Underslung pilot lights

en7jos · Post by **en7jos** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:50 am

A pleasant afternoon tinkering with my G3LS on Monday afternoon was somewhat spoilt when I discovered that the bike seems to have been dropped / bumped in transit from India. Not happy! :'(

The worst of the damage is the pilot light which is slung underneath the headlamp. It seems to have been banged, knocking the lens loose inside, breaking the retaining clip and also breaking some of the mounting. Here's a photo:

The bike was insured during shipping so I may as well make a claim, but where am I going to get the suitable bits to make a repair? I noticed a similar pilot light for sake of Paul Goff's 'Norbsa' site, but not sure how it would fit. Here's another picture:

Would this new pilot light fit my bike do you think? Can anyone offer any suggestions for making a suitable repair please?

Thanks, James

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EDIT: A bigger photo of the damage is here. I wonder which bits were metal, which bits were plastic and which bits were the seal?Edited by - en7jos on 01 Jun 2011 06:59:33 AM

1608 · Post by **1608** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:12 pm

Can't help with the repair advice, sorry. It looks to me that the tie downs in transit were probably wrapped around it. I have seen some quite impressive tinkering or tin smithying in India, surely you could get the rusty bit replaced at reasonable cost where you are.
The spring-link broke on my 18S yesterday in Kent.
I put P.James Ins to the test ( they must be wondering what sort of risk they have taken with me, Ins only started 3 days ago! ) anyway, the reason I mention this is that the recovery were quick and efficient,but the tying down left me a bit concerned. I questioned the amount of tension that was applied to the flimsy rear rack and the nigh on full depression of the front suspension. This was just so he didn't have to secure the lowest points (tyres) onto the flat bed. It was a miracle that the tyres didn't slip sideways on the greasy steel flat bed.At one point the driver wanted to attach the straps to the handle bar ends assuming that the brake lever wouldn't move. I was on tenter hooks the whole journey home.Edited by - 1608 on 01 Jun 2011 12:13:14 PM

en7jos · Post by **en7jos** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:21 pm

Yep, I think you're probably right with regards to the ratchet straps, although I also have a feeling that it might have been dropped whilst being packed for shipping (front mudguard leaning to one side plus scratches). All very annoying!

During shipping it was safely inside a rather sturdy wooden crate they made for it, with lots of foam and bubble wrap. So I think it was probably whilst getting it into this that the damage was caused.

Initial thoughts so far are that some black silicon sealant should do the trick of holding the pilot light in place....

wilko · Post by **wilko** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:58 am

The housing for the glass is diecaste and not really fixable. Strange, i just sold one on ebay to India a couple of months ago!

willschub · Post by **willschub** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:25 am

Greetings.
British Only Austria has reasonable quality complete headlight replicas for 79 Euros. Probably made in India. (www.vintage-motorcycle.com). I was happy with the one I bought and even including postage it was far cheaper than any I could buy in Oz.

en7jos · Post by **en7jos** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 2:59 am

Thanks willschub, useful link I've not come across before. I think I'm going to try and repair the one I have with some black silicon or similar, but is useful to know how much a replacement would cost for insurance claim purposes.