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I complained to my dealer that the low-beam headlight was only allowing me to see maybe 35-40 feet to the front and asked the service technician to adjust it up a bit to give me a longer distance of the road. Well, he overdid it so that now it shows nothing at all of the road ahead. I don't know how to readjust it. Someone please tell me how to adjust the headlight's vertical tilt. The high beam works fine, but I can't have it on all that much while meeting traffic in an urban setting.

The Paul Glaves method is probably right on. Lacking that, I just took mine out riding on a dark road one night and adjusted the beam up and down until I was satisfied with how it illuminated the road ahead.

jcg2 wrote:Someone please tell me how to adjust the headlight's vertical tilt.

This may sound odd, but so far no one has described the how.
First, remove the small curvy silver plastic covers that surround the turnsignal stalks. They plug horizontally into rubber grommets, so just pull them straight outward, away from the the same cover on the other side. That exposes the headlight shell's mounting bolts, that also hold the vertical adjustment solid. Loosen both bolts less than half a turn so you can tilt the headlight assembly up/down by mild force. Then find a building wall with a level, attached or adjacent parking lot. That allows you to return at night where you can aim the bike at the building about 100 feet away. Sitting on the bike at the balance point, reach forward and tilt the headlight assembly up/down so the beam just shows a few inches up on the building. Put it on the sidestand and tighten the light's pivot/mounting bolts. Recheck the beam image height again. If it's still OK, you're done.

On the test ride later on, take note if the low beam projects far enough, then add/subtract several inches of illumination on the building again.

I had the same issue and followed the instructions in the delivery / maintenance manual and they worked perfectly. hint - I had someone else adjust and tighten the bolts on the headlight while I was on it.

Here's the page. http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx32 ... ghtAim.jpg

PM me if you want the whole PDF, -mc

Thanks to those who replied! I have the complication of having a windscreen which in itself is a bit difficult to remove, then replace. But, I do see how the headlight's vertical-tilt adjustment can be changed. After about 10-15 minutes of fiddling and finally deciding the windscreen was too much of a hindrance to adjust the headlight the right way I tried the "red neck" method of adjusting it by simply grabbing the headlight firmly and pulling it upward at the outer edges. It tited the headlight upward! I still need to go out in darkness to see if I can live with its new adjustment or if its now so loose in its position that I need to go to a dealer to have it done right. But, I'm hopeful that it will either be fixed as is or with another minor push-or-pull on its outer edges. Perhaps I'm dreaming, but the red-neck fix was quick at the very least if not all that precise nor maybe even permanent.

jcg2,
Surprisingly, the "red neck" method of adjusting it is possible even when the bolts are fairly tight. BTDT. Because of road bumps, the headlight can get out of adjustment over time if the shell's mounting bolts aren't really tight and that's likely what happened to your bike. This hostile road shock adjustment can go unnoticed if the rider totally avoids night riding.

As to the shop manual's 10 meters to the wall adjustment procedure, that's "recommended" only so it can be performed inside the limited space of the service dept. Because of the beam's shallow angle, one inch error on the wall 10 meters away can be 30+ feet less beam footprint on the road! The best way is my recommended real world actual light footprint, really low on the wall (or even out on a deserted dark level road). It actually shows you how far the beam goes, and you can selectively guesstimate that desired distance by where you stop your bike in the (level!) parking lot.

.

Thanks for the info on aiming the headlight. Mine was much lower than it should have been and with time changing shortly, I'll be glad to have the extra distance!
That being said, I just installed some PIAA Powersport Aux lights mounted off the calipers via Lumalink T-Link brackets. Anyway, is there a way anyone might recommend aiming those lights? They are fairly low the the ground and any amount of upward angle will likely blind oncoming commuters, not good for me or them! Thanks!

marsdog,
From a longevity and functional standpoint, I believe the caliper mounting bolt location is not ideal. Here's the good and bad about that location

The Bad:
--The light assemblies and bulb filaments get punished by every road bump shock the front wheel hits.
--The light's power wires are repeatedly bent as the suspension works, testing the installer's mounting and routing choices.
--The low location of the lights is worse at illuminating the darkness over hills while creating a brightly lighted area immediately in front of the bike.
--The lights are overly exposed to dirty water wheel spray that soils the very hot lenses and severely tests the lights waterproof integrity.

The Good:
--They look really cool installed there.
--The caliper mounting brackets and bolts for your bike usually come with the lights.
--The oncoming traffic sees a tall triangle of lights that instinctively means caution/danger.
--The ridiculously high cost of the premium light sets usually includes free lifetime bulb replacements.

My practical solution was to mount the tiny 55Watt HarborFreight/WalMart/AutoZone $20 driving light set hanging from the oil coolers, where they see zero road shocks or engine vibration. I left the extra $100+ in the bank to purchase any future replacement halogen bulbs, or even new light sets. You could also creatively mount your lights to the hidden steel headlight bracket, also a protected, non hostile location.

.

CycleRob wrote:marsdog,
From a longevity and functional standpoint, I believe the caliper mounting bolt location is not ideal. Here's the good and bad about that location

The Bad:
--The light assemblies and bulb filaments get punished by every road bump shock the front wheel hits.
--The light's power wires are repeatedly bent as the suspension works, testing the installer's mounting and routing choices.
--The low location of the lights is worse at illuminating the darkness over hills while creating a brightly lighted area immediately in front of the bike.
--The lights are overly exposed to dirty water wheel spray that soils the very hot lenses and severely tests the lights waterproof integrity.

The Good:
--They look really cool installed there.
--The caliper mounting brackets and bolts for your bike usually come with the lights.
--The oncoming traffic sees a tall triangle of lights that instinctively means caution/danger.
--The ridiculously high cost of the premium light sets usually includes free lifetime bulb replacements.

My practical solution was to mount the tiny 55Watt HarborFreight/WalMart/AutoZone $20 driving light set hanging from the oil coolers, where they see zero road shocks or engine vibration. I left the extra $100+ in the bank to purchase any future replacement halogen bulbs, or even new light sets. You could also creatively mount your lights to the hidden steel headlight bracket, also a protected, non hostile location.

.

Thanks Rob,
Well, the lights are already in place and working great. I understand about the good and the bad, and can't argue there. My main purpose in wanting the lights was in the fall, when I commute through a canyon, it will be full dark. Thus, the low mounted lights are more for widening my view around corners, rather than distance. I also feel the PIAAs and Lumalink brackets are extremely well made and will withstand the vibration alot better than lesser made products. That being said, any extra "distance" I can get out of them is more than welcome. I was just wondering if there's a standard idea or method for the aim of such lights. For now it's just been trial and error. When I get too many oncoming flashes, I know they are aimed too high. Thanks for the input!