Rockster lighting

[trickytree]

My new to me Rockster has a Gimbel half fairing fitted, I'm not that keen on it, even less so as it has to be completely removed to lift/remove the tank. I've got the original oil cooler covers but not the headlights or brackets. High price and apparent mediocrity of the original lights means I'm looking at alternatives.
Personally I don't think a 7" Cibie with a decent bulb can be beaten performance wise but I'm looking at twin headlight options that perform well but will retain a semblance of the Rocksters style. Thinking of perhaps a 5-3/4" Cibie with a smaller headlight or spot at the side.
What do you guys think.....anyone fitted different lights as opposed to changing bulbs?

[cgguy09]

The stock lights bulbs are pretty horrible. Nothing more than two glow worms copulating I believe.
However, it's quite quite easy to install an HID light for less than $50.00 and you'll have the brightest light on the street. (DDM tuning is who I use)

Finding the original housing and bracket may be more difficult, but they do pop-up. I think (&I could be wrong) but the 1150GS has the same housing for the headlight.

For me, the Headlight mount really made the Rockster, the asymetrical duel light just appeals to me.

Either way, put up pictures of what you've done. Especially if you mod it.

[trickytree]

......For me, the Headlight mount really made the Rockster, the asymetrical duel light just appeals to me......

Totally agree with that. I've found the parts required to return her to stock from a combination of eBay and independents but the cost is £400+ before paint and any small but essential bits needed (That assuming the headlight housing is indeed a GS item). If I could get that for the Gimbel fairing I'd go for it but I've no idea what it's worth.

Could someone give me a few measurements please? Width of the headlight unit....width between the mounting 'ears'...rough diameter of the lenses. I'm guessing the larger light unit Is dip/main and the smaller main?

[trickytree]

OK, looks like the stock Rockster parts have priced themselves out of the game so have been searching for alternatives. Reckon a 1200GS unit with something like a Wunderlich Flowjet would look good. Just have to make some custom brackets that mimic the standard Rocksters and were hot to trot

[cgguy09]

Whoops. Do you still need those measurements? Yea. Sometimes OEM stuff will price itself out. But that headlight you found looks good! Let us know how it goes.

[trickytree]

Nope, no measurements needed as I've bought a set of 1200GS headlights....should be with me this week.

Found another fly screen by Schwabenmax.


But as with the Wunderlich there a bit pricey and also a bit angular....not sure either will sit well with the Rocksters smoother lines so I'm just going to use a cut down GS screen and paint it....probably black.



I'll need to make some custom brackets which isn't a problem as such but I don't want the bike off the road at the present time so not sure how I'm going to manage that

[riceburner]

The best lights I ever had were on a Kawasaki ZXR400 L5 model - twin 35W full beams in a superbly crafted reflective chamber. (it's a mini-endurance racer).

Compared to that, the Rockster has a penlight torch mounted on the front.

It's a nice single unit that could easily be fitted with some fabricated mounts to the Rockster top-yoke arms (I reckon).

[trickytree]

The best lights I ever had were on a Kawasaki ZXR400 L5 model - twin 35W full beams in a superbly crafted reflective chamber. (it's a mini-endurance racer).

Compared to that, the Rockster has a penlight torch mounted on the front.

It's a nice single unit that could easily be fitted with some fabricated mounts to the Rockster top-yoke arms (I reckon).

Did have a look at a few twin headlight sets, Triumph and Suzuki amongst others but decided on the BM lights in the end. Mate has a1200GS and his lights are great, although I havnt asked him what bulbs are in them.

I agree that 'old fashioned' round headlights still take some beating. I've had 5-3/4" Cibies on my old Morini 3-1/2's and still have one on my FXR and they are fantastic lights....and that's just with a standard bulb, there probably even better with one of the unrated H4's out there. If I wasn't such a fashion tart I would have been quite happy to stick a 7" Cibie on the front....I was after all looking for a 1150r in the first place (still hanging on the the belief that I'm still not old enough for a fairing yet ) only bought the Rockster as it was the right price at the right time. Wast keen on the fairing to start with so always planed on selling it on, just never realised that stock Bimmer bits were so expensive second hand.....to used to Harley's where you can't give standard take offs away.

[trickytree]

Well, still researching and slowly collecting parts and info. Going to use a GS headlight/screen mounting bracket, which makes perfect sense as I'm using a GS headlight and screen I also like the ability to be able to mount a satnav behind the screen fairly neatly.



Although I've got a lathe, milling machine and welding gear at home so could make just about anything, I always like to use as many stock and unmodified parts as possible, makes replacing stuf if it gets damaged easier and less time consuming.
I won't be needing the large fairing bracket as I don't need to mount the GS's beak or oil cooler.

Still not decided if I'm going to mount the whole assembly to the frame or the forks. I'm sure its plenty strong enough but wearing my engineers hat I don't like the thought of all that weight hanging just from the top fork yoke.....if they were conventional forks it would obviously be braced from the bottom yoke as well as the top.....much stronger and more stable.

Ive also considered frame mounting the screen and headlight but using the Rocksters 'ears' to mount the instruments. Instrument housings not ideally the right shape to bring it in close to the top yoke however...the ignition lock and clock get in each other's way and would look a little odd I think. Then there's the fact that the 1200GS's headlights don't have a shell like the Rocksters, the instruments mount to the top of the headlight itself and hide the ugly bits. Really need to collect all the bits and hold them upto the bike before I make a final decision, which is difficult as I'm enjoying riding the damn thing so much.....done 2200 miles already and I've only had the bike 4 weeks.

So, next job is to get hold of a screen and mounting bracket and then sort out the myriad of nuts, bolts, washers and spacers that I'll undoubtedly need to hold them together.

[trickytree]

Bought a headlight/screen mount yesterday. Good, good and bad news. It had both of the front screen mounting brackets included....they were both alloy and not the plastic ones.....but they had both seized solid in the mounting. Soaked them overnight and one came out OK but the other one wouldn't budge, got a bit of heat on it but still no joy. Hole it fits in is blind so couldn't tap it out, so just gently kept at it until is started to move ever so slightly, but then the inevitable happened and the head snapped off. So, drilled out the broken bit and put it to one side for the time being, I might be able to repair it, I'll have a look after work.
Looked up on the parts list what I needed to attach the headlight to the bracket....M6 blind rivets. None of those in the garage but I do have some spare 1/4" Wellnuts that I use on the Harley, tried them and they fit a treat. Used a couple of Allen headed bolts but I'll see if I can get hold of some 1/4unc torx heads, there used quite a lot on the Hogs so if I can find a couple it means I can use the wrenches in the tool kit.





Next job is to fabricate a plate to go under the whole assembly as there is a locating grommet on the bottom of the headlight, the plate will need a pin in it to support the light. I will most likely make the plate big enough to attach to the whole assembly to the bikes main frame.

[rockstercliff]

I went with PIAA hi power in the original headlite housings, then added PIAA 1100X down on the front calipers.

[trickytree]

Well, these go have nowt to do with lighting but I'll chuck em in here rather than start a new thread. Trial fitted a GS footrest assembly. A lot lower and not as far forward as I was expecting, obviously they have had the desired effect of straightening my knees out. Brake side hasn't arrived yet, if it comes tomorrow I'll see if it fits OK but if not I'll refit the original plate as I'm off out on Thursday. Worried about decking the pegs out....I've not had them down yet even though I've had the tyres almost to the edge, boot has touched a few times but nothing drastic, s'pose I won't find out for sure until I try them. I was intending using the R's pegs rather than the GS's so one option is to make some new ally footrests but to make them a bit higher....won't know for sure till I've ridden with them.

[riceburner]

wow - that's a HUGE difference in footrest height!!

[trickytree]

Got the brake side on this evening. Went out for a quick spin, nothing too hairy as it was dark but whizzing around the local roundabout things didn't seem to bad. Had to purposefully tip my boot out for it to touch down. I'll have to wait for a daylight hooligan session to pass judgment but first impressions are promising.
The GS handlebars arrived today as well but they want painting before they go on.

[trickytree]

Took Mrs.Tree out for a slap up burger at Iron Horse in Market Deeping last night and with the caveat of not knowing what extreme ground clearance is like initially I'm really liking the GS pegs.
Still very much in the try 'em out stage and there's quite a few things to tidy up and sort out. I used the GS master cylinder as the R's reservoir hose was to short and I didn't have any suitable clamps to swap it over.....rear brake is lacking a bit so I'm wondering if the master cylinders are different bores....good enough for now and I might even get used to them. Also the master cylinder mounts much closer to the swing arm so the two vent hoses won't fit behind it.
Leg/knees feel much better now but the pegs have brought a couple of unexpected advantages. When stationary feet are right under me rather than the standard pegs pushing them forwards slightly, more stable when a pillion is clambering on and off the bike....could be better on loose ground as well, time will tell.
Best bit is the gear change, it's soooo much more positive, like night and day differance. Now wether the new controls have a bit less wear in them I don't know (they didn't feel that much different). Geometry has been altered that's for sure so I'm guessing that's playing the biggest part. OK, it's still a Getrag at the end of the day and requires a positive boot but not one missed gear last night.
Side stand will need the tang relocating. Centre stand is more of a problem, the foot bracket hits the new hanger plate. Bend the bracket out and it's in the way of your foot. Bend it back and it hits the ground before the stands feet so doesn't hold the bike totally secure. I'm struggling to come up with a answer that looks good and I'm happy with other than extending the stand slightly. One to think about further.

[trickytree]

Thank god that carbuncles gone. Looks better already

[trickytree]

Got the rest of the fairing brackets off. I've had a noise from the front end since I've had the bike and it's been getting worse recently. Probably got there just in time as there's a large crack underneath one side of the main moulding, probably wouldn't have lasted much longer by the looks of things.
Also had a few wiring issues as well, pre insulated connectors coming loose. Didn't know wether to laugh or cry when I pulled the loom out from inside the fairing. The spotlights were wired up with lawnmower/strimmer cable, including the 3 pin connector block. The accessory socket was wired up with a hifi power cable....again with its apropiate plug and socket.
I had previously discovered the accessory socket was piggy backed onto the horn fuse....together with the heated seat. Unsurprisingly this had overheated and melted the fuse box lid.
Some folk shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a toolbox.

[trickytree]

GS1150 bars fitted. Ran the cables behind the top yoke which gives loads of slack....could probably fit apes if you wanted
Also ran the brake and clutch lines behind as well. Another guy that fitted these bars ran the clutch line above the tank mount which would be ideal I think. Just that I don't want to disturb the tank at this time as it's got the original plastic connectors still....I've not got any replacements and no way of getting any at this short a notice so I'll have another look when I do a full service this winter.
Brake line wouldn't fit in front of the top yoke at all, got it usable behind but although the line is long enough the banjos are at the wrong angle so it looks a bit, well, poo really. I'll pick up a new line and sort that one evening.
Seems to be a lovely riding position (if you like GS's that is!), just what I was after. Should make chucking the bike around dirt strewn back roads a bit more manageable.
And before you ask, sadly I did cut the grip wires .....need the bike back for Monday. At least I've got a soldering iron and some heat shrink tubing.

[trickytree]

Well, after fitting the bars the rest of the day was hard work. Gave up trying to fit the headlight assembly to the Rocksters ears in the end. Nothing I could come up with looked right, and due to just about every mounting point being a compound angle making one bracket was hard enough, never mind two exactly the same. So I frame mounted it. Quite happy doing so TBH, should have done it from the start, it would have saved a whole bunch of time and hassle.
It's a bit of a lash up as I had to make it up as I went along with whatever materials I could find in the garage....i even used a couple of the Gimbel brackets. Once I've ironed out any bugs I'll measure up and weld some permanent brackets up and have them powder coated.
Instrument housing is a problem as there is a bit missing, must have been taken off to fit in the fairing, so there's a huge gap all around open to the elements. Duct tape will have to come to the rescue for now.
And the final insult? The Rocksters ears will have to come off as they foul the instrument cluster.

[riceburner]

got the original plastic connectors still....I've not got any replacements and no way of getting any at this short a notice

If you mean the fuel line Quick Disconnects - don't worry about them. The only people who have trouble are in the US. Their high-ethanol content fuel seems to rot plastics and rubber a lot more than ours does.

My QDs are still original, 100K+ miles.
My previous bike had approx 45K and they were fine on that too.