How do you aim your Motolights?

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I have Motolights on the fork of my R1200RT. Aiming them presents a bit of a challenge: I want them to get me noticed, but of course I don't want to blind oncoming traffic. There's a well-defined spec for the main headlight in the factory service manual (beam should drop X inches of height over Y inches of run); this works nicely because the headlight beam has a pretty sharply defined top edge. The Motolights, however, have a rather broad conical dispersal and an ill-defined outer edge, which makes it difficult to determine whether they are casting too much light into the eyes of approaching drivers.

 

I've been using an inclinometer held against the lockring around the edge of the lens to aim each Motolight so that it's pitched six degrees below vertical when the bike is on the centerstand - but I'm at a loss as regards how to assess whether this is going to annoy other drivers, or whether it's tolerable.

 

Anyone got any tips?

[ratfink]

My experience is that if you have them aimed high enough to be effective at night you will need to dip them at night. In the daytime they don't bother other drivers. I have mine switched ON,OFF or Triggered by hi beam. They are aimed similar to headlight aim using approximate center of beam instead of cutoff which doesn't really exist.

[99Roadster]

Bubble level just as you describe using the inclinometer. The inclinometer seems likely to be more accurate.

 

I'll then take a look from the front to see if they look even and glaring. The center stand does through it off a bit.

 

I thought they are supposed to be set two degrees from vertical.

[algover]

 

I've been using an inclinometer held against the lockring around the edge of the lens to aim each Motolight so that it's pitched six degrees below vertical when the bike is on the centerstand - but I'm at a loss as regards how to assess whether this is going to annoy other drivers, or whether it's tolerable.

 

Anyone got any tips?

 

That should work OK, from my experience. As I recall I also have mine (on the old bike) set at about 6 degrees off - I think I figured out the centerstand accounted for about 2 - 3 degrees - and haven't had a problem over several years. Of course, since I no longer commute, I no longer ride that much at night.

[Albert]

I don't have an inclinometer but I aim my PIAAs until oncoming drivers are inclined to flip me the bird . . . then back them down some.

[BFish]

left side is pretty much straight ahead, right side angled a bit to the right toward shoulder of road. it is a broad beam, but never seem to annoy anyone.

 

no tools the name of which i can't spell were used to install or line mine up.

[NCStephen]

I aim mine with a bubble level on the front vertical edge just down slightly with the bike off the stand and someone sitting on bike. Once I find the alignment I use a marker and scribe the mounting parts so I can return to it in the future.

NCS

[elkroeger]

I start with the face vertical using a bubble level. Rotate them down so that the top is 1 - 2 mm proud of the bottom edge. Then I do some night riding and check that they point at the same place my headlight does. Another thing to check (mainly for the headlight) is that the light doesn't shine into the rear window of an average sedan, at normal following distances (20+ yards or so). Height of rear windows is roughly the same as windshields, so it's a convenient indicator, but far easier for you to tell where your lights hit. I find that if the light gets in the rear windows, I also have other drivers flash their brights at me.

 

As far as annoying other drivers, you'll find out. They'll flash their brights at you if they're bad. Shift them down a smidgen until nobody flashes you anymore.

[ratfink]

From motolights FAQ:

 

Q: We aim to please. You aim too, please. How do I aim my Motolights?

A: Recruit a helper. Aim the lights with the bike loaded, the rider(s) in the saddle, and the center stand retracted. If you have fork-tube mounted Motolights, the lights should be pointing straight ahead. When setting elevation, we have found that two to three degrees below horizontal gives the greatest visibility with minimum oncoming driver irritation. Two or three degrees is less than "half a bubble off plumb" when using a hand level. Alternatively, with the rider on the bike, measure the distance from the ground to the center of the light. From 20 feet on level ground, shine the lights toward a wall or garage door. The bright center of our beam should be at or slightly below that measurement. If not, loosen the pinch screw (3/16" hex wrench) and adjust as needed. If you need to fine-tune the aim after riding, mark the light and mounting bracket with matching pencil lines, and adjust the light in 1/8" increments as needed. If you are getting flashed by oncoming traffic, the lights are aimed too high.

[Dallas]

When I first bought my set, Motolights included a tube of cardboard. It looked like the cardboard from a toilet paper roll cut down to size. It just exceeded the diameter of the curved front of the lens, then held snugly against the bezel, a level could be placed on the tube.

[moshe_levy]

What a great idea! I wish they still had that.

 

-MKL

[elkroeger]

that's really not a bad idea. You could do the same thing with some pvc pipe. Cut it just right with a miter saw, and you'll have it handy for re-adjustment after doing the brake pads, etc.

[ESokoloff]

.... you'll have it handy for re-adjustment after doing the brake pads, etc.

 

If you make a scribe line(s) as Stephen pointed out, you will not need to re-aim.

[racer7]

Geez, talking about making a simple thing complex...

 

All you need to do is

1) Find a 100 yd long piece of flat, dark. straight pavement

2) Go out to where a properly adjusted set of low beams doesn't produce the hi glare at mount height (Find by keeping head at the height and walking away or toward the bike until you find the beam edge

3) Adjust motolights so glare is no more than that at same distance. Be prepared for the retinal spots you'll see after images of for a couple hours..

 

The above, with a little practice, is far more precise than any gauge or level will be.....

 

Caveat- An excessively wide beam cannot be made to be always on friendly at night unless aimed close to your feet!. Stuff with beams that wide is a poor choice for always on at night where there are other vehicles because you will have to aim it quite low so all reachand some conspicuity advantage is lost. You'd get both better conspicuity, much better mid fill and range from a set of brighter, narrower degree beam LEDs like the Denali D2 or SP120. IMO, Motolights were good in the day but are now obsolescent verging on obsolete- their LED ouput is low, too, if you happen to have that version. I would apply my comments on excessive beam width to the Clearwater designs as well unless you want to operate them at vastly reduced output and then why bother with something that big and expensive?

[Skywagon]

I have PIAA so may not be relevant...but here is what I do. My low beams have been adjusted according to the manual. I sit on my bike at night on my street. I leave them a little loose. I turn on the low beams. I point the left one inside (shorter than the low beam) such that I light the area between the bike and where the low beam hits. I try to fill this arean up as much as possible. I aim it to the left just a tiny bit to give a wider beam than the stock low beam. Repeat on the right but point the right just a little more right to help with curbs. The wife unit makes the adjustments as O request. After they are set, I get off the bike and tighten them down. Now I have a good center beam from the headlight and a good left and right of center filling in the space just in front of me. Everybody tells me they can really see me coming...so pun intended.

 

 

[David13]

I do not aim my headlights. Or I aim them where I point the bike.

I have never had any reason to believe they were off. At night, if I dim them, they are very dim. Then, with bright, they light up the whole road nicely.

However, in the daytime, in Mexico, and lot of people flashed their lights at me. I think they meant that you are not supposed to use your lights there in the daytime. (Signs say so, in some places) (It seems odd)

They were unfamiliar with the fact that I cannot turn them off.

Or can I?

dc

[racer7]

On a modern US RT they will come back even of ou use the trcik to shut them off while ou are stopped. So no, you can shut them off while riding unless you rewire a bit of the bike by adding a switch in the ppropriate wires to the headlights. (Or I suppose you could unplug the 6 wire connector on the back of the RT headlight shell but thats not eay to take on and off while riding)

[markgoodrich]

Bike on center stand, 1/4-1/2 bubble UP from vertical.50 watt yellow bulbs, never get flashed, riding buddies are impressed with how bright mine are...it's the angle. Conspicuity only.