when i adjust my headlights on car or truck, i do it activly. i drive around, make an adjustment, repeat. and i use the cars around me to get an idea of how high, wide i want my pattern. my lowbeam stops just below MOST cars center rear view mirror. i prefer it to be higher as the brighter the light appears, the closer i seam to be to cars pulling out of driveways. i know this theory works because the only times i have had someone pull out in front of me was when i was on my exes bike. the headlights on her gixxer 750 sucked. i spent a lot of time trying to improve it and came to the conclusion that the only way it was ever going to get better was to remove the headlight assy all together and replace with projectors. thankfully, i don't have to spend any more money on that... LOL anyway...

thank you for the insight on the adjustments... i am going to work on this thursday night. i should have new bulbs by the end of the month. i will let you guys know my results.

someone mentioned not riding at night, so they didn't think they needed to adjust their lights.... this is wrong! sure, this is only my opinion... but as i stated above, accurate lighting doesn't just help you see, it helps you be SEEN! i have run off road lights in most of my vehicles. when the headlights are properly adjusted, it can make HUGE differences. i once had someone tell me they thought they had night blindness because they couldn't see at night. by simply adjusting the headlights in a mazda 3... she has SO much more confidence driving at night. if you have never adjusted the lights in your cars, or motorcycle.... do it! you won't regret it!

* Last updated by: rallyrodent on 2/17/2010 @ 2:05 AM *

thank you blue ill check that out today

Hey scott...if ya look close at yer low beams...only those on...you'll see a line of different color going across horizontally(when she's illuminating a wall right there).Okay...to get those Verticals set right....get that line superimposed over the OTHER line that is most pronounced.You'll see what I mean.You can watch the beam angle either raise to the other,or vice versa.You want those two lines as ONE bright line going across the wall.Then they're set.You can drop or raise however you need to after that...mine are out a ways...the round part of the "beams" hitting about 15 feet out in front,and the rest of the illumination goes on for around 100 feet or so.Then,with the brights..it REALLY illuminates ahead.But when ya switch back to lows(like for an oncoming car)you won't have that dark spot right where ya need to see...like about 50,60 feet out.I found(good or not?)that I occasionally get "brighted" with my lows on at night.So.....I try to use my highs as much as possible,then when an oncoming car sees ya flip to lows,they automatically realize....yer on your lows.So that seems to limit their reaction.I just lowered mine an inch more...just for that reason.But I'm still getting plenty of good light out front with the lows.You can see where it hits the drivers as they come at ya.You don't want to be illuminating their driver's area inside the car.Gotta adjust lower if they're doing that.But not TOO low.They're projector beams,so the light isn't as wild as a regular lamp.It may look kinda "sweeping" off center,but the main lamp light is right at the center of that "circle" in front of your bike....however far out that is.Of course,moving them OUTWARDS is gonna affect the light going farther towards the oncoming cars,so ya gotta take that into consideration as well.I REALLY don't want to anger people,ya know.Mine are just about perfect now....but NOTHING like the factory settings.This is at about 20 feet out.You can see that the lows are barely illuminating anything above the camera lens,whereas the brights are doing quite well.These are not my present settings.These are TOO LOW for nightime riding.The cages don't see the full on blast from the projectors UNLESS they're adjusted straight into the driver's area.But the outer light can be quite intense also.So I've tried to reach a medium with mine....I think I've pretty much got it worked out now.Next night ride I'll see how other drivers react.As I said,I lowered them again yesterday about an inch.This pic I took with about a 3 foot height.The lows were useless at this setting.
You have to adjust,then ride at night to see the pattern of solid light going out.Once ya get the pattern set to about where ya want it,then it's pretty simple to micro adjust as you need to.But I'll tell ya...these new settings of mine are WAY different than the factory ones.There is no pat"turn three turns" type deal here.At one point,I had the left adjuster ALL THE WAY set to the bolt stop.Naturally,it needed to come down some....but not much.I was pretty surprised about that actually.Especially with the HID's.

1/4" knuckle,three extensions,10 mm socket.That works good for getting in there and adjusting easily.To adjust the inner(horizontal) lighting,run your extensions on the outside of the ram duct,up past the bar end(which is now fully right)(or left,depending which side yer doin).

Those two bolts however are OPPOSITES.So adjusting to the sides are going to be opposite each other(not like the Vertical,where BOTH turn the same way and adjust the same direction).If you turn the RIGHT lamp adjuster CLOCKWISE,your beam is going to move LEFT.As well as your HIGH BEAM.If you turn your LEFT lamp adjuster CLOCKWISE(yes,clockwise),your beam is going to move to the right,as well as your HIGH BEAM.

Course you have to remember....with your 10 K's,your lighting is going to be "somewhat"different,probably "less".However,the blast effect to oncoming cars will still be just as violent!So ya can't adjust too high to get the same lighting effect,but ya don't want ANY dark spots in front of your bike....at any area where you need to see if something's in the road at least 70 feet out.Mine is set at least to that.Nothing worse than dropping to lows for an oncoming cage,only to have the whole road in front of ya black.Especially in a curve!WoHooooo...fun times there!

* Last updated by: blue07 on 6/24/2010 @ 2:40 AM *

Yo blue07, thanks for all that info on the lights. I've had my bike for 3 weeks now and I rode it for the first time at night last week and realized that I could barely see in front of me. I went from a 07 zx6r to a 09 zx14 cause I'm 6'6" tall. I was reading all the post and it really helped me out. I turned my lows 4 times clockwise and I feel like I gotta turn it more. I've gotta work on trying to make the lows wider. Hopefully my hand can fit in that small space.
Man yall are some life and money savers. Keep it coming with more info. Thank you!!

Your welcome.It's NO FUN "guessing" at night "IF" somethin is gonna run out in front of ya.Here...things DO run out in front of ya....BIG THINGS.Things that'll put ya in the hospital like....PRONTO.Adjusting those lamp assemblies to the right,out of direct shots at the oncoming drivers is very important IMO...and it doesn't need to be very much...you don't even notice it from the pilot's view.But the cages notice.Good thing about or projector beams.And having light when riding on lows(like for oncoming cars)is critical for me.In just that amount of time,those critters can be across yer path in a heartbeat.No time to react.You HAVE to have the edge.They really have a serious problem about WHEN they decide to bolt.Usually,right as yer going by.Most hits here are from the side.So if they run across at the same time yer passin an oncoming car(they're trying to beat the car)Yer gonna get nailed real easily IF you have a DARK area in front of your bike.NOT GOOD.I ride at night normally with my brights on...that way...the oncomers see me switch back to lows...and it tells em..."he can't change any further"...so I don't get the brights...only once in a great while.But I've also spent a bit of time adjusting and riding to get em right.They are about as good as it gets for me and "them".And when I'm coming to the passing spot,I try to slightly get my bike directed away from the oncoming car for just a few seconds.That helps to minimize any bright illumination to the front of their car.These HID's are WAY powerful....gotta think about the others out there as well.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 7/6/2010 @ 9:05 PM *

Forgive, for I am kinda slow when it comes to bikes because this is my second one. I have the low beam bolts in plain sight. I've adjusted those a little bit and need to work on them a little more. I can't find the bolts to make my low beams wider. All I see is two phillips head screws just above the low beam adjuster bolts. Are those the ones you have to adjust to make the low beams wider? Now mind you I only have the factory lights.

* Last updated by: zx142009 on 7/7/2010 @ 7:26 AM *

Those two bolts however are OPPOSITES.So adjusting to the sides are going to be opposite each other(not like the Vertical,where BOTH turn the same way and adjust the same direction).If you turn the RIGHT lamp adjuster CLOCKWISE,your beam is going to move LEFT.As well as your HIGH BEAM.If you turn your LEFT lamp adjuster CLOCKWISE(yes,clockwise),your beam is going to move to the right,as well as your HIGH BEAM.

They are directly at the nose inside the fairing there...one on each side of your headlamp assembly.They have a washer with "teeth" on them....should be painted almost black.On the right assembly,the bolt is directly in the lower left corner of the housing.NOT the phillips.10 mm bolt

O ok. So in that case I have to pull the fairing off right?

* Last updated by: zx142009 on 7/7/2010 @ 10:57 AM *

GOD NO!!!!Inside my man,INSIDE,where the lamp assemblies attach to the inside of the fairing(where those phillips are at).Go straight forward from the meter bracket,then straight down to the upper inside fairing(the thing just above your fender)...now go straight forward.Right there,in the tip of the assembly.On both sides of the center line.See em?You don't remove anything. Those be the one's right there at the bottom-see the toothed washer on there?(Those are the right and left horizontal adjustment bolts)REMEMBER....for the right side,to get the lamps to go outward(beam to the right),you turn the bolt COUNTERCLOCKWISE.For the left,to adjust outward(beam to the left),you turn the bolt COUNTERCLOCKWISE(yes,counterclockwise).

* Last updated by: blue07 on 7/7/2010 @ 4:55 PM *

or the right side,to get the lamps to go outward(beam to the right),you turn the bolt COUNTERCLOCKWISE.For the left,to adjust outward(beam to the left),you turn the bolt COUNTERCLOCKWISE(yes,counterclockwise).

blue both go counterclockwise?

you turn the bolt COUNTERCLOCKWISE(yes,counterclockwise).Remember Scott...the angles are opposite now.If ya turn both clockwise,then the right one is gonna pull in at the bolt.Same as the other,it's gonna pull in at the bolt.Just like a car's adjusters.The threads are the same on both sides.So both lamps will pull in at the center there,makin the beams come together.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 7/7/2010 @ 8:58 PM *

Oops I adjusted the wrong bolts then. In the picture you have the bolts are in plain veiw and on my bike as well. I use those bolts thinking those were the ones to make the lights adjust verdical. I turned both of those the same way. I marked it with a marker so I can go back and turn it back the way I had it and start from there. Now all I need are the bolts to adjust the lights verdical. Can you take a picture of them for me and show me where those bolts are? I really want to thank you for your time and patience with me. The only thing I know how to do is ride and change my oil.

zx with the dash panels off, on each side of the speedo youll see a longer gold color nut now b4 you start turning these take a sharpie and put a mark on them (same place on both adjusters) this is to make sure both side are adjusted equally. I took my lights up 3 full turns. i know when i did mine all i could get on those nuts was an open end wrench.
I believe it was blue07 that posted pics of these adjusters i looked but couldnt find them maybe he remembers where they are

Ya...Scott's got it.They're under the ram air duct covers...gotta pull those off first.See where the center adjusters are?...okay...look DIAGONALLY across and up.At the far upper corner of the lamp assembly you'll see em sticking out.Be careful removing those duct covers...the tips by the meters have a small tab that slides into a metal bracket slot.Remove the screws(on the cover),then slide that tip out and away from the bracket.DO NOT YANK on the cover..that tip tab will break off! If it does...it's really no big deal...But just letting you know that it doesn't just "come right out of there".And when ya slide it back into the bracket,DO NOT angle or force it in there...it'll slide back in if it's sitting correctly.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 7/8/2010 @ 7:43 AM *

is this bolt? The shinny one? to adjust the light verdical

* Last updated by: zx142009 on 7/8/2010 @ 3:34 PM *

looks like the one you need dont forget to mark them or youll have no way of gauging how many turns youve given it

scott and blue I just want to thank you too again for helping me out on this issue. Its well needed.

good luck to you zx

Hey scott I saw your bike on your shirt you made in one of the other conversations. I see you have the m4 slip ons. I was leaning towards getting som myself. I was wanting the m4s verses the two brothers and d&d. I saw the m4s and they look nicer than the other ones. The only sound I had was to youtube it. The two brothers sounded a little bit more aggressive, but the m4 looked better and they sounded pretty good also. The m4s were cheaper also when I did the price check. Actually the d&ds were cheaper, but I don't think I want those. How do you like them?? Where can I find some for a good deal. Help me out again please.

hey zx, the m4's were very nice slipons i liked the fact that they were not as long as the others. sound was awesome but i just wanted a full system. I sold mine really cheap (1/2 price) to a member on this forum ive since seen a set listed in the 4 sale section on this forum and ive seen them on ebay heres on old pic with them on my bike

Man you got a nice looking bike first of all. I love the special edtion ones. The m4s look so good on the 14. I like how they arent that long either. I'm really not looking for performance just sound and looks. I need those really cheap. I'll look around to see if I can find any less than 500

zx you can pick em up new for $550-$580 i dug up the thread with the sound clip of the m4s that i did it sounds real close to what they sound like in person

http://www.zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=DD9EC1D5-1372-66AE-3BAA190F95284C81

Thanks for the tips here guys. I got to adjust my lights over the weekend . What a difference from the stock adjustment. HID's working well now!