BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

New member, 1st post, be gentle with me...


I recently acquired a very nice, low mileage 06 RT and noticed something odd with the headlights - the 2 low beam bulbs appear to be pointing in slightly different directions. The bulb on the left side of the bike appears to be pointing a bit higher than the bulb on the right side of the bike.


I checked both low beam bulbs and they both seem to be seated properly in the headlight housing. As well, the beam pattern at night seems fine. Great actually, but that's in comparison to my previous bike which had horrible lights...


Is this normal? Am I seeing things? Can anyone with a similar vintage bike have a look at their low beam bulbs and tell me what you see?


Thx!

My 2011 rt does the same, i replaced both bulbs and still the same. I will watch this post with interest mate. Dave

Oldbrook wrote: My 2011 rt does the same, i replaced both bulbs and still the same. I will watch this post with interest mate. Dave

Thanks Dave!

you have a couple options to set the light , the is normally a white switch used when you have a pillion is not easy to reach or see specially if you have big hands .
there is also a option to adjust the light but only one will move i believe is the one on the right.




give it a try , might be that..

sepossivel wrote: you have a couple options to set the light , the is normally a white switch used when you have a pillion is not easy to reach or see specially if you have big hands .
there is also a option to adjust the light but only one will move i believe is the one on the right.




give it a try , might be that..

Thanks for the reply!  My understanding, and I could be completely wrong here, is that the white switch and the nut underneath it adjust the entire headlight housing up or down.  I've seen nothing on adjusting individual bulbs.


However, after reading through the manual (again) I may have stumbled upon the answer to my original question of why the low beam bulbs were pointing in slightly different positions...


The manual talks about getting the headlights re-aligned if the bike is in a country that drives on the other side of the road than what it was manufactured for.  I've also read that the headlight pattern is asymmetrical - it illuminates more the shoulder / side of the road / ditch while also not unduly blinding oncoming traffic.  As an example, if my Canadian bike (made for driving on the right) were ridden in the UK (on the left), the higher beam pattern on the right hand side would be a nuisance to oncoming traffic.


I suspect this is why the low beam bulbs aren't pointing in exactly the same direction.


Cheers!