Hello everyone,
I know I'm beating the long dead horse, but I could use some advice.
I've converted my GS500F K7 to a naked keeping the F headlight yada yada yada.
My bike failed it's MOT because the headlight was"not secure enough" and was very close to the mudguard so there goes that idea...
I bought a 7" Harley daymaker projector led headlight on a spur because they look awesome but now I'm struggling to mount that! I've got the fork brackets but I can't find a damn bucket with the correct mounting points. Wiring (as far as I'm aware) shouldn't be an issue.
Any advice?
Cheers
Charlie
Hi Charlie,
What kind of fork brackets do you have, the OEM E ones or aftermarket? Most aftermarket ones I've seen that go directly around the fork and extend out towards the headlight have at least a few different mounting holes to pick from, which is why I ask.
I just finished up putting an '04 gixxer headlight on my GS, using the stock fork brackets (the black ones that go around the forks) and I cut my own spacer brackets from some thick aluminum. Is it possible you could make your own brackets?
Do ya have any pics? Some pictures of what you're working with would be super helpful.
Thanks for the reply.
The brackets I'm using are bog standard universal ones from Ebay. I'll link them (or similar) at the bottom.
I've attached some pics of the new headlight and my bike as is. The problem I'm having currently is that the top of my F headlight is hitting the bottom of my speedo when I try to move it up away from my mud guard.
Cheers.
Charlie
Here's the link to the brackets
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Pair-28mm-35mm-Black-Motorcycle-Headlight-Bracket-Fork-Mount-Universal-/302096787604?hash=item46565f2894:g:17oAAOSw8gVX9KjX
Hello,
I'm having trouble uploading photos so I've made a public google gallery.
Cheers,
Charlie
https://goo.gl/photos/LEZons3Sw6HS5kZa7
The hard mounts on my bike atleast have caused it to eat headlight bulbs.
Cool.
Buddha.
I can't check out the pics here at work cuz these computers are old and moody lol but I'll be sure to look when I get home and see what I can see!
I have seen those ebay mounts used before to attach the F style headlight in various past threads. Here is one:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=39815.0
And another one where someone else was asking for help doing it:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=46548.0
But IMHO the F style headlight never looked right to me mounted like that. It looks like it's slipping down the forks... too flat in the front... too low.... And I completely understand when you say your problem is that the top of the headlight hits against the gauges and can't be brought up any higher. It's just not a good fit that way (again, my own personal thought.)
Howeverrrr, after a quick search, I found this thread that I liked in the past:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=47826.0
which shows another take on using the F headlight. The brackets are a bit primitive... absolutely... but to me, the headlight looks way better up higher and not below the gauges.
If making custom brackets isn't your thing, then perhaps it'd be better to keep going in the direction of the round headlight you bought. If worst comes to worst, you could always buy some OEM E headlight brackets (the black ones that go around the forks as well as the triangle plates) and an OEM E headlight.
Which headlight would you rather have on your bike? I think both of them could be made to work! And I probably will have some more suggestions once I can see the pictures lol :embarrassed:
Thanks for all the info and advice.
I'm now swaying towards the circle headlight because of the problems I've had and also fabricating a bracket would be a problem for me since I have little to no expertise or tools to accomplish the job.
I'm not a huge fan of the higher mounted F headlight but seeing as that's the only way it'll work, I can't see it going back on my bike.
The problem with the circle light however is that it is made to be plugged into a Harley and for the life of me I cannot find a bucket / casing for it to fit except an expensive one on eBay which I'm not exactly certain of.
Also, it's a daymaker which is a huge plus and it looks sweet.
Thanks,
Charlie
Now that I'm at home, I can see those pictures. That Harley headlight certainly does look sweet! And I can see what you mean about it needing a bucket.
The green plug obviously has the 3 prongs that would plug into the GS's stock H4 pigtail but I am not sure what the black plug would go to. In the one pic it looks like there's a heat sink of some kind? Like additional wiring that maybe goes from the headlight to the bike's plug? This is where my experience won't help because what I've experimented with hasn't had those.
I'm thinking that maybe (and this is a HUGE maybe) you could fit that assembly into a stock GS500E headlight bucket... which reminds me of an old thread!! ...searching... ok here it is: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70670.40
Look for mr72's posts... 3rd post down from the top... he links to a 7" headlight he bought but I can't find where he says if he mounted it inside the GS's bucket or not (and his picture link is broken for me) so send him a PM and maybe he can point you in the right direction from here :thumb:
The heat sink on the back of that headlight is pretty beefy. I am not absolutely sure it would fit inside the OEM Suzuki GS500E headlight bucket. The light I used was lower profile and it fit. The original lamp/reflector assembly is also lower profile. You'd have to try it.
I can't help much more because I started with a factory 7" round headlight on my GS500E, and just fit a new lamp assembly. This was simple. The lamp I bought came with a H4 connector like the one on the lamp you have which connects to the GS500E type connector without modification. As I understand it the Fs have a different lamp base connector so you would need an adapter or to fabricate one. Given the depth of the lamp you have, it may be challenging to fit the extra connectors and adapter under the bucket along with the other wiring in the OEM bucket anyway, even if the lamp itself can be made to fit.
When shopping for a new lamp to fit my bucket, I was pretty deliberate to find one that was as low profile as possible to ensure it would fit the bucket.
I know I'm not helping much, since my advice sort of is like, start with the OEM headlight from a GS500E, then replace the bulb/reflector assembly with a different aftermarket LED lamp and it will fit.
BTW my own headlight is not DOT so it would fail inspection in many parts of the USA. It just so happens I had mine inspected at a place who didn't check that, but they could have. I was prepared to swap the original light back in to get it to pass inspection.
Thanks mr72!! I learned something new, I didn't know the F's might have a different connector/plug.
Charlie can you add a picture to that google album of what the H4 plug looks like coming from your bike's wiring harness?
After thinking about this more, maybe the quickest and easiest way to get that test passed and get ya on the road would be to do the conversion to the E headlight setup. Since fabricating etc is not an option....
I guess I would start by looking for a stock E headlight housing/bucket.
Once you got your hands on one of those, you could see if:
1) it would work with those ebay brackets you bought
2) the headlight you bought would fit in it or not
If the brackets won't work, you'd need these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-FOR-SUZUKI-GS-500-E-GM51B-HEADLIGHT-BRACKET-RIGHT-LEFT-LAMP-HOLDER-FRAME/401311147229?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D43781%26meid%3D5b028bc269894bcd83de7d4f49e9c21e%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D142354719678
...which would mount the stock E bucket to your bike. You could also get all that stuff OEM but I'm sure it would cost a lot of $$$ that way.
If the ebay brackets you have do work, then you wouldn't need to buy those parts.
Then you'd be left with what headlight to put in the bucket.
If that headlight you bought won't fit into the E bucket, you could hopefully then return it and then:
A) purchase the same one Josh has (and also the chrome ring I'm guessing... he would have to explain what parts he used with his swap) or
B) just buy the rest of the OEM parts to the E headlight. The chrome ring, the actual glass lens, etc.
I'm sorry if all this info is going in the wrong direction, if it's not helping, etc... I just don't wanna see ya not get to ride because of something that can be fixed!! And I'm in the mood to just sit here and brainstorm with some coffee right now lol :embarrassed:
You need the chrome ring but not the reflector lens part (glass) quickest and easiest is to get an entire gs500e headlight assembly from the fork brackets to the lens and run that. Worry about led later.
Thanks for all of the comments, I'm getting pretty antsy to ride at this point so I think I may do just that, get an E headlight and brackets and work from there. Failing that, I have now found some bowls that look really promising, it may take some re jigging though I think it would be an option. I'll link them below. What do you guys think? My only concern is that I may have to drill mounting holes but I can do that.
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232228823120
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371485396825
Thanks again for all of the help, it means a lot!!
Charlie
I wish I could see more pictures of those ebay buckets. That being said, from what I can see, I'd be more inclined to go with the second one... but again, it'd be a bit of a gamble :dunno_black:
I think I'd still be more inclined to go the stock E route, only because I know it'd work out and I wouldn't be throwing money around just to experiment.
I'd also still like to see a pic of the H4 plug that is coming off your F bike... wanna see if it looks like the one on my E or not.
Glad to help Charlie!
I didn't look at the pictures that were linked because I just didn't care to click on the links. That said, I have been through the conversion process, having gone from fully faired to naked with F headlight to naked with E headlight and finally to naked with LED housing. Here's what I did, what I know, and how it may apply to you.
I used the stock E model headlight mounting solution, as other posters here had warned me that using rigid mounts that clamp to the fork tube are very rough on the bulbs. In doing so, I ended up using all Suzuki parts when I made the switch to a round headlight initially. My LED unit is a JW Speaker 8790 Adaptive; the real HD Daymakers (not Chinese clones) are made by JW Speaker for HD. The JW Speaker LED housings are retained in the headlight bucket differently than the stock E model reflector housing, which necessitated the purchase of a different bucket. I used the 7" satin black bucket from Dime City Cycles as it was the cheapest that I could find that was all metal and included the requisite retaining ring and trim ring. Due to the size of the heat sink on the rear of the LED housing, some trimming of the flange around the retaining ring was required.
The black plug was not something present on my LED housing, as I only had an H4 plug and a loose red wire (front position lamp); however, I think that the black plug may serve the same purpose.
k.rollin that is some awesome info about what you did. I remember your pictures and your super cool lookin' headlight from the end of that thread I linked to earlier... here's the page for the OP if he wants to check it out: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70670.80
I have heard that "rigid clamps ruin bulbs quickly" but never found out exactly why. Always just assumed it was cuz they would get vibrated to oblivion but now I know for sure. I'm glad I ended up using the stock headlight mounting setup when I did my swap recently then.
Charlie, I would love to see a pic of what you are working with... as in, what your bike looks like without the headlight. Just because I am curious! 'Cuz I've heard the F bikes are set up a bit differently than the E's in regards to where Suzuki tucked all the wires and now also how mr72 mentioned that the F bikes have a different lamp base connector. (E model wires were all shoved into the headlight bucket, F wires were under the tank, etc etc).
Hello everyone. Sorry for the lack of responses, I've been away.
As for some pictures, I'll post some very soon, the weather's been horrible recently so I haven't been out to do anything with my bike.
Thanks again for the advice. I'll have a look at the dime city bucket too. Also, I think I will get the E headlight mounts as soon as a good set appear on eBay. I know the fork mounts were not the best but I didn't realise they were that bad.
Thanks again,
Charlie
When you are looking for the stock mounts, make sure to find a set that have the black rubber donuts/gaskets included... the parts that go around the forks... there are 4 of them. When I was searching on ebay for that link I included a few posts ago, I noticed a lot of them are missing at least one of those rubber rings.
I mean worst comes to worst you could order them brand new from motosport (that's my favorite OEM site) or any other site you like that sells stock parts.
Glad to see you're still checkin' in!
Hey guys!
I am sorry I stopped replying properly for a while, I was on holiday in sunny Spain!!
I have also finished my project and wanted to give anyone an update who may be interested.
I ended up going for a lucas shell because it was easy to source. I wasn't able to get the proper brackets though it's at the top of the list of things I need to buy!
I had an issue with the headlight moving around after being placed inside the shell so I sourced some tiny brackets hold the headlight forward. It worked like a charm...
As for the wiring, I forgot to take a picture when working on it but I can say that the 3 prong plug was a plug and play job but the halo wire (the small black plug) wasn't compatible so I stripped both sides and crimped each wire then shrink wrapped them.
It was fiddly and annoying to say the least!
Here is the finished product though.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rp5Gh5NdnOH2DMtw2
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that helped in this process!!
Thanks guys!
Charlie
I can't see the picture 'cuz I'm here at work but I'm glad you finally got it done! :woohoo:
Hope you had a wonderful time in Spain :D