Lights!?!

[psychlist]

My main beam is actually hitting the ground slightly before dipped!!!!!!!!!!

Is there absolutely NO adjustment on the individual casings?

[Nigel C]

Welcome to the world of crap 748 9** headlights Paul might as well hang a candle on the front of mine it'd do a better job they are only good for one thing being seen :o

haven't got my haynes comic to hand so i couldn't tell you !:P

[Yellow Bip]

Paul the only root i have taken is changing bulbs to blue zenon which are 30% brighter, but as you now i cant see in the dark so i cant tell you if it is any good but one friend says it is, so for a measily £12 it might be worth a try.

[psychlist]

No way is that a roadworthy setup

Like I said, main beam only illuminates the same bit of road already covered by dipped. I think that the construction and use requirements state that if main is set horizontal then dipped must fall a set distance in front of the vehicle.

I'll let you know what Ducati say!

[Triple Nine]

Paul, they are only like that on the Yellow ones, as they don't go fast enough to need a high beam. If you really need one, you will have to order a replacement from Ducati UK. Part number veryfastred998mainbeamunit:lol:

[skidlids]

As if my headlight wasn't bad enough before with the Yellow body kit on, after fitting the original red bodywork it was only fit for a reverse light.
Actually my red bike is far superior/faster at night but then TL1000S headlights are really good (well when the front wheels on the ground that is)

[Nigel C]

Quote:"Paul, they are only like that on the Yellow ones, as they don't go fast enough to need a high beam. If you really need one, you will have to order a replacement from Ducati UK. Part number veryfastred998mainbeamunit "

Your just jealous roy cos you haven't got a yellow one

:frog:

[dickieducati]

you sure you're not riding it upside down ????

[BigJohn999]

You need the Aussie light unit. I got one for my 748 from ProTwins spring last year. Paired dip and main beams. Like taking a floodlight with you - not too much focus, just light everywhere:cool:

[NickH]

BJ999, Excuse my ignorance, what is the Aussie light unit and how much does it cost?

[Yellow Bip]

Dito with NickH

[thrustercat]

A question I always wanted to ask about the Ducati 748 headlights... is only one side supposed to be lit when you have your lights on?

[antonye]

Originally posted by thrustercat
A question I always wanted to ask about the Ducati 748 headlights... is only one side supposed to be lit when you have your lights on?

Yes - the units are "projector" beams, which means that they are only focussed for one particular spot on the road. You can tell this because if you look inside the lens looks like a really big magnifying glass!

This is why there are two headlights - one for dipped beam and one for full beam, ie. because of the lenses, you cannot have mixed full and dipped in the same unit.

The running lights (the little peanut bulbs, aka sidelights) are in both headlights, tucked in the corner, and these should be one all the time when your headlights are switched on.

[NickH]

But what about the 'Aussie' unit??

[antonye]

Originally posted by NickH
But what about the 'Aussie' unit??

It shouldn't be any different to the UK model, as the Aussies also drive on the left-hand side of the road.

Unless their laws are different with respect to having both headlamps lit (which I very much doubt) then there doesn't seem any reason to be a difference.

The only other thing may be that the beam arcs are slightly different (higher?) but this would probably make them illegal in the UK anyway.

Maybe it's worth trying to cross-check part numbers?

[Shazaam!]

There are two issues of concern here:

Light Pattern

The low beam is a projector head lamp that functions like a slide projector, using a plano-convex lens to distribute the light, rather than a parabolic aluminized reflector used in the high beam. They are used to give a sharper cutoff and they can be field-switched between left-dip and right-dip for use in Europe. They are more efficient than conventional reflector designs, because they are able to use more (and waste less) of the light than reflector-type lamps. However, because of the sharp cut-off low beam pattern (even at a higher light output) they are not suitable as a high beam light.



Electrical System Overload

The reason that early 916’s only operated one headlight at a time is that they had a marginal 350 watt charging system design that couldn't handle two 55 watt bulbs simultaneously without needing a constant high 30 amp charging rate. Newer 500 watt systems have the capacity but the weakest link is still the regulator. The problem is compounded by weak electrical connections, small-gauge wires, and inadequate cooling of the regulator itself.