Motorcycle Aftermarket LED Headlight Install - GSF600 Bandit 

Parker, thanks for the kind words. I get so much useful help and advice from other people that upload videos to youtube that I figured I might as well try to contribute. Nobody needs to see 13 minutes of some drunk fitting an aftermarket LED headlight if the finished product isn't any good, so why waste peoples' time? hah I definitely am gaining a serious appreciation for the channels that know how to do "How-To" videos well. I'm glad you mentioned that though about the intro. Nobody has said anything about that before, so I'm glad it was received well. Cheers man.

Thanks man, I appreciate the feedback. Good luck on the install.

Glad it was helpful to you! Good luck with whichever direction you go with it.

@@matttriestodothings I can’t seem to get the turn signals to work. My hazards flash white for left turn and amber for right turn. Any idea why the single left turn blinker or right turn blinker isn’t flashing? Again when I signal to the left or right the hazards flash instead

Good deal. It definitely had me stumped for a while. Turns out there is actually a picture on the amazon listing that labels it as daytime running lights... oh well.

I'll give that a shot next time. I'm sure I'll have some more electrical connections to booger up this winter, lol. Thank you for the advice man.

Good luck getting it all wired up Mark.

Hi, I’ve bought the sane light I think. Did you have blue, green and red spade cables on the headlights? And could you tell me what they are?

@@davelee88 I sold the bike to a friend last year, so unfortunately I can't go check. All I've got is what you see in the video and these images: i.imgur.com/MM8vG64.jpg i.imgur.com/8D5cfYh.jpg i.imgur.com/hgyegNR.jpg

I think you're right, I should probably set aside some time to practice some joins and understand how tip selection, temperature, solder gauge, etc. actually affect the process. Ironically, it never really occurred to me that I can probably find some great videos on RU-vid on that exact subject. Hah, my comparison at the end was a little dumb in a vacuum--but it actually helped me out with a couple things. I realized that I need to point my headlights *up* more. I usually keep them lower for fear of blinding oncoming drivers, but I had that LED wayyyy too low on the Bandit. I also saw just how much brighter and defined a purpose built LED bulb like the one I put on the Bandit is compared to a bulb swap into OEM housing like on my FZR. I also didn't realize my GoPro was picking up so much music volume. When I watched immediate playback on the GoPro, I didn't hear it. But watching on computer... oops. Live and Learn. I'll make sure I completely kill the volume instead of leaving it at 10% next time. Thanks again for the feedback and encouragement, Scott!

The primary light itself has continued to work fine. The issue I've had on both units is that the left hand halo and turn signal units gave out and stopped working. The first unit I saw a physical snap and the halo bottom piece jiggling which caused a rattle. The replacement unit had the same halo/turn signal section stop working, but I can't see a physical break. I'm guessing it's just a bad connection/solder point internally, but I'm not sure if I'm going to bother opening it up to find it. Even if I did--not sure I know how to fix it. The most recent failure happened 750 miles into a trip when my buddy was riding it.

I bought a set of Knipex 10" pliers for each of my engineering colleagues for Xmas this past year! Still getting used to them as it's sort of a change of thought in how to use them. I'll get there. I really, really like the needle noses though. I need to pick up a couple different sizes. Believe it or not... I learned about you guys because my dad takes me perch fishing every year. And I was always using a shitty pliers to try to extract hooks. And it ruined my trip injuring fish trying to extract hooks. So I researched what the best needle nose pliers you could buy were, and you guys were a top contender. I friggen love the needle nose.

Thanks man. I'm guilty myself of making long-winded stupid videos in the past, so now I just mark those as informal. For how-to's, I'd rather be to the point. Even if this isn't really right to the point since I was learning as I was going. That being said, I'm kinda pissed off at this light. One half of the halo running lights has broken on both lights I've installed. They're lasting like 750 miles. The headlight itself works fine, it just looks stupid when sitting at a standstill with the light on now. I guess you get what you pay for.

@@matttriestodothings oh that sucks. Maybe a bad batch but it must’ve been fun while it lasted. Looking forward to doing this as soon as I get my bike

@@eytanvb exciting, good luck with the bike man! What bike are you going with?

@@matttriestodothings it’s an Archive Scrambler AM64. A 125cc as a first bike, French brand

@@eytanvb I hadn't heard of those before. That's a handsome motorcycle! Hope it brings you many miles of smiles (well, kilometers I suppose 😅).

Good deal. And that little flicker from the opposite turn signal is just to keep drivers on their toes :-P

Shit, I missed this comment and never responded. Sorry man. That's a great question. I didn't originally do the fairing to naked conversion, so I'm not positive. I realize this is 3 months late, but if there's something you want me to take a picture of, let me know. Just snapped a few photos and I'm not seeing that part that you mentioned. i.imgur.com/B6cVHoa.jpg i.imgur.com/4PKCPLd.jpg i.imgur.com/CWzN26U.jpg Again, my apologies on missing this.

@@matttriestodothings Thank you for getting back to me and for the pictures! I figured out another way in the mean time, but it is not as solid as I would like it to be. Next time I am back in the garage I will use your pictures to figure out if that would be a better solution. BTW: I had the exact same issue with the (left) indicator/halo burning out after roughly 2000 miles. Just replaced the headlight unit for a slightly more expensive one, hoping for the best. If I find a solution to the issue, I will let you know.

@@lugaNL Which headlight did you end up going with? I've pretty much just accepted that the halo is going to be broken on that side. The headlight and hi-beams work--it just looks kind of dumb now.

"I'd troubleshoot it. Is there gas in the car? Is the battery charged? Beyond that, I have to get a real man to look at it". - ole Billy I get pretty close to throwing in the towel sometimes. Then I remember losing your shit is part of the process of putting something together according to Bill! Haha

How do u like it

I can't really recommend this one. I prefer yours. Mine has broken the left side daytime running light twice. I'm done replacing it, lol. Not buying a third.

@@matttriestodothings 😆 so I'm right in not changing it. Im only changing my blinkers because one is broke.

@@EpicAdamMotovlogs Yea, I'd say unless you're having visibility issues, it's not a modification I'd recommend. It was cool for the ~700 miles on each headlight before the daytime running light broke. Then it was annoying. Heated grips would be really nice though!

Good luck, and thanks for the feedback! I noticed on of the plastic bits-the white translucent deflector shield things-on mine was cracked and is the source of a rattle... Grrr... But the light looks sweet, hah.

Green Bandit sounds fun though! I think you've found the most active Bandit forum that I'm aware of--as I just noticed your thread there looking for 43mm ears. I just did a quick peak around, and I'm not seeing anything. That sucks because the ones I put on work quite well and were inexpensive. The all purpose generic ones that come with the unit are just a source of frustration. Hope you're able to find something suitable. Congrats on the new bike. The 600 is plenty plenty bike for me, so I can only imagine the 1200.

@@matttriestodothings Ya the 1200 was Quite surprising in power! Especially being 100% stock "still". Ya all I keep finding are Black ones & the amount of Chrome up front... black just doesnt mesh well to my eyes. Buying a ton of things tomorrow, so I better get searching! Blinkers like yours too but someone said they are too flimsy or something (looking up too much shit!!) haha Going to probably just start a main project thread on the forum too, just to cover everything im doing & to refrain from multiple & multiple threads haha

I'm not sure it mattered that the daytime lights were connected. I could hear something was physically broken in the headlight assembly on the side that failed both times I had failures. I can't say for certain though as I don't have it anymore. It's annoying because the primary headlamp portion of it works pretty well. Better than whatever it had on previously when I bought it.

Thanks for replying. Only have the plug in. I DO want independant running LED amber/yellows in the micro form independant of the head itself @@matttriestodothings

@@Sapioso I always lean towards better visibility on the streets is a good thing--so I'm with you.

This bike was originally an "S" version. It was converted by a shop in Madison, WI before I ever got it. They actually did a nice job with that--but I couldn't tell you exactly what they did. I wish I could tell you. These are the only images I took of it (while I still owned it) when someone asked to see some of the mounting. i.imgur.com/CWzN26U.jpg i.imgur.com/4PKCPLd.jpg i.imgur.com/B6cVHoa.jpg The Amazon LED light was "okay". The mounting ears that come with it are shit. The other ones I bought worked great. The issue with the light is that the left side halo light broke under 1000 miles of use. I replaced it with a new full bulb unit. That one broke somewhere about halfway into our last 1200 mile trip. The halo part on the left must break from vibration. The primary headlight itself continued working fine, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it based on my experience. I sold the bike to my buddy and I'm not sure if he's just going with the bulb with broken halo or if he replaced it again.

@@matttriestodothings thanks for the quick reply. I wasnt expecting much from the one I've seen considering the prices. Like you said vibrations tend to kill these LEDs. Your response pretty makes them a no go in my eyes. Thanks again, appreciate it.

Hopefully you've got better soldering technique than me!

I don't think that the relay would affect the opposite halo side blinking--that sounds more like a wiring issue. That being said my memory is hazy on the light and setup since I haven't owned it in a few years. Sorry I can't be of any help.

That.. that sounds like a good idea. I'd suppose that's similar to braising. I should really find a class to teach me how to weld and solder someday.

@@matttriestodothings yea u could find a class . Or just buy a cheap welder to strt with an teach ur self an ask questions that how I learned not a professional but I get it done lol

@@jacobwells106 I've got a cheap arc welder I bought from Harbor Freight probably... 6 or so years ago. Couldn't strike an arc (probably wrong rods), and it just kind of scares me. It's one of those things I'd like someone to actually teach me since I'm sure I could kill myself with it pretty quickly.

@@matttriestodothings yeai got the same lil welder probably 70 amp stick . U might have got the wrong rods they seem to only use the 3/16’s rods they r small . I stared with a mig first

I'm not certain what type of flasher relay the Kawasaki uses, but my initial search shows that it is a 2-pin. So you would need a different flasher relay than the 7-pin relay I used in this video.

My apologies in missing this. There were no instructions included in the box. However, I found a relevant picture is actually on the Amazon pictures that shows what every wire is. Found it after the fact, unfortunately.

You're going to make me rewatch the video and open up the headlight assembly to figure out wtf I did, aren't you? Looking at the wiring diagram again, black w/ white is going to be your ground since a bunch of components are grounded with that. Black is your left turn signal and green is your right turn signal on the Bandit. On the light, blue is your left turn signal, and gray is your right. If I'm comprehending and remembering this correctly, You'll need to add a splitter to the black/white-dots for each of the turn signal ground connections to accommodate the auxiliary turn signals. You'll definitely still need to ground each of the turn signals. Let me know if that made sense or if I should crack the thing back open and figure out what I did.

@@matttriestodothings Yes that made sense. Thanks for replying. I just wanted to make sure I was doing it right. I got the halo the high and low beams done and wow is it bright. It's a good light. Thanks again for the reply. I'll let you know if I have more questions but I think you answered it.

Which bike are you installing the light on? If you're switching to LED turn signals, you're definitely going to want the relay to fix the blink rate. In the description I linked the one I used. The 2002 bandit 600 has a 7pin, and it just plopped right in. The other question though.. That's a bit of a bugger. I'll give it a look next to a wiring diagram and see if I can figure out what might cause that. Sounds like the turn signals are just staying on. Definitely pickup a relay. I'm not sure that a relay meant for incandescent bulbs would introduce that error though. If I can find my old relay, I can pop it in and see how the behavior changes.

@@matttriestodothings its a retrofit to guzzi..the front blinkers were regular bulbs and the rears were led taillight/turn signals..upon changing the front 2 to leds I was expecting the flash rate to go faster hence needing to replace the relay however the steady on turn signal situation inside the headlight is a bit weird as well as the opposite side turn signal showing faint blinking when you're flashing the other side on the external led blinkers.. thanks for the quick reply and willing to help sorting this out

Do you have a link to a wiring diagram for the bike? I can try comparing it to how I setup the GSF600 and maybe that'll help track down the issue. I'd also definitely recommend a new relay regardless because that'd be a variable you could eliminate. Currently tracking down an issue on why my buddy's VF500F headlight just stopped working... even though all the other electronics are working fine. and if I power the light directly from the battery it works fine... and if I swap in a new fuse or even spare fuse panel it works fine... Fuck me I hate electrical issues. I'm not an electrically-minded person to begin with, gahhhhh.

Unfortunately I can't really answer that because I never had the OEM "N" round headlight on this bike. This was originally an "S" full fairing front which was later replaced by a previous owner with the cheap incandescent bulb that started melting itself from the inside out. You can absolutely remove the light from the bucket and mount it in another housing. I just don't know what type of adapters you either need to obtain and/or whip up yourself to make it work.

Love the look of the hornets. First, make sure you've got a color coded wiring diagram for your bike and also take a look at the wiring diagram for this headlight. I didn't realize there was an image of the diagram on Amazon so I was just guessing. Something I like to do, if you have a 12v battery sitting around, is to test out all the connections by using the battery and two wires. Once you know you've got all the terminals figured out and how they should work, then you'll need to locate the correct terminals on the bike's wiring. I wish I had a more succinct answer for you, but I'm not much of an electrical wiz. Mostly I just go by the wiring diagram and then trial and error.

Great question that I don't have a great answer for since I bought the bike after the front fairing had been replaced with a round headlight. I just went and snapped some pictures that may be more useful than me guessing though. imgur.com/a/u6wt5Ab

@@matttriestodothings Thanks! That helps out a lot actually. I think I need to dig up a new speedometer that comes with mounting.

Correct. The daytime running light turns off, and it flashes amber on that side only. There must be a controller that disables the white DRL in exchange for the flashing amber.

@@matttriestodothings thanks a lot for the quick response. much love from Canada.

@@leomykolenko4972 No problem man. Stay warm up there. I'm freezing my nuts off right now, and I'm only in Wisconsin! Good luck with the headlight.

Hmmm... Good question. Pretty sure I found a PDF download of it. Bandit.co.uk likely. Good luck with the sv650! I'm unpacking from taking mine to Road America for my second track day ever today. Jesus christ I love that twin. It's a fantastic engine. You'll enjoy it.

@@matttriestodothings So I got it "done", but I've got a couple wiring bugs to root out. I made a short video. Tell me what you think? Thanks again! This bike looks 1000x better! Stoked! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-31JFN4R8pIs.html

@@jmbillow hey did you ever get this figured out for your SV? Any advice?

@@patrickhiev8444 I got it sorted with the exception of the day time running lights. They don't light up. Everything else works fine - high beam, low beam, and turn signals.

btw--glad you got yours all figured out. Your setup beats this one for sure.

Hey mykey, heb je deze koplamp gekocht en uitbeindelijk goed kunnen aansluiten? Ik heb een bandit en wil deze ook ombouwen tot naked en deze lamp lijkt me een goede optie. Gr Ferry

@@ferrydejagher2033 ja! Uiteindelijk wel geld kost, zit een groot gat in dus niet waterdicht. Heb er een plaatje in laten lassen en silliconenkit op de printplaat gezet

@@01Michaell zo dan snelle reactie thanks! Oké ja dat gat is de uitgang voor de bekabeling toch? Goed dat je dat dicht hebt kunnen maken. En verder alles goed kunnen aansluiten? Knipperlichten etc? Ben je er verder tevreden over?

Thanks Hasse.

I was able to just pop it right in. I can't say for certain if that's the case with the 1200, but the description on the page says it does. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C0SQHIO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No, I don't have a headlight flicker. That may indicate a loose/faulty connection somewhere. I *do*, on the other hand, have a cracked piece of plastic inside of it (the outside translucent crescent pieces) that rattle and is annoying as shit though.

Turn signal relay. Under rear seat.

The new relay was simply for the led turn signals to flash at the correct rate. At the time I got it, it came with four tiny led turn signals that flashed excessively quick. I'm not sure if you would actually need the relay if you had stock incandescent turn signals in the rear, deleted front stock turn signals, and used the integrated led turn signals in the headlight.

@@matttriestodothings ah thanks! My headlight does not have blinkers, and I've already switched the relay for my led blinkers, so I should be good 😊

@@Njubish Good deal. Sounds like you should be ready to rock and roll!

Everything I installed is listed in the description.

So I'm not familiar with your bike, and my electrical skills are next to non-existent... However, I'm looking at the wiring diagram for an unknown year GS500. And I'm seeing something similar to my Bandit. Do you happen to have a non-used brown wire in the headlight bucket? That's what I needed to use for my daytime running lights. This would be on the same circuit as the rear tail lights (always on). You'd need to connect the brown wire on the bike to the brown wire on the headlight. i.imgur.com/Cutrasx.jpg i.imgur.com/OEoxa9n.jpg

Everything I purchased is listed in the description. Pretty sure it was all Amazon.

I didn't, somebody else did. To be honest I'm not even certain what stock looks like. Tell me what to take a picture of and I'll try. This is what I have on imgur from quick searching. imgur.com/a/ZiD6SD7

@@matttriestodothings Thanks it kinda looks like the original brackets from the fairing frame on the gauges thes some brackets mounting it to the frame on one of the existing mount holes on the head tube.

Good luck with the swap.

If I wasn't such an electrical noob I'd try to offer you some advice; unfortunately, trial and error with a color printout of the wiring diagram is the only way I'm able to get anything working. Sorry I'm late on this response--hope you got it resolved.

I’m having the same issue. Hazards flash when I want to turn left or right

Did any of you get this resolved? I have the same issue on my 1974 cb 550

Thanks man.

It's tough to give a quantative figure, but it wasn't nearly as packed as I expected it to be. Still tight (they always are), but you could have gotten a few more connections in there.

@@matttriestodothings awesome! I just ordered it as a replacement for my 82' cb650 headlamp as the old halogens are dated and the old chrome around it is rusted and pitted pretty bad

I don't see why not. The procedure isn't that hard, but anything electrical for the first time is going to take some patience. The good news is that that specific headlight is pretty popular now, and it's likely somebody has done a similar move on a K100. Find a nice color version of the wiring diagram for your bike before you start. And double check the images on the Amazon page--I didn't realize that there was a color-coded wiring diagram on there when I was shooting this video (doh!). Good luck!

So far, so good. It doesn't have too many miles on it yet--couple hundred. Got caught out in a storm and it worked fine, so that was encouraging. One of the front blinkers is flopping around a bit... you just reminded me I need to glue one of those in, so it doesn't spin.

Yea, if I'm not mistaken... The primary connection (no turn signals or daytime lights) worked as soon as I plugged in the three prong connector.

Thanks! If I may ask a follow up, the flasher relay was done before or after this? And would it play a factor in the led headlight change?

@@sxeric27 if I had to guess... It shouldn't affect a single thing with the headlight. Fuck it, gimme a second. I'll go pull it and see if it still works. **alright, if you pull the relay completely but have the 3-pin (and turn signals + daytime running lights) plugged in, the headlight will still work. The turn signals will not work at all, as expected. So, if you're plugging the 3pin in and nothing is happening... And the old headlight still works with the three prong plugged in... I'd worry that the unit has an issue. Again, I'm absolutely not an electrics guy, but those are my observations after having just gone and checked mine.

@@matttriestodothings Really appreciate your help and it looks like you went the extra mile for me. Thanks again, looks like I'm doing an exchange.

@@sxeric27 No worries. Hopefully helping to point you in the right direction since troubleshooting motorcycle (especially electrical) can be a serious headache. I think if your other headlight powers on with the 3-pin and the new LED one doesn't... it's probably defective. The other (3) cables are non-standard headlight cables--(2) turn signals, and one set of auxiliary daytime running lights. Not the standard low beams and high beam.

The mounting ears I used in this video would be too big. The Suzuki Bandit 600 has 41mm diameter forks, so 41mm mounting ears. I believe (you'll need to verify) that your bike has 33mm fork stanchions, so you would need 33mm mounting ears.

@@matttriestodothings I actually checked it and it's 41mm but thanks alot for the video more thing do u have a good Flasher Relay for the honda cb400sf

@@KaptinGamesReal Gotcha--I thought you were talking about a mid-1970s Honda CB400. I'm unfamiliar with your bike, so you'll need to figure out what type of flasher relay is currently on it. If it's simply a 2-pin, you've got a lot of options. If it's a 7-pin (like my Bandit), then that limits your options.

@@matttriestodothings it is a 1997 cb400sf it was only in Japan, SE Asia and it's a 2 pin so what do you recommend

Hey Justin, I just did this install and I'm having the same issue. Were you able to get it sorted out?

Which part did I skip? It's all there.

So make a better one and I'll link it in the description here for people to use instead.