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Kieranroberts...
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 14 May 2020
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PostPosted: 22:25 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Headlight Aim Reply with quote
Hello,

I’m getting my project bike ready for it’s MOT.

The headlight that is fitted is one from online, non expensive.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153306614730

It came with the bike when I bought it as a unfinished project a few weeks ago.

Problem is, after paying it a bit more attention, I don’t think it’ll pass MOT withs aim.

I’ve set up a markings on the wall to do the headlight alignment, however there was no “hash points” that the light was emitting that I could compare with the markings to if that makes sense.

Has anyone fitted these and had any luck with them passing MOT?

I’m about 95% done ready for MOT In what I’m hoping this week.
Really hope I don’t have to buy a whole headlight!


Thank you,

Cheers
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Riejufixing
World Chat Champion



Joined: 24 Jun 2018
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PostPosted: 22:28 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Re: Headlight Aim Reply with quote
Kieranroberts1234 wrote:
I’ve set up a markings on the wall to do the headlight alignment, however there was no “hash points” that the light was emitting that I could compare with the markings to if that makes sense.

What is a "hash point"? A point of focus? I thgink that's an MOT issue, but I also think we've got an MOT man here somewhere...
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Kieranroberts...
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 14 May 2020
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PostPosted: 22:38 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah there wasn’t a point of focus
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stinkwheel
Bovine Proctologist



Joined: 12 Jul 2004
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PostPosted: 22:45 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
No chance. Flashers have to be 240mm apart. Minimum.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
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Kieranroberts...
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 14 May 2020
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PostPosted: 23:00 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah I knew about the indicators, I have fitted extra the correct distance apart and I’m not using the integrated ones
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Riejufixing
World Chat Champion



Joined: 24 Jun 2018
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PostPosted: 23:12 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Kieranroberts1234 wrote:
Yeah there wasn’t a point of focus


I hope you're not thinking of using the wretched thing in the dark, then. It looks like a triumph of gimmickry over usefulness.
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TravisBickle
Formerly known as
DUCAUDI



Joined: 17 May 2019
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PostPosted: 23:48 - 18 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
In my experience, depending which MOT station you go to and how 'pally' you are with them, they'll rarely check the bema patern that thoroughly, just a cursory 'does it look right' will pass it. If it fails and you ask them nicely they'll probably tape it up with masking take to get beam correct which you can remove afterwards. Bike test is only £25 and you get a free re-test within 2 weeks if it fails. Just put it in, cross your fingers and see what happens.

Don't forget to let us know how it went!
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P.
Red Rocket



Joined: 14 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: 08:31 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tuberculosis wrote:
In my experience, depending which MOT station you go to and how 'pally' you are with them, they'll rarely check the bema patern that thoroughly, just a cursory 'does it look right' will pass it. If it fails and you ask them nicely they'll probably tape it up with masking take to get beam correct which you can remove afterwards. Bike test is only £25 and you get a free re-test within 2 weeks if it fails. Just put it in, cross your fingers and see what happens.

Don't forget to let us know how it went!


Taking the tape off makes you a cunt tho.
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weasley
World Chat Champion



Joined: 16 Oct 2010
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PostPosted: 08:53 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tuberculosis wrote:
In my experience, depending which MOT station you go to and how 'pally' you are with them, they'll rarely check the bema patern that thoroughly, just a cursory 'does it look right' will pass it. If it fails and you ask them nicely they'll probably tape it up with masking take to get beam correct which you can remove afterwards. Bike test is only £25 and you get a free re-test within 2 weeks if it fails. Just put it in, cross your fingers and see what happens.

Don't forget to let us know how it went!

MOT testers get blind checked by the DVSA, so any that 'turn a blind eye' are risking loss of their MOT certificate and consequent loss of trade. This idea of nudge-nudge, wink-wink testers is firmly rooted in the past and has no place today. I can see a failed bulb or missing reflector being overlooked on the basis that it is a 2 minute job to fix and make right. Passing a dodgy headlight that will never be legal is a different matter.
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iooi
Super Spammer



Joined: 14 Jan 2007
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PostPosted: 12:00 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wheres the "E" marking on it?
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Easy-X
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Joined: 08 Mar 2019
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PostPosted: 12:15 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you check my Turd Scooter thread in Show and Tell I used the exact same omnishambles (with the stupid indicator LEDs disconnected) to sneak the wretched thing past the MoT. So yes, perfectly usable.

The MoT place will have a beam focusing gadget on a stand - they're only interested in the aim and whether there's a tangible cut off line on low-beam (kickup is optional but only on the nearside.)

If you can't seem to get a tangible horizontal line then check if you have the bulb in the right way round! IIRC it is possible to get it wrong with these pieces of crap.
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Kieranroberts...
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 14 May 2020
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PostPosted: 15:39 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
It has no E markings on the headlight.
I’ve attached a photo of the headlight if anyone can tell me
If the bulb is upside down etc... haha sorry for being a newbie!

https://imgur.com/Mmfxytf

I’m sure that I wired the dipped and high beam correctly,
For reassurance can anyone tell me which filament is dipped/ low beam please?
(It’s a H4 35w/35w)


Thank You!
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Riejufixing
World Chat Champion



Joined: 24 Jun 2018
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PostPosted: 17:43 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Kieranroberts1234 wrote:
https://imgur.com/Mmfxytf

I’m sure that I wired the dipped and high beam correctly,
For reassurance can anyone tell me which filament is dipped/ low beam please?

It's an H4, it only goes in one way. The dipped beam is the filament that's "shielded".

Edit: When I looked at the eBay item, I assumed it was an LED bulb, which are notorious for producing poor dip/high definition. Perhaps you have a cheapo H4 and its dip shield has fallen off/isn't there?
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TravisBickle
Formerly known as
DUCAUDI



Joined: 17 May 2019
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PostPosted: 18:56 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Paddy. wrote:
Taking the tape off makes you a cunt tho.


Only if it's blatantly too high or too bright and dazzling people. If it pretty much works ok in the dark, you can see where you're going and isn't causing any other road users any dazzle or inconvenience I really can't see the problem.

I had a similar problem on my 1999 FZS600 I replaced the old broken headlamp unit (the shield on the dipped beam side which housed an H1 bulb IIRC had broken off). Inadvertently replaced it with a LHD unit. Didn't realise until the next MOT that there was a problem. They kindly taped it up for me, the road illumination was shit poor but scraped through the MOT with masking tape in the right places to get the correct beam patern, removed the tape afterwards and never had any complaints/flashes from other road users that I was dazzling them. Later on I fitted an additional RHD dipped/main unit to the bike so I had the best of both worlds, road illumination was excellent and didn't have to worry about putting stupid stickers on my headlight lenses when taking it abroad. Like I said if it's not actually causing any other road users any inconvenience I can't see the problem?



weasley wrote:
MOT testers get blind checked by the DVSA, so any that 'turn a blind eye' are risking loss of their MOT certificate and consequent loss of trade. This idea of nudge-nudge, wink-wink testers is firmly rooted in the past and has no place today. I can see a failed bulb or missing reflector being overlooked on the basis that it is a 2 minute job to fix and make right. Passing a dodgy headlight that will never be legal is a different matter.


I'm wasn't suggesting a nudge and a wink would cause an MOT station to turn a blind eye. All I was saying is that in my experience the beam pattern is rarely checked thoroughly. If it looks ok on the wall they usually don't bother getting that optic gadget thingy out. On a number of occasions I've taken cars in before now knowing full well that one side was higher or lower than the other (in the hope they would fail/fix it for me) only to have to car pass without an advisory and they hadn't even touched the bloody height adjusters!

I think you're living in cloud cuckoo land if you think that dodgy MOT stations don't exist these days. I was utterly appalled when we went to buy my wife's previous bike (Kawasaki EL125 Eliminator). It was some dodgy backstreet repair shop in north London that only deals with scooters and 125s, I image most of their customers (both for bike sales and for workshop services) are either kids and/or courier/delivery drivers. They guy asked ME if it had an MOT. He was selling the bloody thing to ME and was asking ME if it had an MOT! I said "it said so in your advert". He said "you can check it online, check it now if it's out of date I can just issue one straight away". This should have put us off but the bike was half the price of anything else in its age/mileage bracket. As it turns out it did have a current MOT but I rode it home myself and wouldn't let my wife on it until my motorbike mechanic had given it a thorough going over. He found it DESPERATELY needed a chain and sprockets, front fork seals, some missing bolts on the front sprocket cover oh and the oil was very low and like treacle. Only cost £120 in parts and about the same again in labour to get it up to scratch so we still had a good deal out of it but I'm sharing this story with you to demonstrate that unscrupulous MOT stations DO STILL EXIST today. But taping up a headlight for a customer so it passes isn't necessarily doing anything dodgy if they, in good faith, actually believe that the customer will keep the tape on there.

EDIT: I forgot that EL125 I mentioned also needed a new headlamp unit, bizarrely relevant to this conversation, as the plastic bracket that is part of the whole moulded unit had broken and the light was floppy/pointing downwards and you could see where some chump had tried to 'repair' it with super glue, which I did notice coming home under flyovers and the Blackwall Tunnel etc. that the beam was low and bouncing up and down. Ordered all the parts; used headlamp unit, new fork seal kit, new fork bush kit, new heavy duty chain and sprocket kit, new oil filter, new oil filter O ring and new air filter all parts came to about £120 total so not too bad. Already had the oil. My mechanic is a bit old-school and not very tech-savvy so he likes it when I order the parts in for him LOL.
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2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

Last edited by TravisBickle on 19:08 - 19 May 2020; edited 4 times in total
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TravisBickle
Formerly known as
DUCAUDI



Joined: 17 May 2019
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PostPosted: 18:59 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Another anecdote I can share is that my brother-in-law has several times tried to put me onto some dodge bloke who lives on his street who issues MOT certificates for... I can't remember if it's £20 or £30. You don't have to present your car just pay the cash and he'll issue an MOT. My brother in law gets all his cars and trucks MOTd by this guy but I'm not interested, I'd rather know that my vehicles are safe and road worthy than save a few quid.

Just another example :-/
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Kieranroberts...
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 14 May 2020
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PostPosted: 19:25 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Riejufixing wrote:
Kieranroberts1234 wrote:
https://imgur.com/Mmfxytf

I’m sure that I wired the dipped and high beam correctly,
For reassurance can anyone tell me which filament is dipped/ low beam please?

It's an H4, it only goes in one way. The dipped beam is the filament that's "shielded".

Edit: When I looked at the eBay item, I assumed it was an LED bulb, which are notorious for producing poor dip/high definition. Perhaps you have a cheapo H4 and its dip shield has fallen off/isn't there?




It turns out the H4 bulb was in sideways, It’s now the right way up, the beam and focused light looks something more like it now.

it was hard to tell because it’s not that dark outside yet as the bulb is only 35W/35W but I held a piece of A4 paper about a foot away from the headlight and the pattern sort of looked good. From what I could tell the pattern flicked up to the right and not to the left?

I was looking at the eBay listing for a while to compare to my one,
From comparing my headlight and the eBay listing it looked like inner reflective silver bit was upside down on mine? I took it apart at put it around the “correct” way now, still unsure though, maybe this has caused it to flick to the right and not to the left?

I’ve attached photos of the eBay listing photos and a photo of my headlight before I changed the inner reflective silver part and spun it 180 degrees. I’ve drawn in yellow over the photos to show how to top is different to the bottom of the inner silver reflective part. (One side is a blank big square and the other side is smaller squares next to each other).

https://imgur.com/gallery/GtlYdmg

Is there a specific way this needs to go and if its wrong Will it cause problems like flicking the light the wrong way?


Sorry for the really bad explanation!


Thank You!

Cheers
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P.
Red Rocket



Joined: 14 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: 20:18 - 19 May 2020    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tuberculosis wrote:
Only if it's blatantly too high or too bright and dazzling people. If it pretty much works ok in the dark, you can see where you're going and isn't causing any other road users any dazzle or inconvenience I really can't see the problem.


If it needs tape to correct, then someone is getting an eye full of light when they shouldn't be. Tape will be there to stop it kicking to the right...where oncoming users are.

A slightly misaligned HID is going to fuck your vision, even a normal bright bulb with some rain is going to be a shitter.

Personally... I don't much care, but other users of the road might. Laughing
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