you know you are buying the best quality product and not a cheap knock off made to look the same (even with the same bar codes on them)? Stick with a seller you can trust. A seller who stands by their product. A seller who really knows the product, rather than just imports anything cheap from China. Stick with a seller who knows the ins and outs of the fake bulb and ballast market.
- – -
How durable are HID bulbs?
In general, HID bulbs are able to take a lot more punishment than standard filament halogen bulbs. Why? Several reasons.
Firstly because they do not run as hot as halogen bulbs (because HID is a more efficient system for turning electrical energy into light, it wastes much less as heat). Without the superheated glass that you get on a halogen bulb, you dont get the propensity to shatter or explode that halogen bulbs have if any dirt or finger grease gets on the glass.
Secondly, consider how a halogen bulb works. A fine strand of tungsten wire is superheated to 3200 degrees, so hot that the metal glows white (or nearly white). As a motorcycle rides over rough roads, this glowing hot wire is vibrated constantly, until it breaks. With a HID bulb, there is no wire filament. The light is created by a glowing arc between two electrodes. There is no ultrafine, superheated wire to overheat or to vibrate apart.
Accordingly, while halogen bulbs last 250 – 500 hours, a HID bulb will last 2000 – 3000 hours, and will be able to withstand much rougher roads, for much longer.
At HID50, we have gone a step further and ensured our ballasts are as rugged as possible too. HID50 gear was established specifically for adventure travel, so everything we supply is the most rugged gear we can make, adapt or get hold of.
News: To showcase the reliability and durability of our HID components, HID50 proudly sponsored The Sibirsky Extreme Project; a remarkable 7 month, off-road motorcycle expedition further into Siberia than had been attempted before. This was one of the toughest possible tests for adventure motorcycle gear in years.
“I chose to use the HID50 gear on Sibirsky Extreme because it is the best lighting gear on the market. The product showed exceptional durability. I was really impressed. The gear went though hell and came back smiling – or shining as the case may be,” Walter Colebatch, expedition leader.
Photos at the bottom of this page.
Not content with proving how well HID50 gear stands up to the ruggedness of Extreme Siberia, HID50 put their gear to the test with Round The World rider Gabriel Bolton, on his 3 year ride around the planet.
“Trip went like a dream, better than I could have possibly hoped it would be. Even with a twin headlight upgrade, the lights on my Honda XR650 were weak. Driving in the dark was a fearful affair. The HID50 set up changed everything, turning night into day. Night riding was unavoidable at some points, and I was really thankful for the HID50s.”
Gabriel Bolton, http://www.gabe-rtw.co.uk/
