What about when the bike is going for inspections?
Here in Sweden we have to take our bikes for official inspection every second year, I know that cars with xenon head lamps need to have headlight washers and automatic levelling. Bikes tend to variate a lot depending on passenger and load. I am concerned that can be a problem...!? Any advise?
How are things in the UK in this matter?
Hi RS6
I live in Gemany and was interested in upgrading all 4 lights on my Adventure bike. Physically easy, but I checked on the legality of this and basically in Germany, it is difficult.
The TÜV (inspection centre) do the test every 2 years and must follow the German Law on bike modifications, etc. They are staffed by Professional Auto Engineers, (not mechanics). I had some discussions with them and was told:
Only one Xenon Gas Discharge Lamp is allowed (governed by the total amount of light output in lumens)
The only easy solution is to buy a long distance spot lamp with Xenon lamp (Touratech, etc.) already fitted and certified with an E number (E4 for Germany). I would have to remove one of the fitted fog lamps as only four main lamps are allowed.
In principle I could fit one Xenon lamp bulb to one of the fogs, but since the fogs could be on with the spot lamp, this would limit me to one Xenon again. Fog lamps are not available E certified for Germany with Xenon lamps.
I would have to have a special E4 number on the glass of my dipped or hi beam lights if they were to be legal with Xenons. That would mean a new lamp fitting from BMW, which is not available at present. Of course the K1300GT and the new K1600GT BMWs have the option of factory fitted Xenons.
I could of course refit the standard H7 and H11 halogen bulbs prior to the TÜV test, but the police here do actually prosecute road users for non certified modifications. In fact I was told that a couple of days before my conversation with the TÜV Centre, that the police had fined a biker €80 for using an uncertified Xenon gas discharge lamp. The biker was also able to collect one point on his licence. (It is a standard offence so it is €80 whether you have one or four Xenons fitted. Also you start with 18 points avaialble on a licence, not 12 as in the UK). A lot of police do drive bikes in their leisure time so would understand the safety benefits.
Touratech said they would have a certified LED parking type light bulb for the head lamp assembly some time in 2011.
TÜV are sympathetic to the safety issues of Xenons on bikes, but rules are rules!! Police are more anal about this and enforce the law.
Don't know if there are any moves to change the law, but at present, Xenons seem to court trouble in Germany, given that they will stand out like a sore thumb when in use.
The TÜV engineer did mention self levelling lights (but nothing about wipers), but when I said the bike had the electronic suspension option, he said that would be OK. Doesn't sound quite right to me. My wife once brought a used Fiesta from Ireland to Germany for a few months and the question of self levelling headlights was raised, but waived as it was a 'temporary' import.
Sounds a bit stupid not to allow Xenons (especially as cars can have them), but the law/manufacturers seems to be lagging the times somewhat.
In theory, I could ask the TÜV centre specialist engineer to certify any modification I had had done to the bike, but that would be expensive and I would in any event run into the lumen output limit.
I would have thought the laws governing these Xenons would be universally applied across the whole of the EU, but enforcement is obviously variable. e.g. the bike driving test in the UK had the infamous swerve tests made mandatory just over a year ago, whereas the swerve tests have been mandatory in Germany for several years. It is all to do with harmonisation.
Grey Beard
