Headlight brightness projection issue

Hi all, I am having a problem with my headlight. I recently bought a 1982 Yamaha Xj750 Maxim. The bulb itself is bright but it does. It project far in front when I ride at night. I am a new rider and want to be able to see further at night.

 

There are two adjustment screws that adjust the direction of the light, one up and down and one sideways. If like my bike the screws are each side of the backside of the headlight housing at about 8 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Put your bike on its center stand in front of a door or wall and turn on the light so you can see the light beam. Then turn one of the screws and if the light on the wall moves up or down then use that screw to lower or raise the beam until it is where you want it. I usually adjust it on the high beam since that gives me the down road projection.

 

You can also try a new bulb, bulbs do dim slightly over time.
Remember your headlight is 35 year old technology, they were not great then and with only one night time vision was limited. Like all of us they get worse with age The reflector and lens may need cleaning on the inside also. I added some LED auxiliary lights to help with that, best improvement I have made to the bike.

 

This is not the original headlight, it is possible the light bulb that is installed is wrong wattage , which can also mean it might not as bright . Pull the bulb and see what if any markings are on bulb. If I recall 55w is I think is stock bulb.

 

Yes, definitely not the original headlight in that bike. Very possible a PO bought it on ebay/amazon because it looked cool. Most of those are crappy non DOT approved asemblies. A properly adjusted original headlight is more than adequate, not a good as some of the newer bikes but should be sufficient.

 

Not only is that not the original headlight, it is a POS non-headlight, headlight.

What you need is a real headlight. Something made in not-China.

 

looks like the kind with directionals built into the lens

you can get the 7 inch replacment glass dot approved and still use the bucket
and a brand name H4 bulb.

i have this lens coming next week I will let you know how well it works

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310831131714?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

this is the same one but comes with bulb
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-DOT-H4-MO...d8fb6d8&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=310831131714

 

Or ride slower-----