DIY headlight delete

[Norse]

People have been asking how to do a headlight delete on a Sidewinder/Viper. Here's how I did mine recently.

This one has a 270 kit with cold air intake. It should be possible for stock ones too.

I've made a similar solution on a Viper with the same kit.

I took the hood off, then removed these filters. I kept the air duct cover underneath the hood to protect clutches from snow.

For stock sleds I think you could replace these with a sponge type filter with prefilter sock. Check out Syxxes on Youtube, he did something similar.

After uninstalling the headlight I made a bracket from "everyday" stuff I had in my garage. Cut out from a ~3mm thick metal plate, popped 2 pieces together and put bolts in.

The triangular piece is bent 30-40° (45° is too much) so bolts hit the holes behind the gauge. I used the screw from bottom center of headlight.

I've only used regular hex nuts here, but I will swap them with nylon flange nuts over and under to lock it into place.

Pro tip: The gauge can be pulled out for ease of access.

An important thing here is to focus on getting the rear plastics to sit tight in their spots. This is where the 30-40° comes in. The bracket can't be too far forward, and the nuts have to be tightened enough to force these plastics down (which also stabilizes the whole structure). Bending the bolts further back helps. A small gap is okay, the side panel on a Sidewinder will overlap it. I ignored this on my Viper.

I chose not to cut the plastics going down the sides in case I would reinstall the headlight. They can easily be bent in, and they provide stability!

The goggle bag still fits, just has a little less space inside it. Also threw a gps ram mount on there while I was at it. I chose not to make cutouts where my tripod collides (vertical steering). The collision helps bend the rear plastics into place.

This is just the way I chose to do it. I'm sure there are different solutions and I could improve this one as well.

Next I will mount a small but powerful LED bar on the windshield. Its glass is flat and easier to reach and wipe snow off. I used 4 Rigid Ignites on my viper but they all got snow on them.

PS. Is it just me or is the Sidewinder headlights lighter than Viper's? Didn't lose a lot of weight here.

 

[kinger]

Love this stuff! Thanks for sharing and documenting. I am curious on the weight savings. I enjoy my Winder headlight but always looking for fun light weight mods! Some of the led pod lights are feather light and plenty bright now days.

 

[Norse]

Love this stuff! Thanks for sharing and documenting. I am curious on the weight savings. I enjoy my Winder headlight but always looking for fun light weight mods! Some of the led pod lights are feather light and plenty bright now days.

I've ordered a Lazer Linear 6 Elite (500 gr), it has 4050lm and the spread/range ratio is good, not too focused. The OEM is too weak for me!
I plan to mod this sled as far as I can afford, I already made a list of things I want to change