Aim your lights

[george_park]

I was riding after dark when a car in front of me slammed on it's brakes and moved off to the side of the road a little causing me and the person I was with to have to make a quick move to the center of the road to avoid hitting the car.

 

About a mile up the car rolled up beside us and said my high beams were on. When I told him (showed him) they were not on he said they were too bright (bright enough to cause him to almost run me off the road).

 

When I got home I checked the aim of the headlamp and it was pointing into the sky - right where at proper following distance a rear view mirror would be.

 

I had replaced the stock bulb with a silverstar and had not changed a thing.

 

Lesson learned, from now on I'll check where the headlight is pointing...

[Guest 05RSMVTEXAN]

That still didn't give that moron an excuse to try and kill you and your passenger. I would have reported that nut to the police. And quite possibly he might have had to see his dentist the next day. I'm glad you are okay.

[ventureblue]

That still didn't give that moron an excuse to try and kill you and your passenger. I would have reported that nut to the police. And quite possibly he might have had to see his dentist the next day. I'm glad you are okay.

 

 

i dont think i would have reported a thing.

[flb_78]

if you had to evasively move, then you were following too close as well. At night, you should be back at least 3-4 seconds, if not more. you never know when a car is going to straddle a piece of debris in the road that you will hit and never see.

[Guest Boomerbiker]

I found this online some time ago and just used it to readjust my headlight. Found out it was pointing skyward, also

Getting a correctly aimed headlight is straightforward. You need to make a couple of measurements and then aim the light at a flat wall, as follows:

 

With the bike upright on its wheels (off the side or center stand) and your weight in the seat, have a helper measure the distance from the floor to the center of the headlight lens.

 

Pick a flat wall where you can locate the bike on level ground so the headlight is 17 feet from the wall. Place a horizontal mark on the wall two (2) inches lower than the height of the center of the headlight.

 

With you again sitting in the seat adjust the vertical screw (usually at the very top or very bottom of a headlight next to the lens but inside a trim ring) so the flat

top

of the low beam is just to the line you put on the wall (a two inch drop at 17 feet).

 

The horizontal adjustment (screw will be on the left or right side of the headlight lens) should center the beam ahead of the line of the bike.

If you have spotlights use this same procedure to aim them.

Go ride!

[dynodon]

Good instructions, but I would just change the first measure to use a yardstick or tape measure and find the sweet spot of the light coming FROM the headlight. That is quite often different than just the center of the headlight.

 

I adjust my low beams so they drop down just a little when going out about 20 feet.

 

Also it is a good idea to check any AUX lights you have.

[bj66]

I found this online some time ago and just used it to readjust my headlight. Found out it was pointing skyward, also

 

Getting a correctly aimed headlight is straightforward. You need to make a couple of measurements and then aim the light at a flat wall, as follows:

 

With the bike upright on its wheels (off the side or center stand) and your weight in the seat, have a helper measure the distance from the floor to the center of the headlight lens.

 

Pick a flat wall where you can locate the bike on level ground so the headlight is 17 feet from the wall. Place a horizontal mark on the wall two (2) inches lower than the height of the center of the headlight.

 

With you again sitting in the seat adjust the vertical screw (usually at the very top or very bottom of a headlight next to the lens but inside a trim ring) so the flat

top

of the low beam is just to the line you put on the wall (a two inch drop at 17 feet).

 

The horizontal adjustment (screw will be on the left or right side of the headlight lens) should center the beam ahead of the line of the bike.

If you have spotlights use this same procedure to aim them.

Go ride!

thanks for the dimensions, my bike was so far off, i couldve got a job inspecting top of telephone poles. Using these dimensions the headlight is really close. Thanks!!!!!

[BuddyRich]

Actually Bulbs are suppose to be made the same. So you don't have to readjust your headlights after changing a bulb. I've never had to readjust the up/down setting on my bike or cars after changing to Piaa or Silverstar bulbs .I would double check to see that its seated properly.

[Boomer]

Buddy, what's the p/n on the Silverstar bulb? Thanks!

[royalstarjac]

I believe it's just an H4 Siverstar.-Jack

[V7Goose]

Don't use the regular Silverstar - make sure you get the ULTRA. It is both brighter and has a heavier filament to last longer in an installation with vibration and extra jolts like a motorcycle.

Goose

[Phoneman1981]

Hello: Thank you. These instructions were very helpful to me!

[BOO]

Good post. I bet about a third of the motorcycle headlights I see at night are too high.

Even if you are riding with one of your buddies and riding behind him you are blinding him at some point, at the very least when you slow down and at stop signs/lights. I've had guys ride behind me and I've had to turn my mirrors because of headlights/running lights.

I know everyone wants to be seen but there is such a thing as too bright/high.

Also if you have your suspension set pretty soft it doesn't take to much more weight on the rear seat to cause your lights to be too high.

BOO

[Marcarl]

For me, during the day a bright light showing is very important, so I use high beam only and my driving lights. Using low beam during the day only gives others another color to look at, there is no real light showing, just pay attention to MCs coming towards you, and you'll notice what I'm saying.

During the dark hours, the amount of light is not near as important to be seen, just any light will actually show up, but now it becomes paramount us to see. For this reason it's very important to have the headlight aimed properly. If it's aimed too low, you have a shortened line of sight and if it's too high it's all washed out. Along with this is the fact that we'll p*ss off others if our lights are too high.

[Lone Eagle]

I found this online some time ago and just used it to readjust my headlight. Found out it was pointing skyward, also

 

Getting a correctly aimed headlight is straightforward. You need to make a couple of measurements and then aim the light at a flat wall, as follows:

 

With the bike upright on its wheels (off the side or center stand) and your weight in the seat, have a helper measure the distance from the floor to the center of the headlight lens.

 

Pick a flat wall where you can locate the bike on level ground so the headlight is 17 feet from the wall. Place a horizontal mark on the wall two (2) inches lower than the height of the center of the headlight.

 

With you again sitting in the seat adjust the vertical screw (usually at the very top or very bottom of a headlight next to the lens but inside a trim ring) so the flat

top

of the low beam is just to the line you put on the wall (a two inch drop at 17 feet).

 

The horizontal adjustment (screw will be on the left or right side of the headlight lens) should center the beam ahead of the line of the bike.

If you have spotlights use this same procedure to aim them.

Go ride!

 

Is this readjustment suggestion true for most bikes, or just the RSV's?

[elag]

Really simple way to aim your light. Go out at night. Find a nice straight country road with very little traffic. Switch to high beam and adjust the light til' you can see as far a possible (while sitting with most of your weight on the bike. Do it 2up if you usually ride with a passenger). When you switch back to low beam you should then be able to see only a couple of hundred feet ahead. Works for me. I have HID installed and have yet to get flashed.

[greg_in_london]

Can't you see the effect of your headlights on cars ???

 

If you're following a car at a reasonable distance, then every now and then you should see the reflective number plate light up as you hit bumps (do you have reflective number plates over there ?) When you're closer, you should see the cut-off line of the dip beam across the boot of the car. If the interior of the car is all lit up, or you can see the wing mirrors getting lit, then your headlight is too high.

 

As was said above, an easy check is to face a wall 30-40 m away in the dark and ensure that the light reaches the bottom of the wall, but does not come very far up it - certainly lower than the headlamp. That way you know it is pointing down.

 

If you're concerned, use the measurements above, but you should be able to check for yourself if you're loaded more than usual by the effect of the light on the road and vehicles ahead.

[muaymendez1]

The tour classic I have is adjusted by 2 screws left and right just below center line. They dont control movement around horizontal or lateral axis . You have to turn both. It is hinged at top and in unison turning them in lowers the light. If there is too much turned in on one side it is still lower but right pushes light right and vise versa.

I had to re adjust mine tonight after some one kept stabbing the brakes. They were really off. Now they are about 2 feet high at 30 feet.

looks good to me.

[67mini67]

I have adjusted mine using a car in front of me. The majority of the light should hit the trunk area ( or just below the bottom of the rear window) and slightly above the license plate. This works great on most mid to standard size vehicles. This way I know my light is shooting right through the rear window into the mirror but give nice distance. I do it this way because I am lazy and rarely have a helper. The measurements given above I have used on cages and works fine.

[JohnMidnight]

What we do is I put myself roughly 2-3 CAR LENGTHS away from a wall, and my dad puts up a white sheet (BE LEVEL!). I turn on the high beam and orient the beam. With a YVRMK2 you can see the center line, use that as your guide. Done right, when you go low beam it'll be just right. (Best to do it while your sitting on the bike and the bike is also leveled up)

 

Not sure if it works with all H4s, I've got a H4 Phillips that I am SO throwing away, and getting something better (and aux lights... I want to ride at night.... want... want... want.... but can't..)

 

Around here, its not other motorcyclists you have to worry about blinding you.

Its the drivers. No one seems to know how to align their lights properly for any vehicle they drive, except for semi trucks... for some odd reason those are 9/10 correct....... better than cars 4/10 or trucks 6/20.

Edited May 11, 2012 by JohnMidnight

[chag67]

How do you adjust your riding lights?

[XV1100SE]

How do you adjust your riding lights?

 

Take the bulb out of the pot and loosen the nut inside... just SLIGHTLY...enough that you can move it and it stays in place.

 

Move the pot, put the bulb in and turn on the lights. Adjust them so that they are on the same level as your low beam. Start with the lights aimed parallel to the low beam so spacing on the wall shows about the same distance as the spacing on the bike. I have my left light aimed slightly in towards centre so it doesn't shine in the eyes of oncoming cars. The right bulb is slightly right to cover a bit of the shoulder of the road.

 

When you get them aimed this way, take the bulbs out and tighten the nut down again, without moving the pots. Put the bulbs back in, test again (with you sitting on the bike and putting a good amount of weight on it) and when satisfied, tighen the bulbs in place.

 

Keep in mind that when riding with a passenger the back end of the bike will sit lower, making the lights project higher than with just you on the bike. You may have to account for this and have the passing/driving lights aimed a little lower. Headlight is manually adjusted on the back of the fairing so you can easily adjust it on the fly depending on the weight of your passenger.