'80 GS450 left hand control housing

[Trevor76]

Okay guys, I need to replace the left hand control housing on my 1980 GS450 ET. Problem is the units I see listed on Ebay don't look right to me. For one, the electrical connector should be a white 12 pin if I'm not mistaken, but most that I see on Ebay have a blue or green connector that looks to be a 5 or 6 pin.

Also, shouldn't the housing have a choke switch and cable?

Thanks for any insight.

[pete]

The stock left control for an '80 doesn't have a choke.

'80 - '82 are the same and I specifically went to a new GSXR control to get a choke lever and I made up a bracket to hang off the left carb and attach to the choke actuator.

All that's on the stock one is the indicators/high beam switch and the horn button.

I have my old stock one here but I cut the connector off and used it for the GSXR one so I didn't have to modify the harness.

I'll have to try to look tonight at the connector to jog my memory on that, but I don't think it was white...

[Trevor76]

Pete, I'm just assuming it's a white twelve pin 'cause that's all I have left open on my wiring harness, everything else is accounted for.

I can live without a choke on my handlebars, I've gotten pretty adept at reaching down and switching it off in traffic thanks to my other bike.

Thanks.

[pete]

I hate reaching down for the choke so I made the bracket and moved it

This is the old one:



The plug is a blue 9 pin (bottom of first pic) and it also has blue/white and yellow/white separate wires to bullet connectors:

[Trevor76]

Hmmm....I'll have to take another look at my harness and see where that would plug in. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

[pete]

Don't forget mine's an '82, so there may be minor differences, and I think 3 or 4 pins of the 9 pin connector are unused now that I think about it...

[Trevor76]

'Kay, so here's the connector from the main wiring harness...





...And the Ebay switch that has what looks like the appropriate connection. I would venture to guess that this is an example of small differences in model years as you suggest. I'm sure that another switch could be modded to fit, much like you did with your gixxer switch, but that's the sort of thing I'm trying to avoid...

So I think I'll go ahead and buy this switch!

[pete]

Wow ok that's completely different altogether, but it does seem to match the eBay one although it's a little hard to tell from that angle.

[Leftie]

I have a similar question. The switch cluster obviously changed over the years, as they replaced the headlight on-off switch first with a locked one then eliminated it, to make it US-spec. My '82 450T has no on-off switch. I just ordered an '80 unit from Ebay that has the switch for the light. It appears to use the same connector as mine. So, two questions: how hard is it to get at the connector, which looks to be inside the headlight housing, and will the wiring harness on an '82 allow me to restore the on-off function (to save the headlight from starting power surges) or will the switch be dead?

[tom203]

On my 650 the left switch connector is found when you remove fuel tank- yours might be similar. If the 80 unit has same plug, you'll probably get the on/off action you seem to want.
as to this "starting power surges" stuff, be warned that these bikes have charging system issues that need addressing. Lots of info about this on forum, try a simple quick test as in this this link and report all your six results

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?164993-Charging-System-QUICK-TEST/page2&p=1272192#post1272192

Put your bike/model/year in your signature

[Leftie]

RE Charging System

On my 650 the left switch connector is found when you remove fuel tank- yours might be similar. If the 80 unit has same plug, you'll probably get the on/off action you seem to want.
as to this "starting power surges" stuff, be warned that these bikes have charging system issues that need addressing. Lots of info about this on forum, try a simple quick test as in this this link and report all your six results

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?164993-Charging-System-QUICK-TEST/page2&p=1272192#post1272192

Put your bike/model/year in your signature

Thanks. I know about the charging system. I'm gentle with my bike, so it tends to under-charge the battery - happily - instead of over-charging. I use a battery maintainer to compensate. As or the light control cable, I swear it enters the headlight housing on my '82. Does it pass through and go under the tank...?

[Cassius086]

If all else fails (and you're willing to spend ~125.00), the OEM part is still available:

http://www.mrcycles.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3f06ef8700230d8b4b88a/left-handle-switch-gs450et

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3f06ef8700230d8b4b88a/left-handle-switch-gs450et

[tom203]

My left switch wiring goes straight under tank- though clutch safety switch wires go into headlight bucket.
A 12 volt battery needs to be recharged at at a minimum of 13.2 volts by the bike's charging system. Using a maintainer is a band-aid and a signal that something needs attention. A properly charged decent battery can go weeks of idleness if all is well

[Leftie]

My left switch wiring goes straight under tank- though clutch safety switch wires go into headlight bucket.
A 12 volt battery needs to be recharged at at a minimum of 13.2 volts by the bike's charging system. Using a maintainer is a band-aid and a signal that something needs attention. A properly charged decent battery can go weeks of idleness if all is well

The battery will go for weeks, but it always stays below full. I'm aware of the problem, but I only ride a a few times a year, and can't afford a charging system overhaul. The maintainer works great for my circumstances. A previous owner replaced the battery wiring ,at least. This year I'll be spending money to get the rear brake shoes replaced - they started to shriek as soon as I tightened the chain. ;-(

[tom203]

It's your choice, but what would you do if charging system failed on one of those rides one hour from home base? Once you have no charging output, you have less than an hour of ride. Are you new to this riding stuff?