Headlight Distance
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 651
Likes: 1
From: South Plainfield, NJ
Headlight Distance
Whats the distance from your bike that your headlight shines on the ground. I think mine may need to be adjusted because my low beam seems like I only get about 6 or 7 feet of light and I always have to switch over to my high beams.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 651
Likes: 1
From: South Plainfield, NJ
RE: Headlight Distance
I think I'm also going to get a new bulb maybe a silver star. What type of bulb do I need and is it something I should be able to find at pep boys?
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
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From:
RE: Headlight Distance
Well you really shouldn't be looking at the ground 6-7 feet in front of you while riding. You wan't to be able to see where you'll be in a few seconds, so you have time to react to any major obstacles. My head light is almost pointed straight ahead, i would guess 100-200 feet. If you wan't the ground closer to you lit up better, you may want to consider adding some running fog lights. I rarely find a need to use my brights, generally only if I'm riding in an extra dark area on rural roads, and that's just so I can see possible animals and whatnot on the sides of the road, Low beam serves me just fine for the road ahead. Do you have good vision to begin with, I mean do you find yourself using the brights in your car as well. It's a known fact that people with slightly poor vision are often fine during the day, but loose a lot of sense of depth perception exponentially at night. So if you don't wear glasses or contacts already, it may be worth having an eye exam, a lot of people don't realize that their vision is impaired until they have an exam. Anyhow, just something to consider.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 8,641
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From: Ozark Country
RE: Headlight Distance
Most headlights are adjusted with the bike positioned 25 feet from a backstop.
I'd have to double check on the Sportsters, but for most models of Harley's the headlight (on high beam) should be centered on a line on the backstop 35" from the ground.
This is with the rider sitting on the bike on level ground, with the correct tire inflation, and as mentioned, using high beam on the headlight.
I'd have to double check on the Sportsters, but for most models of Harley's the headlight (on high beam) should be centered on a line on the backstop 35" from the ground.
This is with the rider sitting on the bike on level ground, with the correct tire inflation, and as mentioned, using high beam on the headlight.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,114
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From: Vancouver B.C. Canada
RE: Headlight Distance
Face against the wall 25 feet away, the center of the light spot should be around 36 inches from the ground according to the manual.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 651
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From: South Plainfield, NJ
RE: Headlight Distance
No myeye sight is great a little better than 20/20 actually. The light from headlight actually hits the ground around 7 feet awat from my bike so I have to use my highs a lot in order to see the road ahead. I know on my car if I want to adjust the headlights I can use the "garage door" trick. Anything like that for a bike?
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Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 651
Likes: 1
From: South Plainfield, NJ
RE: Headlight Distance
Cool thanks for the info Im gonna do that tonight when I get home, just one thing. I dont have service manual to look this up. How do I adjust the beam?