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Adaptive headlight in the US?

T

Tron

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To y'all in the US that have the adaptive headlight (that's supposed to illuminate curves better by activating additional LED's): does yours actually work?
Mine doesn't, at least I can't see any difference when I go into a turn. Some say that it's been deactivated in US models due to US regulatory restrictions, but I don't know if that's true or not.
BMW US customer service is useless, they don't know and can't even ask their legal department about it.

Friends over in Europe have confirmed that it works there and is very noticeable.

Thx!
 
kubark42 said:
Mine is not noticeable in the slightest. I've always thought I just wasn't pushing the scooter hard enough.
Click to expand...
It really seems like we have a different headlight, possibly totally without that adaptive headlight. Even though it's in my build sheet.
The EU version has a symmetric light, low beam on the bottom and high beam on top. The US version has the low beam on the right, and high beam on the left.

Apparently it should activate at a speed of >6mph and a lean angle of >10 degrees, which is easily achievable.
 
Sisyrx said:
I’ve noticed the side lamp maybe once or twice but it really didn’t illuminate anything useful and is mostly an invisible “feature” to me.
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Hmm, my European friends tell me that it's really visible and also very useful.
 
Apparently, the manual is even wrong about the headlight. It says:

Using Adaptive Headlights, the dimming unit additionally rotates around an axis, depending on the angle, and compensates for the angle of roll of the vehicle. The angle of rotation is 70° (±35°).In addition to the pitching compensation, therefore, the low beam headlight is adjusted to compensate for the lean angle during riding. Both movements are overlaid so that a highlight in the curve results.
Click to expand...
That may apply to other BMW bikes, but not the CE04. There's no rotation element in the headlights at all, neither the US- nor the EU-version.
Seems like someone copied that from a different manual without checking.
 
This article explains the Adaptive Headlight in a bit more detail. As mentioned, the additional illumination is achieved by turning on additional LEDs, not by rotation:

www.totalmotorcycle.com

2022 BMW CE04 Guide | Total Motorcycle

2022 BMW CE04 : URBAN FREEDOM. Introducing the 2022 BMW CE04… “It’s early in the morning. The city is awakening. On the way to my garage I breathe in the still cool air. I’m wear [...]
www.totalmotorcycle.com www.totalmotorcycle.com

“The adaptive turning light works by switching on additional LED elements in the main headlight that are fitted with their own reflectors, depending on banking angle. The turning light switches on automatically from a banking angle of more than 10° and at speeds above 6 mph. The additional lighting effect can be experienced up to a banking angle of 25°.”
 
Tron said:
Apparently, the manual is even wrong about the headlight. It says:


That may apply to other BMW bikes, but not the CE04. There's no rotation element in the headlights at all, neither the US- nor the EU-version.
Seems like someone copied that from a different manual without checking.
Click to expand...
Yeah, there's some questionable cut-and-paste going on in the company.

In terms of BMW, for example, my C 400 GT owners manual refers to "Replacing all spark plugs" whenever the subject is mentioned, and even the 843-page shop manual has a short chapter about "Renewing all spark plugs." However, to the best of my knowledge, the C 400 engine has, count-em, only one plug.

OTOH, Royal Enfield (the manufacturer of my other current ride) has the same sort of cut-and-paste errors in several areas.
 
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