I have an 1199 tricolore which comes with the much vaunted LED headlamps fitted, but at night they are, frankly, rubbish . Do any owners of the unadulterated version that comes with 'ordinary' headlights, have any similar issues... or are their lights perfectly adequate ? I have no way of comparing the two versions, LED v Filament, but was considering replacing my LED lamps for the less exotic filament type lamps if they were better at the job of lighting night-time roads ! I'm looking for educated opinions or actual experience before shedding any cash on a lost cause.
Take it back and ask the dealer. TBH I have never ridden mine in the dark and not actually sure what type of hl's it has. I'm fairly confident they will be standard because the bike is an 1199ABS.
I have a Tricolour and the headlamps are actually pretty good. They're bright, well focussed and have a relatively wide beam. The high beam would blind any oncoming vehicle. The red tail lights can be seen for miles. Maybe take it to your dealer if you are having problems.
I have ridden a 899 with the "normal" lights that are also used on the 1199 base, and they are not impressive. I have a 1199S with the LED, and I find the LED so much better than the halogen lights on the 899/1199base. In my opinion the LED lights on the 1199S are the best standard headlights of any bike that i have ever ridden. I am sure some of the adventure rigs around with extra lights mounted have much better light at night Are all the LED's on yours still functioning or have you tried adjusting the height of the beam to better suit your preference of where you what the illumination to hit the ground.
If they are anything like the MTS1200 my LED low beams are brilliant, the high beam was a standard filament, that was crap, now changed to OSRAM night breakers. Both high and low are great. I've also got the extra Ducati riding lamps, v good.
I did talk to my dealer, who checked them and stated they were correctly adjusted, but to me they were pretty rubbish...... my old Nissan van got better lights by any standard of measurement, lighting the far distance and the verges on main-beam and plenty of usful road on dip. I wish I could swap them, but that's just a silly idea. For a bike with such levels of performance, the headlights are just inadequate..... surely it isn't just me ?
The headlamps on my S are superb, no problems with them at all. What are you comparing them with, just cars? They are not as good as my 911 or Discovery, but nevertheless superb. Are you expecting too much? Do you have night vision issues? Not criticisms, just thoughts.
I probably AM a marketing man's dream..... I bought the bike without ever trying it, based upon that lovely hardback brochure Ducati has produced. After saying that I only needed a basic one, then ordered a Tricolore and had every accessory available bolted onto it or glued on or whatever. I couldn't bring myself to buy the dust-cover, it was just TOO pricey for a bit of printed cloth..... Which is probably why I dress so unfashionably. The final price was around £28,000, so I will concede the point ! However, no, my night vision is still pretty good, neither do I wear a tinted visor, nor am I unusually picky ( IMHO ) but I am in the bike and motor trade ( for most of my nearly 58 years ) so recon I know a crumby headlight beam when I can't see it. Yes, it is quite dazzling to the onlooker, is correctly adjusted for aim and all the LED's are working, but as a source of lighting, it is quite crap...... Which was why I was looking for thoughts and advice. Thus far, I have learnt that the filament bulbed units fitted to the basic models, are no greater shakes than that which I currently enjoy. My dealer has suggested they may be able to arrange for the well spread dip-beam to remain turned on even when the main-beam spot-lamp comes on. We will see, as I am still getting over an op where the nice Doctor took a load of internal organs out and put them in the dustbin..... mostly from the Gentleman-Vegetable region, which can be quite sore when perching on a non-too-soft Panigale seat. I look forward to more contributions while I pass the time at a slight angle from the vertical.
I have heard of the mod to make everything stay illuminated and tbf if I ever rode it at night that would be the first mod i would try. Hope you recover from your op very soon. My father had a whipple which sounds similar to your description. Took a long time to recover properly but he is older than you and made an amazing recovery.
I hate to say it but perhaps your eyesight is at least partially to blame? I started noticing the headlights on my car (at the time) weren't as good as I thought they should be and I was probably around 30 at the time.
My optician tells me my eyesight is very good, my night vision being still most acute. Yes I do have corrective vision by way of glasses or contacts, but this has never been an issue before. I am going to try fiddling about with the lights myself, now that the warranty has run out..... I'm not unfamiliar with vehicle development work, having been involved with it over my working life. I had hoped there was a quick fix, but it seems not so.... never mind.
