Would someone measure the headlight on their 500?  Need a light for my GS450 and would like to use one with a removeable bulb.

Thanks,
Kurt Kesler

I believe it's a 7", that's off the top of my head.

What model GS450 do you have?  I'd betcha that if it's a T, L, or possibly an E or S model, they have a smaller sealed beam and you'll have a difficult time finding a suitable H4 halogen.  You might be better off looking at an older 650cc-up L model.  You might get lucky and it'll fit your shell.  You  might have to locate a complete unit; just make sure it fits between the headlight ears on the forks.  My '78 GS400 used an odd-sized sealed beam that was only available from the dealer.  Suzuki cut corners any way they could, and the headlight was an easy place to do it.  

well, look at it this way. we are amongst a family of riders who can pretty much make anything off of any bike fit the gs (within reason of course)
i believe it is 7" though. then again i could be wrong :dunno:

It is a 81 GS450S, so the light has to fit in the fairing.  I have a GS850L, so I will measure the light on it but I am almost positive it is smaller.

Pics here, if anyone is interested:
http://www.keslers.net/gs450s.html

Thanks,
Kurt

Nice ride!  I always thought that styling of the GS450S was attractive in an understated kind of way.  It always reminded me of BMWs of the same era.  

You might be in luck with your headlight dilemma since it's an S model.  That one had more features than the E, T, or those silly L models.  If you want to see if a 7"er will fit, just take your headlamp into your local autozone.  They should have standard 7" sealed beam lamps in stock.  hold 'em up against each other and see if it fits.  

There's a website dedicated to '70s and '80s air-cooled GS models, called www.gsresources.com, that you could also access.  It's a killer supplemental site to this one, since they don't really include GS500s.  Technically, your 450 is more closely related to the GS500 than its 425 and 400 ancestors.

I saw a GS400 that had the smaller headlight that was jury-rigged to accept 7" sealed beams.  He got rid of the bracket assembly, and placed a ring of sheet metal to compensate.  He had no side adjustment, but it's usually not necessary to mess with it anyway.  Let us know how it goes, and you're always welcome here!

Thanks!  The Pep Boys route was the first one I tried and the light is about 6", so the 7" won't fit in the fairing.  I pulled the bulb out of the sealed beam and rigged an H4 bulb, but the light pattern is, shall we say, horrible.

I am an off/on regular on the GS Resources website, as I also own a 82 GS850L (was my first bike...bought it new in high school and still have it...still runs fine too).  The GS website is mostly about the 4 cylinders, and questions about the 400-450 series don't get a lot of responses.  Only way to get less help is to own a Tempter  

I am probably going to pick up a GS500 soon, mostly to use as a track bike.  So if anyone has a slightly-mostly rashed one out there for cheap, give me a yell.

Kurt