1200RT - Headlight adjustment

Hi All

I've noticed that the headlight on my RT seems to be dazzling other drivers

I've tried removing the mirror and using the adjuster (It's now turned through 90 Degrees - ie. The lever is now at right angles to the direction of travel - which has lowered it but it still seems to be high.

I'm running single person preload on the ESA so it can't be that.

Suggestions as to how to lower the light greatfully received please.

I had the same problem. The dealer failed to lower it when I asked the first couple of times because it met 'spec'. Eventually they did after I insisted. I found out how to do it later. The lever is a coarse adjustment. There is a knob you can turn for finer tuning. Difficult to see but you can get to it, and the coarse lever from the headstock side.

Hope this helps. PM me if you want to discuss.

Cheers,

David

TADT Sir.

IIRC the manual has the lever positions reversed so do check the lever has actually lowered the light not raised it!

There is, as Dave G pointed out, the screw inside the lever.

My dealer lowered it to the lowest "legal" setting and I haven't had any problems since.

Another thing I'll miss - decent lights. Oh 'eck; am I doing the right thing?

Under the lever Lee is a hex' nut that needs to be turned cw or ccw to raise and lower the beam, the lever is used if you have a pillion on the back.

You might find in the tool kit a small plastic lever used for unscrewing the oil filler, the hex slot in the centre of this tool fits the hex nut on the headlight adjuster and makes it a lot easier to turn.

I always get the same problem with my new bikes and it takes a lot of setting up right before I'm happy with the level of the light.

HTH

Cheers

Mark

My 1200GS always seemed incapable of lighting much road so I fitted a set of Hella MicroDE's on a homemade lightbar (more to be seen than to see really if truth be told).

At its first MOT the headlamp beam aim was ridiculously low both on main and dipped beams, something I suspect the dealers were responsible for during servicing where it should have been spotted and adjusted (no names needed Lee, you know which former dealership I refer to). After adjustment at the MOT it was like a different bike at night.

Maybe all 1200 BM's (RT included) suffer from poorly adjusted beams over time due to the vibes from the boxer twin? I suspect headlamp aim is worth an occasional check between services.

I had the same problem with my 1200RT. Cars were all diving for cover ! The hex nut is the answer - the right sized alan key will go inside it and you may need several turns to get it to the right level. The plastic toggle only makes a very minor difference to the height of the beam.

For continental travel, my 1150GS was brilliant - a simple job to rotate the headlight and transfer the high throw to the other side. Sadly, no such sophistication on the RT. In the handbook, it says to consult your dealer. I did and he said the only solution would be to fit an entire new continental light assembly !!! I got round the problem by cranking the light down with the hex nut until it failed to offend. Fortunately I don't do much night riding on my foreign tours but it seems a poor solution.
Peter