The designs on http://www.fuoriseriedesign.com/autoita.html have made me think about variations on the 7 style. It would be relatively easy to incorporate the dip beam headlights in to the cycle wings, with the mains incorporated in to the nosecone, using the 40-60 mm projector beam lights. This would give a very different look, along with the benefit of having steering headlights. I know the Citron DX(?) had steerable lights, but how would you stand in terms of SVA/MOT?

I don't know how it stands with SVA but I do know that Honda have had no end of problems with their headlights. I was advised to steer well clear when I asked a friend that works for honda if he could get some of the projection style headlights cheap.

Problem with adding weight to cycle wings is strength. The existing brackets have all one trying to hold the wings, add a light to it and IMHO you're tempting fate mate!

How often would you drive a 7 at night?

The mechanism for steering would most likely be of open design - inviting the rust bug is a bit like signing your own SVA/MOT failure sheet.

I have thought of this before and came up with the idea of mounting the headlight on a swivelling cam lobe and attaching the cam to a cycle wing stay so that the turning of the wheels moved the headlights. then it is only a matter of geometry to adjust how much they turn by....

here is a very quick and nasty sketch:



Description

side and top views...

[Edited on 17/6/05 by DaveFJ]

I like it Dave...
Who's driven a car with steering headlights? is it worth the hassle?
Bob C

I'm not sure the theory of why you would even want them is sound...

Personally, I'd prefer my lights pointing the way the car is pointing rather than where the wheels are pointing.

Just IMO of course.

Someone here did it on their buggy. We used to go up to the High Country for long weekends camping in the forests. The logging tracks were supreme for fast arse-out driving (with 300-500 foot drops).
It wasn't really safe going too fast during daylight hours in case a car was coming the other way. But at night, especially under a full moon, the fun was fast and furious.
Someone fitted steerable lights to their buggy which weren't of much use when driving normally, however, when applying lots of oposite lock, they did certainly light up the intended direction of travel!

Wouldn't steerable main beams be more useful than dipped?

I don't think steerable dipped beams would pass an MOT either due to alignment. Main beam alignment is less of an issue as you don't use it in the face of onecoming traffic.

just add and extra pair of lights post sva (not that that is a concern for this anyway) under the std lights (having extended them upwards), which come on only on main beam, and point them outwards......job done and a lot more simply............or wasn't simple the aim!

Mine will have my spare pair of Lucas 20-20 rally lights fitted when I get that far!

[Edited on 24/6/05 by NS Dev]

Its a neat idea but I don't think Dave's concept will work in practice (at least without modifying the design, because every time you went over a bump in a straight line it would move the headlights.

Maybe a more workable idea would be to pick up off the inside end of the steering column which doesnt move vertically, or use servos that take a feed off the steering column to move them at certain lock.
However I can think of a hundred better things to spend time/money on the car than making lights turn, if you're really concerned about improving night vision then just buy the best lights you can afford and put in fancy bulbs

yup good point - as I said I hadn't really though it through completely

I am hoping to setup 4 headlights - two as standard and 2 driving lights as in the Marlin sportster. I have looked at the police spotlights that are turnable and thought they could be hooked up to the steering rack.
Dale