Hi again Guys Another quick one i never managed to get answered on the USA Forum, Might headlight seems quite misty? "like the inside of a car windscreen in the cold" any solutions? or is it a new headlight :-( if that is the case are there any twin light options to make the bike look a little more modern? (also anyway of bringing all my posts from the USA Ducati Forum over to the UK one as I am back now) xxx
It's the plastic cases venting that coats the inside of the glass in chemical residue, according to my mate that owns a plastics company! I've cleaned mine with Mr Muscle window cleaner and it's not come back in 6+ years.
If you've got really small hands I'm sure you could do it while it was still on the bike, but otherwise I think that taking it out might be the easiest way to do it properly :wink:
Guess i will have to get my work shop manual out and see how easy it is to get the damn thing out from the frame then lol
If its the carbed SS; nose fairing off; push on the headlight against its mounting springs (3 off.....1 top, 1 each side) and wiggle the damn thing off the bolt heads via the keyhole slots.........disconnect the plug at the back.......Voila, one headlight. But, careful what you clean it with..........the brown backing to the silvering on the rear outside can wear off easily; as can the silvering be damaged easily even with various cleaning liquids. AL
The 1000, & 800SSie have a polycarbonate h/light lens, so choose your cleaning agent carefully, and don't use a scouring pad.
Dumb question time, I guess the Head Light is not a sealed unit? and you can actually get into it from the back?
Are they coated like modern cars? My car headlight is going the same as the UV attacks the coating. I was told not to polish it or it would just come back worse.
Seriously thinking of actually replacing the headlight with a mega bright "GAS" System like you see on the new Audi/BMW models? Is that an option? maybe take a look through ebay? but I imagine they aint gonna be cheap?
TIP: If you get moisture in your headlight, take out the bulb and drop one of those silicon packets you get with new shoes and stuff.
To be honest its more of a "Grubby" headlight issue? just seems to have gotten murky? so not as much light getting out? but its from the inside? so my guess is take it out and give it a good clean, but worried I may damage any coating thats inside the unit? and as I mentioned before, is it a sealed unit on can I actually get inside it? from what i can see you can get into it from where the bulb goes, but thats it? so what to do? take out the bulbs and wash it out? there is some tips above about using Meths-Mr Muscle etc etc, so again I am guessing its a "Swill it out with a solution" job? Just want to be certain before I screw anything up!
I reckon whatever you do to the silvering will sod it up; plus make sure whatever you do doesn't affect the outside at the back.....some products will even have that off. AL
I just removed the lamp unit from the bike, removed the bulbs and sprayed glass cleaner in, then using a screwdriver pushed a rag in and cleaned it that way, that was almost three years ago and still looks like new today.
Yeah sounds the way to go, taking out the unit, and just using simple glass cleaner, its only the front that needs cleaning anyway? the rest is hidden by the fairing? still surprised you cant find an upgrade? like a gas-flow unit that just slots in? not just replacing the bulbs? i did that anyway, but seldom ride at night so hard to see any change lol. Thanks for all the words of wisdom guys
