Triumphrat

kiwee · 03-07-2007

Could someone tell me what is the best way to set the correct headlight height for both the vertical and horizontal.
I just fitted a new headlight shell and don't want to ride around blinding people.
Thanks

daveforty · 03-07-2007

At the risk of stating the obvious, go out at night, find a suitably level stretch of road, take a spanner to loosen the bolts, sit on the bike, move the headlamp unit until it is at a suitable elevation. In practical terms, if the headlamp beam is too high, you will be aware of it when you are riding 'cos you will be illuminating the road signs instead of the road.

The lamp bowl aims straight ahead, the angle of the dip beam will be set by the reflector in the lamp unit, thus a US or european market bike would have a different reflector unit to a UK or NZ bike.

(I have a Cibie H4 headlamp in my T140, it is an excellent unit, better than the headlight on my 'modern' Trident).

johnnypence · 03-07-2007

i've seen dudes who have a grid and/or crosshiars painted on the wall of their garage. you pull up to a line on the floor and adjust the lights to the grid. i'm sure it could work for cars or bikes.

it seems like that's something you'd have to set up for yourself once you know when your headlights are right. i bet someone on the interweb has instructions for setting it up though.

i think this was back home in virginia, where headlight adjustment was part of an annual state safety inspection, or it could have just been a handy thing that people did where i was growing up.

... or maybe it was all just a dream.

GrandPaulZ · 03-07-2007

Do Dave's method, THEN pull up to your garage door and mark it.

Couldn't be easier.

Of course my garage door would have to have several dozen different marks...

DAGAD · 03-07-2007

I can solve the problem for you GPZ, having 2 dozen marks. Set the first mark and then move the bikes backwards or forwards to hit the line............... simple.
Roy.

johnnypence · 03-07-2007

wouldn't there be some fairly universal triangle geometry that you could employ though? like figure the horzontal distance from the wall and the height of your bulb from the floor, then your center-focus would be at (X) on the wall?

meh. i've always just adjusted them to the road at night too. i'm just sayin'...

johnnypence · 03-07-2007

aha.

caveat emptor:

http://www.gadgetjq.com/aimheadlight.htm