Accessing the
headlight bucket on RS/RT
(and cleaning the headlamp assembly, re-aiming
the headlight, etc.)
©
Copyright, 2011, R. Fleischer
headlightbucket.htm-36
There are two ways to gain access:
Method (1): Remove the glass
(not
absolutely necessary even if cleaning it). The other, easier way, follows.
NOTE that the front glass is
pricey,
AND the following (2) is a nicer way
and EASIER WAY to gain access to the bucket! I cannot recommend removing the glass, unless you have a really
good reason to.
Method (2): Remove the tunnel assembly.
a.
Don't do any disassembly of the fairing!
b.
Fold back, barely, just a small amount, one corner at a time, each corner of the rubberized
material surrounding the $$$ glass in the fairing. That will expose a phillips screw.
c. Use a phillips screwdriver on the
screw in each of the 4 corners. Remove the screws, or at least loosen
them fully.
d. You can now pull out the entire rubber headlight assembly we
call the Headlight Tunnel, but BMW calls the Light Shaft with Molded Glass.
e. To open (gain access to) the headlight:
The two very large side nuts that hold the metal headlight bucket to the
metal ears, are (even when tight, which they should be) acting against rubber
pads in such a way that
the headlight bucket can be moved (rotated) up and down.
There are two types of setups holding the
headlight bucket to the ears. With both, even when tight, the
bucket is moveable for adjustment, without loosening those big
nuts. If not, maybe you are missing the rubbers, then
loosen them a bit.
Facing the front of the motorcycle, grab
the headlight bucket, and tilt it up somewhat. Do this enough to allow a phillips screwdriver to access the screw at the bottom center of the front of
the bucket at the outer chromed ring.
That screw holds the headlight and
reflector/chrome/assembly to the bucket. Loosen a few turns...do NOT
remove the screw.
Tilt the chrome
assembly up and out from the bottom,
as it is 'latched' at the top.
Lift the
chrome ring with the headlamp and reflector and headlamp lens
UP and outwards at the bottom, and remove electrical plug going to headlight lamp, which is
usually fairly tight.
You now have everything in front of you.
Probably you will see the Flasher relay on the left, headlamp relay on right...as you face the open bucket. It is a good idea to be sure all wires are tight, nothing loose, the two fuses are making good contact (remove, clean/burnish fuses and prongs with eraser, DO NOT break prongs, bend carefully a bit if need be, they must grip fuses moderately tightly).
Now is a good time to remove the headlight lamp bulb, clean the inside of
the reflector with alcohol and swab and clean the lamp.
Do NOT leave
fingerprints or anything at all on the quartz glass of the halogen lamp
itself when you reinstall it, doing so can reduce lamp life. Clean
that lamp quartz with alcohol.
You can clean the reflector, via the lamp hole, with something like non-ammonia glass cleaners. I prefer NOT to use ANYthing with ammonia in it. Clean the front protective glass in the Tunnel. When you are sure you have no cleaning streaks left on the reflector and glass, reassemble.
Adjusting the headlight:
Most people simply grab the headlight bucket from in
front before replacing the Tunnel rubber assembly, and move the
headlight to an APPROXIMATE position, and then, from the rider's
seat position, and push it to the desired position on low beam.
Naturally, there is an official setting. For the nerdy, here is the official way to do it, to at least get you into the ballpark in the case you don't like it: On your flat floored garage, make a mark on the floor, 16 feet 5 inches from the wall (officially 5 meters). Whilst sitting on your bike, with a normal load, that means balancing and having your big feet on the pegs!...have someone measure the distance from the CENTER of the headlight to the garage floor. Put a mark at this same vertical distance on the wall, and another mark 2 inches below it (5 cm). Move your bike, that means don't put it on the centerstand, until the FRONT AXLE is above the 16'5" floor mark. Aim the headlight for the two marks, with your normal weight and load as before. The bucket should be adjusted for the cutoff to dark area on top to lighted area, to be between the two marks.
02/25/2005: clarifications
06/08/2011: Clean up
©
Copyright, 2011, R. Fleischer