Headlights and turn signal lights

[Johnny3D]

I was doing some work on my 1980 Yamaha XS400GS and found that the headlight was (as with quite a few other things on it) cobbled together poorly by someone in the past. Inside the headlight housing the headlight itself had aluminum foil and wadded up paper covered with masking tape (and a touch of duct tape) around it to make it "fit" inside the headlight housing. I measured the headlight housing and it looks to be about 7 inches across.

I found some replacement headlights from a couple sources (Parts N More and MikesXS), but I'm not really sure exactly which I should go for. I did some searches through the forum here, but I couldn't find an answer that told me what I need to know. Will the 7" ones I found fit? The 5 3/4" headlight is 60/37 watt, while the 7" is 60/50 watt. Or do any of you guys happen to know of a really good headlight replacement in general?

While I was working on it I also discovered that the front right turn signal light had apparently been broken off or something at some point. The hollow threaded stud that screws into the stalk on that side was way shorter than it needed to be in order to be put in properly. I'm thinking about replacing all of the turn signal lights because I think I would like some that don't stick out quite as far on the rear. So if you have a recommendation for a good set of 4 turn signal lights that will work for me, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks again guys and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this.

 

[Johnny3D]

Does someone at least know if the 7" headlight will fit in the original headlight housing?

 

[Wolfe_11B]

You can get it to fit, but its not exact. Easy to do though, you'll see when you put it in

 

[Johnny3D]

You can get it to fit, but its not exact. Easy to do though, you'll see when you put it in

Thanks. It has to fit better than this one:

Note the awesome job of putting aluminum foil, wadded paper, masking tape, and duct tape on it. That seems kind of hazardous to me.

 

[BBS360]

I believe stock headlights were 6 3/8" for at least some years/models.

 

[Johnny3D]

I believe stock headlights were 6 3/8" for at least some years/models.

That sounds about right for the size of my headlight housing. I'll look around and see if I can find a direct fit one. Otherwise I might end up just replacing the headlight/housing with something that is more readily available.

 

[Johnny3D]

Just wanted to double check with you guys about this.

I found a 162mm (6 3/8") setup from Candlepower: See here

I talked with a guy at Candlepower. It looks like I may end up having to modify the reflector a bit to get it to fit/work on my XS400SG, but they said if I order it, and do some inspection to see if I think it'll work and decide that it isn't going to work out that they'll let me return it without a restocking fee. Likely what I think I'll end up having to do is cut off some of the adjustment tabs and what not on the back and then figure out how to make sure it's secured in the retaining ring. I don't have the original springs that held in the original sealed beam either. I found those on Boats.net for cheap. I think I would need 3 of them based on what I've seen in the parts breakdowns.

I've read over some of the posts about HID replacement and while that sounds great, all of them ended up using their original reflectors in one way or another to complete the job. That isn't really going to be possible for me since I don't have an original reflector.

Without a starting point reflector, I figure my best bet would be to get the reflector and bulb from Candlepower then in the future if I decide to take it a step further I could upgrade that to an HID (with a ballast of course).

Also... should I go with the 45/45W bulb or the 65/50W bulb?

Anyone see any problem with the plan I have in mind?

 

[BBS360]

I don't have the links handy but I believe at least one member has gone with the candlepower setup. It did involve some modifications to mount but worked well.

 

[Johnny3D]

I don't have the links handy but I believe at least one member has gone with the candlepower setup. It did involve some modifications to mount but worked well.

Cool! Good to know. The guy, Kenny, from Candlepower asked me if I would consider putting together a little "how-to" and post it to their FB page if I ended up modifying it.

 

[JimVonBaden]

That sounds about right for the size of my headlight housing. I'll look around and see if I can find a direct fit one. Otherwise I might end up just replacing the headlight/housing with something that is more readily available.

There are a ton of inexpensive aftermarket headlights on E-bay, but you need to find one you can stuff wires in, or rewire it externally.

I'm adding an H4 unit from E-bay for around $20 shipped, but my wiring is all going to be on me, and none stuffed inside the headlight.

Jim

 

[Sesty]

careful with the Chinese stuff... buddy bought one off ebay, Wired it bolted it on... and it started smoking out the case within a few minutes.

 

[Johnny3D]

Not sure where the Candlepower ones are made, but they're sold out of Maryland. Kenny, the guy I talked with, seemed pretty cool about me returning it if I had an issue with it.

Right now my plan is to buy the Candlepower reflector + the 65/50W bulb and then replace the brake lights with a couple of LED lights to reduce any strain on the electrical system that the brighter bulb in the headlight might make.

 

[JimVonBaden]

careful with the Chinese stuff... buddy bought one off ebay, Wired it bolted it on... and it started smoking out the case within a few minutes.

Unfortunately Chinese is about all you can get in a price that isn't too high for the bike. I can get a $20 one from China, shipped, or pay well past $100 for one made who knows where. Very little is actually made in the USA anymore. Most of my Chinese made stuff performed decently enough that I don't mind the few failures.

We shall see when mine comes in.

 

[XSLeo]

One thing, make sure all the connections in your headlight wiring is in tip top shape. The extra draw of the higher wattage bulbs will find any weak spots.
The on/off switch and dimmer switch are biggies, they get corroded.
Leo