Headlight Question-New Owner

DIPA · Post by **DIPA** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:00 pm

So I just brought home my brand new Pamplona this weekend. I put almost 50 miles on it in the 1st day & a half...I'm totally hooked! I rode it home from the dentist last nite...best-dentist-appointment-EVER!

Anyway, my question is, how is the headlight on the Buddy supposed to be adjusted? I kinda feel like it's not shining far enough out, but I feel like if it's too far out, I won't be able to see enough in front of me. I can see everything with the high beams on, but it was a little tough last night when I got to some of the darker roads and couldn't use the high beams (like when there were other cars around).

Any advice on how it should be adjusted??

broke · Post by **broke** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:22 pm

High beams all the time for me. I haven't been cited yet, and I like the extra annoyance factor to keep cars aware of me

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:45 pm

There is a little silver bolt on the bottom of the headlight housing. Loosen this and you can adjust it from there. I would also recommend getting a Sylvania Silver Star bulb #9003. If you decide you want to change the bulb you can message me for a how to on it

armacham · Post by **armacham** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:46 pm

ScooterTrash wrote: I would also recommend getting a Sylvania Silver Star bulb #9003. If you decide you want to change the bulb you can message me for a how to on it

+ 1 on this

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:46 pm

Welcome to MB and Buddy ownership! Yeah, a Buddy can make even a dentist appt. better!

I ride with my high beams on in the day all the time and mostly low at night. It does seem that, more often than not, the headlight needs to be adjusted up. It's either something dealers aren't told to do or they just aren't doing. Below are the instructions for doing so. This should make a HUGE difference if, in fact, your headlight is aimed too low.

There is a little set screw on the bottom of the headset that needs to be loosened in order to move the headlight up or down. Even after loosening the screw, it can be hard to move, so just keep gently rocking it until is moves freely. Some of the parts around the headlight are somewhat fragile so be careful.

OH- I did the Silverstar upgrade too, and I'd recommend it. But by far, aiming the headlight correctly will help more than anything else.

Motorcycle Headlight Aiming
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 on its wheels and you astride, 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 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.

The headlight beam (on low beam) should be relatively flat on the top, and may rise rather sharply at the right edge. Adjust the headlight vertically so that the flat top of the beam is just up to that
line (marked two inches down at 17 feet).

Howardr · Post by **Howardr** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:04 pm

The one thing that wasn't clear to me when I first tried aiming my headlight is this: loose the nut under the headlight, then you can pivot the light up and down. Aim according to the previous post, then tighten the nut. I was originally under the impression that adjusting the nut itself aimed the light, like in many cars. Not true.

Howard

hcstrider · Post by **hcstrider** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:29 pm

The headlight bulb adjustment screw is located at the bottom of the headset underneath the headlight. Stand in front of your Buddy, run your hand underneath the headset that encases the headlight and you will feel the headlight bulb adjustment screw. After unscrewing the headlight bulb adjustment screw you can reposition the headlight bulb up or down:

- Pulling the screw towards the front of the Buddy raises the headlight bulb.

- Pushing the screw towards the back of the Buddy lowers the headlight bulb.

Once you have the headlight properly adjusted, keep the screw in that position and tighten it.

There are a couple of different methods for properly positioning the headlight beam. Jmazza’s method is good. I used a slightly different method in which I adjusted the headlight beam on high beam but the result should be the same: on high beam the headlight beam goes straight out, level while on low beam the headlight beam drops down a little lower than level (so that your low beam headlight is not pointed at the eyes of oncoming drivers).

As far as upgrading the headlight bulb, almost everyone who upgrades the headlight bulb replaces the stock 35W bulb with the 65W Sylvania Silver Star bulb #9003. I did not want to increase the wattage from a 35W bulb to a 65W bulb so I upgraded to the PIAA HS1 bulb. The PIAA HS1 is a 35W bulb and according to its specifications it outputs a brighter light (in lumens) than Sylvania Silver Star 9003 and a light that is closer to daylight (in kelvin) than the Sylvania Silver Star 9003. A drawback of the PIAA HS1 bulb is that it costs twice as much as the Sylvania Silver Star 9003: about $40 for the PIAA HS1 versus about $20 for the Sylvania Silver Star 9003. Another drawback of the PIAA HS1 bulb is that most auto/motorcycle stores do not stock it whereas the Sylvania Silver Star 9003 you can get just about anywhere: WalMart, Target, Sears, Pep Boys, AutoZone, etc…

DIPA · Post by **DIPA** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 3:53 pm

Wow, thanks for the great advice everyone! I sat on the Buddy in my garage with the headlight 17 feet from the back wall, and it looks like I do need to adjust it up just a little. I think the adjustment will make me feel much more confident riding at night. And I will be picking up the Sylvania upgrade bulb.

bluelghtning · Post by **bluelghtning** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:34 pm

I'm new to this site, but not new to riding on 2 wheels with 15+ years of motorcycle riding, and I'd like to express my opinion about riding with your brights on.

Although generally when your bright light is engaged, the light is higher and more "in your face" to car drivers and they might see you sooner, but it induces a much larger and bigger safety issue. If your lights are right in their line of vision (especially at night), the driver cannot judge how far you are. So, you tend to encourage drivers to pull out in front of you because they can't accurately judge how far you really are. For some reason the human brain plays tricks on us when we are blinded by a light and we think it's further away then they really are.

Thats another reason those cheap HID's with no cut off are such a bad idea. I learned the hard way when I had HID's on a bike with no cut off and driver totally cut me off. It was right at dusk when you generally need your lights, but there is still enough light to see you. We missed having an accident by a few feet after he pulled out right in front of me. I was of course fuming and ticked off, but kept my cool and kept going. The other driver ended up chasing me down, first apologizing to me, but also letting me know that they were a motorcycle rider themself and although he saw me with the bright HID light, he totally misjudged how far I was.

I pulled the HID's that night and never ran them again.

Take a few friends to a parking lot and try it sometime. You might be surprised by the results.

What works better to get drivers attention and help judge your distance is more points of reference on your bike. Bikes & scooters are already at a disadvantage because they are smaller and the headlights are close together even if they have two headlights. Ever notice how a car with a burnt out light is harder to judge. Its what people face everyday when they see you coming down the road. Two head lights side by side do help, but most scooters, especially the retro's don't have that. What also helps is fog lights, running parking lights, etc. This allows someone to more easily "triangulate" your position and get an accurate distance reading quicker when they glance in your direction.

So think twice before you run those brights again other then when you just need to really see.

Scalpel · Post by **Scalpel** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:07 pm

bluelghtning may be correct on this. In fact I was reading my new copy of "More Proficient Motorcycling" last night, and the author touched on this same idea.

DIPA · Post by **DIPA** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:16 pm

Wow BlueLghtning, very interesting. That does make sense. Well, I have already ordered some reflective tape to put on my helmet, top case & scooter, and a reflective sash to wear at night:

http://www.reflect-a-life.com/products.asp?cat=2
I think that should increase my visibility.

Unfortunately, the only reflective material on my jacket is a thin line of piping, & my top case isn't reflective.

bluelghtning · Post by **bluelghtning** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:24 pm

Yeah, I've noticed in the last few years, I've really become a lot more aware of how well "I can be seen". Drivers have more distractions then ever and unfortunately on small scooters and bikes, we just aren't their focus.

I already wear a bright neon green Olympia AST jacket.

Check this out. Myself and 3 buds all in bright Hi-viz gear. 3 of us have on Olympia gear and the other guy is in well worn Aerostitch suit. Oh yeah, and your eyes aren't playing tricks. Thats 4 big guys on little Ninja 250's!

This was me decked out on a cross country trip in 2007 right after I got my jacket

I'm hoping to add this Scorpion EXO-700 helmet in Hi-Viz yellow to my collection soon. The grey/black one I wear now definitely does not do anything to help

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:31 pm

I get the idea of no brights at night, but how about in the day? Even with the upgraded Silverstar lamp, I think the brightness the Buddy's headlight is just about as bright as an average car.

Thoughts?

bluelghtning · Post by **bluelghtning** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:43 pm

jmazza wrote:I get the idea of no brights at night, but how about in the day? Even with the upgraded Silverstar lamp, I think the brightness the Buddy's headlight is just about as bright as an average car.

Thoughts?

Its not the brightness of the light, its the lack of a cutoff. By all means, upgrade to a Silverstar lamp as long as it still has the factory cutoff a low beam is supposed to have and run brighter lamps on your low beam. Of course you should benefit also from brighter high beams when you need them to see.

A brighter light definitely helps you get noticed, but your low beams have a "cut off" that keeps the light below a certain point which means you aren't putting light everywhere above a persons line of sight. When you run your high beams, there is no cut off and you are still effectively "blinding" a driver.

Even in the daylight, its harder to judge your distance if you are using your high beams .

GrittyTacoman · Post by **GrittyTacoman** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:55 pm

hcstrider wrote:The headlight bulb adjustment screw is located at the bottom of the headset underneath the headlight. Stand in front of your Buddy, run your hand underneath the headset that encases the headlight and you will feel the headlight bulb adjustment screw. After unscrewing the headlight bulb adjustment screw you can reposition the headlight bulb up or down:

- Pulling the screw towards the front of the Buddy raises the headlight bulb.

- Pushing the screw towards the back of the Buddy lowers the headlight bulb.

Once you have the headlight properly adjusted, keep the screw in that position and tighten it.

There are a couple of different methods for properly positioning the headlight beam. Jmazza’s method is good. I used a slightly different method in which I adjusted the headlight beam on high beam but the result should be the same: on high beam the headlight beam goes straight out, level while on low beam the headlight beam drops down a little lower than level (so that your low beam headlight is not pointed at the eyes of oncoming drivers).

As far as upgrading the headlight bulb, almost everyone who upgrades the headlight bulb replaces the stock 35W bulb with the 65W Sylvania Silver Star bulb #9003. I did not want to increase the wattage from a 35W bulb to a 65W bulb so I upgraded to the PIAA HS1 bulb. The PIAA HS1 is a 35W bulb and according to its specifications it outputs a brighter light (in lumens) than Sylvania Silver Star 9003 and a light that is closer to daylight (in kelvin) than the Sylvania Silver Star 9003. A drawback of the PIAA HS1 bulb is that it costs twice as much as the Sylvania Silver Star 9003: about $40 for the PIAA HS1 versus about $20 for the Sylvania Silver Star 9003. Another drawback of the PIAA HS1 bulb is that most auto/motorcycle stores do not stock it whereas the Sylvania Silver Star 9003 you can get just about anywhere: WalMart, Target, Sears, Pep Boys, AutoZone, etc…

A question on the wattage issue: Is there a problem with putting a 65 vs. a 35 watt bulb in? Does the energy drain of a 65 cause more problems with the battery or something? I'm planning on doing Lil' Buddy's blinker upgrade which supposedly doesn't increase the drain much. But maybe doing a 65 too will push it over the edge... Also, do later Buddy models with the bigger headlight use a 35 watt still?