| Author | Message | ||
     Alchemy |
My new Uly had the headlights too low out the door from the dealer. I loosened the screw under the front fender and adjusted them up so the low bean is right for me. The problem is that the high beam is a tad lower than the low beam. From the service manual (section 1.18) I have been looking at there does not seem to be any particular procedure for vertically adjusting the high and low beams separately. Could it be that the high beam bulb is installed slightly incorrectly? Anyone else have this problem and find a fix? At this point my high beam is not of much use. | ||
| Leoloureiro |
I have the same problem. The high beam seams to be on the same height of the low, just more focused. I use the high/low trick to use both, but my friend told me not to, cause it can damage the electric system. Somebody, please, help us! | ||
| Dave |
I understand the bulbs are identical its simply the reflector that is different between high and low. I suspect proper adjustment. Mine was low and lighting seemed to be terrible. I adjust the high beam so it gave me maximum distance with me on it and some gear. I'm happy with the Uly lights. They are no better than the 955i Tiger's I had. DAve | ||
| Alchemy |
Dave, I wonder if it is possible that the reflector is upside down. The spread of the focus of the light seems right but instead of being higher than the low bean it is lower. The pictures in the service manual show clearly that the high beam is to be clearly higher than the low beam. It would seem it has to be something mechanical in the installation at the factory. | ||
| Dave |
Sounds plausible. DAve | ||
| Ulyboy |
I've personally had no problems after adjusting the pair up. I DO wish the high beam was higher sometimes, but it does light the place up more. I run both lights simultaneously (but not when starting), and have a pair of cheapo fog lamps that do a good job of illuminating to the sides down low, which helps alot. BTW, I have both headlights adjusted up a tad higher than recommended because I like being seen WELL in traffic, almost to the point of being annoying. It works! | ||
| Jetjock |
Has anyone had any problems (overheating reflectors, lenses, housings, switches), etc??, running both the high & low beams together on Ulys? | ||
| Ulyboy |
JJ - Nope, not here... I run "both on" in heavier traffic, which can be for a long time. Haven't had any issues with it. I've got 12K+ on my Uly, btw. | ||
| Alchemy |
I don't ride much at night and I did ride last night. I have HAD IT with the alignment of the lamps. Something is defective. The dealer has had 2 goes at it and it still is not right. I have been letting it slide since I don't use the high beam much but it is just not right. I hope it is not too much trouble to replace/modify the mounting hardware. I am going to tear into it and start bending and shimming until I get correct alignment that gives proper illumination for night riding. After I get the alignment correct I will have a better idea if I need additional brightness | ||
| Alchemy |
Tearing down and carefully examining the lights revealed that there was no way to correct the misalignment. The reflector in the sealed housing is not properly aligned. The headlight module ( Y0421.1ADA )for the Uly comes with the bulbs and wiring and only costs $80.40. Quite affordable. But this is a quality issue with the bike. I should report it properly and Buell should know about it and get the part back for investigation. So I call my dealer who has looked at it twice before and without recognizing the problem. This is frustrating because I now know what is wrong but the dealer will not order the part without looking at it a third time. This means I will have to go to the dealer to let him examine it again and then return again to have to part installed. This is an inconvenience but I agree to let him look at it again so off I go on my Saturday morning. Dealer looks at it again and gets the manual out and says it looks pretty much ok to him. I am a bit dumbfounded because every time he switches to high beam the focus of the bean drops down further rather than going a little higher as "high" beam should. I stand my ground. He still won't order a replacement and he says only the district HD rep can make the call. He says he will arrange for the HD rep to come to the shop and have me bring the bike back again. If the HD rep allows it then he will order the part. Part of the problem is that he has no other Uly to compare with. At this point I just say politely ok and I appreciate his effort and to call when the HD rep can make it to the shop. I am not hopeful that this is going to happen soon. As it happened I was going to an Aprilia dealer to pick up some Tuono mirrors and there is another HD/Buell dealer not much farther away. After picking up the mirrors I decide to visit Crossroads HD near Allentown, PA and pop in and see if maybe they see if differently. Rob is at the service desk and carefully listens to my description of the problem. He agrees to give it a look. I am delighted and they happen to have another Uly in the shop so that is helpful. This time the tech comes back to Rob and says it does seem weird. We line up at 25' from the wall and yep something is not right. Rob says to confirm against the other Uly. It confirms that the center of my high beam spot drops about a foot whereas the other Uly high beam goes up about 4-6 inches. About 3 tech are all looking on. So good guy Rob is going to order the new module for me. I am so glad this hassle is at an end. On arriving home I call the first HD dealer and leave a message that my problem has been resolved. And the Tuono mirrors are quite nice. They really have much less vibrations than the stock ones. | ||
| Alchemy |
A little further comment. Good Guy Rob from Crossroads HD called this morning and he had contacted someone at Buell. Buell confirmed to replace the lamp module and wants the defective module returned to a specific person for investigation. Sounds about right for a company that wants to deliver a quality product. | ||
| Alchemy |
Hold the presses. More NEWS. Since the order for the headlight module would take some time and I am leaving for 6 days on the road on my bike, I decided to replace the H7 bulbs with some Sylvania Silverstar H7 ST/2 55 watt bulbs which would provide better light. When I was adjusting the low beam after the swap I found that the high beam was much better now. It may have been a faulty GE H7 bulb. I will ride the next 6 days and report back if this is a solid fix. Meantime I have put Rob on hold for the fix. |
