The re5M headlight... is there an alternative?

[nairb]

I finally got around to checking the sealed beam unit on my re5m (UK) model.  And to my surprise both dip/main work.  Thats a first on a 40 year old bike thats stood for years.  Now I would like to swap it for a halogen unit or a unit that the bulb can be changed.  Somewhat naively I thought the one from my suzuki gt750L or even gt550 would fit.  That must have been be too simple for suzuki to do.... use an headlamp from an existing model (gt750M).

So, I dont want to cut up the working sealed unit yet to fit a suitable bulb.  Has anybody found a 7" headlamp that will fit to the re5M headlight rim.   The unit thats in there at the moment is a Stanley 001-1014 with the 2 adjusting bolts.

Ta
Nairb

[pmcburney]

Hella (Australian company, but I'm certain there's others similar around the world) manufacture a H4 insert that fits perfectly in the Suzuki headlight surround and bucket.


It makes for a much improved headlight overall as well as the reflector, lens and the H4 bulb are all vastly superior to the OEM sealed-beam unit.

[raychappo]

When the sealed beam in my RE failed, as a quick fix, I removed the connector at the back along with the filament and bodged a h4 in the hole. I was going to mill the back of the reflector to the correct size so a h4 would fit properly but I never got round to it as I managed to get a headlamp with a removable bulb that was for another countries market. Also, someone once told me a headlight from a Z900 fits but I've never tried.

[kanonkopdrinker]

I have a Cibié unit in mine. Much better than the o.e. candle.

David

[re5rotary]

My M headlight had all the bracketry glued or attached to the actual lamp unit, maybe other countries had different light units? but I know it wasn't a simple task to graft a normal H4 lamp into it! regards terry

[raychappo]

Other countries had removable bulb headlights (not halogen) on the M model, I replaced my sealed beam unit with one I purchased from Jess

[Jess]

Years ago, I bought a case of european headlamps for the M. Suzuki made them for the european market. I think it was 20-25 units.

As Ray said, It was a removable bulb and not a halogen. It also had a pilot lamp for daytime running light. They were a very nice unit. I sold a few over the years and used them on my project bikes.

The biggest problem was sourcing the specific lamp for the darn things. It took me a while, but once I had the number, I found a suitable replacement.

Best,

[raychappo]

I've managed to get lamps pretty easy over here from ebay. One of these days I'll modify my sealed beam to allow a H4 to be fitted.

[nairb]

Thanks for the inputs, I finally sat down and looked into the different re5M headlamps. And YES it would seem that the European's did get a different headlamp. Except us UK types. But it seems that France/Sweden/Switzerland/Germany/Australia/Netherlands/Austria all had the up market version of the headlamp. Why did suzuki go to so much trouble when they already had the gt550/gt750 headlight.

But anyway the situation is not so desperate. I do have a working re5M headlight. I will keep this as is. I was expecting to make it suitable for holding a P45T or halogen bulb.

I have tried most of the headlights from my other 8 bikes but non really fit. So I have a plan to go to one of the UK's biggest bike breakers and see if a z900/650 or any other make/model can be fitted either with the existing re5m headlight rim or a complete rim/headlight from some other make.

The original re5m rim etc looks like a cheap quick fix compared to the other bikes suzuki were making at the time.
Like most other things with this re5.... a simple task is becoming a major investigation.

[timpa136]

Dec 11, 2016 21:47:57 GMT -5 nairb said:

  Somewhat naively I thought the one from my suzuki gt750L or even gt550 would fit.  That must have been be too simple for suzuki to do.... use an headlamp from an existing model (gt750M).

So, I dont want to cut up the working sealed unit yet to fit a suitable bulb.  Has anybody found a 7" headlamp that will fit to the re5M headlight rim.   The unit thats in there at the moment is a Stanley 001-1014 with the 2 adjusting bolts.

Ta
Nairb

I seem to remember they did indeed use an existing model, a TS-185. A yellow candle .

Tim

[mike500]

the uk kawasaki z900 headlamp is marked Stanley 001-1014 so should be able to graft it int the re5m fittings