Bandit headlamp

I've had an odd rattle from the front of the bike for a couple of days
and couldn't find the source while riding. I started back at work
today and in the indoor car park I noticed the headlamp was very dull
but didn't think anything of it - sunglasses and all that.

Upon turning the headlamp on this evening in the car park in the way
out I noticed it was still dim, so I made sure it was in the proper
'on' position and flicked it on to high beam which worked, but low
beam gave nuffink.

I've just got home and have swapped fuses around under the seat to
make sure none had blown and they're fine. It appears that the low
beam bulb has blown. I think this is the source of the rattle at the
front too. It's done 60,000km of lighting over the last eight years.

The dim parking light works, high beam works but having it on low
(normal) beam just leaves the parking glow-worm on.

I took the headlamp out but the bit where the bulbs go in appears to
be covered in rubber and is a sealed unit. Do I have to buy the whole
thing and how much is that likely to set me back in the real world?

Thanks.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, BGN belched forth and ejected the following:

Pull the rubber cover off and then remove the clip that holds the lamp
(bulb) in and replace.

Don't touch the glass of the new bulb or you will dramatically shorten
its life.

 

Oh goodie! The rubber looked like it was sealed but I didn't look too
closely <hobbles back outside with screwdriver>

 

Whinging Courier wrote

Urbane miff.

It is buying them in the first place wot shortens their life.

 

Doesn't it knacker quartz based ones if you touch them?

Ali

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Alison Hopkins belched forth and ejected the
following:

Fak nose but the last one I bought said "don't touch" on the box.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Muck belched forth and ejected the following:

Fnarr

 

Hmm. I thought the bulb might have exploded or something, but it was
still intact, so the rattle isn't from glass in the lamp. Which
means... I've got an annoying rattle to find the cause of this week.

It sounds like it's coming from somewhere high up but the old
fashioned firmly hold everything while riding to see if it stops
didn't give any results.

 

I wouldn't say it's 'road speed related' - more movement related. I
pulled the clutch in and it still rattled so it's not engine speed
related either. The problem happens when cold or hot. It's just an
annoying rattle. Probably difficult to diagnose while stationary. I
say 'movement related' because it doesn't get higher pitched the
faster the bike goes after the rattle starts.

It's the kind of rattle that one would expect to come from a key on
the key ring, or the glass on the speedo (which is why I thought it
was broken glass from a blown bulb in the headlamp in the first place)
but wasn't either of those. It's not a machenical 'oh my something's
going to fall off!' kind of sound, just an annoying rattle. It could
be a washer spinning around for all I know but I'll have an active
hunt for The Annoying Sound on the way to work tomorrow.

 

It's the change in your pocket you twat

 

Lob it out at a passing Jag.

 

Yes, sodium ions in the grease from your fingers migrate into
the hot quartz and weaken it.

It'll be OK if you wipe it off with a soft cloth before it gets hot.

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".