Dre-XT-Stück - just a "quick" headlight conversion (part 4)

Even though I like the big brutish fours of the late 70ies, early 80ies, I've never been much a fan of the square headlights that had come up by the time on enduro bikes. Being a big fan of the classic XT500 didn't help much either. Luckily there was a role model: the much unloved and (mostly) forgotten XT550, which in its own right is sort of dreambike, when it comes to off-road bikes.

It all started very harmlessly though: The trip-meter on my Dre-XT-Stück has developed the bad habit of getting stuck at 199.9km, which made judging the remaining fuel for the next tank stop a bit difficult. So a new speedo (along with some other parts) was acquired.

... and right about here is where things escalated quite quickly. An XT550 headlight bracket had been acquired a while ago, just as an XT500 headlight. 

As I had hoped the 550 bracket was an almost perfect fit. It only meant cutting off all tabs and welding them back on in other places and raising the clocks by about 12 to 15 mm. 

Classic Mig/Mag welding to blend in with the other welds, but mostly because it was more convenient and faster.

Painting this thing (in a way that actually covered the piece suitably) took the better part of last week. 

And the finished product. It's funny how the removal of a piece of plastic not only changes the looks of the bike, but also the way it feels when riding it.

Free-floating clocks make the bike look a lot lighter (and older), even though at the time the bike was new, the 550 probably still was for sale as a special offer at your local dealer's. Oh and the bike has lost almost exactly to the kilometer 19,000km with the new speedo. 

... and the new trip-meter works. Which is basically what all of this has been about, right?