Voge headlight beam adjustment: screw locations and directions

A headlight aimed too low wastes most of its range. Aimed too high it dazzles oncoming traffic while still leaving the road ahead dark, because the light passes above it. Both conditions are common on a loaded motorcycle and both are corrected in a few minutes.

Location of the adjuster

• DS900X: at the lower rear of the headlight unit.
• 650DSX, DS525X, 525R, 525ACX: behind the headlight.
• DS625X: behind the headlights, with separate adjusters for each.

All require a cross head screwdriver.

Direction of adjustment

On models with a single adjuster the relationship is straightforward. On the 650DSX, clockwise lowers the beam and anticlockwise raises it.

On models with separate low and high beam screws, the two screws work in opposite senses. On the DS900X:

• Low beam screw: clockwise lowers the beam, anticlockwise raises it.
• High beam screw: clockwise raises the beam, anticlockwise lowers it.

The Spanish edition of the DS525X manual describes the same reversal in different terms: tightening the high beam screw lowers that beam, while tightening the low beam screw raises it.

Where one beam has been set correctly and the second screw is then turned in the same direction expecting the same result, the beam moves the wrong way. The adjuster is not at fault; the direction is simply reversed.

Setting it for the load carried

Each of these manuals makes the same point, and it is the one most often skipped: the headlight height must be correct under whatever load the suspension is carrying. An aim set with a solo rider is wrong two up with luggage, because the rear settles and the beam rises.

Where the motorcycle is normally ridden loaded, it should be aimed loaded. Where use alternates, aiming for the heavier condition and accepting a slightly short beam when solo is preferable to dazzling oncoming traffic on the return from a trip.

Checking the setting

The manuals do not give a target height, so the standard workshop method applies:

1. Place the motorcycle on level ground facing a wall approximately 5 metres away, upright, with the rider seated and the usual load fitted.
2. Measure the height of the headlight centre from the ground and mark that height on the wall.
3. Switch on dipped beam. The top of the illuminated area should sit slightly below the mark, in the order of 5 cm lower for every 5 metres of distance.
4. Adjust, then confirm that the cut-off is level rather than inclined to one side.

The check is best carried out at dusk, since the cut-off is not visible in daylight.

When to refer the work

The DS900X and DS525X manuals close the same section with the same instruction: where the beam height is uncertain, the dealer should set it. Roadworthiness testing measures headlight aim with a beam setter, and an aim that appears correct against a garage wall can still fail.

Related pages

Bulb types and wattages for each model are listed in bulb and lamp specifications, and the fuse protecting the lighting circuit in fuse ratings by model. Individual model data is on the model pages.