Sv650's, Bandit's, Honda 919's all have clear lens, modern style headlights where
you can see the reflector and bulb on inside. This modification updates the look of the gs500 and is fairly easy to do (drill
one hole and it's a direct bolt in).
1) Remove sv650 headlight lens from chrome trim bezel (two screws at top and bottom), including removing
the horizontal adjustment screw and set aside.
2) Set up your work area so you have a wall perpendicular to front of GS. With headlight on mark
with tape or marker on the wall where the beam of light cuts off and any other markings you feel necessary to adjust headlight
when reinstalled.
3) Remove gs headlight from bucket by removing 2 phillips head screws at 4 and 8 o'clock (looking at
headlight). Remove headlight lens from chrome trim bezel by removing two nuts/bolts at top and bottom, including horizontal
adjustment screw and set aside.
4) Install sv650 headlight lens into gs trim bezel. The fit is slightly looser than gs lens so
make sure you center the headlight lens between two mounting points. Do not tighten down just yet.
5) Install the horizontal adjustment screw from back side to mark location on trim bezel with a marker
(looking at headlight the gs has adjustment on right and sv on left-see picture above).
6) Use a centerpunch to mark the location properly for drilling. Drill using a smaller bit first and
work up to a hole just big enough to allow screw to fit. Clean up hole and touch up with clear nail polish or otherwise protect
it from rusting.
7) Install horizontal adjusting screw and for now eyeball the lens to get it centered horizontally.
Tighten the top and bottom mounting screws now and readjust horizontally again by eyeballing it.
8) Install headlight assembly in gs bucket. Be careful to move around some of the wiring to get it to
fit. The sv650 lens is a little deeper and really takes up lots more room in the headlight bucket than the gs stock assembly.
Wil take a few minutes of working it through but it will fit. It is a bit of a tight fit though.
9) Turn headlight on (ignition ON) and check the horizontal adjustment against the markings you made
on the wall. Adjust as necessary.
I considered using the entire sv650 headlight assembly with bucket but the vertical adjustment bolt
and bracket on left rear of headlight bucket is vastly different and I considered it too much work to accomplish. Also, the
sv650 trim bezel is drastically different from the gs bezel so you can't just swap them. In fact, you can't use the sv bezel
at all on the gs.
SV650 headlights are available on ebay or through the www.svrider.com classifieds and usually sell for $30+. This is not hard to find since this is a common thing removed when converting the
bikes to race-only bikes ("race take-offs"). I assume Bandit headlight lenses are the same but these aren't taken off
as often as sv ones are.
Took about 45 minutes working efficiently but not fast.
