Success with the steering damper! John Grainger - the mechanical whiz kid - worked his magic with the installation, and it looks great. As well, he managed to fabricate the stud for the lower triple tree, so no problems there. As well, we upgraded the headlight to a unit with a replaceable H4 35/35w bulb.
Happy days!
Japan Meets Britain
A full shot of it with the steering damper.
I'm beginning to figure out my winter projects: Rechrome the gas tank side panels, chrome the rear brake/torque arm, replace the the black metal rings on top of the front external springs with chrome 'cups'. Dipping the whole bike in platinum might be after that.....
Hello Vince,
The bike is looking great. I think you've done a super nice job with it, even if it isn't quite my style. We all have our quirks, right? I was just wondering what was involved in the headlight conversion, whether it was simply a new connector spliced into the harness, or whether more work was involved. Also how much more (in %) would you estimate light output to be now? -Chris
Hi Chris - thanks for your compliments. I'm sure the bike will look a bit different in a few months - it's always that way with a custom, isn't it?!
As far as the headlight conversion goes, it's a straight plug-in. Well, let me clarify that: some of the sealed beam units use the bullet plugs that are wired right to the headlight. Others, such as those made by 'DIXIE', have three prongs in the back along with the plug that you connect to the bullet plugs in the headlight bucket. So, you need to get that plug first. Then, the actual bulb that comes with this headlight kit is a 60/55w, which is too much for our charging systems. So then you need to get a 35/35w 'low wattage bulb', which is available from Scooterworks in Chicago for about $13.00. The headlight conversion is available from www.cycleseductions.com . Look for the one that is 162mm in size. I should also mention that the front lens itself is flat, as opposed to curved like 'stock' sealed beam units. I actually prefer the flat glass - looks really vintage! As far as brightness goes, it seems brighter to me (particularly the high beam), as I think that the low beam wattage for a sealed beam unit is only 25w. And, I don't think it's going to unduly tax the charging system. Funny though - and I don't know if it's connected to this changeoover in any way - but my horn now seems louder...might just be my imagination. The extremely nice thing about this system is that if you're on a road trip and your bulb burns out, you don't have to worry about tracking a sealed beam unit down - you could even get by with an H4 bulb from Pep Boys just to get you home. Plus, you can carry it in your pocket or tank bag. Only one thing about the headlight that Cycle Seductions sells - it's meant for a CB400f, so there's all this extra bracketry on the back of the unit that you don't need, so you'll probably have to remove them (not a big deal). As well, you might want to get a few extra headlight retaining spring clips just to be safe (but I don't think it will move around anyways with just the three clips that are already used in the headlight ring). Hope this info helps....
Last edited by Vince Lupo on Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
Thought I'd do a tally of everything that's been done to the bike up to this point:
26mm Amal Carbs Triumph External Fork Springs Forking By Frank Fork Tubes Progressive Suspension System (inside forks) Altette horn (Italian Copy) Hagon Rear Shocks Norton Rear Shock Knobs Bill Selby Bacon Cutters Norman Hyde ‘TOGA’ Gold Star Mufflers, new header pipes, Cobra Stainless 'T' Clamps Pedestrian Slicer from a Pre-Unit Triumph John Tickle Headlamp Brackets Tax disc/holder The Engine and Transmission have been totally redone, including painting/powdercoating New Clutch Electronic Ignition, New Coils, Plug Wires, NOS Starter Power Sonic Gel Battery Retro Bikes Rectifier Higher Output Rotor (older style without the 'L') Concealed K&N filters and Drag Specialties Vent Tube Filters Akront Rims with Custom Painted Coach Lines, Stainless Spokes and Dunlop K82 Tires 29 Tooth Rear Sprocket (Sprocket Specialists), Tsubaki Chain Hydraulic Steering Damper New Paint, Custom Painted Checkers on Tank and Fenders, Custom Decals Chromed Headlight Bucket, Chain Guard, Foot Controls/Pegs Stainless Headlight Visor Magura Brake and Clutch Levers Stadium Bar-End Mirror Rocky Chrome Sidestand H4 Headlight Conversion Kit PJ Speedos Handlebar Pocket Watch Holder w/1960 Ingersoll 'Triumph' Pocket Watch All Cables Replaced Custom Upholstery on Seat Cover (white piping) All Bolts and Nuts Replaced Replaced Tank Badges Whew - think that's it for now. I'm sure there's more that I missed! And, here's a small list of what was tried on the bike at various times, but is not now on there: Two other kinds of headlight visors Three other sets of mufflers (1 - Apex Cycles, 2 - EMGO Dunstall) Cheng Shin tires Two other license plate holders (both broke) Two other versions of the front end (1 - stock, 1 - a cobbled together version of what I really wanted) Home-made Pedestrian Slicer Much more checkered tape and decals! About 4 different pocket watches And I'm sure there's many other things for this list too that i've forgotten (points, rusty spokes, etc).
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