Howard, here is a link to my
Gen I HID installation. I originally installed the HIDcountry G4 ballasts and 6000K color lights. I had a ballast go out, and HIDcountry replaced the entire kit with the Slim Digital ballasts with separate igniter. I have 20,000 miles on these lights already, although I have only owned the bike for a year. I have installed HIDcountry lights in about 8 motorcycles and two cars so far. Problems have been rare, but like with the G4 ballast HID country has easily replaced any equipment without any hassle. The most common failure I have seen is actually poor contacts in relay harnesses, rather than a failure in bulbs or ballasts. That can be hard to diagnose.
In my opinion the slim ballast is more reliable than G4, but G4 is super easy to work with due to its very small size. I plan my installations to have the 3-prong H4 plug easily reachable just in case a failure of any kind occurs. That way I can always plug in a Halogen H4 bulb and have both lights. The FJR is a good platform for HID because you end up with the redundancy of two independently powered lights. A failure in one, does not put you in the dark. That is two harnesses with fuses, two ballasts and two bulbs, either set can be easily substituted back to halogen. During installation, you will want to replace the rubber boot over the bulb base, and it will be way too tight. You need to slit the center opening of the boot top and bottom to be able to slip it over the larger HID bulb base. It will seal and has not been a problem for me.
Failures are more common with HID, and they are most common within 2000 miles or a couple months of installation. Once a set has gone beyond that time, I have never experienced a failure. I use 4300K bulbs now with the motorcycle slim ballast kits. On a Gen I there is enough room to tuck the ballasts into the side fairings. I thin Gen II has less flexibility. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to help. I am as strong a supporter of these lights as Scooter is a detractor. I just think the extra night vision and visibility safety is well worthwhile. Reliability has not been an issue, once I got past the initial bugs on a couple sets. If you are concerned, keep an extra HID set on standby. It will only cost you another $50.
As you say, warmth counts as well. My voltmeter stays above 13.5 with the HIDS Warm & Safe 90 watt jacket, Clearwater lights, Autocom, GPS, Radar and radio in operation, and my Gen I has 100 watts less than your Gen II.
Tom
