how to survive the kamikaze headlight switch?

[gr333nyboy]

it seems to me to be ridiculously easy to turn my lights off accidentally when
just trying to dip headlights on my gs750, anyone have any tips or modifications to help avoid my lights going out permanently?


thanks

[tkent02]

Take the switch apart and clean the contacts. Might need a better spring in there too.

[Agemax]

wedge something in the slot, to stop the button from sliding up and down

[Crankthat]

Rewire to a aux switch with a different placement on the bike.
Under the fuel tank where you will not accidentally trip but still easy access would be my placement.
Would suggest you make sure light is on before you ride.
Something I do even knowing the light in switched to on position.

[850 Combat]

Maybe a 1980 switch pod.

[tkent02]

The 1980 doesn't have the on/off switch. It's the dimmer that isn't working. Fix the switch, it's easy.

[gr333nyboy]

ok thanks, yes if i could just stiffen it up a bit with a new spring that would be a start...

[tkent02]

They worked perfectly for thirty years or more, most still do. Take it apart and see what's wrong. Easy stuff.

[gr333nyboy]

thanks, obvious but i dont know this stuff being what mr persig would call a 'romantic' rather than a 'classicist'. actually theres a disappointingly small amount of actual motorcycle maintenance in 'zen and the art' but i do now know more than i want to about about a fictional philospher called phaedrus.

[Charlie G]

If you do by chance take the switch apart to clean the contacts, do so while holding the unit within a large clear plastic bag, as there a few springs and ball bearings that are trying to escape their imprisonment. Not hard but will test your patience. Shiny metal contacts and a bit of dialectic grease to keep them that way works wonders. Hidden somewhere in the GSR threads are some accounts of switch clean ups. Good luck.

cg

[gr333nyboy]

thanks charlie g, its ALOT better now (though i had to sweep the entire garage to find the microscopic screw keeping it all together when i inevitably dropped it) also i altered the position on the bar of whole switch assembly, so the horn is higher and the on/off switch is pretty much out of accidental reach. this might just have saved my life...

[Mekanix]

Disconnect the switch and wire the lights direct so they are always powered.
Then use that switch for turning on accessories like heated grips

[koolaid_kid]

If you do by chance take the switch apart to clean the contacts, do so while holding the unit within a large clear plastic bag, as there a few springs and ball bearings that are trying to escape their imprisonment. Not hard but will test your patience. Shiny metal contacts and a bit of dialectic grease to keep them that way works wonders. Hidden somewhere in the GSR threads are some accounts of switch clean ups. Good luck.

cg

I find gallon ziplock bags work the best for taking these things apart. Otherwise, things you care about, especially the spring(s), go sleep with the sock you lost out of the dryer.

[Grimly]

thanks charlie g, its ALOT better now (though i had to sweep the entire garage to find the microscopic screw keeping it all together when i inevitably dropped it) also i altered the position on the bar of whole switch assembly, so the horn is higher and the on/off switch is pretty much out of accidental reach. this might just have saved my life...

Yep, the light switch on the '79 bars is a totally crap design. More than once I've plunged myself into darkness when the end of my gloved thumb killed the lights entirely. What an utterly marvellous concept that was.
I always meant to replace the switchgear on that bike with something decent from Yamaha.