Modern Vespa

So I just got in my HID headlight from Motorsport Scooters and let me tell you this thing is awesome! Installation took me about an hour and a half but I was making some other mods too. I really light up the road now and it looks great!

Just for fun I also added the Stebel air horn while I had everything apart so now if you can't see me I am certain you can hear me!

you got to post pix. i am soon going to get some 8000K for my LX150.

one question does anyone know if the head unit is the same size on the GTS and LX... cause i see people with your bike doing the HID but no one with the LX doing it and was undering if i have to break out the dremel skills to get it to fix nicely.

I did the HID conversion on our LX

Get the single (non-Hi/Lo bulb)If you dont want to use your dremeling skills. However, if you want Hi/Lo function, then you better warm up that Dremel machine. I haven't seen any HID kit with Hi/Lo function that doesn't have the big base yet.

Here is the link to one of the members article about HID:
https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic10291?postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=hid&start=40

The GTS kit is just as it is advertised, plug and play. They also include very detailed, step by step instructions that are easy enough for anybody to follow. There is quite a bit of disassembly to do to the bike to route the wires and mount the two control boxes but there is ample room to mount the boxes, route the wires, and still have room left for the Stebel nautalis.

I am not sure how the kit would fit any other models but it is an easy mod for what it was intended for.

vinavespa very nice i am so going to do it now.. especially since it is getting darker earlier now.

one other question... my friend has a mustang and got 8000k HID for his car and i like the color of the 8000k ... now the v-led you have says that it has a BLUE TINT ... do you know if this looks close now to 8000k or did they just add that word cause they sell one with a purple tint?

Glad to hear the kit really is plug and play and that it works well. I put in my order yesterday, unfortunately they are back ordered right now

I had this same question too before I bought my kit from V-Led. I know that anything above 6000k is blue, but the kit I have is 5000k. I emailed V-Led asked them about this and they told me that their 5000k bulbs comes in a choice of white or blue tint. At first I thought the "blue tint" means that they coated the bulb with a blue tint(like halogen bulb), however my bulb water clear, but when you turn it on, it becomes blue. The label on the bulb say that it is 5000k, so this is rather surpising.

I chosed the 5000k because it has a higher lumens rating than 6000k, and their blue tint is a nice touch. So you're getting the lumen power of a 5000k and a blue color of a 8000k.

umm that is good to know cause i really like the 8000k kit my friend has but if i get the 6000k (that makes more light, which i want) but has the color of 8000k and i not that much dremeling to do... ummm ok well i will post pix when i get them.

thanks for the help

Hi - need some help please.
Just received my SX Appeal HID Xenon conversion and there are no installation instructions included - also cant find any (for a Vespa GT/GTS) on the web.
If this is all on one page, could any of you who still have the instructions scan them in and post them?
It would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

PM sent. Give me your email address and I will send you the file.

I just got the 6000k ones from v-led with the blue tint .... So I will take pix of the color and any trouble spots that I get into....

I look at it as not spending $100, but improving the safety at night , plus HIDs in general are just cool.

I'm debating between the SX kit and one from V-led and have a couple questions. Does the SXappeal kit come with a blue tint or is it super white and does it require ANY modifications at all?

I haven't seen the kit from Scooterwest in action yet. The V-Led kit does comes in a choice of white or blue tint. What color are you looking for? If you want blue then get anything that is 6000K and up. The higher the temperature, the more blue you will get, but you will lose lumens(brightness) power so just remember that. I think 9000K and up is turning from blue to purple.

For me I chosed 5000K because it has a higher lumen than 6000k, and I got the blue tint option so that I get the cool blue look of the 6000k. Another thing to consider is the ballast in the V-Led kit is the newer "slim" type. These slim ballast are two times smaller than traditional ballast. This is perfect for placement in tight spaces on your Vespa. I have these slim ballast for my BMW and I paid nearly $500 for the kit, So $100 is quite a bargain.

Here is what the SLIM ballast look like.

From Motorsport Scooters' website: "6000K has an approximate output of 2800lm and emits a pure white light with a very slight tint of blue and purple"

The kit require no modifictions to be made other than running of the wiring. You are given a modified dust boot with the kit so you have everything needed to go right back to stock if you desire.

I would say that I have almost double the visability with this light installed on my GTS.

I would prefer it to NOT have a tint of any color, bright white would be perfect.

I have no problem physically doing any modifications necessary I would just rather not do them to MY scooter. I like things that are truly plug and play.

So at this point I'm still undecided. I don't want blue, so that means the V-led kit might be better but it sounds like I need to make slight modifications to get it to fit, which i'd rather not do. The SX kit doesn't require modifications but appears to be slightly blue in color which I don't want.

Can anyone help me decide?

The V-Led kit doesn't require that much modifying for the GTS250, like the member above mention he only have to make the bulb holder alittle bigger. Some members didn't even have to do any modifying at all. I had to modify a lot because I have a LX150, so there is not a lot of space behind the headlight.

Like I mentioned earlier, the only advantage I see with the V-LED kit is the "slim" ballast. However, since the both SX kit and the V-Led cost the same, you should buy from Scooterwest because they care a supporter of this forum. As for the white bulb, just ask Scooterwest if they can get the 5000K bulb for you.

Yeah, it seems that I wouldn't have to change much to make the v-led one work and I may go with that one to get the white bulb. The SX kit is $35 more plus shipping than the V-Led which has free shipping so the savings is more like $45+. I agree that they are a sponsor and I have purchased items from them in the past so I won't feel guilty buying from V-led this time if that's what I decide.

Here are a couple of pictures of mine. To my eyes it warms to almost pure white.

I do agree that after installing this kit I don't believe it would be hard to make the modifications to make the other one fit. The biggest difference and time savings that I can see are just the bulb retainer and the dust boot both of which come new in the Motorsport Scooters kit. Decide for your own but either way just upgrading to an HID was well worth it for me.

I'm leaning toward the motorsports kit but still have more questions, sorry.

The last I've heard about HID conversions they weren't legal because the beam concentration got all messed up when you change a halogen H4 to an HID without changing the reflector behind it to one made for the HID bulb.

Has anyone paid attention to what the beam looks like after the conversion? Something like up against the side of your garage or some kind of smooth surface at a distance?

I'm sure it's brighter but I would hate to sacrifice the distance it lights, anyone got anything for me?

I may be able to say that distance is sacrificed ever so slightly if at all. You will notice a vast improvement on the peripheral lighting though.

Unfortunately I didn't think to do a actual before and after comparison so I will admit my standpoint may be more opinion than fact.

I would say that you are correct that these conversion kits are illegal, for 2 reasons.

1) I know for cars, that today, any hid lighting system MUST have auto levelers incorporated into them. I would assume the same would apply to bikes.

2) Like you mentioned, the headlight lens must be designed for the HID so that it doesn't blind oncoming traffic.

Which is why they are for 'off-road use only'.

So when installing them, it would be a good idea to re-adjust the aiming of the light to be a little lower so as to not piss off the cager in front of you.

Just installed the MotorSport Scooters HID kit - it works but doesn't switch between hi and low beam. Instructions merely say "verify both hi and low beam positions work - you will hear and audible click of the HID bulb changing position" - but not what to do about it if it doesn't work.
I have checked connections and they are secure.
Anyone had the same problems or can anyone suggest a fix?
thanks

ok guys here is my HID on my LX150 with v-LED lights.....

on my bike all i did was shave down the plastic ( i almost went to far, so i just taped it up just in case) and i think on the metal i shaved to much, but it was not big deal.... the in thing that help me was to take some lipstick and put it on the back of the light then dry fit it and when you pull it apart you see the part you need to kept shaving....



testing it before putting it back together... have to get white running lights...


and now at night time, beautiful, not as blue as my friends 8000k, but none the less i love them.




if anyone has any other questions for me let me know and i will see if i can help out.

thanks to everyone who helped out

Awesome!

With more and more of us converting to HID and the experience that we've gained while installing these things, hopefully whoever decide to do this conversion in the future will have an easier and smoother installation using this information. That's why I love these DIY project forums!

Ok....must.....have.....HID

I was riding home late from work this evening and thinking about how piddly my current halogen is in the ET4.

Has anybody tried this with an ET? Are we talking the same mods as for the LX?

Just finished installing mine tonight. Took me 3 hours. The hardest part was trying to wrangle the glove box back on.

LOVE the lights. Much better visiblity now, and was impressed that the 'hi' mode really is brighter than the normal setting.

The cutoff on the light pattern also seems to be very good - ie: no blinding cagers in front of me.

Highly recommended!

ahhh that was the hardest past too... found out it was the lever that you had to get behind the key hole.


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@ VICFERRARI,

Is the HID you used from V-Led the 5000K version or the 6000k version with blue tint?

I think your colour is good and doesnt look to blueish/purple

Pleased to hear than I am ready to order

I think vicferrari has a 6000k kit

yes indeed they are the 6000k w/ blue tint.... i have a friend that has 8000k and i liked his color and these are pretty close.....

take a look at his HID, it's on a mustang.

http://cardomain.com/ride/3167112

must 6000k are white, but these have a nice aftermarket look to it.

Hello, I also installed a Xenon-kit on my GTS. But I can't make the same color intension with the running light. On your scoot it's just the same. Can you tell me the kind of bulb you installed? Many thanks.