Soupdragon1957 wrote:
I thought I’d write this short
article to show how to convert your pathetic original H or S series headlamp
unit to a brighter 60w / 55w H4 halogen bulb.
First off you’ll need a replacement reflector assembly, I got mine from Motovan,
part number 04-607, this is a 5 ¾ inch unit that is just a little too small to
be a direct replacement for the OE sealed beam but it works well.
Prior to removing the original sealed beam from the headlamp shell & chrome
bezel, use a marker pen to mark the 12 O' clock position on the steel part of
the reflector, you may need to mark it on the glass first & then continue the
line onto the steel part once removed from the headlamp bucket. Next you will
put the sealed beam unit in a plastic shopping bag & drop it glass down onto a
concrete floor. (My favourite part, don’t drop the Motovan unit by mistake,
LOL).
Carefully remove the broken glass & chuck it away.
Next remove the sealed in bulb assembly, using a marker I drew a 2” ring around
the back of the bulb & using your favourite method, I used my C.T. Dremel knock
off with a small cut off wheel. Make sure you remove any sharp edges.
You should now have something that looks similar to this.
Carefully remove the rubber seal & put it back in the other way round, this
provides a nice beveled edge the help centre the replacement unit.
Using your marker pen draw a line at the 12 O’ clock position on glass of the
replacement Motovan unit, (it is already labeled “top”, but I like to be sure).
Flip the Motovan unit glass side down on a soft surface & using a screwdriver or
similar tool, carefully bend in the 3 tangs flush with the back of the
reflector. Remove the rubber bulb seal & retaining clip & cover the hole with
tape to keep dirt & bugs out. Test fit it into the modified original reflector
housing to make sure it seats correctly.
Re-assemble the original reflector back into the chrome bezel & install back
into the bucket, this helps to ensure you get the alignment correct.
Grab a tube of your favourite silicone caulking (not acrylic) & liberally coat
the inside of the reflector & the back of the Motovan unit. Align the two & push
together, twisting back & forth to help spread the silicone. Make sure that the
Motovan unit is centered & that the 12 O’ clock marks are aligned.
Use masking tape to hold it all together while the Silicone caulking sets up
overnight.
When you remove the tape you will see a 1/8 – 3/16 gap between the outer
diameter of the Motovan unit & the original reflector.
You can leave it here if you wish but I wanted to hide it so I decided to try &
bling it up a bit.
I bought a length of 5/32 diameter fibre optic side glow cable off the web, this
stuff emits light out of the sides unlike regular fibre optic cable.
The trick is finding a way to attach it to the headlamp unit without looking too
messy. I originally tried to glue it with clear silicone but the
silicone would not adhere to the tubing. With a bit of thought I came up with
the following method, you may have better ideas though..
Basically, I drilled a series or 1/16 diameter holes around the circumference of
the original reflector unit, see pics, be careful where you drill! Next using
my “Dremel” I cut an angled channel for the fibre optic cable to sit in. If you
just want to fill in the gap & not light the cable you won’t need to do this.
Using fishing line I then laced the side glow tubing around the bezel, I also
used 5 min epoxy to glue everything down to make sure it stays in place, see
pics. Use masking tape to hold the cable in place while you are lacing it up.
When you get back to the beginning you will have the cut the side glow cable at
an angle to seat correctly. I also “painted” the end with a black permanent
marker to prevent light shining out of the end & creating a bright spot.
Again, using epoxy I glued down the cable to the back of the reflector. I used a
high intensity blue LED but you can use whatever colour
you like as long as it’s legal I suppose. I attached it to the end of the fibre
optic cable with black shrink tubing, wire it into the circuit of your choice.
Finally, attach your original headlamp wires to the connector plug supplied with
the Motovan unit,
Green (Ground) goes to original black / yellow.
White (Low Beam) goes to original red / black.
Blue (High Beam) goes to original red / yellow.
Install the H4 bulb of your choice, install the rubber boot, & install back into
the headlamp bucket. You may have to re-arrange the looms a bit to make room for
the boot / bulb assembly.
One more thing, if you are contemplating doing this conversion I strongly
recommend that you convert all of the other bulbs on the bike to LED types. You
will also need to install an electronic flasher unit also. Superbright LEDs .com
has all you need. You will also need to install diodes into the flasher circuit
to stop all 4 flashers blinking at the same time. This is because the idiot
panel bulb is wired common to both sides of the flasher circuit. The alternative
is to not install the idiot panel bulb..
SoupD.