GS850G Headlight bucket assembly replacement

[Guest]

I have an '80 850G with a Califia fairing. I'd like to remove the fairing and try a plexifairing in its place. I've taken apart the Califia, and find that the majority of innards are proprietary in nature and won't
transplant into the factory headlight bucket, which thankfully they left on the bike. It also uses a sealed bean, which I'd prefer to upgrade. I've searched for a used 850 or 1000 assembly to no avail. So....anyone found a suitable aftermarket headlight assembly, or have a decent Suzuki assembly for sale?

[OldVet66]

Candlepower in Rockville, Md. has an excellent H4 reflector. I am not sure where to get the ring assembly but I believe they are the same as on the GS1000. Some members may have spares. I'll dig around and see If I have one. If not I'll call a friend up in Unison, Va. near you, He has a basement full of GS bikes and parts. http://store.candlepower.com/ca53mohe.html

[motogeezer]

Thanks OldVet. I checked the Candlepower site. Looks like the 7" lenses are not available for a while. Any lead would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help on this.

[Buffalo Bill]

Have a look at all the GS headlights on ebay, they seem to come in 2 designs: 2 holes arranged vertically or horizontally. Pretty much universal fit between engine size and year.

[Grimly]

I can recommend the Koito 7" headlamp, which was fitted to Mitsubishi Shogun and Pajero - and likely many others at the time.
It's one of the best 7" round units I've ever used, - right up there with Cibie (possibly a Cibie copy, but Koito had their own designers and computers), but at a fraction of the cost, especially used.

[hannibal]

My bike came with a cracked OEM housing and a sealed beam lamp. I replaced the housing with an EMGO unit (part # 66-65010) from Amazon (about $35) and a Candlepower H4 headlight (part # 702212) from Dennis Kirk (only 2 in stock by the way). The housing fit the bike using OEM bolts and the headlight fit the housing. I can now ride after dark!

[Dogma]

GS round headlights seemed to come in 6, 7, or 8" sizes. Within models that use the same size, the headlight assembly should interchange. Be careful mixing and matching components of the assembly, though. My 1000G is wearing a '77 750 headlight assembly (I think), but I found out the hard way that parts from the 1000G parts diagram wouldn't fit that assembly (trim ring, etc.). But any complete 7" assembly should fit the 850G. I think the 850GL were all 6", with chrome buckets.

Edit: Wow. Those new reflectors aren't cheap. Comparison shopping with a Truck-Lite LED might reveal an upgrade you're willing to pay for.

[Steve]

I have not seen the prices on the 'new reflectors', but I will definitely confirm that the TruckLite unit is worth the price, just forget the comparison.

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