Headlight pattern insufficient

[Modern_Monkey]

My '50r highbeam seems to have an improper spread. It points down in front of the tire instead of piercing the night. I've tried pivoting the headlight assembly up, but this makes the lowbeam shoot into the sky.

Do I have a mangled reflector assembly or something?
Would an aftermarket bulb fix anything?

For right now I just don't use the highbeam, and have the lowbeam adjusted as I like. I have it set so that the top of the light pattern just reaches car drivers' mirrors. The road is nice and lit up in that setting.

[macx]

In an effort to moderately upgrade night lighting, and to improve headlight system reliability,
I installed the popular headlight relay and went with an inexpensive Hella Zenon bulb.
Several places to get them lots cheaper than the local auto parts store - Amazon being one,
Crutchfield being another. And it isn't so "blue" which I don't personally care for and dislike
when meeting them. And I no longer worry about the load going thru the switch - it now
only triggers the relay - or about the marginally light gauge wiring carrying the full load
of the headlight.

What an improvement! Well worth the modest investment and the couple hours total install time.

Both in light intensity - probly from both the greater electrical power available to the bulb
via the relay setup and from the bulb itself.

I didn't go with the higher watt bulb that isn't legal in many if not most states, but it's
still a very noticeable improvement. With my luck (actually lack thereof) I didn't want
to push the issue with any oncoming law enforcement I'm bound to meet sooner or later
at night.

And I like the pattern of the bulb.

On low beam, the left side of th pattern where it illuminates the oncoming lane ends
distinctly closer to the bike while the right side that illuminates the lane ahead and
the right shoulder extends a significant distance farther ahead. That I'm sure makes
it more friendly to oncoming drivers on 2 lanes while still giving good illumination
of the lane ahead of the bike and the important right shoulder.

On high beam, it sends a brighter beam out quite a ways further than the stock light and is also
wider. I can only imagine how that higher wattage bulb would light up the night.

[Ol' Jeffers]

I would suggest that either the bulb isn't located correctly or the bulb itself is faulty.
I would change the bulb first as it's the cheapest option. Damaged reflector is not likely.

[boxermania]

Based on the description of the problem I suggest you look at the reflector (front glass) on another bike. It almost seems that it might be upside down......just a thought

[toolinalong]

Absolutely check the position of the bulb in the reflector, it needs to be in the right place in relation to the reflector to work correctly, and be sure the lens is in the proper position as well. Both will drastically effect the output, but it will never be sufficient for night time on unlit roads.

Check the bulb position by moving it around in a circle and in an out, it is the location of the filament in the glass envelope (and it's relationship to the reflector) that you are messing with.

[Sunbeemer]

Sounds like the high beam filament in the bulb has dislodged from it's supports and is off center w.r.t. the reflector -> I'd replace the bulb.

I got a Philips 80+ H4 halogen from Motobulbs.com in England that is noticeably brighter (and whiter) without drawing any more current. It has worked well for 1 year so far. (see thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16506&p=148672&hili ... 80#p148672

Be careful to not leave any finger oils on the glass of the bulb as that reduces it's life. You can handle bulbs with tissues, and if you happen to touch it, clean it with isopropyl alcohol.