I love my xenons. But as a motorcyclist I'm also sold on daytime running lights and have activated that option on my R60.
Whaddya think? Am I frittering away my xenons' lifespan too much?

 

To an extent you are, but what's the added sense of safety worth to you? Probably more than the replacement cost of the bulbs.

 

Turning them on and off rapidly will do more "harm" than just running with them on.

If you like the idea of DRL, but don't see a need ALL THE TIME, pressing the fog light button will keep them on for that drive, and you can leave the HID's on auto for the rest of the time.

 

Frequent on/off will wear them out faster than the DRL feature.

FYI us Canadians have DRL on all cars and I haven't heard too many complaints of short lifespans of xenons.

 

You'll bust your more expensive ballast first before those bulbs go out.