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AussieGlenn's Headlight Rattle Dilemma |
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| Written by Glenn Martin | |||||||||||||||
| Friday, 11 June 2004 | |||||||||||||||
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Reprinted by Permission from Mr Tidy's Tech Tips Update 4/10/00 4000k's since the fix and it is still going strong with no problems. Got the film Well I finally got sick of the headlight rattle last week because for me it is too noticeable at 100kmh in 5th gear which is cruising speed for me. It also rattles at a certain RPM in all other gears to which was annoying. At a guess I would say somewhere around the 1500 to 2000 rpm mark but I can't be sure. I know some of you have had luck with wrapping the wires inside the headlight with various things but my wires are already enclosed in rubber, so this is what I did. I have had the headlight apart once before and noticed the metal lips that protrude from the main housing and was thinking maybe I could get some rubber and stick it along those areas and deaden the sound. I actually bought some rubber that had a back part that peeled off so it was self adhesive. I didn't want any problems getting the headlight back on so I got the thinnest I could find which was 1.6cm (about 1/2 an inch). When I got home I wanted to see if I could get the headlight to rattle without actually having to ride the bike somewhere so I wasn't pulling it apart and putting it back together and saddling up continuously if it didn't work. Sure enough if I stood beside the bike and very slowly applied the throttle I could get the headlight to rattle... Not only that I could get it to SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL!! Geesh, have any of you guys done this? What happens at around the 1500 to 2000 rpm mark is the headlight starts whipping back and forth in it's mount like crazy! No wonder this bastard rattles! Under or over that mark and the headlight smoothes out, but you get it at that right point and the headlight becomes a blur!
So any ways I pulled the headlight apart and placed the self adhesive rubber on the metal bits that stick out from the main headlight housing and put it all back together. No good, DAMMIT! So I start trying to think logically about the problem (me logical, now THAT'S a laugh). The headlight only has two bolts that hold the front headlight onto the actual housing. These bolts are at 4 and 8 o'clock. There is no bolt at 12 o'clock though. From the riding position the headlight whips up and done as if it was nodding. So I am thinking it has to be at the top of the headlight where there is no bolt. After having another look at the housing I notice at the top there are two metal almost hook like things coming out from it that the headlight would hook over to go into position (have a look and you will see what I mean) Now these didn't look like they would fit all that snugly and I thought this could be where the rattle was coming from as the headlight does it's boogie. I got some more of the rubber and squashed it down into the two metal lips and put the headlight back on. No more rattle for Glenn!! I have since done about 150 miles and it has not returned so this MAY have done it. No doubt the rubber will compress with time so I might look at something thicker at a later date but this will do for now. My main concern now is that the headlight is still vibrating like crazy in that small window of RPMS. It concerns me because of the cruising speed, even though it doesn't rattle any more it is still shaking and that can't be good. What we need is someone to fabricate a bracket to strengthen it. But anyway, there is what I did.
From: Big Dan (REACHFORSTAR) There are several ways..I used cork. The 1/4 inch dot stick ons that you buy at the 5& 10 to put on the bottom of vases and stuff to protect furniture. Stick them on the rim they are adhesive and trim them even with the edge. I also put some bubble wrap around my wires. It worked.
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