Versys headlight adjustment

[Changnoi1]

I basically never drive at night, but a while ago I did and I noticed that my headlight was shinning too high up in my opinion. I never took the effort to check it out, although in day-time I could see light reflection on cars in front of me.

So last night I took the effort to check it out. First by putting the bike about 7meters (should be about 12m?) from a straight wall and seeing that the headlight is shinning higher as the beam-hight. Second test to have my friend on the midlle of the road and driving in his direction. He was totally blinded. And indeed not much light straight in front of me on the road.

So there are 2 options (or maybe both)
1. The headlight setup was wrong from the beginning
2. Lowering my bike (with the WR-lowering kit) did change the geometry of the bike a little bit as the front is not as much lowerd as the back. So in theory the headlight would indeed shine higher up.

So tonight I will adjust the headlight, altough I do not yet understand if I have to screw the adjustment screw to the right or left.

Chang Noi

 

[schackster]

My lights were also shining too high when I first got the Versys so I just stopped by the Kawa dealer and they adjusted them and problem solved .Only took a few minutes.

 

[ronwebb]

I also had the same experience as Gary. Same when I got my scrambler too and the fix was just as quick.

 

[akbob]

hmmm- maybe thats why cars coming at me flash their lights-- will check it out.

 

[Changnoi1]

Thanks all for at least give me the feeling that I was right about the wrong headlight setting.

So I just took the effort of removing the right tank-fairing for easy access to the vertical-headlight-adjustment screw. I did park my bike about 10 meters from a nice wall. While seated on the bike my wife did put a tape on the wall as measurement of the headlight beam at that moment (about 98cm high). Then my wife measured the headlight center beam at the bike (while seated) at 93cm high. So my headlight was at 10meters shinning 7cm above the center of the beam.

So I tested what direction to turn the adjustment-screw. To "right" will move the headlight beam up and to the left it will move down. And that is what I did until the headlight beam was at 4% lower as the headlight center beam at the bike.

So in a few days I will test the light setting at night. Although I am already thinking of putting 2 extra spot-light on the bike or to change the bulb to brighter type with blue light (fake HID). I had a bulb like that on my XT and that was really great.

Chang Noi

 

[ronwebb]

Changnoi!, be careful of changing the headlight bulb to a brighter type. I have heard that this could produce enough heat to melt the headlight surround as its all plastic.
I put Danalli LED lights on my Versys which draw only 0.75 amps but expensive. You can see them for miles in the day. Got them from Twisted Throttle, FYI:
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5224/790/

 

[Changnoi1]

@ronwebb, thanks for reminding me again. As far as I do understand that HID replacement sets could produce too much heat for your headlight-lens. I did also undesrtand that some lens'es are not good for using with HID replacement sets. So HID replacement sets would be out of the question, but the blue light changes the spectrum of what you see very much.

I had a look at the Danalli LED lights, they look good.

Chang Noi