have you tried a multistrada?? i swapped my 748 for one - and love it, course the 748 was special - and on a trackday i know which i would have( i think as i haven't had a trackday on the multi yet). Anyway. the multistrada has a great headlight, easily adjusts, good power characteristics for the winter roads, low maintenance etc etc and is great fun to ride - try one if you get the chance - they are a bargain.

It's crossed my mind. :)
But Multistradas are a bit more than I'm prepared to pay at the moment. That said, it's quite possible I wouldn't like them at all. I might try to get a run out on one.

And hey, I feel like I'm starting to become some sort of Seinfeld-style Headlight Nazi around here! ;)

It's hardly my first priority in choosing a bike. But the lights on this bike at at the moment as less than adequate.

Spent yesterday twiddling beam adjusters, fitting Halfords supa-dupa bulbs (15 quid each! :o ), and scagging my knuckles. Bulb changing is an increasingly fiddly job on both cars and bikes these days: why? Car's used to have screws on the outside of the lenses: you removed the lenses and took out the bulb; easy-peasy. Now you have scag your knuckles behind the bumpers. Bikes are the same. Some progress...

Anyway, I reckon I've got the lights "about as good as they'll get".

One thing strikes me, though. The main beam has very little impact. Closer examination reveals that this is because it points towards the hedge on the opposite side of the road, not 'straight down' the road at all.

Anyone else noticed this? Or is my light unit misaligned?

Is it a UK bike?

Sooo how did it go ? - and did you see any good filums ? ;)

Since you ask ;)

Romanzo Criminale, a cool Italian gangster movie with lots of great old Italian cars!


rockhopper> Yup. Well, as far as I can see. It has mph clocks. How are the lights arranged on "Euro" bikes? Does dipped beam swap over to the right hand side, or is it invariably on the left?

The lights look the same, I think its just a bent piece of metal inside the headlight that makes it left hand dip. What does the log book say?
Might be worth checking the frame number with Ducati UK. Actually someone posted a list of frame numbers and destinations a while back.

I'm not much help when it comes to headlights, in six years of St2 and St4 ownership i've only ridden it in the dark one and that was down the M1!

Hmmm - I'll look it up - I've been partially converted into allsorts of foreign films recently - Ade loves em :confused:

Check the Headlight Lens
 

The UK / Aus / Japan all have the same lens cover: 520.4.011.2C

If you have a european spec bike the lens cover will not have a "C" on the end - but - "A". If yours has this then it will naturally point the beam the "other" way.

Also, if it is an early ST it may have a "Supersport" headlamp lens fitted, in which case the part numbers to look for are in top left corner of lens unit. 45991-C - again if it ends in "A" you have a european lens.

Finally, there are no metal plates to bend inside the lens unit.

Thanks. The lens glass has (amongst other numbers) 45991 on it. No "C", or "A" for that matter.

Ducati Bristol are literally on my way home. I might pop in and ask them if they can be of any help.

Any way, it was always my understanding that only dipped beam was ever deflected to the left on any motorcycle, and main beam just pointed directly ahead, regardless of LH and RH driving. I'm damn sure the 748 main beam pointed straight ahead.

Is this not the case?


[edit]
Athelstan's post above implies that the plastic lens cover itself is the thing that does the deflecting. If that were the case, then presumably it would deflect both beams, and what I said above wouldn't apply.

Moto - Well at least it doesn't have an A on it! So it could be a UK one :-)

I really do not now know what you have as a lens on your ST. I am not aware that any of the lenses were made in plastic - all those I have ever come across are glass. Maybe the newer ST's have a plastic headlamp lens, but I thought you had an ST2.

The lens cover does the deflecting. Both beams are biased to the nearside of the road - no beam is absolutely straight on. They are biased left or right dependent on whether you drive on the right or the left of the road.

I'm interested in what your local dealer will say.

It may well be glass: I wasn't looking at it when I said plastic.

The main beam should point straight ahead. The dip beam can have a straight cut-off (US dip) or can have a cut-off with a rise in the beam to the left (UK) or right (European).
On the ST the dip beam is a projector unit and the beam pattern and dip is done entirely within the projector. Note that headlamp glass on the left side over the projector is entirely plain. The main beam pattern is produced both by the reflector design and the the glass of the headlamp lens.
If the main beam is directed ot the right, either the headlamp adjustment is badly out of alignment (there is a side to side adjustment screw at the right rear of the lamp unit), the bulb isn't seated properly (this is easily done with H1 bulbs) or, the front subframe is bent.

That's interesting, Derek.

Those adjustment screw (8mm A/F) on each side of the lamp unit at the rear: I'd been told that they are 'tilt up and down' adjustment, rather than side to side. Are you saying that isn't the case? I'd have thought 'up and down' adjustment as all you'd normally need, after all.

Anyway, I've screwed them (outwards) till I'm blue in the face, but it didn't seem to move the beam hardly at all. In any direction.

As has been mentioned before the springs holding the bulbs in can lose their tension allowing the bulb to wobble or even point in the wrong direction.
I've also seen bulbs installed upside down which will also adjust the filament's position in relation to the reflector & threfore throw the beam way out of line.

As for adjustment...

Headlamps up to 2003
Adjuster on LHS ( near to fuses) clockwise adjusts down, anticlockwise up
Adjuster on RHS ( near to coolant header ) clockwise adjusts right, anticlockwise adjusts right.

Is it a UK headlamp?? look on the LHS of the lens as you see it, there are 2 E3 markings... at the lower part of the lens... the one towards the centre of the lens has an arrow pointing in the direction the dip beam goes... UK should point to the right as you look at the lens.

( To alter the dip if it's non UK remove the dip bulb & inside the lamp is a small plate held in with a screw... this defines the cut off for the dip. Get chopping & bending... ) It's much easier to get out if the headlamp is removed which doesn't take too long once the fairing is off.

Have you actually set your headlamp to the standard setting fiirst???

As per the manual, with the headlamp 10m from a wall, the top of the horizontal cutoff of the dipped beam pattern thrown onto the wall should be about 90% of the height of the centre of the headlamp from the floor... this could be an easy starting point.

Clockwise left, anticlockwise right? That makes sense.

Many thanks.

The arrow on the lens (under 'E3') points in both directions: it's double-ended!

Or one of each :D