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Anyone Else Disappointed With The Head Lamps?


ShinyVFR

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I've only just got the bike, but feel quite let down with the lamps. They're great on dip beam and even the mains are great on a straight road, with a nice wide, bright white beam lighting up all the verges and way down the road.

It's when I've been in the corners, leaning over that I have a problem. With the beam being so narrow, I find I'm looking into the corners and there's no light being cast by the headlights at all - even on main beam.

My mountain bike's got better spread than the VFR and I do wonder if a couple of additional LED spotlamps that only come on with the main beam would cure this issue.

I've had a look around, but cannot find any solutions being offered at the moment - has anyone else had this issue and already sorted their bike out?

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I did have a couple of opportunities to want to flip the high-beams on during curve and corner negotiation.

I did not find the resulting lighting insufficient but I was far from attempting a Marc Marquez impersonation.

I could easily envision how the well-defined beam would result in illumination issues in those situations. Not likely I'll be testing that. In the urban areas here the pavement is not trustworthy and in the suburban areas, too many deer.

Solutions? Like what? Little stick-on pieces of glass to re-shape a portion of the light beams?

I can't believe you are not able to find LED spot lamps. There are plenty of auxiliary light choices, tons of them being LED -based these days. I was discussing my friend's Tesla LED light kits in another thread. There are many other options as well if you prefer local and/or more well-established vendors. Google is your friend. Try this link... http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=motorcycle+led+auxiliary+driving+lights

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I replaced the bulbs on my 6th gen with HID's (an improvement for even the best-lit moto I ever rode) and find the LED headlamp to be equivalent to the HID's. I live in an area with lots of deer, so night speed is relative.

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Try these. http://www.twistedthrottle.com/denali-d2d-dual-intensity-led-lighting-2-light-kit-with-full-wiring-harness-and-m8-mount

I live in a rural area about 25 km from the city. The road I ride has a lot of wild life, particularly Kangaroos which just love trying to take out motorcyclists in my area. Once funds permit, I will be getting a pair of these for my 2014 VFR800F. They may solve your issue. Be sure to check out the youtube video on the page, great demo of just how good these lights are (they are just not cheap).

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Just got my vfr on Friday, was also concerned about the lights, took it out onto a country road with no lighting, I noticed the beam was a little high so decided to pull over and adjust it, found the knob on the left and turned it, didn't notice much but when I rode off I realised I then had 2 horizontal beams. I pulled over again, lowered the other side slightly and raised the other so they met in the middle, giving a deeper spread on the road. I thought it was one knob to adjust the whole fitting, but there are two and if some time is taken, they will cover the entire Road like a good HID will. If you look at the YouTube vids of this model when it was being reviewed, you'll notice that both lights will catch the camera at the same time. They are not properly spread either. So out of the factory and even from the pre sale inspection, the lights are not being properly adjusted to work on the road. Abit long winded but hopefully this solves the issue.

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I based my concerns of the level of these lights from previous experiences and the fact that it was over the top of the number plate of the car in front. Coupled with the fact that there was little light within 5 meters of me, fine for fast country roads but not so much on pot holed city ones.

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Have the same problem. Seems to be just a band of light. I am used to cranking over to the edge of the tyre at my favourite roundabout but I can't with the vfr at night because of the light, As the bike tilts over the band becomes more vertical and throws the judgement of the bend ahead. If one can adjust the throw spread (or whatever its called) I think this will help the issue or by adding spot lights this could also help.

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Interestingly, parts fiches now show the original headlamp unit has been superseded by a new one, with a different part number. Presumably there has been some sort of revision since initial production, possibly intended for 2015 model year.

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That seems quite unlikely. The current unit is more than adequate for the vast majority of users, and the fact that it passed regulatory approval in Japan makes it more likely that the revision is for cost control or a change in vendors. There has also been a revision to the main harness to bikes above USA serial number xxx350 or thereabouts, as the fiches show different part numbers above and below that number.

Possibly a change made for improvement, or simply improved ease of assembly, changes to the supply chain (mine is made in Japan, but the newer harnesses could be from China, something I have seen in other Honda bikes such as Japan made harnesses in 2007 CBR's but Made in China on 08)) or cost.

Unless dealer bulletins have been issued, only Honda's Japan staff would know.

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I just rode my new 8th gen to work for the first time this morning. (Just got him yesterday) :D The lights seemed brighter and with a much wider spread than my'06. Either the old bike wasn't set up right or they did a damn fine job lining the new ones up.

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I just ended reading a test in a mag (motorrad) of the new RC79, and they praiced mutch but the lights power was a thing they tought was a step back compare to the RC46 (vtec) that had mutch more powerfull lights.

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  • 1 month later...
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7pm riding home from work last night, dark minor roads. Air temp 1C , lights on main beam. No issues

10349972_10152996770268974_2153120443768

Were you abroad last night or just parked on the opposite side of the road? :wink:

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7pm riding home from work last night, dark minor roads. Air temp 1C , lights on main beam. No issues

10349972_10152996770268974_2153120443768

Were you abroad last night or just parked on the opposite side of the road? :wink:

That's not that good, there's dark area right in front of the bike ..

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I'm not generallylooking 15ft in front of the bike. The lights are cracking compared with every other bike I have owned

Except when you turn left or right .

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