Hello, new to the forum and just needed some help

[t3dwards5]

Hello everyone


I've woke up this moring and decided to dust the cobwebs off my GS500, get it cleaned up and I want to add some twin headlights to it.

I've seen various amount different posts about twin headlights, but just thought it'd be easier to ask my question here, as alot of the posts are old.
I also dont really use forums so find it hard to navigate and find what i'm looking for.

I've found these on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crystal-clear-twin-headlight-black-Suzuki-GS-500-E-high-and-low-beam/131861553682?epid=1075221318&hash=item1eb38fa212%3Ag%3AlKoAAOxyJs5RdkB3&_sacat=0&_nkw=gs500e+twin+headlight&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xgs500e+twin+headlight.TRS0

so my questions are;
1] Will they 'plug and play'.
2] Is there any wiring id have to do
3] Do both headlights light up, if not, how do I wire them so they both do
4] Is there any problems that people have with fitting them
5] Do I have to level my headlights.


Thankyou, and I apologise for sounding like a complete novice.

[mr72]

FYI I don't have any experience with this specific headlight but I think you need to plan on a much more intensive modification than you might have estimated...

so my questions are;
1] Will they 'plug and play'.

Almost definitely not, but there's not enough information in this ebay post to know precisely. But the GS has one headlight plug and this undoubtedly has two, so you will be splicing connectors at a bare minimum.

2] Is there any wiring id have to do

Again, not enough detail in this ebay ad but it's pretty much a guarantee you are going to have to at least splice or build new connectors and you likely will have to do other wiring work to make this work.

3] Do both headlights light up, if not, how do I wire them so they both do

You really do need to study the GS500 wiring diagram. According to my copy, the GS light dimmer switch turns on either high beam or low beam, not both at once. If these lights you are buying are one high beam, one low beam then they will be one or the other. If both lights are lo/hi then they will both be on. If you want to run lo/hi at the same time then you can of course make wiring mods to make it happen either way, you just need to evaluate the wiring of the dual headlight setup you get and then design a way to get it to work the way you want with the factory wiring.

4] Is there any problems that people have with fitting them

I can't answer this question from experience, but I can tell you one thing, you are going to have a challenge ahead when it comes to the wiring that's ordinarily stuffed inside the stock headlight bucket. Most of the connectors and a lot of wiring is crammed into the headlight bucket and hidden, everything from the dash wiring connectors to the hand controls, turn signal wiring, you name it, is all inside the stock headlight bucket. Now you have two much smaller headlight buckets so this is going to take some attention and IDK how much space is inside each of these.

5] Do I have to level my headlights.

Of course, always. You will always have to adjust/aim the headlights any time you change anything more than just the bulb. And FWIW from the appearance of these lights, they appear to not have the same kind of adjuster as the stock light, so it appears they are held in position only by tension of the side mounting screws. This is likely inadequate to keep them from losing adjustment over time as you ride over bumps etc. but who knows. And the stock headlight is mounted in rubber grommets to keep it from vibrating, this setup looks to be hard-mounted so maybe you will want to make some mods to keep the light from vibrating in use.

As you can see, I anticipate this to be somewhat of a big project to swap over, which is probably no big deal for someone who is very good with wiring and not afraid to do some fabrication and apply creative mechanical solutions. But the tone I got from your questions is that you might be getting into a bigger project than you were prepared for. No doubt you can make it work eventually, I just want to help you to avoid making assumptions that it's going to be a lot easier than it likely will be.

[t3dwards5]

I just want to start off saying thankyou for such a detailed response

I didn't realize how much wiring is actually crammed into the stock headlights.

In okay with spicing wires and diagrams, but I think I'm going to have to learn alot more and do much more research before attempting to tackle a task like this then.

Thanks again for your reply, it has stopped me making a massive mistake

[mr72]

I think it is overstating to say it'd be a big mistake, just maybe more than you anticipated.

[Bluesmudge]

GS500 has such a nice stock headlight anyway that I think looks great on the bike. Why go through all the trouble for an aftermarket option that is probably inferior in function? Also, since it has two halogen bulbs (H4 and H7) its going to draw more power than the stock headlight when the high-beam is on. The GS is already a little light (no pun intended) on electrical overhead, so that is another concern.

[ShowBizWolf]

Hi t3dwards5!

mr72 pretty much said it all. Having done my own headlight swap last year, I can confirm the heap of extra wires Suzuki crammed into the stock headlight bucket. I could have just zip-tied and tucked the heck outta them to "hide" them but there was soooo much... so I shortened them instead. It took me a while but the result to me was worth it. Before and after:


What year GS do you have?
I've heard that the GS500Fs have all those wires tucked neatly under the tank around the frame (since the F style headlight doesn't allow for room for all those wires) and I'm wondering if later model GS500E bikes have the wires under the tank as well. I've never seen anything to confirm that theory though.

Bluesmudge brings up a good bit of info as well about the GS's charging system. There isn't much allowance for adding extra things that will need power. I have a headlight that uses two bulbs (H4 and H7) but the H7 is a LED bulb and so are my tail bulbs and dash bulbs (with the exception of the turn signal indicator bulb). Those LEDs demand much less from the charging system so it all works well thankfully.

[t3dwards5]

Hi t3dwards5!

mr72 pretty much said it all. Having done my own headlight swap last year, I can confirm the heap of extra wires Suzuki crammed into the stock headlight bucket. I could have just zip-tied and tucked the heck outta them to "hide" them but there was soooo much... so I shortened them instead. It took me a while but the result to me was worth it. Before and after:


What year GS do you have?
I've heard that the GS500Fs have all those wires tucked neatly under the tank around the frame (since the F style headlight doesn't allow for room for all those wires) and I'm wondering if later model GS500E bikes have the wires under the tank as well. I've never seen anything to confirm that theory though.

Bluesmudge brings up a good bit of info as well about the GS's charging system. There isn't much allowance for adding extra things that will need power. I have a headlight that uses two bulbs (H4 and H7) but the H7 is a LED bulb and so are my tail bulbs and dash bulbs (with the exception of the turn signal indicator bulb). Those LEDs demand much less from the charging system so it all works well thankfully.

Wow your done a really neat job, it looks great! Yea I can see the charging system is going to be a bit problem, i didn't think about it until Bluesmudge mentioned it.
It definitely seems it's not something as easy as I originally thought hahah

Mines a 1999 GS500E. I had the tank off this afternoon and the wires are definitely not tucked under there unfortunately.

[Kookas]

What year GS do you have?
I've heard that the GS500Fs have all those wires tucked neatly under the tank around the frame (since the F style headlight doesn't allow for room for all those wires) and I'm wondering if later model GS500E bikes have the wires under the tank as well. I've never seen anything to confirm that theory though.

Yep, correct - only wiring in the headlight on my '07 is for the bulbs. All the other stuff goes straight back to the battery - the connectors and stuff are just above the right-hand spark plug.

[ShowBizWolf]

Thanks Kookas! Awesome to finally confirm that

t3dwards5, if you have any more questions or would like to have some recommendations on LED bulbs for the GS, I'd be happy to help. superbrightleds.com is an awesome site for bulbs.

[t3dwards5]

Thanks Kookas! Awesome to finally confirm that

t3dwards5, if you have any more questions or would like to have some recommendations on LED bulbs for the GS, I'd be happy to help. superbrightleds.com is an awesome site for bulbs.

Thankyou very much   

Thanks again everyone for your advice and help

[Kookas]

Thanks Kookas! Awesome to finally confirm that

t3dwards5, if you have any more questions or would like to have some recommendations on LED bulbs for the GS, I'd be happy to help. superbrightleds.com is an awesome site for bulbs.

Just realised that was confusing - I meant my '07 F! I think looking at pictures of the latest E models, they probably still keep a bunch of wiring in the headlight body.

[ShowBizWolf]

Ahh! Gotcha. No worries!!

[sledge]

Are you in the Uk?

It's doable, but you need to be competent. Not sure about the mounting aspect but any decent auto electrician could sort the wiring out in a couple of hours. Maybe this is an option? Make sure the lights have a visable CE Mark and are correctly aligned, otherwise you won't get through an MOT.

Don't overlook the fact the lighting circuits between UK and USA bike differ due to market legislation.

[t3dwards5]

Hi sledge,

Yes I'm in the UK.
Good shout on the CE mark

[Meukowi]

Hello everyone


I've woke up this moring and decided to dust the cobwebs off my GS500, get it cleaned up and I want to add some twin headlights to it.

I've seen various amount different posts about twin headlights, but just thought it'd be easier to ask my question here, as alot of the posts are old.
I also dont really use forums so find it hard to navigate and find what i'm looking for.

I've found these on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crystal-clear-twin-headlight-black-Suzuki-GS-500-E-high-and-low-beam/131861553682?epid=1075221318&hash=item1eb38fa212%3Ag%3AlKoAAOxyJs5RdkB3&_sacat=0&_nkw=gs500e+twin+headlight&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xgs500e+twin+headlight.TRS0

so my questions are;
1] Will they 'plug and play'.
2] Is there any wiring id have to do
3] Do both headlights light up, if not, how do I wire them so they both do
4] Is there any problems that people have with fitting them
5] Do I have to level my headlights.


Thankyou, and I apologise for sounding like a complete novice.

i've got these headlights
+its plug and play, H7 and H4 bulbs.
-had to hammer the sides to fit them, kinda backside of the headlight, wont be seen when its on

Lähetetty minun G8341 laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[t3dwards5]

Thankyou