Headlight Shell XS850 -> XS650

[Wagner73]

Mr @5twins I realize most of these postings are quite dated, but you had posted at one time that you were adapting an XS850 headlight shell to an XS650 for the extra room and depth.

I would like to go down this track too and would really appreciate all info and advice you could give from your conversion. Again, I realize this was 4 or 5 years ago, so if it's in the dust, I would understand that as well. Cheers

Just let me know! Thanks!

 

[Wagner73]

Ok, I have heard from @5twins that he looked at this briefly with a eye to installing on his Special, but never did.

So I will investigate further and will eventually report back here with what I find in looking to install it on a 78E.

 

[Wagner73]

Ok, I can confirm that the XS850 shell definitely fits physically into the recess and between mounting ears on my 78E. Doesn't bottom against the steering head or instruments and uses the same mounting hardware.

When I have both shells in front of me, I will verify the measurement from the mounting points to the front of the shell. I'm thinking the 850 shell's mounting points will be a bit further away from the front.

Off to paint, more info to follow. Seems like the only thing to work on now will be the vertical stay, as the stock configuration won't work.

 

[5twins]

One thing I did discover is the left/right adjuster (long screw and spring) differs on the 850 bucket (angled in more). I don't think the straighter 650 one will work (fit).

 

[Wagner73]

Hmmm. I'll have to look out for that.

I was assuming - and based on all the lore I had read so far - that the chrome ring and related "front" mounting hardware were all essentially the same and created a subassembly that dropped into every shell i.e mounted to the shells in an identical way, etc.

If I understand what you are saying, the 650's long screw & spring with nylon 'nut' will hit the inside of the shell because it's not angled in enough?

EDIT - And, unfortunately for me, you are correct. I test fit the front assy in the 850 shell and sure enough it contacted the inside of the shell just enough to prevent it from closing. So, two possibilities: 1) Tweak the existing adjustment arm, as the interference seems small, or; 2) Convert to the XS850 mechanism...the chrome ring is the same p/n, it's just the internal bits that differ.

 

[Wagner73]

Here's the parts breakdown/differences:

XS650
341-84315-40-00 Bezel
447-84395-60-00 Retaining Ring
447-84394-69-00 Mounting Ring
447-84331-61-00 Screw
447-84332-60-00 Spring
198-84334-60-00 Nut

XS850
341-84315-40-00 Bezel
2F9-84395-00-00 Retaining Ring
2F9-84394-00-00 Mounting Ring
98580-04055-00 Screw
341-84332-60-00 Spring
198-84334-60-00 Nut

So, round up a few little parts and should be good to go.

 

[Wagner73]

Here is a comparison of the two mounting rings, XS650 on the left side and XS850 on the right. They are indeed measurably different. The retaining ring is also different, the 850's is a little deeper and the ID's are different, ~181 mm for the 850 and ~185 mm for the 650 to accommodate the rubber ring that the 850 doesn't use. The screw-spring horizontal adjustment assy is naturally shorter in the 850 as well.

Editorial comment: the 650's right-left pivot assemblies are much more elegant (and robust) in my opinion, as the 650 has the conical rubber washers, etc, and 850 has a simple metal-on-metal connection with a screw, lock washer and nut.

Edit: The final key to using this headlight shell is going to be the vertical adjustment bracket, as on the XS750, 850, 1100 Specials, the bracket on the shell is left of center, while the XS650's is on the right. I found an XS850 bracket hoping it might work, but the lower triple clamp boss on those (and the 11 Specials) for the attachment seems to orient the bolt vertically, while the XS650 orientation is horizontal in the front face of the triple clamp. So, perhaps either a custom bracket or a modified XS650 bracket.

 

[Wagner73]

So here is the XS850 shell painted and installed. Fits fine, no interference, and mounting ear / turn signal hardware fits perfectly.

Obviously, the wiring rat's nest is in place but not terminated. Right now there are seven (7) harnesses coming thru the top hole, one main harness on the left bottom and the second main harness on the right bottom.

One thing I didn't expect, based on some nice headlight wiring illustrations posted by @650Skull in another thread, was that I found I had to route (or at least it was far easier to route) the right bar switch harness thru the lower, right side hole rather than thru the single top. Admittedly the latest model illustration that was posted was a 650C and this is an E which might account for the total of 8 smaller harnesses in addition to the two main harnesses (?).

Once it is all buttoned up, I will figure out the vertical adjust bracket, since it is moved to the left on this headlight shell, as opposed to the right on the XS650 shell.

 

[Wagner73]

So here it is wired -up and squashed in there with a Candlepower H4 lens and H4 LED bulb... we shall see...

 

[5twins]

So, is this worth doing? Is there more room for the wiring?

Yes, that top hole is quite crowded, lol. I move both handlebar switch looms to the bottom holes.

 

[5twins]

You may also want to install what I call my "harness sling". Over time, and from turning the bars back and forth, those two main harness looms tend to sag and work their way out of the headlight bucket. What is needed is a way to hold them up and support them, and this "harness sling" does just that .......

Details are here ,,,,,,

https://www.xs650.com/threads/harness-sling.62804/

 

[Wagner73]

I like that and will be happy to use it, as I already don't like the "saginess" of the harnesses!

There is substantially more room, getting the bucket closed is not much of a chore. So I would say it is worth doing, especially if you convert to a slightly deeper H4 assy and/or LED.

All it takes is the bucket, the two internal rings, and the different adjuster hardware. Most easy to score on eBay. I also think the 11 Specials with the round headlight use this same hardware. Edit - I have confirmed via Partzilla that the 11 Specials do use the same internal hardware. Headlight bucket may be the same too.

Cobbled up a vertical stay arrangement as shown, using the XS650 bracket and spacers. Not completely happy with it and may change it on down the road. With your fab skills, whacking out the perfect bracket would be easy.

 

[Wagner73]

You may also want to install what I call my "harness sling".

https://www.xs650.com/threads/harness-sling.62804/

And so I did just that, worked beautifully. And thank goodness for Harbor Freight and their $5 cornucopia of grommets! Thanks for the tip!

 

[5twins]

Yes, a much needed little mod in my opinion. And it's cheap and easy too, lol.

 

[Wagner73]

Cobbled up a vertical stay arrangement as shown, using the XS650 bracket and spacers. Not completely happy with it and may change it on down the road. With your fab skills, whacking out the perfect bracket would be easy.

Okay, so the cobbled-up, half-assed stock XS650 bracket-with-spacers was buggin' me.

Fortunately, in my box-o-XS650 hardware/stuff that I bought off EB with @5twins encouragement (thanks!), there was an XS650 bracket that, while not exactly like mine, was spacially the same i.e. the bends in mine were more elegant, but the holes would end up in the same places. So kept mine for future use and with a little bending, cutting, drilling & painting modified the orphan bracket to work pretty much perfectly with the XS850 headlight bracket location, including the original XS650 rubber pieces. See pic. Happy with this version!