Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board Headlamp Came Apart While Riding

I took my 1969 441 VS for a ride to town today, about a 40-mile round trip. As luck would have it, I was stopped at a traffic light in the middle of town, getting ready to turn left. A police car was parked directly across the road and the friendly cop waved at me - I guess he liked my bike. I waved back and then the light turned green. Right in the middle of my turn and directly adjacent to the police car with the cop watching, my headlight fell apart with the lens and bezel hanging by the wires. The cop started laughing, but didn't pull me over. It was a simple fix to get it back together.

Sounds like the screw clip wasn’t fully secure? The original ones work quite well but I’ve found the pattern ones to not always fit properly. Once they are fitted, see if you can tease it off again with a screw driver, if you can’t it should be a good sign that it’s fine.

I had this happen to me (twice) on my '68 Starfire a few months back.

The first time, I didn't even know until the end of my ride, so I was pleasantly surprised that (1) the wiring harness held on to the headlight and (2) there was minimal—if any—visible damage. I reassembled the light and "thought" it was tight.

Within minutes of the subsequent ride, the light fell out again! This time, I tightened it down so much that I was worried about bending the metal retainer. But in doing so, I heard a "pop" when the clip fully engaged. No problems since. I just hope I don't have to change the bulb soon/often.

Same thing happened to me about 15 years ago in the Mojave on my 1965 C15FSR. I hit a fairly deep water cut in the dirt road at about 45 MPH, way too fast for the stock BSA forks. The headlight popped out of its bucket just like a cartoon eyeball. Luckily nothing broke. Some quick screwdriver work and I was back riding again. It's starting to sound like this is common on unit singles.

They all do that sir.................................