ER5 Headlight

[Bod]

Good morning all. I have a 1997/1998 Er-5 and I am looking to import it to Romania. I will need to change the headlight to a right hand drive one. I'm having problems getting one and I wondered if there any other headlights that would fit from a different bike?

Any help appreciated.

Bod

[jeffyjeff]

What? I have never heard of a left or right hand specific headlight. Your headlight has horizontal and vertical adjustments. Instructions here: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/375061/Kawasaki-Er-5.html?page=310#manual
____________________
History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men - BOC

[stinkwheel]

[Bhud]

The standard headlight is a high quality part on that bike (most of the rest of it isn't that good), so see if you can keep it. Most aftermarket headlights are junk (the good ones are expensive). If the horizontal alignment screw doesn't go far enough, you could try rotating the headlight so that the light kicks off in the correct direction.

[Riejufixing]

[stinkwheel]

The beam pattern is cast into the glass if the lens. Turning it upside down, altering the bulb angle, keeping it at all costs or anything else you could think of isn't going to make a LH dip headlamp of this type dip to the right with an acceptable beam pattern.

You can tape over part of the lens which will probably get it through an MOT but it does nothing for light output.

The only proper way to make a traditional sealed beam headlamp dip to the opposite side is to fit a different headlamp unit.

So as before, you can buy a good quality H4 sealed beam insert for about £30. Cibie and Hella are good makes. Actually, the lucas ones are surprisingly acceptable too given their reputation.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Riejufixing]

[Bhud]

The headlight has a horizontal beam adjuster, and the bulb is just a standard H4.

If I were in the OP's shoes, I would just try and make it work somehow to pass Romanian inspection, but then I don't ride at night. £30 for a beam insert to make sure the light doesn't scatter in unruly directions sounds good.

[jeffyjeff]

[quote="stinkwheel"]

[stinkwheel]

See the roughly triangular-shaped section in the lens at the 3 o' clock position on the european insert and the 9 o' clock position on the UK insert? That's the part of the lens that kicks the dip down to the side of the road. If you use a right hand drive one while driving on the left, it'll kick the "dip" right into the eyes of oncoming traffic. Just so people can see the issue we're dealing with.

If you cover that area with black tape (neatly, all the bit in that section) it should be ok. It would pass an MOT like that and you're really supposed to do it if you take your vehicle into a country that drives on the opposite side of the road.

https://cdn.bcf.44bytes.net/files/rightdip.jpg
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Bhud]

Interesting.

So if you rotate the UK one 180 degrees (by removing the headlight unit from the mounts and fitting it upside down) you get this:

https://i.ibb.co/ftr5VTc/rotated.png

Which is close, but no cigar, as it now kicks to the right and up.

[blurredman]

I'm surprised so many people never knew this.

According to Wikipaedia:

1962 Manufacture of the MZ ES 125/ES 150 begins. This was the first motorcycle with an asymmetric low beam headlight pattern.

Not sure if that's true or not.
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[sickpup]

You need part No. 23007-1250 which is £104 and available to order from any Kawasaki dealer and likely any bike shop in the UK. Get them to confirm it is the Euro spec one.

[Riejufixing]

[Nobby the Bastard]

So why did my fz750 fail its mot for beam spread when I stuck a eu headlight on it in error? It had a h4 bulb in it.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[stinkwheel]

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Riejufixing]

[Riejufixing]

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Riejufixing]