Aiming headlights WAS: Headlight heat and power draw

[Erik Miner <axeis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The problem with running high wattage bulbs is that even if you don't 
melt something
  (wiring, switches etc) the extra heat CAN discolor the reflectors 
inside the headlight. I've actually seen a friends BMW K12RS where he 
had put in high wattage bulbs and the silver reflective material had 
darkened to the point where the amount of light output was severely 
degraded. So much so that the headlight assembly needed replacing.. 
BIG BUCKS!  Keep in mind that a headlights output given bulbs of 
equal wattage is directly proportionate to the size , type , and 
quality of the reflectors inside the unit.

Now to get the most from the stock ST/RS headlights (or any 
headlights for that matter) the VERY FIRST thing to do is make sure 
they are AIMED PROPERLY!  The easiest way to do this is as follows:

Put bike on LEVEL ground about 1-2 feet in front of a wall (garage 
door etc). On low beam mark on the wall where the TOP of the light 
pattern is.  Now move the bike back 25 feet exactly, the Top of the 
low beam pattern should now still be the SAME as the marks that you 
placed on the wall. Adjust the headlights accordingly to achieve 
this. A tip here is that it's easier to do one headlight at a time.. 
just cover one at a time with a towel or something. FYI, the hi beam 
on an H4 equipped headlight will automatically be correct if the low 
beam is set right. One more thing for those that are new to the list 
or to the Sprint ( ST and RS) many of us noticed that the bikes as 
delivered from the factory had their headlights set VERY low ( mine 
weren't even adjusted equally)

I'd say that once you have the headlights aimed correctly, that if 
you want to experiment with bulbs, only then will you be able to make 
an informed decision on the relative merits of different bulbs..  PS: 
I like the PIAA bulbs I have "I think they are better than the stock 
ones"

Erik





>Back to the subject of old blind guys!
>
>   I has thought of buying H4 bulbs of a higher wattage than stock and
>have seen some with a 100 watt low beam so here go the questions.
>
>     Could there be a problem with the heat generated by the higher watt
>bulbs such as melting the light housing?  I have never heard of this but
>I don't want to find out the hard way.


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