useful Headlight info

[DAVINCI]

Steve,


Points well taken. I won't know for sure till i get the glass off, but the 'silvering' here looks more like a chrome plating than the classic silver-leaf-type stuff I've seen on other vintage lights?

[crazy steve]

Well, when I say 'silvering', that's how it's referred to. I think it's actually an aluminized surface on the newer lights (as opposed to 'vintage' lights), but I've got several older halogen light assemblies here (including a few XS units) where the reflective surface has dulled and/or lifted, and none of them has displayed any rust like you would expect with conventional plating. The few I've messed with, I found that the 'silvering' will fingerprint and scratch extremely easy, and trying to clean it only makes it worse. That surface is very delicate, and the best solution is to never touch it...

I've suggested this before, and I'll suggest it again; take a look at getting a suitable car/truck headlight bucket/retaining ring for a 5x7 headlight from a boneyard (I think an older S-10 unit would work, but I'm sure there's plenty of candidates among the various '70-80s vehicles) and fab the mounting brackets onto that for a set-up similar to the one the Specials use for their 7" round lights. This will allow you to use a generic square headlight, either a off-the-shelf sealed beam or some sort of aftermarket halogen. This is something I've been meaning to look at, but the press of 'other' projects has pushed this to the back burner. I don't think it would be that hard, and would forever solve the problem of the standards' oddball headlight...

[motoman]

Fortunately the 81Standard(Venturer) came with the replacable H-4 bulb.....but like seeing the options you guys come up with for those that don't have that convenience on the 80 and earlier rectangle lighted scoots.

[crazy steve]

It was only the '78E that had that sealed beam headlight in it, but trying to find a good '79-81 Halogen assembly isn't all that easy either. I bought several from various sources that when they arrived I found had silvering that was bad or in the process of failing. Bikes that have sat outside for years suffer from this pretty regularly, as Yamaha didn't seal these all that well to start with, and some owners lost/discarded the rubber seal, making it nearly inevitable that the unit would go bad.

This is another one of those unexplainable design decisions that Yamaha made; when they went to replaceable-bulb halogen headlights in '79, they kept the only-fits-this-bike design for the standard, but fitted the Special with a mounting that can accept any 'standard' 7" round light assembly. That explains the popularity of swapping in a Special headlight for the square unit; you can get new lenses for those pretty much anywhere...

[DAVINCI]

I've suggested this before, and I'll suggest it again; take a look at getting a suitable car/truck headlight bucket/retaining ring for a 5x7 headlight from a boneyard (I think an older S-10 unit would work, but I'm sure there's plenty of candidates among the various '70-80s vehicles) and fab the mounting brackets onto that ..

Agreed, that would be the ultimate mod here.....but FIRST I have to get the damned glass off!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Steve,Randy,

It's been years since I remember seeing a post, but a fellow used a regular H-4 replacement car headlight lens/reflector assembly, and used either a dremmel or such to GRIND off the glass prongs that prevented it from being able to fit into the XS11 mounting ring/bracket!?

I'll see if I can find it in a search, but not hopeful!
T.C.

[crazy steve]

T.C., the problem is there isn't anything to 'fit into' with the square headlight; the reflector, lens, and mounting brackets are one big piece, with the mounting brackets attached to the reflector...

As there's no way I can see to put those brackets on another headlight assembly without damaging it, you need some sort of intermediate bracket. I suppose you could try gluing them on, but I don't think the glue would take the heat long-term, maybe not even short term....

[DAVINCI]

So I'm doing this redneck headlight mod and I'm thinking how much the trim ring resembles the bulb mounting ring on my jeep.



SONOFAB$@*H, IT'S A PERFECT MATCH.



That bulb is a GE 2B1, application is 99 Jeep Cherokee Sport.

I'll take this to the next level and post my findings and hopefully, a new mod.

Thanks, guys, for jump-starting the old brain cells into action!

[crazy steve]

That's what I was talking about....

There's a ton of cars/trucks that used that same headlight, although most of them were in the late 70s, 80s before eveything went 'aero'. Hit a wrecking yard, you should be able to get a complete headlight for next to nothing...

[DAVINCI]

No need to visit a yard. I'll adapt the bulb to what's left of the the XS housing after I remove he broken glass. That GE / Sylvania / Philips 2B1 bulb is readily available.

[Yamanatic]

Hi All,

I have a Complete, New In Box Yamaha NOS H4 Conversion Kit for the old sealed beam square style '78 E model headlight for sale in the Parts section for $39 plus shipping. Everything required to do the conversion is included (lens assembly, bulb retainer, longer adjusting screws, H4 bulb, rubber socket boot), and most any H4/Zenon or whatever bulb will fit should you ever need or want to replace it. No mods, 10 minutes, and you have the best beam available. I just have the one; it was a spare for the '78 I recently sold.

Cheers,
Warren

[Yamanatic]

P.S. OOPS, Just saw the link to the ad in the parts section on the first page of the thread. I type to slow and missed the "Editing" 10 minute window. Sorry for the redundancy...

[dpotter58]

No need to visit a yard. I'll adapt the bulb to what's left of the the XS housing after I remove he broken glass. That GE / Sylvania / Philips 2B1 bulb is readily available.

freakin genius i tell ya....

well, freak anyhow

[vileneeds]

Hey Steve,Randy,

It's been years since I remember seeing a post, but a fellow used a regular H-4 replacement car headlight lens/reflector assembly, and used either a dremmel or such to GRIND off the glass prongs that prevented it from being able to fit into the XS11 mounting ring/bracket!?

I'll see if I can find it in a search, but not hopeful!
T.C.

I did this, Pics to follow. pretty easy too.

[DAVINCI]

This H6054 retrofit opens up a whole bunch of options. The market is full of H4 conversion kits for old sealed beam setups. Hmmm.

Here's one example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/7X6-H6054-DIAMOND-CLEAR-UPGRADE-CONVERSION-BULBS-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5ae103deb4QQitemZ390322183860QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories