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Thread: Issues with headlight getting chipped or cracked?

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by AllanB View Post
    A stone killed one of the headlights on my GS1200ss when I had it. $220 or something stupid new for a little light! Lucky for me I picked up the pair and the holder for $60 off a wrecker

    SuperCheap stick on protectors went on and are also on my Hornet from day dot.

    I know the velcro ones you speak off - they do look a bit naff. Go the stick on.
    I like the Ventura ones because they break, not your light. The stick on film just stops glass going everywhere. DAMHIK.
    If a man is alone in the woods and there isn't a woke Hollywood around to call him racist, is he still white?



  2. #17
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    If you don't like the look of the cover, there are a couple of things you can do: firstly, make sure it's always clean (makes it less obtrusive). Secondly, replace the standard crappy white velcro that Ventura uses for the covers with the clear plastic 3M alternative. It's not actually velcro, but uses closely-spaced minature lollipops (best description I can think of at the moment) that hook into each other. Apart from being clear (and less obtrusive) it has far superior performance to velcro when wet. The hard thing is getting hold of it; 3M don't sell directly to the public. I got some free samples from somewhere (Glue Gurus, IIRC).

    Oh - and don't worry about the appearance: you can't see the headlight when you're riding, and no-one else cares about your bike.
    ... and that's what I think.

    Or summat.


    Or maybe not...

    Dunno really....


  3. #18
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    Javahead had protecters on his Bimmer 1150.

    By the time we got to St Arnaud there was no left hand lens at all. Just a jagged hole.

    Awesome really.

  4. #19
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    Okay, so what's the answer if, like me, you have an older bike with a hole in the headlight glass?

    My Katana has about a 1cm hole in the glass. Is that fixable? And how?
    And I to my motorcycle parked like the soul of the junkyard. Restored, a bicycle fleshed with power, and tore off. Up Highway 106 continually drunk on the wind in my mouth. Wringing the handlebar for speed, wild to be wreckage forever.

    - James Dickey, Cherrylog Road.

  5. #20
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    Show us your crack!
    Some things are worth dying for, living is one of them.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by riffer View Post
    Okay, so what's the answer if, like me, you have an older bike with a hole in the headlight glass?

    My Katana has about a 1cm hole in the glass. Is that fixable? And how?
    If the lamp is still working liteskins or similar product will hold it together nicely

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by riffer View Post
    Okay, so what's the answer if, like me, you have an older bike with a hole in the headlight glass?

    My Katana has about a 1cm hole in the glass. Is that fixable? And how?
    For a start, it's not WOFable. There was a clear epoxy you could use for fixing small holes in glass (the stuff the windscreen repairers use), but I dunno if it would work on a hole that large. If you could get at the inside and put something across that the epoxy wouldn't stick to (greased plastic tape???) then maybe you'd be OK.
    I had a smaller one in my VF500's headlight that was about 3mm on the outside and 3 times the size on the inside and I had to buy a secondhand unit to replace it.
    Perhaps you could contact a windscreen repair place and ask them?
    ... and that's what I think.

    Or summat.


    Or maybe not...

    Dunno really....


  8. #23
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    Go and test it!
    Hit it with a hammer, if it breaks, then you know you need protection.
    If it dont, then you will not have to worry about it.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by riffer View Post
    Okay, so what's the answer if, like me, you have an older bike with a hole in the headlight glass?

    My Katana has about a 1cm hole in the glass. Is that fixable? And how?
    Going back aways, all you could use to protect your H/L glass was a clip-on of some sort. No directly applied films. Because the material they were made of, and the 3M adhesive specially made for this use, tended to discolour from longterm exposure to sunlight. Continual development by various film manufacturers sorted that problem, and 3M got their adhesive for this use sorted. Eventually LTSA acknowledged this advance and allowed Liteskinz and the like. They also allowed you to put this sort of film over an existing hole, to seal the inside from getting water in etc. But I think that has changed now (something to do with the possibility that a hole in the glass affects the light diffusion).
    Just put a clear film skin over it (I can do it for maybe $30, if you bring the bike to me)...you might be surprised how often a Wofman will miss it.

    NOTE: - DO NOT USE the product called Liteskinz on polycarbonate lens...it is so thick that the heat from the bulb cannot dissipate and will cause the poly to go brittle and 'crazy crack'. There are thinner alternatives that will do the job fine.
    Last edited by MSTRS; 20th December 2009 at 13:00.
    Do you realise how many holes there could be if people would just take the time to take the dirt out of them?

  10. #25
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    Went through roadworks in Woodville Friday,a wanker in his subaru thought it'd be good to bury it as the losse shit ended,stones hitting rad guard,helmet,and light,lucky my headlight was ventura protected.
    Hello officer put it on my tab

    Don't steal the government hates competition.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by ynot slow View Post
    Went through roadworks in Woodville Friday,a wanker in his subaru thought it'd be good to bury it as the losse shit ended,stones hitting rad guard,helmet,and light,lucky my headlight was ventura protected.
    Karma says you'll get your chance to return the favour on your way 'home...
    Do you realise how many holes there could be if people would just take the time to take the dirt out of them?

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Deuce View Post
    I like the Ventura ones because they break, not your light. The stick on film just stops glass going everywhere. DAMHIK.
    I do wonder about the effectiveness of my stick-on as it is only say 2mm thick. Unlike my strap-on which is much thicker However there has been no damage in the 2 years I've owned it.

    I purchased a car 3 years ago which had a chip and small hole in one headlight - part of the purchase agreement was to have it fixed - they stuck some clear stuff over it. It has got a WOF like this each time since.

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by MSTRS View Post
    NOTE: - DO NOT USE the product called Liteskinz on polycarbonate lens...it is so thick that the heat from the bulb cannot dissipate and will cause the poly to go brittle and 'crazy crack'. There are thinner alternatives that will do the job fine.
    Quote Originally Posted by AllanB View Post
    I do wonder about the effectiveness of my stick-on as it is only say 2mm thick. Unlike my strap-on which is much thicker However there has been no damage in the 2 years I've owned it.

    I purchased a car 3 years ago which had a chip and small hole in one headlight - part of the purchase agreement was to have it fixed - they stuck some clear stuff over it. It has got a WOF like this each time since.
    Stick-on films are effective. The product called Liteskinz is very thick, and really good on glass lenses. It cushions, absorbs and spreads the impact of stones etc, which is why it works. Thinner products (like the one I use) may not be available as a 'kit' at Repco etc - I purchase a large sheet from a wholesaler and cut pieces to suit. It helps on glass, it covers an existing hole as AllanB said, usually well enough that the hole is hard to see (hence Wofman passing it). You may think the thin product is useless...not so. On poly lenses, which won't break anyway, it stops the mini chips on the surface, and the film finish is very durable.
    Stick-on film is almost invisible. The problem is they are not particularly conformable, and can lift in places when a lens shape is very convex. The ER6 is one type where this is a problem (Eh, Tide?).
    Also, don't think you can use the likes of the anti-scuff shit common at bike shops, that people put on their tanks/sidecovers - esp the trailies. That stuff is not clear enough, is not good quality (shrinks badly) and the adhesive is not great either. Ever seen the dirty line around the edge of that stuff, once it's been on a while? Shrinkage of the product and adhesive creep. Proper headlight films are stable, don't go cloudy, lift, shrink or slip.
    Do you realise how many holes there could be if people would just take the time to take the dirt out of them?

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Deuce View Post
    A 1999-2007 GSX600F headlight is $1800 to replace.


    This place does them for $272 USD ($385 NZD)

  15. #30
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    Yes they do. Insurance companies only deal with the distributor/dealer network.

    Came "this" close to writing a perfectly good bike off because of stone damage to a headlight unit.
    If a man is alone in the woods and there isn't a woke Hollywood around to call him racist, is he still white?



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