If you ask a person who owns a motorcycle whether they love the way their stock motorcycle headlight is setup, a few of them would say yes while the rest of them would tell you how they intend to upgrade their headlights or do little modifications to it.
We at Traskperformance.com understand that seeing clearly and being seen are the two essential functions of a motorcycle headlight and this is mandatory.
The advantage of modern motorcycles is that they have a headlight at the front to illuminate the road when driving at night. This is a beautiful invention! However, the problem over time is that this headlight gets dirty from the outside while riding with dust and dirt and also on the inside. You can easily clean the outside of the headlight glass, but nobody thinks about inside.
The proper functioning of the headlights of a motorcycle is compulsory; the safety of the rider depends on it. If the headlight bulb is defective, it must be replaced as soon as possible. If the biker is not a good handyman, then it goes without saying that he would need to rely on the services of a mechanic.
The regulatory distance shown in the Highway Code for a headlight beam is 100 meters. A passing beam, also known as a “code”, must cover a distance of at least 30 meters.
There are two types of bulbs used for headlights: incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs. Incandescent bulbs consume a lot for a fairly low power and lifetime. Also, their performance decreases with time, while halogen bulbs have a higher efficiency. Halogen lamps are those which have a single filament such as H1, H3, H7, H9, HB3 and H4 which has two filaments.
There are variants of the bulbs such as the H1 + 30/50%, the H4 + 30/50% and the H7 + 30/50% whose performances are superior. There are also blue bulbs which allow a rendering similar to daylight.
Similarly, there are 3 types of headlights.
The Projector Headlights: The project headlight is a special purpose headlight with lens. Although it has reflectors, but the light is entirely confined by the lens which gives direction to the flow of the light. Therefore making the intensity of the light better.
The Reflector Headlights: This headlight is made of a tungsten filament bulb on the inside with a reflective material around it. This headlight does not guarantee a directional flow as it’s purpose is to give as much light as possible in the forward direction.
The Multi-directional Headlights: This headlight comes with a high intensity LED put together to provide high illumination capacity and a directional lighting system. It can be programmed so that a portion of the light is turned as not to bother approaching traffic and shine brighter on the road. Although this is quite a new technology, it is being used on cars.
How To Recognize That The Motorcycle’s Headlights Are Faulty?
The headlights of the motorcycle are faulty when the beam does not illuminate high enough, which can cause poor visibility. Or if the beam illuminates too high, which could represent a real danger for other road users. If stopped for a defective headlight you are liable to a fine.
Before replacing the bulb, the beam must be adjusted. Indeed, there is a good chance that the problem is not from the bulb.
It takes two to set a beam. In order not to have complications, a person must be seated to reproduce the exact conditions of headlight. Position the motorcycle at 5 meters facing a wall on which you placed a large cardboard. If the beam does not reach the height of the cardboard, it means that the headlights are out of adjustment.
Adjusting a Headlight
It is important to take proper precautions when adjusting the headlights of your motorcycle and to ensure that you have a clear view and be easily noticed by other drivers.
The manual of your motorcycle contains all the explanations necessary to adjust your headlights, namely the location of the screws and the role of each of them. By following the instructions, everyone can adjust the headlights without having advanced knowledge in mechanics.
The setting must be done in pairs so that one of the two people climbs on a motorcycle and thus gets closer to the actual driving conditions. The setting only takes a few minutes.
Before changing your headlights, equip yourself with the following tools:
A Phillips screwdriver to act on the screws and orient the headlight
One meter will allow you to accurately calculate the different distances
A pencil will allow you to trace the markings on the wall
Also have a flat key, pipe or ratchet if you have a motorcycle with fairing or with a fork head.
It is imperative to make sure that the height of the headlight is appropriate and that it lights up well in front. The housing must not project its light onto surrounding objects (bitumen, tree, sidewalk, etc.).
Modern motorcycles have screws located on the chrome surround of the headlight and allow a more precise adjustment. To adjust, you must:
Place the motorcycle at a standstill and not at a distance of 5 meters from a wall and then climb onto the motorcycle.
The vertical distance between the center of the headlight and the ground should be measured.
The vertical distance separating the upper limit of the beam emitted by the motorcycle from the ground must also be measured, identified by a horizontal trace and compared with the previous distance. The upper limit must be below the 3 cm mark for each meter. If there is no match, reposition the headlight using the screws that hold it.
Check out or buy from our large collections of Motorcycle headlights, as well as stop lights, tail lights, indicators and so much more accessories for your motorcycle at Traskperformance.com
Enhance your visibility and increase your night riding experience with these approved headlights from Traskperformance.com
